What to do about teens not reading? The NEA recently released the "bad news" about reading statistics among teens. My first reaction was "Yawn, what's new?" But as a librarian and book lover, admittedly this makes me a little sad. I'm not completely jaded. I wish everyone wanted to read more. There are so many great books out there! So much great wisdom to glean from the classics, so many great characters to get to know. The fact that reading in America is on the decline is nothing new, but it also is not the end of the world. Literacy is not all about reading books. Literacy is also about language and language is about communication…and teens are definitely communicating. They are reading online, reading magazines, blogging, playing games, and emailing and texting their butts off. They are reading and writing. Rest assured teens are still teens.
I don't worry that book lovers and readers are an endangered species. I really don't. Instead I think we need to redefine literacy and explore our expectations of teens. Frankly, I'd rather hear about the other ways teens are "literate." How arethey telling stories, reaching out in their communities and sharing their experiences? What other ways are teens absorbing and contributing to our culture? Those questions are far more interesting, and sorry guys, more relevant in a digital world. Here's what the president, of YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) had to say. Most important are her positive points about teens using libraries, possessing library cards, and checking out reading materials. Our response: pathetic lack of library services afforded them nationally. So how much do we really care? If we want to raise life-long readers we have to put out money where our mouths are and provide better support to teens in our schools and libraries - and extend the definition of reading beyond "books."
Posted by alli
Book Publishing
Comments
Alli,
What's your thought on the quality of writing of young people today, given the pervasiveness of extreme shorthand, and the effect that will have on the quality of books that will be written by the writers of tomorrow?
Here's a NYT article on the classroom-texting language trend
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F06E5D71230F93AA2575AC0A9649C8B63
Posted by: Andrea | November 29, 2007 9:39 AM
Thanks for the link/article. Very interesting. I'm super fascinated with the ways that writing (and especially reading) online change our language and the way we are communicating with one another. I think the kind of language we use my be different while the sentiments, stories, messages, we're sending each other are the same. In other words, we're still talking about all of the same things (...the weather, the cute boy/girl down the street ) that we always did but using different "code", if you will. However, do I think it's OK to use "u" instead of "you" in any kind of formal written context? No way. It's slang. Teens should be able to understand that and probably do, they just need to be reminded. I'm not sure about the quality of their writing changing. It will definitely be something to watch. I remember in 6th grade I had to give a presentation to my class about a book I read. My teacher counted that I said "like..." 16 times in 4 minutes! I had to learn, as we all do, to separate our casual from our formal language. I still say like a lot, but when I'm speaking as a professional, I try and, like, watch it.
Posted by: Alli | November 30, 2007 8:16 AM
Interesting...I read a lucid definition of 'reading' once, that said that reading was the ability to enter imaginatively into the text. So that, for example, when I get to the part of Little Red Riding Hood when the wolf is about to eat grandma, my 3yr old snuggles up a little tighter against me,
he's reading.
Posted by: George Thompson | December 5, 2007 2:40 PM