A-Literate or E-Literate? That Is The Question!
In Chapter 2 of The Dumbest Generation, Mark Bauerlein postulates that today’s youth is a-literate and proud of it. He defines a-literacy as “knowing how to read, but choosing not to” (Bauerlein 40, 2008). He cites a series of series of studies and surveys, among them Reading At Risk (A National Endowment for the Arts study, 2004) and American Time Use surveys that show reading for pleasure has declined significantly among young adults over the last two to three decades.
While today’s youth enjoys more than five hours of free time a day, they are devoting only on average 8 minutes a day to reading activities of any kind (Bauerlein 49, 2008). This lack of reading motivation is affecting standardized test scores adversely (see NAEP Trends mentioned on pg. 51). It is also having an impact on college campuses and in the workplace where there has been an increased need for remedial reading and writing coursework.
Today’s youth and their supporters seem unfazed and defiant by this data and tout their e-literacy skills as more important than book learning. MacArthur Foundation President Jonathan Fanton defines e-literacy this way: “a literacy which extends beyond the traditions of reading and writing into an evolving community of expression and problem-solving” (Bauerlein 67, 2008). It is a literacy based in knowledge of digital tools and the workings of the virtual world. Millennials believe that this type of digital literacy and not print literacy is their ticket to better employment opportunities and higher salaries in the 21st Century world. In reality, Bauerlein shows in Chapter 2, their a-literacy is only holding them back from achieving their goals.
As a school librarian, I found Chapter 2 to be quite an interesting read. What engaged me most on a professional level was his discussion of the Harry Potter book series. He asserts on page 43 that: “Kids reading Harry Potter not because they like reading, but because other kids read it” (Bauerlein 43 2008). To not read Harry Potter and not know the characters he further asserts is to be out of the loop with one’s peers, a fate worse than death for a millennial. He presents the fact that kids are pressured into reading Harry Potter as if it is a bad thing. As a librarian, I don’t care how kids come to books, just that they do. Peer pressure in this case is a great thing. If a student gets another student to read a certain book, I am ecstatic. It is my job as a professional to help kids find other similar great reads when they are done with the peer recommended title. For my project, I plan to harness this peer pressure to read through a digital medium.
Another part of Chapter 2 that piqued my interest occurred on pages 56-58 where Bauerlein discusses the impact that literature and reading have had on the lives of many important historical figures from Frederick Douglass to W.E.B. DuBois. Literature really does have the power to transform lives. For me it was the lifeline that helped me escape and make it through high school. One book that really touched me then and still touches me today is The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. I make sure to share it and other great books often with my student through booktalks, which are structured as 30-second book ads complete with cliffhanger endings. With the right marketing, books often fly off the shelves. I have found that a lot of getting millennials to read really does have to do with “marketing.” A circulation record at my middle school for this school year of 8, 143 items indicates that kids do still enjoy reading.
What disturbed me about Chapter 2 though was that Bauerlein offers no suggestions on how to encourage reading among millennials. So I thought we could share what ideas have worked for us. What books have transformed your life or the lives of your students? How do you share these and other important titles with your millennial students?
In Chapter 2 of The Dumbest Generation, Mark Bauerlein postulates that today’s youth is a-literate and proud of it. He defines a-literacy as “knowing how to read, but choosing not to” (Bauerlein 40, 2008). He cites a series of series of studies and surveys, among them Reading At Risk (A National Endowment for the Arts study, 2004) and American Time Use surveys that show reading for pleasure has declined significantly among young adults over the last two to three decades.
While today’s youth enjoys more than five hours of free time a day, they are devoting only on average 8 minutes a day to reading activities of any kind (Bauerlein 49, 2008). This lack of reading motivation is affecting standardized test scores adversely (see NAEP Trends mentioned on pg. 51). It is also having an impact on college campuses and in the workplace where there has been an increased need for remedial reading and writing coursework.
Today’s youth and their supporters seem unfazed and defiant by this data and tout their e-literacy skills as more important than book learning. MacArthur Foundation President Jonathan Fanton defines e-literacy this way: “a literacy which extends beyond the traditions of reading and writing into an evolving community of expression and problem-solving” (Bauerlein 67, 2008). It is a literacy based in knowledge of digital tools and the workings of the virtual world. Millennials believe that this type of digital literacy and not print literacy is their ticket to better employment opportunities and higher salaries in the 21st Century world. In reality, Bauerlein shows in Chapter 2, their a-literacy is only holding them back from achieving their goals.
As a school librarian, I found Chapter 2 to be quite an interesting read. What engaged me most on a professional level was his discussion of the Harry Potter book series. He asserts on page 43 that: “Kids reading Harry Potter not because they like reading, but because other kids read it” (Bauerlein 43 2008). To not read Harry Potter and not know the characters he further asserts is to be out of the loop with one’s peers, a fate worse than death for a millennial. He presents the fact that kids are pressured into reading Harry Potter as if it is a bad thing. As a librarian, I don’t care how kids come to books, just that they do. Peer pressure in this case is a great thing. If a student gets another student to read a certain book, I am ecstatic. It is my job as a professional to help kids find other similar great reads when they are done with the peer recommended title. For my project, I plan to harness this peer pressure to read through a digital medium.
