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The Silent War on Reading
We are all participants in this war whether or not we wish to be.
As a substitute teacher who primarily works in secondary education, I’ve gotten to see the challenges that plague our school systems first-hand. Although there are many, I’m convinced there isn’t a more pressing problem in our middle and high schools than the dearth of students at graduation who are functionally literate. In our post-modern society, the hunger for book knowledge has been supplanted by inadequate intellectual content in non book form. Yes, there is a silent war on reading, and we are all participants in this war whether or not we wish to be.
Every time we opt to watch a video, movie, or some piece of visual content instead of picking up a book, we concede a victory to the other side. Our enemy in the war on reading is invisible. Yet, it is close to us, buried deep within our cultural psyche. Our recovery appears bleak. However, all hope is not lost. The first step in fighting back is to clearly define the problem.
Literacy Stats
According to a report conducted by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), in 2019, 3.8 million people graduated high school in the U.S. This number is projected to hit 3.9 million in 2025. This would seem to be good news. Successful high…
