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Post by Carl LaFong on Feb 29, 2020 20:10:14 GMT
www.theguardian.com/education/2020/feb/29/children-reading-less-says-new-researchChildren today read less frequently than any previous generation and enjoy reading less than young people did in the past, according to new research. The work, to be published by the National Literacy Trust in the run-up to World Book Day on Thursday, shows that in 2019 just 26% of under-18s spent some time each day reading. This is the lowest daily level recorded since the charity first surveyed children’s reading habits in 2005. It also found that fewer children enjoy reading, and that this dwindled with age: nearly twice as many five to eight-year-olds as 14 to 16-year-olds said they took pleasure from reading. Overall, just 53% of children said they enjoyed reading “very much” or “quite a lot” – the lowest level since 2013. The poet and former children’s laureate Michael Rosen said the findings should act as a wake-up call for the government. “We have countless examples of research showing that children who read for pleasure widely and often are best able to benefit from what education offers. Berating parents, children or teachers for ‘failing’ will solve nothing. It [improving reading levels] needs full government backing, with as much money and effort as they put into compulsory phonics teaching, to support schools and communities in this.” The survey found a marked gender divide when it comes to reading for pleasure: less than half (47%) of boys were keen readers, compared with 60% of girls. A third of children surveyed reported being unable to find things to read that interested them. World Book Day, a charity event held annually in the UK and Ireland, will this year call on readers of all ages to “share a million stories” by reading aloud or listening to a story for at least 10 minutes a day with friends and family. World Book Day chief executive Cassie Chadderton said this activity can turn a reluctant reader into a child who reads for pleasure.
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Post by Jep Gambardella on Feb 29, 2020 21:25:53 GMT
Some time ago my ten-year old niece said that her father (my brother) is very stingy except when it comes to books. According to her, he never buys her the things she wants unless it's a book - any book she asks for, she gets.
I am happy to see that he is making the effort to get her interested in reading. Surely beats watching videos all the time.
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Post by RiP, IMDb on Feb 29, 2020 23:32:25 GMT
theguardian.com/education/2020/feb/29/children-reading-less-says-new-research
Children today read less frequently than any previous generation and enjoy reading less than young people did in the past, according to new research.
The work, to be published by the National Literacy Trust in the run-up to World Book Day on Thursday, shows that in 2019 just 26% of under-18s spent some time each day reading. This is the lowest daily level recorded since the charity first surveyed children’s reading habits in 2005.
It also found that fewer children enjoy reading, and that this dwindled with age: nearly twice as many five to eight-year-olds as 14 to 16-year-olds said they took pleasure from reading. Overall, just 53% of children said they enjoyed reading “very much” or “quite a lot” – the lowest level since 2013.
The poet and former children’s laureate Michael Rosen said the findings should act as a wake-up call for the government. “We have countless examples of research showing that children who read for pleasure widely and often are best able to benefit from what education offers. Berating parents, children or teachers for ‘failing’ will solve nothing. It [improving reading levels] needs full government backing, with as much money and effort as they put into compulsory phonics teaching, to support schools and communities in this.”
The survey found a marked gender divide when it comes to reading for pleasure: less than half (47%) of boys were keen readers, compared with 60% of girls. A third of children surveyed reported being unable to find things to read that interested them.
World Book Day, a charity event held annually in the UK and Ireland, will this year call on readers of all ages to “share a million stories” by reading aloud or listening to a story for at least 10 minutes a day with friends and family.
World Book Day chief executive Cassie Chadderton said this activity can turn a reluctant reader into a child who reads for pleasure. I've been reading less since the 1990s. I used to read a LOT more back during in the 70s and 80s.
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Post by politicidal on Feb 29, 2020 23:55:22 GMT
That's just a shame.
