My Students Can’t Read: The generational collapse in literacy is measurable, persistent, and likely to get worse.

[Anonymous]

https://archive.ph/WY1yk
"Every generation of professors has complained that their students cannot read. The lament is usually overblown, but data have caught up to anecdote, and what I am seeing in my classroom is no longer a hunch. There is a measurable, generational collapse in sustained reading and writing, and the academy is responding to it with improvisation and exhaustion rather than the structural overhaul it requires.
"

[Anonymous]

Blame it on No Child Left Behind BS by Bush, teachers pressured to pass everybody (failing forward), administrators changing scores and grades etc.

The public schools have become day care centers and teachers are baby/child sitters.

[Anonymous]

My kid tests highly but does not independently read anything and it feels like a test case of “when will this turn into a problem?”

[Anonymous]

Agree this is a problem. But where are you in this?

I was profoundly disgusted with the language arts in our FCPS Level IV school. So I spent time doing it myself: extra reading, extra writing, and extra grammar practice with my kid. It wasn't a lot, either. We did 15-30 min. several times a week and simple tasks. For example, reading books that DC was interested in. Reviewing and identifying parts of speech. Writing single paragraphs. And finally, giving worksheets with spelling/grammar mistakes for DC to identify and correct.

When DC got to MS and HS, they were ahead of the crowd. And in college now, gets complimented by professors on vocabulary and writing ability.

Until the system is fixed, you have to do it yourself. And it need to be cumbersome to do so. A little extra a few times/week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Blame it on No Child Left Behind BS by Bush, teachers pressured to pass everybody (failing forward), administrators changing scores and grades etc.

The public schools have become day care centers and teachers are baby/child sitters.

I don’t think you read the article.

[Anonymous]

Thank you Democrats for closing our schools for a year and a half, banning SAT in uni admissions, lowering academic standards everyone to "fight for social justice" and other "progressive" nonsense.

China is really thankful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Thank you Democrats for closing our schools for a year and a half, banning SAT in uni admissions, lowering academic standards everyone to "fight for social justice" and other "progressive" nonsense.

China is really thankful.

Great. Another person who can’t read an article.

[Anonymous]

Starts at home, well before school. Parents either invest the time or they don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid tests highly but does not independently read anything and it feels like a test case of “when will this turn into a problem?”

Lots of kids like this today. Very smart but haven’t developed sustained attention skills. We have to do something about it. In our house we’ve started tech free times and everyone reads for pleasure again.

[Anonymous]

Their parents aren't reading and can't write.

Our public ES in 3rd grade had parent volunteers to help students with writing 4 days a week. I volunteered several times with students and a few times when I pointed out grammatical errors, they would protest it was correct: "Susie's mom told me to do that." It was stunning.

The number of American adults who read a single book in a year is heartbreaking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Starts at home, well before school. Parents either invest the time or they don't.

Agree with this. If your kid is not an independent and eager reader by 3rd grade it’s a parenting issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Their parents aren't reading and can't write.

Our public ES in 3rd grade had parent volunteers to help students with writing 4 days a week. I volunteered several times with students and a few times when I pointed out grammatical errors, they would protest it was correct: "Susie's mom told me to do that." It was stunning.

The number of American adults who read a single book in a year is heartbreaking.

This. Many adults aren't reading. Many adults aren't writing. Adults doomscroll. Adults text. People used to read the paper. People used to write letters to each other. Nope.

What has happened in schools the last couple of decades is not good. But taxpayers have put pressure on schools to fail fewer kids, while communities are failing the kids in their own right. Kids are only at school 33% of their wakeful hours.

And that's if they go every day...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Their parents aren't reading and can't write.

Our public ES in 3rd grade had parent volunteers to help students with writing 4 days a week. I volunteered several times with students and a few times when I pointed out grammatical errors, they would protest it was correct: "Susie's mom told me to do that." It was stunning.

The number of American adults who read a single book in a year is heartbreaking.

This. Many adults aren't reading. Many adults aren't writing. Adults doomscroll. Adults text. People used to read the paper. People used to write letters to each other. Nope.

What has happened in schools the last couple of decades is not good. But taxpayers have put pressure on schools to fail fewer kids, while communities are failing the kids in their own right. Kids are only at school 33% of their wakeful hours.

And that's if they go every day...

Exactly. If adults can’t stop doomscrolling long enough to read substantive material, how do they expect children to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Starts at home, well before school. Parents either invest the time or they don't.

Agree with this. If your kid is not an independent and eager reader by 3rd grade it’s a parenting issue.

I mean this just isn’t true. Independent reader— sure, if no learning disabilities. But some people will never love reading. My parents heavily encouraged reading, but I definitely wasn’t “eager” to read until waaaay past third grade.

[Anonymous]

I was an avid reader but I prefer audiobooks. Wonder if that matters.

Agree re: attention spans.