Reading is a crucial skill in today’s world. It is a requirement for everything from working most jobs to playing games to driving a car to voting. There are few activities or jobs that don’t require at least some reading. To that end, schools spend years teaching students how to read. And, for the most part, American schools are fairly adept at doing so (the nation has close to a 100% literacy rate). But schools have been less successful at teaching us how to enjoy reading. And this is a shame, for reading, in fact, helps us become who we are. When you teach a child to read, you teach him or her how to open a world of imagination and knowledge that would otherwise be closed to him or her. And once that door is open, children can go down paths to find interests they did not even know they have. These interests lead to more reading and then to more love of reading. See, the whole thing snowballs! This is why children should be encouraged not just to read for school but also for pleasure. A love of reading can help a student find interests and creative passions he or she never even knew existed, let alone possessed.

As a writer of children’s books, I am, of course, biased. I would love for children to enjoy reading so that they will want to purchase my own books. But I am also a concerned parent, hoping to help my son discover himself. I often speak to other parents about how reading can shape individuality. I remember when I was a pre-teen, I picked up a book about the rock star Mick Jagger, whom I had a huge schoolgirl crush on. In that book, I found that Jagger was inspired by old blues musicians, and so I picked up books on the blues. That led to books by authors who were also influenced by the blues, and years later I was obsessed with the works of Toni Morrison, Ralph Ellison, and August Wilson. Without that initial interest in a silly little biography of Mick Jagger, I would never have discovered my love of literature and my true calling to write books. Without a love of reading, I could very well be a completely different person from the woman I am today. The author of this passage would most likely agree with which of the following statements?

A
Schools do not adequately explain to students how important it is to know how to read.

B
Schools should let students read any books that they want, rather than assigning specific books for class.

C
Schools do not do a good enough job of teaching students how to read.

D
Schools should figure out ways to help students learn to enjoy reading.