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mmexis
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Post by mmexis on Mar 1, 2020 3:50:14 GMT
I would like to know how this study measured reading. And what they considered reading. I agree that reading a "traditional" book may, in fact, be down. However, children read and write all the time if we factor in texting and the reading of same. Also, much educational material is now being provided electronically and students are reading off screens rather than paper. Many students dislike this as it bothers their eyes and gives them headaches.
In this climate where costs are being cut and more and more things are put up on the cloud and transmitted electronically in order to save the cost of paper, this is what happens. As well, many teachers are curriculum driven and so something as simple as setting aside 15 minutes per day in the classroom for "pleasure" reading has gone by the wayside. Simply giving students 15 minutes a day to read in class and providing a w-i-d-e range of materials to read (magazines, Guinness book of world records, manga - for example) will engage students more since they are free to read what interests them and what they want. The study DID say that they don't "enjoy" reading - in my English classes students read ISN (independent study novels) and we also do literature circles where students choose a book to read and discuss as a group. I haven't done a core/class novel in years.
In order to get the percentage up, students need to be given the chance to read during the school day. They need to be given a choice in what they read. Teachers need to lighten up on what they read - especially if they are reading for pleasure and the desire is to take pleasure in what they read.
Rant over.
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Post by RiP, IMDb on Mar 1, 2020 8:27:18 GMT
AGREED!! I SHOULD read MORE!
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Bargle
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Post by Bargle on Mar 1, 2020 11:54:00 GMT
My reading took a nosedive back in the late 90s when I first got internet. Now, it's back up where it used to be. Took a while for the 'new' to wear off the 'net.
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Post by theravenking on Mar 1, 2020 15:54:27 GMT
Sadly this is old news. Ever since I can remember researches have been indicating this trend. It was already like this back in the 80s and 90s when I went to school.
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Post by sadsaak on Mar 1, 2020 20:42:08 GMT
"The poet and former children’s laureate Michael Rosen said the findings should act as a wake-up call for the government. “
Or a wake up call to authors to write books kids want to read. Books in school libraries are usually bought by school Librarians and the heads of the English Departments who select the books they think their pupils should read. Children are rarely involved in the selection process.
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Post by OldSamVimes on Mar 2, 2020 9:51:32 GMT
They needed to do research to figure that out?
Most kids these days are biological extensions of their technology.
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Post by Zos on Mar 2, 2020 11:28:03 GMT
It's a low attention bite size world since the advent of Social media which I fear will go down as one of the most damaging "inventions" ever.
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mmexis
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Post by mmexis on Mar 3, 2020 3:36:28 GMT
"The poet and former children’s laureate Michael Rosen said the findings should act as a wake-up call for the government. “ Or a wake up call to authors to write books kids want to read. Books in school libraries are usually bought by school Librarians and the heads of the English Departments who select the books they think their pupils should read. Children are rarely involved in the selection process. I have a clipboard that students put their recommendations on and I buy (very usually) what they ask for. Also, and unfortunately, they want to read anything that becomes a movie. So, jump onto IMDB upcoming releases and take a gander. On the "martinet" side, I also purchase books that are needed and that reflect Canada since that is my personal mandate. And I also avoid buying multiples of "movie books" since the interest dies as soon as the movie does. Case in point, I have 3 copies of Crazy Rich Asians. One is going to go quite soon. But I agree with you, and as I mentioned previously, children/students need to be allowed to choose what to read - especially if the goal is to read for pleasure. They need to be given space during the school day to read. start the day with reading.... or just after lunch.... they'll resist at first but then will settle down and come to enjoy it. As someone on a selection committee of a reading program, there is an awful lot of dreck being published in an attempt to 'please' kids.
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Post by novastar6 on Mar 6, 2020 3:34:27 GMT
"The poet and former children’s laureate Michael Rosen said the findings should act as a wake-up call for the government. “ Or a wake up call to authors to write books kids want to read. Books in school libraries are usually bought by school Librarians and the heads of the English Departments who select the books they think their pupils should read. Children are rarely involved in the selection process. As someone on a selection committee of a reading program, there is an awful lot of dreck being published in an attempt to 'please' kids.
