Why America's Children Stopped Falling in Love with Reading

[DEAD7]

Why America's Children Stopped Falling in Love with Reading​

The ubiquity and allure of screens surely play a large part in this — most American children have smartphones by the age of 11 — as does learning loss during the pandemic. But this isn't the whole story. A survey just before the pandemic by the National Assessment of Educational Progress showed that the percentages of 9- and 13-year-olds who said they read daily for fun had dropped by double digits since 1984. I recently spoke with educators and librarians about this trend, and they gave many explanations, but one of the most compelling — and depressing — is rooted in how our education system teaches kids to relate to books....

In New York, where I was in public elementary school in the early '80s, we did have state assessments that tested reading level and comprehension, but the focus was on reading as many books as possible and engaging emotionally with them as a way to develop the requisite skills. Now the focus on reading analytically seems to be squashing that organic enjoyment. Critical reading is an important skill, especially for a generation bombarded with information, much of it unreliable or deceptive. But this hyperfocus on analysis comes at a steep price: The love of books and storytelling is being lost. This disregard for story starts as early as elementary school. Take this requirement from the third-grade English-language-arts Common Core standard, used widely across the U.S.: "Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, distinguishing literal from nonliteral language...."

[A]s several educators explained to me, the advent of accountability laws and policies, starting with No Child Left Behind in 2001, and accompanying high-stakes assessments based on standards, be they Common Core or similar state alternatives, has put enormous pressure on instructors to teach to these tests at the expense of best practices.... [W]e need to get to the root of the problem, which is not about book lengths but the larger educational system. We can't let tests control how teachers teach: Close reading may be easy to measure, but it's not the way to get kids to fall in love with storytelling. Teachers need to be given the freedom to teach in developmentally appropriate ways, using books they know will excite and challenge kids.

 

[Hazel Brown]

Why America's Children Stopped Falling in Love with Reading​

The ubiquity and allure of screens surely play a large part in this — most American children have smartphones by the age of 11 — as does learning loss during the pandemic. But this isn't the whole story. A survey just before the pandemic by the National Assessment of Educational Progress showed that the percentages of 9- and 13-year-olds who said they read daily for fun had dropped by double digits since 1984. I recently spoke with educators and librarians about this trend, and they gave many explanations, but one of the most compelling — and depressing — is rooted in how our education system teaches kids to relate to books....

In New York, where I was in public elementary school in the early '80s, we did have state assessments that tested reading level and comprehension, but the focus was on reading as many books as possible and engaging emotionally with them as a way to develop the requisite skills. Now the focus on reading analytically seems to be squashing that organic enjoyment. Critical reading is an important skill, especially for a generation bombarded with information, much of it unreliable or deceptive. But this hyperfocus on analysis comes at a steep price: The love of books and storytelling is being lost. This disregard for story starts as early as elementary school. Take this requirement from the third-grade English-language-arts Common Core standard, used widely across the U.S.: "Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, distinguishing literal from nonliteral language...."

[A]s several educators explained to me, the advent of accountability laws and policies, starting with No Child Left Behind in 2001, and accompanying high-stakes assessments based on standards, be they Common Core or similar state alternatives, has put enormous pressure on instructors to teach to these tests at the expense of best practices.... [W]e need to get to the root of the problem, which is not about book lengths but the larger educational system. We can't let tests control how teachers teach: Close reading may be easy to measure, but it's not the way to get kids to fall in love with storytelling. Teachers need to be given the freedom to teach in developmentally appropriate ways, using books they know will excite and challenge kids.

Very interesting topic. I too had a similar fate where I grew up reading for pleasure as it was a great form of entertainment and escapism for me. But as soon as I started reading due to necessity (for English lit), I found myself not reading as much as I used to.

 

[Tommy Fits]

My 8 year old reads every night when laying in bed, hopefully he keeps it up

 

[bnew]

the library was my second home growing up, I read all the time in between waiting for sessions on the computer.

 

[DrBanneker]

My kids love reading. One thing i learned is let them read what they like. My oldest likes novels like Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, etc. but he and his younger brother also like comic book type stuff like Nate the Great. It doesn't always have to be a book of the month type read, if they are reading (as long as it isn't too infantile or stupid) it's better than being on a damn screen.

 

[Wild self]

Its teachers and bad parents that made reading into a form of "punishment", similar to doing jail time. Making reading into a disciplinary action is basically making a mockery on the foundation of knowledge. Teachers that used to make students do senseless essays and book reports to keep them in line, basically contributed to students losing their sanity and cause school shootings.

 

[NZA]

 

[DrBanneker]

I remember this man

 

[DrBanneker]

Teachers that used to make students do senseless essays and book reports to keep them in line, basically contributed to students losing their sanity and cause school shootings.

I was with you until the bolded. Dude discipline was much worse back in the day. Who writes repeated sentences on a chalkboard as punishment like Bart in the Simpson intro anymore?

 

[Joe Sixpack]

My son still loves to read

But too many distractions like YouTube and Tablets are why most kids don’t like reading anymore

 

[ill]

Its teachers and bad parents that made reading into a form of "punishment", similar to doing jail time. Making reading into a disciplinary action is basically making a mockery on the foundation of knowledge. Teachers that used to make students do senseless essays and book reports to keep them in line, basically contributed to students losing their sanity and cause school shootings.

Someone already called you out on this but this is entirely false and baseless. Rest of your post is on point though.

 

[Rice N Beans]

I enjoy reading myself, but man did school mandatory reads really sour me on doing such in my free time growing up. I can agree on that.

 

[folasade]

For the most part, I enjoyed the books we had to read in school. This likely depends on if the parents read to their kids when they are young and if they encourage reading, and if their overall environment encourages it.

 

[Robbie3000]

Is reading rainbow still a thing? Lavar had a lot of kids reading back in the day.

I feel bad for kids growing up with all these distractions. It’s hard enough for adults, it must be daunting for kids. I listen to dozens of books per year in audible, I can’t remember the last physical book that I read.