GS

          I feel that the product being produced by the current English system is a student who inherently reads for the sake of test taking than for the pleasure of the story itself. They will struggle (or cheat) to remember the characters, setting, and major conflicts down to the hilt, but lightly skim over the intricate details that truly flesh out the story. They can analyze prose, but only in the most basic sense, so that they can answer a question on a test later. When it comes to subjects of morality in a novel, the current system produces a student who will willingly believe what the teacher or lesson planner has taught them. If the key to getting an A on a test requires a shift in one’s perspective, most students will not think twice to alter their opinion.
          In regards to Prose’s other question there is no economic benefit to altering the current system in any way. Teenagers who systematically submit to the lesson’s plans interpretation of a novel are likely to become non-questioning adults (read: easier to control). In an economy that is run by worker-bees, why waste time teaching them to become independent readers? The current English system (and school in general), while not entirely beneficial for the students, is a godsend to the¬ big factory employer down the road.