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Reading for pleasure is sharply down among schoolkids, report shows

nbcnews.com

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Re: Reading for pleasure is sharply down among schoolkids, report shows

#171

Post by madaxe_again »

helterskelter wrote: post #108
larrik wrote: post #33

It's worse than this. I have kids in school. Our school system is one of the top in Connecticut, which is the quintessential "school" state (if any rich kid on TV goes away to school, it's probably to CT). These kids (all of them, not mine) can't really read. Not like when I was young. (I'm not even old! I graduated in the 2000's!) They certainly can't write. They have no stamina to do an essay or a test like when I…

I read an Economist article a few years ago that mentioned a literature professor at Columbia who said that most his undergrad freshmen students have never read a book cover to cover. Of those that have, their favorites were young adult fiction. Most of his students couldn't even focus on a single sonnet. Apparently kids nowadays are having difficulty focusing on individual sentences, and a lot of them are just effec…

Man, I literally never stopped as a kid - I always had a dogeared paperback on my person, in case a few spare minutes presented themselves to read.

And when I say “spare minutes” I mean… any time anyone wasn’t saying “put down that fucking book!” - I don’t know if the phenomenon of hiding a novel in a textbook and looking very very studious in class is even a thing any more.

These days I read almost exclusively on my phone, for much the same reason. If you flip open a paperback because you’re out for dinner and every other fucker isn’t talking but rather doomscrolling you look weird. If you give the appearance of also probably doing instragram or whatever, it’s socially acceptable.

Idk. I’m in my 40s now, I remember being mocked for being a bookworm when I was a kid, and I suppose this is just the same pattern - reading, knowing things, expanding your horizons - these things are not cool, and I don’t know if they ever were.

Re: Reading for pleasure is sharply down among schoolkids, report shows

#172

Post by pendenthistory »

lukewrites wrote: post #77

This is a result of living in homes where parents neither read to children nor model reading for pleasure. Thanks to the various waves of “education reform”, there is less literature on offer and less time for pleasure reading. However, if you’re reading them exciting things at home (and telling them about the exciting stuff you’re reading), they will love to read.

No, that is the wrong causality. There is a third factor which make both parents and kids not read.

Re: Reading for pleasure is sharply down among schoolkids, report shows

#173

Post by globular-toast »

larrik wrote: post #33

It's worse than this. I have kids in school. Our school system is one of the top in Connecticut, which is the quintessential "school" state (if any rich kid on TV goes away to school, it's probably to CT). These kids (all of them, not mine) can't really read. Not like when I was young. (I'm not even old! I graduated in the 2000's!) They certainly can't write. They have no stamina to do an essay or a test like when I…

> Personally, I'd drop technology from the classroom entirely.

Definitely. When I was in school we started to have projectors in classrooms but I honestly don't think they added much at all. Seeing a "modern" classroom with electronic whiteboards and tablets everywhere is horrifying.

I doubt any paedagogues were asking for this. What's more likely is Microsoft and Google realised there were education budgets all over the world they weren't yet harvesting.

Re: Reading for pleasure is sharply down among schoolkids, report shows

#175

Post by rapnie »

AngryData wrote: post #59
socalgal2 wrote: post #20

Recommendations? What are you reading? I recently enjoyed a few books of the "We are Legion, We are Bob" series

Really loved The Hyperion Cantos and The Forever War. For a shorter classic I found Robur the Conqueror highly entertaining.

The Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons is great. It may also be nice to recommend books that have movie or streaming series to them. Books are most of the time better than the movie as your own fantasy and imagination just makes it so. Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan is a good example.

Re: Reading for pleasure is sharply down among schoolkids, report shows

#176

Post by dyauspitr »

larrik wrote: post #33

It's worse than this. I have kids in school. Our school system is one of the top in Connecticut, which is the quintessential "school" state (if any rich kid on TV goes away to school, it's probably to CT). These kids (all of them, not mine) can't really read. Not like when I was young. (I'm not even old! I graduated in the 2000's!) They certainly can't write. They have no stamina to do an essay or a test like when I…

Drop technology entirely and start failing them. You’ll never find an Asian school taking mercy on their kids.

Re: Reading for pleasure is sharply down among schoolkids, report shows

#177

Post by dyauspitr »

garciasn wrote: post #40

I read for pleasure; ~100 books a year on average. When I go anywhere, I am reading. My daughter informed me that the mothers of her teammates were outright making fun of me for having my 'nose buried in a book,' before every event. I asked her if they were making fun of everyone else for having their nose buried in their phones; she laughed and said they probably were not. Why is reading for fun something that's wor…

I read a lot too, but it’s somewhere around 50 a year. How on earth are you getting through two books a week? What sort of books are these? I confess I read a lot of sci-fi and fantasy that are between 500 and 800 pages each. That’s not all of my reading, but I’d say at least 50% is.

Re: Reading for pleasure is sharply down among schoolkids, report shows

#178

Post by dyauspitr »

encrypted_bird wrote: post #104
chickensong wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Herd mentality, anti-intellectual culture, poor reading skills, and ADHD are widespread issues. Those mothers sound lame, and ultimately the joke's on them. Reading is awesome, and making fun of someone for it just shows what basic bitches they are.

Hey, come on... I have ADHD and love reading. No need to use that as a bludgeon. It's unnecessary...

I knew a friend with ADHD that had a hard time reading. I suggested to him that he visualize and draw an image of everything he’s reading in his mind and apparently that made that a lot easier.

Re: Reading for pleasure is sharply down among schoolkids, report shows

#180

Post by gonzo41 »

madaxe_again wrote: post #168
jrflo wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not even just kids, this is true for all people to be honest. Not saying we should go back to an agrarian society but maybe unrestricted access to dopamine slot machines isn't a good idea for your brain.

I had a really effective inoculation against the Skinner box 20+ years ago, when I became addicted to an MMO. It took my life utterly turning to shit and barely escaping being kicked out of university for me to wake up. Since, I’ve always been aware of and wary of the possibility of this kind of dopamine cycling. I see it in others. My wife discovered YouTube shorts a year or so ago, and now she’ll lose entire days t…

This is why i have an xbox and not a gaming pc. Can't have a crack dealer in the house.
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