https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/35644/why-dont-teens-read-for-pleasure-like-they-used-to
Reading these types of article reminds me of The Breakfast Club. Why? There is a particular scene where Principle Veron (played by Paul Gleason) is talking to the janitor Carl Reed (played by John Kapelos, but the part was originally offered to Rick Moranis. If I'm not mistaken). Veron asks something to the effect of "when did the kids change?" and Reed replies "The kids didn't change, you did." That scene, paraphrased, kept me going through 7 years of the classroom and when I changed, I got out. But.....I'm reminded of that scene when I read articles like this because again, the kids haven't changed, we did.
The age old battle of reading vs. TV is as old as humans. Cavedad and Cavemom complained that their Cavekid spent too much time drawing on the walls instead of hunting. "Back in my day, we hunted like men" Cavedad complains. "Back in your day you were chasing me." Cavemom retorts. See my point? It's just a new argument with a different bent. Kids have always been distracted from what we "adults" think they ought to be focused on.
And how do we librarians respond? I'm venturing the same toward the kiddos as we do the adults. "You're reading that??!? Why don't you read something classic?" We certainly, myself included, judge hard adults reading Nora Roberts and Stuart Wood. I personally have gone to great lengths to drive patrons towards other books. If we're being honest with ourselves as teachers, librarians, and adults, we're all probably guilty at some point or another of pushing something on a kid to read instead of another vampire love story. Though, in fairness, "the pickings are slim" for certain groups, but that is the topic of my next post. Besides, I read the classics as a kid. Faulkner, Hemingway, Twain, and tons of history. Granted I was reading, but could have been better off reading Tom Clancy, Stuart Wood, Ian Fleming or...DARE I SAY...JAMES PATTERSON? Who's to say?
We as librarians, teachers, parents, and adults around kids should remember kids are kids. If they're they're predisposed to read, they will. And if they want to read, we should let them read. Shove all kinds of books at them by the shovels full. If they don't read, have books in the house still. We can encourage, yes. Force, or coerce, no. They might take us up on the offer. Heap books on them at the same rate as a kid flying through the pages. What we really shouldn't do is push reading on kids.
Remember that kids have been kids since there were kids. We as the adults do have the benefit of hindsight but, it's always 20/20. Let the kid squander their free time as they will. Remember lots of people have picked up their passions early in life. Cameron Crowe was busy writing about The Guess Who at 15, and now we have Almost Famous. Were the Williams sisters being force fed Homer at 13? I don't think so. The trick is, to produce a reader, you as the adult have to allow it to happen, and encourage when it does. And it never hurts to lead by example
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