Re: Crabgrass, 8/23/2024 - past or present?

Just to clarify something:
I'm over 50, and I can't think of any kid I've ever met (over ten) who
would have been childish enough to complain about a teacher's assigning
a novel without pictures - even if the complaints were only made to the
child's peers.
Especially not a 14-year-old!
Whatever happened to a certain healthful level of EMBARRASSMENT?
(Recreational reading is another matter altogether, of course. But
parents and teachers have every right to feel their hearts sink once
they realize that a particular child ONLY chooses books that are two
grades - or more - below the child's current grade level. Such kids used
to be called "lazy readers." Nowadays, unfortunately, adults have to
walk on eggshells so as not make recreational reading seem too much like
an arbitrary chore.)