I think that after the last couple of weeks of class, it has become increasingly clear that students of the 21st Century need an incredible amount of skill in a vast array of areas, the most signifcant, in my opinion, is reading. (Of course, I'm going to say that!) Why reading? Without reading, the skills that need to occur, like technology literacy or interpersonal dialogue, cannot occur. I was just reading a study done that suggests that American boys are becoming more and more disconnected from the written word. The study compares American boys with Finnish boys, whose formal education does not begin until age 7 or 8. Yet, Finland consistently beats the US in both standardized test scores and student GPA and is near the top of the list every year, and a lot of the reason is attributed to the importance of reading among the entire population of Finland. Very few of my students read novels, or even newspapers and magazines, of their own choice. This, I think, is one of the most serious problems we have; not only is their little reading going on, there is little encouragement to even begin to read. When I asked my students how many of their homes have books openly displayed, over half the class responded no. Our kids are not seeing the importance of the written word and that could be the most crippling blow to our classroom in 2020.
Am I teaching to that need? I really hope so---I'm only on my third novel of the year, but we've done over 20 short stories and poems in class, but I firmly believe that it's quality, not quantity...by forcing, and I do mean forcing, the students to read the novel, I hope to get the value of the book across to them and force them to see the connection they can make from the book to their own lives. If that connection can be made, maybe we have a shot.
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Dan,
ReplyDeleteReading is very much key to education and future success. I do "reading across the disciplines" and have a difficult time convincing my young men (that are about to go off to college) the significance of all types of reading, both scientific and non-scientific. It has been a frustrating ride, particularly since they are required to do one paper every month - "Scientist of the Month" which requires reading an autobiography of a famous scientist. The resistance has been high. Statistically, my young men average a "C" at best on their monthly papers. It appears for some they never finish the book assiged. I too am trying to find a connection for them that would draw them into this committment. Then my personal life offered a key to this constantly locked door.
I have two sons and my youngest, although exposed to reading since infancy, is highly athletic and never found purpose in "reading a book". It has been a struggle until this year. I decided to monitor his interests and find books that he might be able to relate to. Since he loved baseball, I started there but failed. He prefered to play the game. His brother introduced him to a video game based on history - WWII. He was fascinated by the events of this time period - I found my link. An age appropriate series - Dear America - drew him into reading. Today he is an avid reader and we read together every night.
This experience allowed me to try to find a connection to reading for my students. I have the luxury in science not to have a curriculum that dictates specific reading assignments. I offered during this second semester students the choice to read and write about a scientist whose work and life they found interesting. In addition, I told them to find a book that would to read that is not about a scientist per se but discuss the physical principles in the story. One young man is reading Harry Potter and identifying and researching the possibility of "the invisibility cloak" for his paper. Another is reading Steven Hawking's "The universe in a nutshell". It is not about the life and times of Kepler but it is applicable to physics.