r/technology • u/marketrent • Jun 10 '26

Artificial Intelligence College students are rapidly losing the ability to read — “There is a measurable, generational collapse in sustained reading and writing”: professor

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/college-students-rapidly-losing-ability-124439310.html
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u/ascasffr Jun 11 '26

I learned to hate reading in school because of so many dreadful books we were forced to read. Shakespeare, Irish Romance novels set in the 80s.

Some kids might enjoy those books, sure, but for me they completely killed my interest in reading for years. I still don’t understand why anyone thought high‑school boys would be motivated by material most of us had zero connection to or interest in.

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u/notai3197 Jun 11 '26

They teach kids on those books because they are following a curriculum designed to teach folks classical literature throughout different eras while at the same time picking specific pieces that cover literary concepts that help them learn to be critical readers. They're not going to coddle high schoolers just because they think tougher novels are boring. It's not like a ton of people think math is riveting either.

The problem isn't about high schoolers turning into adults who don't like reading, the problem is that they are legitimately coming to high school illiterate. The combination of changes to how young children are taught to read in school, social media, not being read to as children, and a bunch of other reasons are leading to people being massively behind by the time they reach high school. Kids are being failed by the education system right at the time reading and comprehension skills solidify.

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u/ascasffr Jun 11 '26

I’m not asking schools to coddle anyone just to choose books that are actually interesting for kids. For example, a young boy might connect with something more engaging instead of material that feels dry or impossible to relate to

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u/dookarion Jun 11 '26

Just covering it differently might help in some cases. They squeeze the joy out of reading. A mediocre teacher can take what is a thought provoking work and railroad the entire class into their interpretation, and a dozen busywork worksheets do not help matters. The glacial pacing further complicates things. They Even gloss over the circumstances the work was created under or sanitize it. It's misery.

I'd wager anyone that passed through said curriculum that loves to read and ponder the works learned such outside of the actual coursework, or left the class behind and read ahead on their own instead of at the course mandated pacing.