When I was in school in the '60s, we read Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, Great Expectations, Hard Times, Canterbury Tales, The Scarlet Letter, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, The Grapes of Wrath, Main Street, Of Mice and Men, Native Son, The Invisible Man, Old Man and the Sea, Catcher in the Rye, Lord of the Flies, Brave New World, Animal Farm and a whole lot of Shakespeare (plays and sonnets), as well as classic short stories, poetry and essays.
Yes, some relied on Cliff Notes, but at least we were asked to read literature, and expected to be able to discuss what we read.
Nowadays, many students rarely read full-length novels, reports AP's Sharon Lurye. Teachers assign excerpts, "a concession to perceptions of shorter attention spans, pressure to prepare for standardized tests and a sense that short-form content will prepare students for the modern, digital world."
In a 2022 statement, the National Council of Teachers of English declared: “The time has come to decenter book reading and essay-writing as the pinnacles of English language arts education.” Instead, teachers are urged to focus on "media literacy" and short texts that students feel are "relevant."
Deep reading builds "critical thinking skills, background knowledge and, most of all, empathy," said UCLA neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf told Lurye. “We must give our young an opportunity to understand who others are, not through little snapshots, but through immersion into the lives and thoughts and feelings of others,” Wolf said.
"Only 14% of young teens say they read for fun daily, compared with 27% in 2012," according to federal data, Lurye reports. So, if students aren't asked to read books for school, most will not read at all.
Some teachers say expectations were lowered during the pandemic, and didn't recover, she writes.
Other teachers "digital platforms can deliver a complete English curriculum, with thousands of short passages aligned to state standards — all without having to assign an actual book," she writes.
Some students can't read well enough to tackle books that used to be standard fare in middle and high school.
The few books that are assigned tend to be chosen to appeal to reluctant readers, writes Doug Lemov in Education Next. "They are less and less likely to be challenging or chosen for their literary merit."
Instruction focuses on teaching skills, he writes. Teachers give students a short passage that highlights the skill of the day. "Why have a student flip through a novel looking for a section that allows you to discuss supporting details when the teacher can present a passage that guarantees it?"
Letting every student choose their own book is a mistake, Lemov argues. Students don't know what books are out there. In addition, it denies them the chance to share the book with others. "In discussion with others, students hear and wrestle with different interpretations and reactions, and they grow intellectually. They also grow emotionally, because by reading together, they are connected by a common experience."