Same with movies, family movies of the 90s worked for kids and adults whereas most 'family' ie: kids movies today insult the intelligence of anybody over 2 years old.
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Post by Morgana on Mar 7, 2020 8:04:26 GMT
It is sad but I think a lot of the problem lies with their parents. How many of them read to their children? Reading to children can get them to love books. How many of them give them a phone so they won't be bothered by them?
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Post by novastar6 on Mar 7, 2020 14:29:03 GMT
It is sad but I think a lot of the problem lies with their parents. How many of them read to their children? Reading to children can get them to love books. How many of them give them a phone so they won't be bothered by them?
Too damn many, and it's nothing really new. When I was a kid, my mom gave my brother and I paper and pencils to draw with when we were bored, and with that we also learned how to write, how to do math, etc., so we were constantly stimulated by a pad of paper and a pencil, which in part I guess was to compensate for the fact we didn't have a whole lot of books past the 'I can read' stage. The kid who lived across the street from us, his mom bought him every video game starting when he was about 3 years old, and this is early 90s, so these would've been the Sega/Nintendo games, and surprise surprise when it was time for him to start preschool and learn how to read and write, he wouldn't do it because it was boring, it wasn't fun and bright and colorful and noisy like the video games so he simply wouldn't do it and would throw a tantrum until he could play his video games again. No surprise he fell behind twice in school and never read unless my mom and I were tutoring him.
The thing is in the 90s, everybody knew video games weren't educational, today they market all this crap that 'oh it'll help them learn, it'll help them catch up, etc' no it doesn't, it's more of the same except on a phone or an iPad, the possibilities for them to be distracted are limitless and it still doesn't help them learn how to adapt to reading printed words on paper.
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mmexis
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Post by mmexis on Mar 9, 2020 4:42:54 GMT
It is sad but I think a lot of the problem lies with their parents. How many of them read to their children? Reading to children can get them to love books. How many of them give them a phone so they won't be bothered by them? In older days, they used to plonk them in front of the tv. Or send them outside to play (had benefits, sure) so that "they won't be bothered by them".
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Post by novastar6 on Mar 9, 2020 6:19:34 GMT
It is sad but I think a lot of the problem lies with their parents. How many of them read to their children? Reading to children can get them to love books. How many of them give them a phone so they won't be bothered by them? In older days, they used to plonk them in front of the tv. Or send them outside to play (had benefits, sure) so that "they won't be bothered by them".
Still different, TV was vastly limited by comparison, especially comparing the whole internet and social media today, to our parents' time when TV had THREE channels, AND it went off at night and didn't come back on until the morning, unlike the kids who don't sleep because they're on their phones all night. I find it disturbing I'm about the only person bothered by the fact they're advertising melatonin supplements for kids because *that's* easier than *not* letting them be on their smartphone all day and night.
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Post by jackspicer on Mar 24, 2020 19:36:28 GMT
I'm not bothered by this. Why should books be considered more legitimate than watching TV, movies, documentaries, or playing video games? They're just another form of entertainment.
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Post by jackspicer on Mar 24, 2020 19:52:01 GMT
In order to get the percentage up, students need to be given the chance to read during the school day. They need to be given a choice in what they read. Teachers need to lighten up on what they read - especially if they are reading for pleasure and the desire is to take pleasure in what they read. Rant over. Good rant. The assigned readings that I had in school were so agonizingly dull that I associated books with boredom for decades.
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Post by OldSamVimes on Mar 24, 2020 22:55:22 GMT
Most kids these days are little more than biological extensions of their technology.
They'll take Fridays off to save the environment (who wouldn't?), but they wouldn't put their phones and iPads down every Friday for ANYTHING.
A bunch of little hypocrites who are blissfully unaware of the negative environmental impact of the lie that 'everyone needs a phone'.
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