“How to Get Kids to Hate English”

The New York Times recently published How to Get Kids to Hate English by Pamela Paul, an op-ed on the decrease of interest in English and literature. Our founder/CEO Matt Bardin has some thoughts on it:

All the hand-wringing about the end of literature majors and even reading in general ignores basic facts. 

Only 13 percent of American adults read at or above adult-level proficiency, and there's no reason to imagine that’s much better or worse than it ever was.

Having taught middle and high school kids for decades, I’m sure the internet and the Common Core haven’t helped, but blaming them ignores the real problem. Kids hate reading because only a small minority—probably about 13%—develops advanced comprehension. The mechanisms by which successful readers turn words and phrases into images, meanings, and ideas in our heads come naturally to a few. Expecting everyone else to just get it when years of evidence prove they don’t is like throwing our children in the water and wondering why most of them drown. 

I wouldn’t count reading out though. In fact, it’s an ideal antidote to the misery wreaked by the sugar high of social media. We just need to equip more people with the skills those of us who enjoy reading take for granted.

What do you think about ELA class’ role in getting kids to love reading and have the skills to do so successfully? How can we bring more joy to English courses? Let us know at partnerships@zinclearninglabs.com, and check out our solutions here.