One of the world's most successful authors has launched a stark critique of the UK's school curriculum, arguing that an overemphasis on literary classics is actively discouraging children from reading.
From Classroom to Cell Block: A New Approach to Literacy
Lee Child, the British novelist behind the phenomenally popular Jack Reacher series, which has sold over 100 million copies globally, believes the solution is simple: introduce compelling thrillers into lessons and school libraries. He contends that schools should prioritise sparking a reading habit over an immediate dive into dense, canonical works.
"I can totally understand why, if you’re an English teacher and you’ve read all your life and you love this stuff, you want to introduce the big, major masterpieces," Child said. "But that’s too much for kids." He highlighted that the fragmented, urgent nature of modern life, heavily influenced by social media, makes cultivating sustained reading time more challenging than ever.
His prescription is straightforward: "You should have whatever is compelling and whatever gets people into the habit of reading. Then you can have the fancy stuff later, of course, but don’t start with it."
Literacy as a Tool for Rehabilitation in Prisons
Child was speaking from firsthand experience, having just conducted a literacy session at HMP Doncaster, a category B prison. This visit marked his third to the facility, part of a initiative he hopes will become a national programme. He developed the plan alongside Labour MP for Colne Valley, Paul Davies, and they pitched it directly to the Prisons Minister, James Timpson.
During the sessions, Child encouraged inmates to write about their own experiences, using his own work as an example. "My books are about Jack Reacher but they’re really about me," he explained. "It’s what I want to be, what I want to do, how I would live if I could."
He observed that many of the prisoners were individuals who had been "outfaced by big works of literature" during their formal schooling. The impact of the sessions was palpable, with participants reportedly gripped by the writing exercises.
John Butler, one prisoner involved, confirmed he was now writing regularly and enjoying it, recalling how a lack of engagement at school had contributed to his past troubles.
A Practical Strategy for Safer Communities
For Child, this work is not merely altruistic; it's a hard-nosed, practical strategy for crime reduction. "Deep down, I think what every person in Britain wants is a safer community," he stated. "Wherever they are, they’d like less crime, more safety around them. That is what kicked this off. How do you do that?"
He directly linked improved literacy skills to lower reoffending rates and noted the immediate calming effect the sessions had within the prison environment. "Anecdotally, what we’re hearing is that if they’re reading all day or they’ve got a writing task to do, then the atmosphere is much calmer, is much more relaxed, everybody has a happier time."
Emphasising his pragmatic approach, the author, who recently relocated back to the UK from the US, added: "I’m not a soft-hearted person. I’m not a do-gooder. I’m a thoroughly practical person and this is a thoroughly practical thing."
The programme has already visited five prisons. The goal, according to Paul Davies, is to expand to 20 institutions and then establish a sustainable regional model. "The idea is that someone like Lee is a catalyst. He inspires people," Davies said.
Jake Richards, the Justice Minister with responsibility for sentencing who attended the Doncaster session, echoed the importance of the initiative. He stressed the need to remember the human stories behind prison statistics and to equip individuals with the skills and confidence to contribute positively upon release.
Child's dual-fronted campaign—advocating for a more engaging school curriculum to prevent reading aversion and promoting prison literacy to aid rehabilitation—presents a cohesive vision for using the power of accessible storytelling to address deep-rooted social issues.
