After reading the second chapter of The Dumbest Generation, I went in search of how much high school students read for class in a given year. I know that personally, I would LOVE to read for pleasure, but I am too busy reading text for class and trying to give my eyes a break once in a while to be able to devour a delicious piece of fiction. But one would think that any reading in general would add reading skill and knowledge, so are high school and college students even reading out of necessity? I came across a blog by high school literature teachers. One entry was particularly interesting:
"I had a colleague who used to teach a novel a week in her AP Literature class - I asked her how the kids could possibly keep up with that pace. She told me that they were highly motivated. Then I asked her if she quizzed her students to see if they were really doing the reading. She then told me that the discussions and essays were enough to show that they were doing the reading. I finally convinced her to give a pop quiz. When she did - she discovered that not one student in her entire class had actually done the reading."
-Joseph Scotese
This struck a chord with me because I took an AP literature course my senior year of high school and was told by most of my peers that I was an over-achiever because I actually read the books we were assigned...spark notes was the "cool" and normal thing to do. Because I did not have time to read books of my choice, I instead squeezed every ounce of enjoyment I could out of Crime and Punishment and Paradise Lost (which I really did enjoy) that were assigned by the teacher. I am actually hearing the snickers even from my fellow Junior Seminar classmates to whom I am admitting this. I can also see how my teacher could have thought that we were all actually reading, because a select few of my classmates and I did most of the responding to his discussion questions.
I really want to disagree with Bauerlein that we are the dumbest generation. But I am wondering how much I and my fellow college classmates are really reading the books and articles we are assigned for class, much less for pleasure. Camille and I were discussing this chapter before I started this blog and would like to propose an activity for the class.
This is our challenge to you, classmates: Record how many pages you were assigned to read in the past week, due last Monday through tomorrow (Monday). Then also record how many of the pages of each assignment you read in entirety. Separately, how many pages you "skimmed" and also separately, how many pages you took notes on while reading. In class we would like to discuss how much you feel you learn from reading assignments versus having lectures or discussions in class about the topics. Do you feel you could do well on a pop quiz on the readings for our Junior Seminar class?
Comments (3)
Sarah,
Oh man, AP American Literature. By senior year, especially second semester, doing any work at all (including reading) was something to be avoided. I had already found out about most of my colleges before second semester, and as long as I didn't fail everything, I was golden.
This kind of scenario sets almost anyone up to slack on reading. SparkNotes were king in my class... when a book was assigned that wasn't featured, there was uproar and a frantic search for another SparkNote-like site. While I didn't read at all, I still managed a 4 on my AP Lit exam, so I don't know what that says. As long as you can fake it, you're okay?
Since I didn't really do much schoolwork, what else did I do? I remember being extremely involved with photography and lacrosse, which took up much of my time. I spent 2-4 periods a day (out of 8) hanging out in the darkroom. Is pursuing the arts comparable to reading?
As far as reading in the last few days is concerned, I think I have a chapter assigned for my other Junior Sem (which I may or may not read), and I read the one for this class, along with rereading a 15-page study for my "Exploring the Field". I'm about to download an article for Photo which I'm supposed to read.
Hopefully that gave you a little insight...I'm interested to see how everyone else responds to your question!
Posted by Leslie | April 6, 2009 12:48 PM
Posted on April 6, 2009 12:48
Sarah,
I took an AP English class on American authors and we had to do these assignments called "author projects." It was basically a packet of questions about what we read and it was the only grades I received in the class...and I still didn't read all of the assigned poems and stories! Let alone do I remember specifics about many of them.
Relating to your blog, I wonder if students were actually assigned to read books that were of interest, if that would eliminate the lack "cheating." I know that I love to read for pleasure and if I am really into a book, I can read the entire thing in a matter of days.
Another idea for teachers could be to incorporate some mainstream books into their classes while also teaching the classics. I think this could rejuvenate the lack of enthusiasm for reading while also teaching the students something that might be relevant now instead of in the 1900s.
Posted by Brittany | April 6, 2009 7:02 PM
Posted on April 6, 2009 19:02
For the week from Monday to Monday, I count 235 pages. Of those, I read all 235 pages. I didn't just "skim" any of them, and I'd estimate that I probably took notes on about 90 to 100 pages. If you count highlighting portions of the text as taking notes, then the number would probably go up to around 150 pages.
I actually had my first experience of not having read the material for class last month. I had 200 pages of a book to read for my history class the same day that my annotated bibliography was due for this class. During that time I also had rehearsal for a solid four hours every night, so I was up until around 3 in the morning doing the annotated bibliography for several nights. On the night/morning that I finished it, I decided that staying up to read a biography of John Winthrop wouldn't be worth it.
I, too, Sarah, was one of those kids in my Honors English class in high school who read every page of every book we were given. I think part of it was that I knew that once I graduated high school I wouldn't have time to read for pleasure until I finished college. So, I too squeezed every drop of enjoyment out of Orwell, Shakespeare, Salinger, and all those lovely people.
You can all feel free to beat me up at recess today.
Posted by Dan | April 7, 2009 10:12 AM
Posted on April 7, 2009 10:12