When kids are learning how to read, the simple gift of a choice can be a huge motivator.

The "reading workshop" approach, as written about last week in The New York Times, allows students to read their choice of fare instead of stodgier classics like Moby Dick and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

However, critics say the approach allows students to pass over important texts.

"Kids will pick things that are trendy and popular," Diane Ravitch, a professor of education at New York University told the Times. "But that's what you should do in your free time."

Still, this method of teaching is thought to inspire kids to start reading for fun -- and hopefully continue the habit throughout their lives. In a culture that clings to technology more than the undigitized written word, fostering a love of literature within young Americans may be a significant goal.

This free-form style of instruction may be best for students in elementary and middle school who are still at basic reading levels. It accomplishes the task of exposing children to books, serving to make them comfortable in the wild world of literature.

Nevertheless, the approach wouldn't translate well past those years, so course materials should be reigned in as students get older.

In college, it's essential for professors to guide their students through pieces of literature, pointing out particular nuances and themes, not simply to get students reading.

Also, Penn State courses, generally, have specific focuses -- literature from certain eras, peoples, etc. With this system in place, Penn State students have their own freedom to choose.

And choices are great, but when Penn State students are paying a lot of money to attend classes, we ought to be taught. Penn State has already developed a catalogue of literature courses, in which we hope to see sustained growth and diversity, further allowing students to tailor their respective curricula.

At this advanced stage of instruction, a well-constructed syllabus and accurate course descriptions during registration should suit college students well in choosing their scholastic directions.

In the mean time, molders of the younger minds should continue working to get books in students' hands.