In the February article "Thank You ...", the author questions whether detailed analysis of books in English classes that results in a deeper understanding is worth the sacrifice of personal enjoyment. I firmly believe that learning is more important than pleasure.

The object of school is not to have students enjoy themselves, but to acquire knowledge and develop skills. Unfortunately, however, whenever a less-than-sensational discussion arises, or vocabulary words need be memorized, I find myself among those who complain. Not everything is fun. I've had to sit through monotonous lectures on classics that I've hated, but in the end I've walked away understanding new ideas. Some details I never noticed before ended up changing how I viewed things. I may have neither liked the books nor had fun analyzing them, but the important thing was that I understood them.