Why Kids Don't Read

More than half a century ago, Rudolph Flesch published his classic study on student literacy called Why Johnny Can't Read - And What You Can Do About It. During the past fifty-some years, Flesch's book has been reprinted numerous times, and guess what? Johnny still can't read - or at least he does not read very much. The same can be said for Jane and most other school age kids.

This decline in reading and general literacy is, by far and away, the most disturbing trend I have noticed during my many years as a classroom teacher. Indeed, this generation of school children may be the first in our history to actually read less than their parents!

The long-term implications for such a trend are truly scary. Students who demonstrate poor reading habits are less likely to be informed citizens and productive members of society. Our nation's economic productivity and political viability are both likely to suffer if this trend continues - and there is every indication that it will. In other words, reading is vital to our nation's security and our future as a free people!

With these thoughts in mind, I asked my students this week to think about their own reading habits and then, as a warm-up activity, write about the possible reasons why kids do not read. Their answers were quite illuminating and generally consistent with other more scientific studies that have been done on kids and reading.

Many students complained that they simply do not have time to read. "If I had the time, one student wrote, "I would read more often." Another student admitted, "I should probably read more often but I often find that I don't have the time or the energy to do so."

Some students pointed to their involvement in other activities such as sports which makes it difficult for them to find time to read. "If you play a sport," one student observed, "it takes up a lot of time and there is not much time left for reading."

Other students cited the impact of new technologies such as the internet and video games. "Kids don't read because they would rather spend their time playing video games or hanging out with their friends," one student wrote. Another student explained, "Kids don't read today because they have TV and computers and video games instead. I don't think you can really do anything to help this problem. It's irreversible. Kids don't get excited about books anymore. They get excited about "Halo" and "Call of Duty."

Significantly, many students said that the books they have been assigned to read in school have actually diminished their interest in reading. One student said that she does not read because "English class has butchered the fun in reading." Another student agreed. "Honestly some of the books we read in English are so lame. I understand they're classics, but give us something we can relate to and we'll read it." Another was more blunt, "I read...Just not the boring crap school teachers make me read."

Some students pointed to the role of parents in encouraging reading at home. "It's up to the parents to push their children to read," wrote one student. Another said much the same thing. "Kids don't read because their parents don't make them. If parents were more involved with them, they would get used to reading all the time."

Several students pointed to websites like "Sparknotes" that makes it possible for them to get good grades in English without having to read the book. "Websites like Sparknotes," admitted one student, "make it so students can complete work without opening the book." Another speculated on what life would be like without Sparknotes. "If Sparknotes was gone more kids would have to read and maybe actually like it."

Still others cited the "coolness factor" as the reason why students don't read. "They think it makes them nerds," said one girl. Another student wrote, "Someone put in their minds when they were little that reading was not cool and boring."

Some students pointed out that popular series novels such as Twilight and Harry Potter can help interest kids in reading. "I used to absolutely hate reading," wrote one girl, "but ever since Twilight came out I read every night." But she also admitted that, "I still hate reading books for school because they're so boring."

Several male students argued for more books about sports as well as science fiction and "action books." Several said they had read Dan Brown's latest novel, The Lost Symbol, and one boy even had the book in class and was reading it - unassigned! One boy who loves science fiction wrote, "I love reading except that horrid junk we read in English."

So clearly, the handwriting is on the wall here. If we want students to read - and I think we all do - we need to encourage them to read books that interest them and that speak to their own life experiences. Yes, they should read the "classics," but let's let them read books that they can relate to as well.

Or as one student said, "If we were allowed to pick a series or genre that we enjoy, we would probably read a lot more."

And isn't that what it's all about?