Who gets to decide what good writing is? Who should decide? Why?

            Today, the critics decide what good books are. They decide who gets what prestigious award, and who doesn’t. People listen to the opinion of the critics. They have the valued opinion in the eyes of the general public. However I think it should be the people who deiced what is worth what. Writing is generally subjective, and often times people can be deterred from a good book or turned on to one they might not normally take interest in all in the basis of a critics review. I think without the heavy hanging opinion of the critics over our heads we can judge a book on our own, instead of just passing it off because someone else says so. Now, there are plenty of commercial fiction books that do not deserve the critic’s raves, however some people just like a quick entertaining read every once in a while. They can be a fun refresher.

While I do not think that swapping out a book like Of Mice and Men for Twilight is appropriate. Everyone has their own tastes, however I think it is important kids read great literary works. Teaching fantasy and allowing kids to read things they want to read is important however there are things I think kids should be required to learn. It is an important part of being a well cultured individual. Literary fiction is still very much relevant to our everyday lives. The stories and morals taught in these works are on-going as are the literary techniques that make good writing. Just because a book is old, our seemingly outdated doesn’t mean there is not something to learn from it.

            While on the topic of non-fiction books I think it is important students be exposed to non-fiction works such as Freakinomics to help kids better understand the modern world and prepare them for reality. There is the right amount of literary, and non-fiction reading that I think needs to take place in order for a student to fully develop the proper reading skills needed to survive in this modern world. Reading is an important way for kids to be able to lean about and understand the world, literally and figuratively. Without reading kids would be very limited in their ability to adapt, and understand. Reading has opened the gateway for kids, and allowed them to explore things they could never imagine. Why would we not want kids to read?