Many schools don't think students can read full novels any more. That's a tragedy | Margaret Sullivan

"Reading fiction has been such a joy for me that my heart broke a little to learn recently that many schools no longer assign full books to high school students. Rather, teens are given excerpts of books, and they often read them not in print but on school-issued laptops, according to a survey of 2,000 teachers, students and parents by the New York Times."

"The reasons are many including the belief that students have shorter attention spans, and schools' efforts to teach students to perform well on standardized tests. One factor is the Common Core, a set of standards adopted by many states in the US more than a decade ago. Given those standards, many schools use curriculum products like StudySync, which uses an anthology approach to introducing students to literature."

"Some teachers, however, choose to rebel. Many teachers are secret revolutionaries and still assign whole books, said Heather McGuire, a survey respondent who teaches English in New Mexico. I cheer these renegades because I can't imagine my life or bringing up my own children without reading books in print. One of my most cherished memories as a parent is taking my seven-year-old daughter to pick up our family's copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire from a local bookstore."

"Books lead to a richer life. They also lead to a more successful life When we got home, her older brother not entirely charitably seized it from her hands, and I realized it might have been wise to invest in two copies. Somehow, we worked it out. But if kids must fight, let them fight over a book, I say. These days, my grown children still read for pleasure. I recently noticed one with Nora Ephron's classic, Heartburn."

Many high schools have shifted from assigning full novels to giving students excerpts and digital texts on school-issued laptops. Reasons include perceptions of shorter student attention spans, pressure to raise standardized-test performance, and adoption of Common Core standards. Curriculum products like StudySync promote an anthology approach that reduces full-book assignments. As a result, many teens read far fewer complete novels, according to teachers. Some teachers continue to assign whole books, valuing print reading. Personal family memories describe children eagerly sharing and fighting over physical books, and grown children maintaining reading for pleasure into adulthood.

Read at www.theguardian.com