Do Dis bodder ne1 butt me?

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14823087/?GT1=8506

Only 31 percent of college graduates can read a complex book and extrapolate from it

We have made at least two generations of American children miserable trying to teach them a skill that only a small percentage of them really need. And we have wasted billions of dollars that might well have gone for more practical education and training.

Um.... did anyone read 1984. Just curious. I'm a bit sad its getting to a point where this article was even needing to be written. I'd hate to see the ad campaigns in 2025. "Just use some out-of-date jargon. Write it in pretty colors, oh! and put it on paper. They'll never know!"

sorry about 'over-reacting', i <3 engrish.

Wow, I found a lot of things about that article disturbing. Yes, very 1984 or pre- Handmaid's Tale.

But I've been saying our society has been headed that way for a while now. Probably around 6 years. :P

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Originally Posted by SarahMB

Wow, I found a lot of things about that article disturbing. Yes, very 1984 or pre- Handmaid's Tale.

But I've been saying our society has been headed that way for a while now. Probably around 6 years. :P

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Same here. I was always a little peturbed at how many kids in my class couldn't/wouldn't read or didn't see the point....
though it did lead to some hilarious stories:

freshman year in english we had to do a paper on some.. historical .. person thing and a girl picked Galileo.. well she printed off the information on 'him' only later to have it pointed out by the teacher she had a stack of papers on the missle/rocket/something-non-humanlike Galileo. That was great and sad. I kind of sat in shock infront and to the left of her.

My dad used to read to me every night, so i grew up basically a speed reader. I can read fast. But I hate reading. The last book i read was high school (over 3 years ago).

The article says that students are unable to read complex books..which is true about me. I can't make sence out of a complex book...but that says nothing about me. I'm still a straight A college student that loves the direction i'm going in life.

Man, I know I am naive, but I honestly don't understand how that happens.

EDIT: This post is in response to post #3

Hm.. well I love reading, and always have. I read every night before I go to bed, and have trouble falling asleep if I don't.

Perhaps if schools made more of an effort to make reading enjoyable.. letting kids pick their own books, this problem would be lessened.

It's really technology to blame...IMO..

I am guilty of beeing one of the types of people who is a visual person. I learn better, faster, and easier when i can acctually see something being done, when i can listen and watch what someone else is doing.

When i'm learning a new computer program, i want the book with the most screenshots. when i'm reading a tutorial, i want the tutorial with the most pictures. Not because i hate reading, but because i learn much better by acctually seeing what is being talked about.

And it's a pitfall...when you're reading nothing but words, you must create the scene and everything in it. It does great work for your imagination. I find myself struggling to imagine things when it comes to artwork, and maybe it's because i don't really enjoy reading......?

Shelby:

I think a lot of it has to do with the parents as well. My parents made sure I was read to every night.

Haha: Do any of you guys know about the AR program? (Accelerated Reader). Well, in middle school, I thought I thought I would be "smart" and "dumb" down my answers so as not to get such a high reading level. I knew I was smart. Anyway, my parents got a letter in the mail, stating that I had a reading level of a third grader in the second half of the year. -Grin.- My father grabbed one of his college textbooks, tossed it at me, and told me to read it and explain to me what it stated. I did. I had to retake the assessment. "Your child has a reading level of a junior in college during their second semester."

Yup, I'm helping with the accelerated reading program in my son's class. Our kids had summer reading lists the summer before 1st grade. All the kids that participated got an ice cream party at school. I know my son enjoyed it, although it was like pulling teeth to actually get him to read the books. Now that reading is easier for him, he's enjoying reading more.

