As Reading Skills Fade...

As Reading Skills Fade

As and how my experience in teaching grows, my struggle with teaching reading grows too. Every year I wish for at least about five students in my class who love to read and challenge themselves. But every year, the number of readers is decreasing. And along with the number of readers, the number of thinkers and problem solvers is also falling. Yes, there reading skills are directly proportional to problem solving skills.

Many parents treat math and language separately. They are very happy to see high math grade, and not enough attention is paid to falling reading grade. In primary grades, it may not matter that much as the students are learning basic concepts and computation in math. The moment the students enter junior school, where they are expected to apply the skills and concepts learnt, the struggle begins. This is my sixth year teaching junior school, and in my experience, students rush to solve the math problems, many times without even reading the given problem. I have compared results of the tests when I have read the problems aloud, and when I just projected it on the board vs handing a sheet of paper or text book; they perform better when I read it. But for how long will teachers keep reading aloud the problems? Why can't the students read and understand the problems themselves? The answer is simple...most of them just don't want to read. They are not used to it. 

Hardly any families have a designated reading time. I came to this conclusion after years of interviews with parents. The love for books is fading fast because not many parents read. The screen time is increasing substantially for parents and kids. The children are given tablets and laptops to keep them busy from a very early age. Words don't interest them as they don't have time for imagination. Imaginary worlds are created for them in the games they play. Watching a movie is preferred to reading a book. The younger generation wants instant gratification; they want to know what happened and how the story ended instead of imagining the setting and characters via descriptions of the writer, transporting into that imaginary world and be a part of it for days, thinking about character motivation and hoping for a happy ending until the last chapter of the book, or imagining how the ending could have been different...if only! 

Travelling in a subway, though not a frequent experience for me, I have seen only one teenager reading a book. Very few can be spotted reading on their phones. Rest are usually staring into oblivion or their screens with their ears plugged.

What makes me sad is my fear that along with reading, imagination will fade, and with imagination innovation will fade. I hope my fears are baseless. But students used to come programmed with empathy and kindness. I didn't have to spend so much time in the classroom inculcating basic values. They used to learn it by reading, and spending time with their families instead of gadgets. Don't wrong, I am not anti-technology; I am specialist in integrating technology in classroom. But I am worried about fading reading skills that are the foundation of learning every other subject.

Some facts to support my worrying can be found in the following reading materials:

• Reading and Math: What Is the Connection?
• Mathematics is differentially related to reading comprehension and word decoding: Evidence from a genetically-sensitive design
• Canada Slipping n Math Science and Reading Skills