the lost art of reading

[strollingbones]

seems everything has gone to video....try to read a news story...it will be offered on video instead....why read a book when you have a so many movies to pick from .....why read the book when they made a movie of it? what happen to a 'classic' education..where one was expected to have a background of certain readings...is that gone?

 

[Disir]

In part, I think it has. I think there are several competing issues.

The curriculum has changed over the years because of the high stakes testing. Further, when you put a bunch of business folk in charge that are not well read then they do what they can to get rid of it. They don't see it as important. There is another group that is a little higher up the evolutionary scale here and it is a deliberate dumbing down because it's a little easier to control people and this type of reading is reserved for those with more money.

Some learners actually do better with multiple types of media. If you have a kid with dyslexia (and they are struggling) then you have a kid that is facing two battles. The first is reading and the second is comprehension. There are multiple types of learning.
Gardner's Multiple Intelligences

You have a lot of readers but what are they reading? Anecdotal: I watched a parent who did everything in her power to get her kid to read. He became interested in the Goosebump series. She was elated and bought him every book she could get her hands on. Her son's teacher told her that he was not reading the right stuff. From the mother's perspective, she was happy just to get him to open a book.

Most of it then boils down to the interest of the parents and their priorities. There are x amount of years that a parent has with a child and the decision to pass on or impart some specific type of reading or skills is in their hands. Many parents (and grandparents) have a required reading list outside of schools. Many parents have zero interest in anything.

 

[psikeyhackr]

Yeah, Catcher in the Rye.

Oh joy!

And if school teaches you to hate reading because the kid regards what they say is great as junk. The "literary people" have their own biases.

It is so funny that smartphones would have been regarded as science fiction in the 60s.

psik

 

[longknife]

May be a bit off the topic, but think you'll like this:

The 5 Least Literate Cities in America

And the most well-read

By Thomas C. Frohlich and Alexander E.M. Hess Feb. 25, 2014

For the fourth straight year, Washington, D.C. is the most literate city in the United States, according to a recent study on literacy. The study, by Central Connecticut State University (CCSU), examined how well Americans used their literacy skills in the nation’s largest cities. Rounding out the top five were Seattle, Minneapolis, Atlanta and Pittsburgh.

Read more: The 5 Least Literate Cities in America | TIME.com The 5 Least Literate Cities in America | TIME.com

I've always wondered what are the criteria for being “literate”. Does it mean one has a lot of books – but doesn't have the time to read them? Or spends a lot of time reading news but without digesting or researching it? How about people who spend a lot of time on the internet – especially interacting with forums like this? Does that make all of us literate?

 

[Unkotare]

seems everything has gone to video....try to read a news story...it will be offered on video instead....why read a book when you have a so many movies to pick from .....why read the book when they made a movie of it? what happen to a 'classic' education..where one was expected to have a background of certain readings...is that gone?

Students still read books in school. People who love reading still read books aplenty.

What happened to "a classic education" is another (sad) story.

 

[Unkotare]

The curriculum has changed over the years because of the high stakes testing.

Not so much.

 

[Moonglow]

My son does classic reading in school and at home. But vidies are the 21st century reality, welcome to a new era. Now you know how the old timers felt when the horseless carriage was introduced.

 

[strollingbones]

relic i am then......i just find many people today do not understand the nuances of conversation due to lack of reading or just reading the penthouse forum....i am amused that anyone considers a classic education the reading of catcher in the rye.....that just goes to show what i am talking about

hell i miss the dewey decimal system