What happened to reading? Part 6
Teachers and parents share the blame for reading becoming an endangered species.
Originally published in the Moultrie News.
What happened to reading?
We are investigating the waning skills and diminishing interest in reading among youth, and one sure contributor is the devaluing of reading in American culture. As our society loses interest in reading for pleasure, reading for proficiency declines, too.
Gallup reported that Americans read an average of 12.6 books in 2021 (the most recent year for the study). If there were ever a time when people were reading, you’d think it would be during the pandemic.
Yet 12.6 reflects the lowest number ever measured, going back to 1990. It’s almost seven books fewer than the high water mark in 1999.
But you don’t need statistics to see the devaluing of reading. Just open your eyes.
Bookstores were once everywhere. Now, communities are fortunate to have even one. People used to anticipate “curling up” or relaxing in a hot bath with a good book. Now, they curl up with a podcast or streaming platform. Kids used to have magazine subscriptions. Now, they subscribe to YouTube channels.
Before saying: “Yes, but technology means we don’t need print books anymore,” when did you last see a child reading on their phone or tablet? When a student stares at a screen, it’s usually for games, videos, social media, or, uh, other allures.
This isn’t about short supply; it’s about vanishing demand. And that has repercussions for students.
When people perceive something as popular, they place more value in it. So consider a 2023 Scholastic study that determined 64 percent of children ages 6–8 believe reading for fun is important. By ages 12-17, the percentage drops to 43 percent. Now compare that to parents who believe the same thing: 89 percent of them with children ages 6-8 agree. But for those with kids 15-17, the number drops to only 67 percent. Parents are their kids’ top “influencers.” When they value reading, their children follow.
Indeed, the study confirms that "the biggest predictors of reading frequency are the child’s enjoyment of reading and belief in its importance, and being surrounded by reading role models including a parent who believes reading is important and provides books for their child.”
I’ll put it more bluntly: If we want kids to improve their reading, parents need to put down their phones, pick up some books, and start valuing the process themselves.
That does not take schools off the hook.
When I started at my current school, reading was hot. DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) was a daily practice. For 15 minutes each morning, every person on campus, from students to teachers to custodians, was required to read. I often used that time to peruse the Moultrie News.
It isn’t necessary to “sell” reading if you just get kids to do it — the pleasure it provides sells itself. As a result, when DEAR was in practice, every child — even the lowest readers — carried and enjoyed books.
Then Drop Everything and Read got dropped, like everything. Kids stopped carrying their books. They started looking side-eyed at “nerdy” classmates who still did.
I kept it going in my classroom as long as I could. I remember one reluctant reader who laughed and said “nope” when I announced we would read silently every day. I went to my shelf and picked one he might like. When I ran into him a few weeks ago, he told me that book changed his life and thanked me for making him read it.
As English standards have ballooned into an orgy of trivial pursuits, DEAR is dead and gone. Unfortunately, for many teachers, so is any independent reading.
I recently visited an English class watching the film The Great Gatsby. I asked students how it compared to the book. They said they hadn’t read the book. The teacher told me she didn’t assign it because they didn’t like to read and wouldn’t do it if she tried.
She isn’t alone. Reading as a pastime has been so degraded even teachers don’t value it. As its popularity lags, reading for pleasure is becoming an endangered species. Unless we resurrect it, literacy itself may soon follow.
Jody Stallings has been an award-winning teacher in Charleston since 1992 and is director of the Charleston Teacher Alliance. To submit a question, order his books, or follow him on social media, please visit JodyStallings.com.