Been reading on literacy and it's diminishing return, what our country was once was:
"In the 1820s, Alexis de Tocqueville toured the United States and discovered an "ever-increasing crowd of readers." Indeed, he remarked, "There is hardly a pioneer's hut that does not contain a few odd volumes of Shakespeare." America was a poorer, more primitive and less powerful nation then; yet what he observed was a nation of readers.
"If we let literary reading slacken now, we risk losing the perspective that allowed our forebears to envision a better world for their children. This is a vast cultural condition, and solutions must come from educators, politicians, foundations and businesses. Literary reading is too important for this nation to abandon, and it is indeed at risk." Mark Bauerlein, from following link:
Just reading some of the blogs posted from teens around the country seems to emphasize adolescent vs. adult skills. The students today may be able to multitask without effort, and are savvy about today's gadgets and current technologies - but much of the content seems to be so horizontally focused. They read and post for their friends - with all the limited vocabulary and slang that will ensure their societal standing - yet I'm hopeful that some will seek a depth beyond the level of user-generated content of their peers.
Yes, teens are horizontally focused. Even with techonology abound, the truth about human development and the stages we go through remain constant (Psychology was my first major). There writing, therefore will reflect that. I know there are always exceptions to the norm; but living with my teenage children, and having one of them emerge into a larger realitly of life in college and living independently, his willingness to step back and evaluate, assess and discourse is much heigtened. Thus, his writing and coversing more complex and insightful. I am beginning to value the notion that at least they are writing and sharing ideas, however limited versus avoiding writing all together. The more I research this blogging "thing" via way of all of our class links and my own discoveries the more I see the power and potential it offers. It kind of excites me.
ReplyDeleteGood article-thank you for sharing. I taught academic literacy for one year (9th graders). I was happily surprised to see how many of my students' chose to read and were up on all the teen novels ( I learned a lot). I hope their love of leaning follows them through life. But they enjoyed reading when the reading material was their choice. It gets a little difficulty to persuade them in the lit. classes but starting early (in life) I think is the key.
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