the Atlantic: The Elite College Students Who Can't Read Books

[Anonymous]

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/11/the-elite-college-students-who-cant-read-books/679945/

Students at elite universities such as Columbia are showing up to campus unable to read books. They've only read excerpts their entire school career. Many also struggle to write effectively. In response, many Columbia teachers have to water down the curriculum.

[Anonymous]

I don't understand this. Aren't admissions more competitive than ever? Aren't these the superhuman students who aced the hardest classes, scored extremely highly on SATs, had very time-consuming ECs....? We are told nobody has a chance at these schools, and yet, those who are actually there, can't read a book? How is this possible.

[Anonymous]

I guess Calkins came full circle

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand this. Aren't admissions more competitive than ever? Aren't these the superhuman students who aced the hardest classes, scored extremely highly on SATs, had very time-consuming ECs....? We are told nobody has a chance at these schools, and yet, those who are actually there, can't read a book? How is this possible.

See: "Selective admissions hack" post below.

[Anonymous]

My dcs go to a good public high school in the south. Ds has not had to read a book since middle school. Dd has had one book to read for AP English Lit so far, that's it.

[Anonymous]

Some on DCUM argue the kids in the top schools are the best of the best. Others argue they can't read books without getting confused.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand this. Aren't admissions more competitive than ever? Aren't these the superhuman students who aced the hardest classes, scored extremely highly on SATs, had very time-consuming ECs....? We are told nobody has a chance at these schools, and yet, those who are actually there, can't read a book? How is this possible.

Test prep. Read a short passage find the main idea. Move onto the next skill. Meanwhile, they've never read a whole book about anything. I totally understand why this is happening. Since there's no homework these days, I assign it. My kid is always reading a book for homework, and we're always discussing it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand this. Aren't admissions more competitive than ever? Aren't these the superhuman students who aced the hardest classes, scored extremely highly on SATs, had very time-consuming ECs....? We are told nobody has a chance at these schools, and yet, those who are actually there, can't read a book? How is this possible.

People are running around checking boxes to get into these schools. If “reading complex books cover to cover” is not one of those boxes, they don’t check it.

Much to their disservice in the long run.

[Anonymous]

My kid goes to a well regarded MCPS HS and read two books for English total last year. She says they mostly just read excerpts, like the article says. Makes my head explode.

And yes, I encourage her to read on her own but she has no love for it, despite my nightly reading to her from infancy until mid-elementary school.

[Anonymous]

The schools aren’t doing it because most of the kids can’t and won’t read long form books. Their brains have been shaped by screens and video. Sitting down with a wall of text for 1-3 hrs or even 6 is unimaginable.

[Anonymous]

They are supposed to read books in public school at least and they are assigned. Starting in middle school. My now high school kid tells me that lots of kids find hacks not to read them and still get the assignments done. But I have always made sure my kid is reading the books assigned in school and he and his younger siblings also have reading requirements over the summer and during the school year. I sometimes read the book with them and I talk to them about the book the whole way along.

[Anonymous]

I think this is silly. If you can read well enough to get into Columbia, you can read books. There have always been kids overwhelmed by the pace of reading in college. Maybe the shift is that they’re more up front about it or worse at hiding it, not that they “can’t read books.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand this. Aren't admissions more competitive than ever? Aren't these the superhuman students who aced the hardest classes, scored extremely highly on SATs, had very time-consuming ECs....? We are told nobody has a chance at these schools, and yet, those who are actually there, can't read a book? How is this possible.

Test prep. Read a short passage find the main idea. Move onto the next skill. Meanwhile, they've never read a whole book about anything. I totally understand why this is happening. Since there's no homework these days, I assign it. My kid is always reading a book for homework, and we're always discussing it.

But that just sounds like a run of the mill 4.0 GPA/grade grabber who we are repeatedly told can't get into, e.g. Columbia.

I mean, my 8th grader is not a big reader and she read a non-fiction psychiatry book over just a few days this summer and we discussed it. Pretty sure she would be capable of discussing Pride and prejudice and Crime and punishment within a couple of weeks. I read these books in HS. They are interesting and not that hard to read.

[Anonymous]

I just wanted to say that the core curriculum at Columbia for the first two years involves way, way more reading of books than I ever got used to in high school, even way back in the 1900s… and for kids who are not humanities-focused, this could be a shock.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand this. Aren't admissions more competitive than ever? Aren't these the superhuman students who aced the hardest classes, scored extremely highly on SATs, had very time-consuming ECs....? We are told nobody has a chance at these schools, and yet, those who are actually there, can't read a book? How is this possible.

Test prep. Read a short passage find the main idea. Move onto the next skill. Meanwhile, they've never read a whole book about anything. I totally understand why this is happening. Since there's no homework these days, I assign it. My kid is always reading a book for homework, and we're always discussing it.

But that just sounds like a run of the mill 4.0 GPA/grade grabber who we are repeatedly told can't get into, e.g. Columbia.

I mean, my 8th grader is not a big reader and she read a non-fiction psychiatry book over just a few days this summer and we discussed it. Pretty sure she would be capable of discussing Pride and prejudice and Crime and punishment within a couple of weeks. I read these books in HS. They are interesting and not that hard to read.

Those books aren't interesting at all. I mean, Crime & Punishment? Are you now going to tell me War & Peace is interesting too?

Perhaps if we let a kid read a non-fiction psychiatry book instead of Pride and Prejudice or whatever, then things would be better.

But, if you want to read Crime & Punishment, then go for it.