Published 20 October 2024 at 15.03
Foreign. A growing trend at elite American universities is that students are no longer able to read books, The Atlantic reports. Teachers are now trying to adapt to the new requirements by working more with shorter texts and extracts.
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Nicholas Dames, professor at Columbia University, has taught in classic literature since 1998 and has noticed in recent years that students in this field are struggling with reading itself.
One student told Dames that she had never had to read an entire book during her time in elementary school— only excerpts and shorter texts.
Teachers at several of America's most prestigious educational establishments testify to similar experiences.
Daniel Shore, head of the English department at Georgetown University, says that his students have difficulty staying focused even when reading a 14-line sonnet.
According to researchers, young people's inability to read can be traced to the use of smartphones, which distract and reduce the ability to concentrate for long periods of time .
Research and teacher experiences show that it is not only the students who avoid reading, but that the schools themselves are increasingly using shorter texts and excerpts instead of whole books.
This has , according to education experts, has become a consequence of colleges' focus on standardized tests, which rewards quick reading comprehension and information extraction over in-depth analysis of longer texts.
This development risks affecting not only students' academic progress, but also their empathic and critical ability – something that, according to literature researcher Maryanne Wolf, requires prolonged and in-depth reading.