Why do you think there is a decrease in levels of reading?

Question

For example, do you blame it on TV? Parents? School? Teachers? Homework?

There is a major decrease in reading... and I just want to know what caused it- what are the causes?

Answer 1

In the 70's you had TV which you sat in front of and watched but did not interact with except to change the channel. So kids read books because there was a slower pace to life.

In the 80's the Video Game drew kids because of physical action, sound and colors. Behold the Video arcade at the mall sprang up. So now kids are out of the house and interacting with other kids at the mall.

Today's parents are very action oriented there is always some where to go (meetings, work, gym, out to dinner) and the kids grow up doing things (dance lesson, softball, basketball, etc..) they just don't sit at home and more. Kids now also mature faster because they are exposed to much more of an adult world, they learn about stock market at age 8 not 18.

The fast pace of life does not allow adults and children 1 hr or more to just sit and read. You are lucky if you can read 1/4 of magazine article in the doctor's office the way the push people through anymore. I remember taking books as child the to doctor's office because it was going to be a long wait. My mother would often finish 1/2 book there.

.

Answer 2

I think that the reason reading levels are decreasing has mutiple causes. I really do not even believe that it is a chain of events, but a phenomenon that has arisen based on our culture.

Initially, I think that kids are impatient. They are used to fast food, movies on demand (be it via a dvd, vhs tape, pay per view, etc) and TV shows in which the ending comes in 30 mintues to an hour. Instant gratification is what they are used to and a book takes too long to get to the end.

Second, books have no special effects. Popular movies and TV shows are so realistic that a book or a story cannot compete when it comes to creating suspense.

Third, I think teachers need to realize that kids don't like Moby Dick and The Great Gatsby. If we want kids to read we need to assign high interest boooks. Children's and Young Adult literature are booming genres and in order for students to want to read. they have to like the subject matter. They don't care about classics and when these are assigned they think they hate to read. I know that when I began letting them choose the books to read, they began to read. Before when I assigned the "classics" they would read the 1st chapter, hate it, and take the "F" for the book.

Fourth, the stories in Reading books are boring and to kids, STUPID. If a student's only experience with reading are stuoid stories, they think reading is stupid and won't try. We need textbook companies to get more high interest short stories to be put into textbooks, also. Stories should be pattered after popular TV shows that appeal to children. The stories can be high interest and teach lessons as well.

Lastly, we need to teach students the structure of a book and allow them choice. When my students choose a book I tell them to get to chapter 3. Most books are mostly exposition (introducing the setting, characters, etc.) and can be boring to our instant gratification trained children, but by chapter 3 the exposition is over and the action of the book has begun. If they are allowed choice and they don't like the book, get another one. It is OK to abandon a book.

This is my opinion based on 10 years of teaching 9th graders.

Answer 3

Increase in TV/Films etc and parents who don't teach their children thinking it is only schools who can teach. When I was young we had no TV in the house and listened to the radio or read a book. Apparently I was reading (simple stuff) before I was three years old. My older brothers used to read to me and would move my finger along from one word to the other as they read. Then they would get me to read along with them and I soon came to recognise the words. Unfortunately when I went to school at 5 yrs I could read fluently and spent the first two years at school bored out of my skull because I had to sit through lessons where most of the class could not read and went for "The cat sat on the mat." Asa result I read lots at home but lost touch with school. I went back to college in my forties and now have a BA Honours degree. Reading is the best.

Answer 4

Drug use by the parents cause reading difficulties. The main decrease in reading levels usually is caused by a decrease in time spent in reading. Parents are to read aloud to children and encourage them to read but parents don't take the time because they are busy doing other things.

Answer 5

1. The way reading is "taught" is failing students. Kids ought to be taught phonetics first and word roots and spelling. If reading was a pleasure instead of so much guessing and work for kids they would read more.
2. Television and Video Games and Movies and such make it where young folks dont necessarily HAVE to read to be entertained anymore. They really literally don't know what they are missing!

Answer 6

It's possible to spend plenty of time and money searching for methods to show your kids how to see and boost their examining skills. Is difficult to teach a tiny kid how to learn, and even attractive them to see is difficult in itself. However it doesn't need to be this way since you got the aid of this system https://tr.im/cGnpS , Children Learning Reading program.
With Children Learning Reading you may train your youngster how to split up sounds and separate phrases in to phonemes, a vital point when your child is simply learning to spell.
The studying program from Children Learning Reading program makes it easy for children to see rapidly and effectively, from easy words to sentences until they learn to learn stories.

Answer 7

Kids dont read anymore. All they do is listen to Ipod, talk on cell phones, and chat on the computer. They dont even spell all the words when they chat.