The official site of the Torch, the student-run newspaper at Glenbrook North High School.

Torch

The official site of the Torch, the student-run newspaper at Glenbrook North High School.

Torch

The official site of the Torch, the student-run newspaper at Glenbrook North High School.

Torch

Study shows decline in teens reading for pleasure

 

English teacher Kerry Galson encourages reading outside of school by writing titles of books on the board. Not all English classes require students to read for pleasure. Photo Illustration by Gabe Weininger

When English teacher Kerry Galson is engaged in a book, she often finds herself volunteering to take her kids to dentist appointments so she can sit in the waiting room and read.

“I get really excited to go to bed at night [and read],” said Galson. “When I get into a book, that’s all I do.”

Reading an average of one hour a day, Galson said she has tried to encourage her students to read outside of school. She used to have class reading time and book reviews, but it was not a “super successful” use of class time because students would forget to bring books. Now Galson writes titles on the board and mentions books to the class in  hopes her students will read.

A report called “Children, Teens, and Reading” released by Common Sense Media, a non-profit organization, asked parents to measure the amount of time students spent per week reading books that were unassociated with schoolwork. The percentage of 13-year-olds who read weekly dropped from 70 percent in 1984 to 54 percent in 2014. The research also reveals that the percentage of 17-year-olds who read dropped from 64 percent in 1984 to 40 percent in 2014, and the number of 17-year-olds who never pick up a book outside of school tripled from 9 percent in 1984 to 27 percent in 2014.

Junior Leah Sternberg said she reads for fun because most of the time the books in the curriculum do not have “happy endings.” She said she reads three nights a week, but she does not know any students that read outside of school.

Reading specialist Amy Goldsmith said when students pick books to read outside of school, the books usually relate to students’ own lives. Literature chosen for the curriculum [open] students up to new worlds, Goldsmith said.

“If students aren’t making decisions to read on their own, their only experiences are very [academically] challenging,” said Goldsmith. “Students need balanced reading experiences…for recreation and for academic experience.”

Goldsmith said she is not surprised by the decline in reading because of the “amount of technology and distraction” surrounding students. Most of what people read is information online about friends or family by using instant communication sources.

Similar to Goldsmith, Galson said teenagers are still reading, but in a different form than what students used to read a few generations ago.

“I think kids are reading probably just as many words as they ever were, but I don’t know those words are coming in the form of books or novels,” said Galson. “They’re reading lots of Tumblr, Twitter [and] Facebook.”

According to Goldsmith, reading outside of school can “absolutely” improve school performance. She said students who read for fun can increase their reading comprehension and their ability to analyze a text in the curriculum.

However, Goldsmith suggests that there needs to be a “partnership between parents and teachers” to encourage reading. She said she would encourage teachers to create opportunities for students to read at home, but parents also have to inspire their children to read.

“I think that the requirement takes some of that freedom of fun out of the equation,” said Goldsmith. “We can encourage certain habits and hope [students are] reading, but I think the parents should also take over.”

Even though Galson said reading “is her thing,” she understands people may have other passions outside of school.

“I’m willing to accept that there [is] a portion of people who would have that reading time better spent creating music [or] building something in a woodshop,” said Galson. “I don’t want school to encroach on kids anymore than it already has.”