Stupid teachers, this ain't college

From the NYT via Arts and Letters Daily, an article about the books ELEMENTARY SCHOOL teachers give their students.
Currently, this is a frequent subject of my rants. Newspapers and TV news have recently been harping on how Americans don't read, we're getting dumber, etc. etc.
I think a huge part of the problem is the books we're given in our formative reading years. They (the teachers) give books from elementary school through high school that are way too advanced, or way too boring, for the students b/c these books are "classics" and, in the teachers mind, build a base for appreciating and understanding literature. Ridiculous bullshit. In the lower grades, kids are learning how to read and then trying to build up the endurance or attention span to get through an entire book. Don't give them James Joyce (I'm still convinced nobody has ever read "Ulysses" all the way through), give them J.K. Rowling. In the upper grades they're more advanced but most likely need to develop some skills in critically analyzing what they read. I think the idea is to get them to see reading as a pleasant hobby and -gasp- a way of aquiring knowledge, not something that has to be endured so they don't fail.
Right now it's like someone going against Bobby Fischer (crazy bastard) before they learn how all the pieces move.
Pretty substandard rant on my part. Actually I think it's just a comment. I do much better on the subject barside.

P.S. I just posted this and read it and found an unprecedented number of typos, spelling errors, and other problems. I've corrected many but there may still be some lurking. It's one of those days.