Programming and humanities

I just read "Ocean at the End of the Lane" by Neil Gaiman.I love Neil Gaiman's work. But I really loved this one. You could pry and analyze and say how this thing is like some other thing forever with this children's book. The way you have to in school. Or I suppose you could just enjoy it. Of course Gaiman draws from ancient myths and since I saw people online talking about the Hempstocks and not knowing what they were I'm just going to throw out "Holy Trinity" and have you ponder it. Along with that Irish Goddess I used to see statues of downtown, the skull headed woman spreading her legs and opening her vagina giving birth to the Universe. Supposedly she was manifested herself in three forms of woman old, mother, and child. But whatever it's just as well to enjoy the story as is without all that. Although his stories do inspire you to take another look at old myths, his stories are sometimes better than those myths because he throws in what we know about modern science too, so that in his stories, you are able to believe in both worldviews. It's cool.

I don't know what kids are required to read in school these days. I sometimes think I wasted a lot of brain cells in high school pondering all these authors and their ideas when really I should have been taught math and programming. To make me smarter at math I should have been required to take Orchestra or an instrument (and not be tested on it) and English Class, Latin, and Foreign Language should have been an informal thing like a book club and an immersion conversation group. I happened to like and focus on these classes the most and perhaps my old teachers will hate me for saying what I just did... but why isn't a requirement that immigrants who can't speak English and are trying to learn are paired with students in our school system learning that language. I mean every single student could possibly have a one on one teacher. And the person who needs to learn English to survive can make some extra money and learn English faster.
Maybe it wouldn't work but it could. I'm not saying reading novels and poetry is not important. But why must we be tested on it?

There are a lot of songs by Tupac that might hold a lot of meaning. That doesn't mean that later on as a society we should have an AP exam on it.

But if you live in today's society and you don't understand programming (me) you are pretty much illiterate. You can't read. Seriously. Reading words on a page are out. Sure it's cool to be able to do it for fun. But Programming, you need that.

There is another way to get kids to read other than making everyone sit in rows and saying "read this" and then talking about it. Don't we talk about this show or that song all the time?

Reading is great. But why do we make kids do it and talk about in class in front of so many people? Make them program, then talk about what they read while hanging out with them.