I might have a more accurate world-view if I had stuck to reading non-fiction, but even documentaries would have sugar-coated things and not been completely realistic.

My brain came defective. :D

By gum, this is ridiculous. I've read a lot of classics and a lot of modern novels, and it's clear that he has probably just heard some rumors about bestsellers from parents who gave The Hunger Games to their three-year old.

Besides, there has been studies, ACTUAL studies on what books do to the brain, and apparently they are quite good for you.

Clearly, this man has only read the Shakespeare plays they make you read in school... and them not too closely, because Romeo and Juliet talks about sex.

Seriously, I'd like to point this guy to Titus Andronicus. Shakespeare could have written a Saw movie.

As others said, plenty of the works by the authors he mentioned have terrible stuff in them too. I think he's just biased against new stories, honestly. I'm particularly bothered by his referring to modern stories as "insensitive," "un-sensitive." Partly because I've mulled those terms over in my head so much now that I'm questioning their very meaning from over-use. (Does he mean not sensitive? Or not sensible? Or . . . senseless? Not making sense? HURRRRRR—) Seriously, compare the Potter series to literally any Shakespeare play. There's far more emotional depth to the Potterverse characters than Shakespeare's. (On the page; I'm not saying actors can't lend the roles emotion on stage.)

Another line that bothered me, not from the principal, but from the other teacher lower down, is "I feel that the darkness of the books is so palpable that it wasn't the sort of thing that we would want to expose young children to in their formative years . . ." No. All of my no. One thing I will never waver on: the real world is less scary when you've fought monsters in your mind. If we refuse children the freedom to encounter villains in fiction, we're only depriving them of the mental strength to work around school bullies, unfair professors and rude bosses later on in life. To learn to handle conflict, they—big surprise!—need to encounter and study conflict.

—doctorlit, gettin' preachy

I have more to say, but now is not the time. I need to proofread what's to come.

Most likely, it's only correlation. It could be the other way around: Brain damage causes fantasy!

Don't ask what fantasy brain damage causes.

Please don't look too deep into The Post.

We'd probably come to the conclusion that everything is evil, and that the only way to save the human race is to lock everyone inside of a small box and bury it, to never be dug up until the sun finally loses its patience and devours the solar system.

Don'tcha know?
The sun creates a subconscious desire to be involved in explosives!
We live in a world where, every morning, our innocent children are exposed to a massive explosion, one which we consider to be normal!
Why, if our great human race wasn't exposed to the sun at all, I doubt we'd have any wars.
Break out the boxes and shovels, lads!

Pesona learned me this. Mister, you managed to out-stupid these articles.

Congratulations. You're a black hole of stupid.

You will note that this is the kind of miserabilist who has ended up running a private school in rural Oxfordshire after a stint in the British Army; these are not the kind of institutions that encourage or cultivate a rich internal life in their charges. The man is quite clearly demented.

We must send him some Pratchett immediately. =]