Why Johnny can't — or won’t — read
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I won’t put up a lot of words on this post for fear of offending limited attention spans, but I am linking to a number of articles on the subject, if you’re curious about the phenomenon.
Gen Z students unable to read a sentence, Pepperdine professor says
The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books
Not-so-great expectations: Students are reading fewer books in English class
In many English classrooms across America, assignments to read full-length novels are becoming less common. Some teachers focus instead on selected passages — a concession to perceptions of shorter attention spans, pressure to prepare for standardized tests and a sense that short-form content will prepare students for the modern, digital world.
The National Council of Teachers of English acknowledged the shift in a 2022 statement on media education, saying: “The time has come to decenter book reading and essay-writing as the pinnacles of English language arts education.”