Why Are Books Disappearing from English and Reading Classrooms?

[...]the National Council of Teachers of English recently announced its support for the idea of "decenter[ing] book reading" in English language arts education. Questions on England's English Literature General Certificate of Secondary Education exams, which are not content agnostic, ask for analysis of important books and genres. A student who has read a handful of books in his life is less likely to choose a book that will set his mind on fire than a teacher or curriculum designer who has read hundreds and chosen the best. A phrase from the social theorist Marshall McLuhan's 1975 book Understanding Media has proven one of the most enduring and important observations about human communication.