I don't know what to make of this without seeing numbers, but there is only one way to make proficient readers, and that's to READ. Kids aren't waiting with baited breath for the newest Nancy Drew mystery anymore. It used to be a rainy day form of entertainment, but not so much anymore. Everything (including Harry Potter ferchrissakes) is a movie in months. Videos have replaced literature. And let's face it, some people have never found reading fun.
From struggling to teach high school English from the existing textbooks, in my limited experience it seems people are giving kids stuff to read that is antiquated and in vernacular we no longer speak. The classics are great for kids that are already proficient readers, but handing Thoreau or Mark Twain to my students was like handing them Greek.
Anyway, I realize this isn't partisan enough for you guys, but imo, it's part of the problem. If you're really concerned, get out there and encourage kids to read, from the time they're able. Read them bedtime stories every night from the time they're two, or one, doesn't matter. When they're older, are those vampire series wrong? Hell, no. Get them proficient and then you can start teaching them the more complex turns of language. We learn way over 90% of our vocabulary by reading it or hearing it spoken. We figure it out in context. To be a good reader, you have got to read, and read a lot until you're good at it..
Maybe technology is making text obsolete, I don't know, but it seems that even on Twitter, people need to be able to decipher words AND actually understand their meaning (the two don't necessarily go hand in hand).
High school seniors are approaching graduation with less of a grasp on reading and still-low math scores — and that's before factoring in COVID.
www.usatoday.com
