What Happened to Reading Books in School?
November 13, 2009 
7 Comments
In the early years a child spends in school, nothing is emphasized more than his ability to read. Reading ability is frequently the sole determinant of a teacher’s perception of the child’s intelligence. But most importantly, the development of reading skills promotes a wider vocabulary and gives the child the initial taste of formal English which will influence his development as a writer. Numerous studies have shown a strong correlation between reading level and time spent reading and vocabulary. The importance assigned to reading in first and second grade classroom is not misplaced. Writing, like any art form, is based on influences. A person’s writing will be, at least stylistically, very similar to the things he or she read. Regardless of age, reading quality literature never fails to make better writers.
It would follow then that the high school workload would be dominated by reading. Yet reading is strangely sparse or even absent in most classes. Students spend hours writing essay after essay, leaving little or no time for reading. Writing is a skill students are assumed to have; you are supposed to learn to write gradually during your eight years of elementary and middle school. By high school, you’re expected to be a solid writer. As they pass from one teacher to the next, no one seems to notice that out of hundreds in the class, only a handful of students are competent writers. These are the students who read at home, even when no book is assigned — the ones who take the initiative to learn on their own. Because no matter how many times a 6th grade teacher repeats grammar rules, it just won’t make anyone a better writer.
Reading makes people better writers. And not just reading in general. Our schools’ teachers seem to be under the impression that a student who can capture emotion with his short stories will in turn be able to produce a skillful analysis of 20th century political theory. You wouldn’t ask a sprinter to run a marathon, and neither can a novelist necessarily write essays. Yet the only reading done in America’s high schools takes place in English class, in which students read the traditional authors, like Shakespeare, Hemingway, and Salinger. Dissecting their prose may help students expand their vocabularies and increase their reading comprehension, but if teachers want them to learn how to analyze historical situations, they need to provide the students with, unsurprisingly, analysis of historical situations.
Freaknonomics reminded me that reading can be enjoyable when each word doesn't have to be picked apart
There’s something to be said for volume as well; our schools seem to have forgotten the importance of reading a diverse array of books, essays, and other literary works. A high school student might read eight books over the course of the year. Granted, they’ll all be books written by some of history’s greatest writers, but “quality over quantity” doesn’t totally apply here. A student can only draw so much from one book until it becomes a meaningless jumble of metaphors and SAT words. Not every book has to be read so closely that the reader squeezes out every ounce of meaning the author may or may not have intended to include. Simply reading great writing, whether that be famous novels, newspaper articles, or non-fiction books such as my new favorite, Freakonomics, will allow students to absorb some of the techniques the authors employ to convey their message. They may not be able to articulate these techniques in the form of literary buzzwords that English teachers are so fond of throwing around, but they will be incorporated into their writing.
Reading helps to suppress colloquial English and teach a second, literary form of English. Some students might hear literary English at home, and will thus be naturally inclined to be good writers from the moment they enter Kindergarten. But the majority students whose homes only provide them with informal language will always tend to write in the same way they speak. And if you ever walk through the hallways of an American high school and listen to the conversations around you, you’ll quickly discover why high school students are, as a whole, such terrible writers.
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
-Albert Einstein
Yet our schools continue to miss the importance of reading and its inextricable ties to student writing abilities. And teachers still wonder why students go off to college still unable to write at at a middle school level. Our schools have fallen victim to Einstein’s definition of insanity. We keep teaching the wrong things the wrong way and expecting a better outcome.
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A thought provoking article!
Most of the positives of reading the text books are really true and helpful. But should’nt we be looking at other ways of making the learning more intresting and fun. The first and the foremost thing which makes the students to leave the text book is the size of it and the not so practicle topics inside the book.
Technology should be used to a greater extent to make the classes more interactive and to clearly expalin the subject with a practicle approach.
I actually wish that reading played a bigger role in our school curriculum.
I especially agree with your point about the expectations English teachers have for students to be good writers when they have not looked at enough samples of literature.
What discourages kids from reading has to be the fact that only “books” are stressed. There’s such a negative connotation for some with books that reading is all-together done away with.
Growing up, I wish I read more “books.” Articles and short stories are more my thing though.
And Ethan’s point about capitalising on the increasing contemporary body of literature is one that should really be considered by English departments…worldwide haha
P.S.: Freakonomics is such a good book. I read it three years ago but i’ll pick it again up anytime.
Analyzing books is terribly painful and makes me hate reading. With something as subjective and as personal as a book it is sickening that in school we are asked for “correct analysis”. Everyone can take different things from books. There isn’t one right answer. Over-analysis will help on an AP test or in an english class…that is what is the most upseting; the reading we do in school is so we can achieve a stupid grade on a meaningless standardized test which will get us into a place where we can do more over-analysis with a higher level of pretension. Something is wrong.
I agree with your point, but are you arguing against analyzing books in general? Although their are different interpretations to books, in a way their is a “correct analysis”. When Paton wrote Cry thy Beloved Country his purpose was to speak out against the racial tension occurring in the South Africa. When Orwell wrote 1984 he wished to speak out against totalitarianism. I believe basic analyzation is essential when reading books, specifically ones that have underlying tones. From personal experience when I read critically i have a more fulfilling and enjoyable read.
Your point though of over-analysis is spot on. There is nothing more frustrating then a teacher trying to push and agenda or view point on a specific passage or sentence.
A very instresting and insightful article, but you make reading seem as if its only purpose is to educate. I read a lot by the average teenage standard, but I don’t do it to enhance my vocabulary and writing skills, but rather because. I actually enjoy books. The true problem with school is there ability to turn off young readers to books. Rather then reading shakespeare and dickens we could read the moderns and more enjoyable novels of orwell, Vonnegut, and kerouac. Although your overall message and thesis is instresting and relevant, the lack of reading at home is the true problem with society.
Certainly true. Reading at home is a major contributor to education, but books can be enjoyable as well. And yes, the type of books and the way in which they are read turn many younger students off to reading.