Being cranky about a Dan Brown book not being high literature is like yelling at a cupcake for not being a salad.
–John Scalzi, Don’t Live for Your Obituary

When you set expectations for others that do not align with their intended purpose, you miss the point completely.

I’m currently building a classroom library for my students to get them interested in reading. I have no qualms about putting anything popular on the shelves if I know students will read it.

My goal is to get them reading, not analyzing texts they will only pretend to read (or not read at all if we’re being honest).

I subscribe to the New York Times, not because of any expectation they will cover Canadian content or that I always agree with them, but their level of journalism is a breath of fresh air to the fast media of online news. It’s also the reason I pick up a paper copy of the Globe and Mail (the Canadian version) every weekend.

Getting upset at a young person for not having impulse control… or an understanding of consequences… is missing an opportunity to be a teacher to them.

Likewise, getting angry at a fast-food restaurant for not having healthy choices is missing the point of why they exist in the first place.

Before we start to judge, it’s best to understand the point.