Submitted 1 year ago by thehatfox@lemmy.world to unitedkingdom@feddit.uk
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/sep/04/half-of-uk-children-do-not-read-in-spare-time
It’s not surprising. Reading for pleasure was phased out of schools a long time ago and replaced by “Literacy” and Accelerated Reader where kids are tested on the books they read and have to finish them as fast as they can.
We have a neo-liberal school curriculum in the UK that only sees reading as a function of employment or cultural indoctrination (in the case of the statutory requirement to teach Shakespeare and that no non-UK writers are allowed to be studied at GCSE).
Not sure about that last bit, Of Mice and Men is a pretty standard GCSE text and it’s written by an American
Here’s a a report fron 2014 about it:
Here’s a a report fron 2014 about it:
As an ex-English teacher I can assure you that’s the case. It changed in the 2016 reforms (when, among other things grades turned into numbers). It’s the same for To Kill a Mockingbird, another much-taught US text.
Some schools use Of Mice and Men as class readers in Year 8 and 9.
In elementary school we weren’t even allowed to check out books from the library if the teacher didn’t think we could pass the AR test because it would lower the class average.
I’ve witnessed children forced to read three or four thin “books” in an Accelerated Reader lesson so they can be tested 3-4 times to improve their “data” / test results.
I’m HIGHLY sceptical about the quality of the data the tests produce (reading ages and some sort of AR “progress”).
The whole idea of ACCELERATING reading of books is just repulsive and wrong. Some children (and adults) get more out of a book by simply reading at their own pace and enjoying it.
They only looking at books? Lots of reading in many video games.
Not the same thing?
Someone hasn’t read the Lusty Argonian Maid.
Depends. If they’re playing FIFA and they’re just reading stats and figures for maxing their team, probably not. If they’re playing a 59 hour JRPG telling a story though text, then it’s more similar.
READING IS READING!
Most adults don’t read in their spare time.
I’m one of them and it sucks.
I used to read more but lately I just can’t focus on a book or dedicate the time.
I do a lot more audiobooks or learning podcasts but that’s mainly so I can do something else at the same time.
I’m trying to actually spend more time reading articles rather than skim them.
If it's anything like it is here in the US... what fuckin' spare time? I mean, I remember having some when I was in grade school back in the 90s, but you look at kids nowadays and it looks like every waking second is scheduled, and what isn't ... is scheduled for homework. The fuck is left?
It depends how old they are. Kids in primary school at least have a decent amount of free time. School doesn’t start crazy early in the UK, and there’s not much homework when they’re young.
I remember my local library having reading challenges when I was younger. You’d fill out a little pamphlet with stickers for each book you finished. It was great fun! Do they still do similar things?
I think if my parents hadn’t taken me to the library I wouldn’t have been nearly as interested in reading.
I remember doing library reading challenges when I was a kid. A trip to the library and stopping at the chip shop on the way home used a be a weekly thing for me.
Sadly about 800 UK libraries have closed since 2010, so many children will no longer have access to a library. They may never have even used one at all.
My childhood experience was very similar - pop to the library and stop off at the café. The local library near me was a beautiful old rectory building covered in ivy and thankfully it’s still open.
It’s extremely sad to hear about the closures. Funding cuts can be so short-sighted…
Can’t speak to nationwide but the local (Leicestershire) Libraries definitely had something going on across the summer holidays in this vein.
When I was in elementary school in Germany there was a funny little mobile library. A truck with some shelves with books in it that directly drove to elementary schools and where kids could borrow books. They could give them back either the next time the mobile library showed up or at any libary directly.
It was not only comfortable, people were basically peer pressured in borrowing a book since everyone was doing it and it was kinda of an event when the mobile library arrived.
This is US-based unfortunately. But our libraries do Summer Reading Challenges. The one near me are based on hours read instead of books finished and have different tiers for age ranges, including adults. There are little prizes for different goals and it really drives engagement with reading for kids when school isn't in session.
They read the books that the schools makes them read, and just assume that all the other books are just as boring, bad, and waste of time.
I’m pretty sure that was true 30 years ago when I was in school.
Unless they’re using a screen reader everybody is reading all day long.
Far too busy gaming on taxpayer funded Playstations to read.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
More than half of children and young people do not enjoy reading in their free time, according to a survey from the National Literacy Trust (NLT).
The charity said reading enjoyment was lowest among disadvantaged children, and warned that the research should serve as a “wake-up call”.
Of the 64,066 children surveyed, 43% said they enjoyed reading in their free time – down 15 percentage points from a peak of about 58% in 2016.
The research also indicated that children are more likely to read if they have a quiet space, support from role models, and access to books that represent them.
She added: “We cannot let a generation of children lose out on the benefits that reading can bring” – benefits that include “inspiring the imagination, the comfort and escape of another world, and the very real and impactful literacy skills it supports”.
Simon urged authors, publishers, schools and families to work together to “make sure every child has the safe space and access to books to start them on their reading journey”.
The original article contains 414 words, the summary contains 174 words. Saved 58%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
jabjoe@feddit.uk 1 year ago
Schools should help by exposing kids to books the kids are likely to want to read. Which are not always works of literature.
StudioLE@programming.dev 1 year ago
The obsession with Shakespeare puts a lot of students off literature
riceandbeans161@discuss.tchncs.de 1 year ago
when shakespeare isn’t even fucking literature
dude was a PLAYWRIGHT
tenebrisnox@feddit.uk 1 year ago
Shakespeare is the ONLY author that has to be taught in schools by government directive. Everything else is at the discretion of exm boards and teachers.
BirdyBoogleBop@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 year ago
No idea why they don’t put that in drama class. You know so you can actually learn and perform the plays he wrote.
riceandbeans161@discuss.tchncs.de 1 year ago
exactly. Reading is a cheap and fun hobby. But you gotta find enjoyable books!
thehatfox@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Schools approach literature in such a stuffy and formal manner too, they would probably make even the most interesting books a chore.
We need to foster a better attitude towards reading, and that starts with letting kids enjoy the books they are reading.
jabjoe@feddit.uk 1 year ago
Exactly. Show them examples of lots of types of books. Include some types of SciFi and fantasy because that’s what a lot of enjoying reading. They always seem looked down on, but they shouldn’t be.
Neato@kbin.social 1 year ago
I can't think of many books my school had us read that I enjoyed even a little. I think it was grade school where we were reading The Great Gatsby and such. Compared to all of the books I read b/t classes on my known, they just weren't relevant or interesting.