My thoughts on Chapter 5 as I read this.
Internet reading produces shallower reading than book reading (pg 112). Gallagher states that is because they are more focused on headlines. I wonder if there is truly a study that proves this.
The reading proficiency of college graduates fell 23 percent in the past ten years. No surprise there.
One in three high school students drop out.
We are successful and technologically ahead because of the “can do spirit” of our country. I agree with that. Americans may not be the best in school but no one in the world is as competitive as we are.
The twenty five fasted growing occupations have the greatest literary demands. Are we in trouble?
Gallagher talked about the Finnish system. He stated that they have no standardized testing and how they are ahead in most ways as far as education. I went to high school with a Finnish exchange student. It is not just the process of their education but also the mindset of the culture over in Finland. Children are more respectful and value education more because that is the mindset of the country. Children in the United States are more interested in being hip and cool and certainly are not interested in being respectful.
This chapter was relatively short.
I do have to say in conclusion that this book really made me think more about the subject of reading. I really have never put much emphasis on it because it is not that critical in my curriculum. However, I have begun to rethink the whole subject. We MUST find a way to get these kids to read. There are too many that cannot even read on a basic level at my school. It was interesting this week. We had our PSATs and a couple of other tests that kept our students busy. Also, during the week, I showed a PowerPoint to a class and there was a girl who was behind me silently reading it as I was showing it. She could barely get the words out and they were not that complicated. I suddenly wondered how these kids are going to fare on these tests we are taking when they cannot even read simple text on a PowerPoint. How have we let it get this far????