It is so sad, that so many people do not know and appreciate our language. You hear how people talk these days; not to sound uppity, but it is an utter abomination. So much slang, so many misspelled words (like online, when people are trying to be cute; not saying it's horrible to abbreviate things occasionally, but still..)
I took advanced English in grade and high school. I still love reading to this day; I pity anyone who cannot appreciate a good book!

i find that online slang a negative thing. it makes it so hard to get my kids to learn to type the way i do... with all fingers on the keys! they peck around the screen - hitting a key instead of writing a word. they say it's faster but when we sit together... i'm typing faster than they are... if they just learned to type the "old fashioned way" it would benefit them so much in the future.

and as for reading... i have three kids. the oldest was into reading everynight. my middle son who's 12... it's a cry fest everytime i mention reading a book (and yes he gets to choose what he reads... it can be a comic book or a magazine even... as long as he READS it) - my littlest one... she's 7... she's a reading machine! loooooves to read. and i've homeschooled them all. kids are each different and learn different ways... some are visual like nate, actually i find most kids are visual. give them a fish tank in front of them and teach them about the ecosystem and the fish... and they can repeat it to everyone who comes into the house. the key is.... "if they are passionate about it, they will learn"

my eldest wouldn't read anything technical. her eyes would glaze over and she'd get all upset and weepy over it. now she works, selling computers. she reads all the technical manuals, soaks up and remembers all the info and is the highest salesperson in her store!!!!! (a proud mama)

i believe... teach them the basics and they WILL succeed if they choose to.

but not learning how to read... that's horrid :(

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Originally Posted by Melicious

Shelby:

I think a lot of it has to do with the parents as well. My parents made sure I was read to every night.

Haha: Do any of you guys know about the AR program? (Accelerated Reader). Well, in middle school, I thought I thought I would be "smart" and "dumb" down my answers so as not to get such a high reading level. I knew I was smart. Anyway, my parents got a letter in the mail, stating that I had a reading level of a third grader in the second half of the year. -Grin.- My father grabbed one of his college textbooks, tossed it at me, and told me to read it and explain to me what it stated. I did. I had to retake the assessment. "Your child has a reading level of a junior in college during their second semester."

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God i hated our AR program. Mainly because I was on an 11th Grade level in 6th grade via a test i had to take at a tutoring school.. thing because im god-awful in math. BUT my STARS (our AR) said my 5th grade year i was 5th-7th. well at the end of the year our teacher let us take it again to see where we'd be. It said I would be in 6th-8th (when i was near college level). SO beginning of 6th year i take it again and it tells me i have a 4th grade reading equiv. My lip quivered and I had to hold back the tears because I KNEW i could read just as well as the two other kids that were on high-school level. Then i had to go to Silvin(that's the tutor.. thing! rememberance) and it placed me on 11th grade level. So, I'm not crazy about AR programs after i was royally poked.

I'm a read/listen and take notes. It could be quantim physics, if i write it down i'll never forget it. Visual aids frustraite me as did 'labs' because i HATED doing the most mundane/stupid things that honestly i dont remember (and probably because i chose in anger to forget). However, I feel that there shouldn't be an illiterate native-born public/prive/home educated person in america. yet, illiteracy is one of those unspoken truths- my mother as a senior had to do a project where she went around town with a little card and had to survey how many people would read it. Many would look at it, shake their head, and refuse to read it.
I'm not asking people to enjoy reading, but atleast acknowledge how powerful of a tool it is unlike many 'children' on the internet (13 or 30 imo) that feel that just so long as someone can just barely understand you its good enough.
Admitting you dont like to read or that you cant understand somethings is one. Saying its no big deal and scoffing at it is another.

I think a lot of problems with reading 'techincal' things also comes from attention span. If you're not interested, why would you want to read/remember? I could read near anything and compute it, make it work for me, etc. Its just a matter of will i give it my time/attention?

1984 one of my fav books besides animal farm and ive always told everyone we are going to be under a big brother society in the near future so yea this deff does bother me alot

Anyone who wants to stay a free, independent thinker; let's chip in and buy a tract of land and build our own society for when this one is owned by dictators!
Sorry, I got paranoid there for a second.. :)

ok so what is this cult gonna be called and i hope it dosent go down like the jonestown massacre or the waco stand-off

No; no religious affiliations at all! We could just be Ball-Python-Ites.

I'm in! And I've been paranoid since our current administration was appointed ;)