Another part of Chapter 2 that piqued my interest occurred on pages 56-58 where Bauerlein discusses the impact that literature and reading have had on the lives of many important historical figures from Frederick Douglass to W.E.B. DuBois. Literature really does have the power to transform lives. For me it was the lifeline that helped me escape and make it through high school. One book that really touched me then and still touches me today is The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. I make sure to share it and other great books often with my student through booktalks, which are structured as 30-second book ads complete with cliffhanger endings. With the right marketing, books often fly off the shelves. I have found that a lot of getting millennials to read really does have to do with “marketing.” A circulation record at my middle school for this school year of 8, 143 items indicates that kids do still enjoy reading.
What disturbed me about Chapter 2 though was that Bauerlein offers no suggestions on how to encourage reading among millennials. So I thought we could share what ideas have worked for us. What books have transformed your life or the lives of your students? How do you share these and other important titles with your millennial students?
I agreed with Bauerlein when he talked about how kids get other kids to read the books (p.43). After one of my students read one of the Diary of a Whimpy Kid books the other kids couldn't wait to get their hands on that book.
ReplyDeleteThe e-literacy comments (p. 66) about not needing to know how to spell really frustrate me. Yes, they can use spell check... but, if they don't have a clue about how the word should look they can't find the correct word anyway!
In my classes each year, near the end of the year, I ask my students to suggest books I should buy for the upcoming classes. Every year I get great suggestions from the students in my literature classes and every year I buy about 5-6 to add to (my) our classroom collection. All they need to do, is sign one out and enjoy. One student turned the class on to the Last Olympians series and I had a student read the entire collection before the semester was out! J took pride in the fact he hadn't read a book "since sixth grade". Also, I still order (a few) books through scholastic book orders - I teach high school- and in one of the Voices from Iraq stories, a young man spoke of his journey from gang member to marine. He references his autobiography HardCorps and so- yep, a studnet wanted to read his autobiography! I bought it, he is reading it- it has taken him about eight weeks and he shared it with his mother- who also read it!
ReplyDeleteI started years ago giving what you refer to as "booktalks". I LOVE leading the kids to that climactic moment and dropping them. How many books have been requested after those reads!! I do this at the beginning of my semesters when I introduce some of the new books I've added to the collection. I do admit, though, I sometimes find it difficult to fit in my personal books, text books and our new reads.
There are two points Pam made in her summary that I want to further discuss.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I too was taken aback by the discussion of the Harry Potter books. I know the majority of my students have read and rather enjoyed the books. I myself, a millennial, chose to not read the books mostly because I am stubborn. However, I have since made it through the first two books. What I wanted to discuss, though, was the fact that I disagree with Bauerlein. On page 43, Bauerlein writes, "Anti-book feelings are emboldened, and heavy readers miss out on activities that unify their friends. Even the foremost youth reading phenomenon in recent years, the sole book event, qualifies more as a social happening than a reading trend. I mean, of course, Harry Potter." I shared this passage with my boyfriend, a fellow English major, because I at first was agreeing with Bauerlein. "Look," I said, "kids are not reading because there isn't an adolescent book that captures their attention and makes it cool to read." His argument, and one I now agree with, is that of course there is a teen book that is popular. Bauerlein's book was published in 2009, well in the midst of the Twilight infatuation. There is always a teenage book that is popular, but what I think Bauerlein should be arguing instead is that one book is not enough. Once the series is complete, Harry Potter or Twilight, students do not seek further reading. Pam is right that it becomes our job to find similar reading for our students. I have encouraged my students to read Bram Stoker's Dracula to compare to Stephanie Meyer's Twilight Saga.
Second, I also wanted to agree with Pam that the frustration I am currently facing is Bauerlein's lack of offering a solution. Now, I am fully prepared to assume he is still making his argument and the second half of the book will provide a solution. However, I will be very frustrated if he plagues me with statistics for 236 pages and does not offer any ideas for improvement.
As a high school art teacher I promote reading by reading aloud to my students as they are working on long projects such as weaving. Last year I read "The Hunger Games" to them and they loved it. Many students bought their own copies to see what happened next when they didn't want to wait over the weekend, some students checked it out of the public library and as they told students not in our classes about the book they had to start a waiting list for the book in our school library.
ReplyDeleteI am having a hard time dealing with all the statistics Bauerlein is spewing at us. I understand the concept he is trying to drive so why bombard us with statistic after statistic. I also need some sort of pick-me-up, after reading 70 pages of negativity it's getting a little depressing. I am really hoping the book picks up with some facts/statistics about how technology has helped millennials by offering vast information, making them "look" for things, promoting and encouraging learning. Maybe it will come maybe not, I guess we'll see.
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