It’s not surprising. Reading for pleasure was phased out of schools a long time ago and replaced by “Literacy” and Accelerated Reader where kids are tested on the books they read and have to finish them as fast as they can.
We have a neo-liberal school curriculum in the UK that only sees reading as a function of employment or cultural indoctrination (in the case of the statutory requirement to teach Shakespeare and that no non-UK writers are allowed to be studied at GCSE).
jabjoe@feddit.uk 1 year ago
Schools should help by exposing kids to books the kids are likely to want to read. Which are not always works of literature.
riceandbeans161@discuss.tchncs.de 1 year ago
exactly. Reading is a cheap and fun hobby. But you gotta find enjoyable books!
thehatfox@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Schools approach literature in such a stuffy and formal manner too, they would probably make even the most interesting books a chore.
We need to foster a better attitude towards reading, and that starts with letting kids enjoy the books they are reading.
jabjoe@feddit.uk 1 year ago
Exactly. Show them examples of lots of types of books. Include some types of SciFi and fantasy because that’s what a lot of enjoying reading. They always seem looked down on, but they shouldn’t be.
Neato@kbin.social 1 year ago
I can't think of many books my school had us read that I enjoyed even a little. I think it was grade school where we were reading The Great Gatsby and such. Compared to all of the books I read b/t classes on my known, they just weren't relevant or interesting.