The "elephant in the room" when we talk about preparing critical thinkers for the 21st century, Gallagher believes, is U.S. students' lack of reading proficiency and their general disinclination to read. Gallagher's provocative argument is that a significant factor behind the decline of reading in young people is a set of practices schools engage in (with the hope of raising test scores) that actually kill students' love of reading. He calls these practices readicide. He discusses four trends in instruction that encourage shallow thinking and reading and limit both the amount and quality of true reading students engage in: (1) Schools value the development of test-takers more than the development of readers; (2) Schools limit authentic reading experiences; (3) Teachers overteach books; and (4) Teachers underteach books. Gallagher suggests approaches and strategies, drawn from his work as a high school English teacher, that teachers should try to counteract these trends.