I have not read the original article but I think the context matters. Growing up in India, "English medium education" was a big thing. I had learned mathematica

I have not read the original article but I think the context matters. Growing up in India, "English medium education" was a big thing. I had learned mathematical tables in my local language prior going to school and when I entered an English school I had to learn everything again which teacher taught to us as "Two Two Za Four". I was very curious about the "Za" and with my mother's help figured out that it is in fact "Two Twoes are Four". When in class I started saying tables in the same fashion with more clearer pronunciation my teacher branded me "stupid" for not conforming to the usual pronunciation. It only made me realize the teacher is stupid. A child refusing to read is not necessary refusing to read everything. May be the child is refusing to read what teacher prescribed to read. May be the child hates the specific content. A good and empathetic teacher must see what is wrong here and help the child develop curiosity about reading instead of branding the child stupid. In another story in my childhood in India: "elocution competitions" were very popular and all mothers wanted their kids to win the first prize. "Experts" had selected few stories that "built character" and we were supposed to memorize it and then reproduce it with acting. (You must bring tears in your eyes when describing the mother's pain in the story- teacher said). Despite being a crazy reader I never excelled in this and my mother was very upset. Today I am author of several children's story books which are popular too. The reason why I failed to tell a story on stage is because I could never relate to the "character building story" that someone else selected for me. I wanted to tell a story from Alif Laila or some Bollywood movie not the "character building story" meant to instill value. Even though your point that a "child refusing to read is not necessarily anti-authority" is correct, I think there is a good chance that the child's individuality and individual preferences are at play. American liberalism is moving very fast towards "everyone must be like everyone else and have same opinions" and probably affecting public education system too.