ORIGINALLY WRITTEN in 2019.
My observations and comments made in this 2019, previously-unpublished article have not changed. I post this out of curiosity and because -apologies to Led Zeppelin- the story remains the same.
Yeah, so, it's a bold title. If nothing else, I've drawn the attention of the NSA. Sorry fellas, I'm up to good with this posting. Promise.
The last blog I posted, some two and a half years ago, noted a concerning pattern in my school- the sharp decline in books checked out of our school library. The numbers painted a picture of students who were losing interest in reading, either from print or digital sources. Books were and are on the decline.
I wondered then what may been the cause for this and boiled it down to the introduction of iPads and other electronics devices into our students' collective world. Students appeared to no longer be interested in going deep with the printed word. The experience of checking out a book on their iPad was the one they took glee in; not actually reading it. Just checking out it to their iPads.
Regrettably, I am unable to write that this has changed. This year, I'm seeing the fallout from the Digital Device Bomb set off years ago. Allow me a small aside, a small jaunt down memory lane.
I remember when the very notion of anyone who was not an adult owning a phone was considered strange and even off-putting. Kids don't need phones. Who are they going to call? Kids should be outside, playing. It didn't take long for the phone industry -and it is an industry, a rampaging one no less- to penetrate the teen population. Once that threshold was conquered (honestly, there was no need to conquer, people unthinkingly rolled over), they moved easily onto pre-teens and outright children. Children.
We've all seen the kid at the grocery store gnawing on a phone, the one who's teeth haven't fully grown and the phone just happens to make the best teething item around. We've seen the people who can walk blocks with their head down, scrolling, texting, ignoring the world about them. Many only discover the world when brushing hard against a stranger, getting a warning honk from a commuter, or walking straight into a posted sign. (I'll admit. Those makes for funny videos. People, and I am one, are really stupid creatures.) Phones is all hands and at all ages.
What have we done?
Though there is a growing amount of research that supports what I am about to share, I'll stick to my simple perspective as a teacher of reading.
The Digital Device bomb has robbed many children of their ability to think in the ways we agree children should be able to think. When I speak with anyone about a student being a good reader and writer I am essentially talking about how they are a capable, critical, reflective thinker. They can show stamina for reading, cull author intent, and use what they know to form their own understanding. It is a more complex process than my writing suggests, but it was one many students came somewhat able to do.
They hold a curiosity for what they've read and grasp that knowing how to think improves their sense of self and place in the world as it relates to the rest of us.
I am not seeing as much of this as I used to. Students are not as curious. They lack stamina for reading longer texts. (I cannot help but wonder how many adults who've found this blog have quit reading already. Or, possibly, just skimmed to this point.)
The last blog I posted, some two and a half years ago, noted a concerning pattern in my school- the sharp decline in books checked out of our school library. The numbers painted a picture of students who were losing interest in reading, either from print or digital sources. Books were and are on the decline.
I wondered then what may been the cause for this and boiled it down to the introduction of iPads and other electronics devices into our students' collective world. Students appeared to no longer be interested in going deep with the printed word. The experience of checking out a book on their iPad was the one they took glee in; not actually reading it. Just checking out it to their iPads.
Regrettably, I am unable to write that this has changed. This year, I'm seeing the fallout from the Digital Device Bomb set off years ago. Allow me a small aside, a small jaunt down memory lane.
I remember when the very notion of anyone who was not an adult owning a phone was considered strange and even off-putting. Kids don't need phones. Who are they going to call? Kids should be outside, playing. It didn't take long for the phone industry -and it is an industry, a rampaging one no less- to penetrate the teen population. Once that threshold was conquered (honestly, there was no need to conquer, people unthinkingly rolled over), they moved easily onto pre-teens and outright children. Children.
We've all seen the kid at the grocery store gnawing on a phone, the one who's teeth haven't fully grown and the phone just happens to make the best teething item around. We've seen the people who can walk blocks with their head down, scrolling, texting, ignoring the world about them. Many only discover the world when brushing hard against a stranger, getting a warning honk from a commuter, or walking straight into a posted sign. (I'll admit. Those makes for funny videos. People, and I am one, are really stupid creatures.) Phones is all hands and at all ages.
What have we done?
Though there is a growing amount of research that supports what I am about to share, I'll stick to my simple perspective as a teacher of reading.
The Digital Device bomb has robbed many children of their ability to think in the ways we agree children should be able to think. When I speak with anyone about a student being a good reader and writer I am essentially talking about how they are a capable, critical, reflective thinker. They can show stamina for reading, cull author intent, and use what they know to form their own understanding. It is a more complex process than my writing suggests, but it was one many students came somewhat able to do.
They hold a curiosity for what they've read and grasp that knowing how to think improves their sense of self and place in the world as it relates to the rest of us.
I am not seeing as much of this as I used to. Students are not as curious. They lack stamina for reading longer texts. (I cannot help but wonder how many adults who've found this blog have quit reading already. Or, possibly, just skimmed to this point.)
