Niall Ferguson, professor of history at Harvard, recently published an
article detailing how teenagers don't read any BOOKS any more, particularly books that make teenagers (and me by extension) "literate" and connected with their "ancestors". Ferguson laments teenagers loss of reading for pleasure and places blame on their increasing reliance on technology, particularly texting.
He lists as must-haves the
Aeneid by Virgil,
Don Quixote by Cervantes,
Faust by Goethe and
Pride and Prejudice by Austen, among others.
I admit...I LOVE to read. I read between 2-3 books a week, staying up far too late at night just to finish that last page of the chapter of my favorite heroic fantasy or to see what happens next in my favorite crime novel (see my Shelfari). Every student should be encouraged (by "encouraged" I mean pushed) to read for enjoyment and personal interest...novels, non-fiction, graphic novels,
everything.
However, I have absolutely no interest in reading any of the books Ferguson listed. After undergraduate and graduate+ degrees, I would have to be forced to read them and I might opt to read the
SparkNotes online instead. Am I burnt out on "required" reads or am I struggling with my freedom to choose? Do we all meet students like this?
Does abandoning the classics make me less literate?
Two points
First, the classics have value...most definitely. There is beauty in the English language that cannot be lost and is rarely replicated in contemporary literature. I know of only a handful of authors I read recently that inspire the same feelings in me through language that Orwell or Conrad do.
However, is it the books and characters themselves or is it the themes, motifs and symbolism that are truly important? Great themes transcend time and re-invent themselves in "classics" for the modern age. The themes of 1984 by George Orwell--the dangers of totalitarianism, the psychology of manipulation, the effects of physical control, and the control of information--play out well in Suzanne Collins'
Hunger Games. And there are so many others...
By circulation counts, in which Librarians hold all truths, students actually check books at a excellent rate. We also devote an incredible amount of time reviewing new materials (particularly fiction) to find great literature for students of all ages.
Second, technology enhances our ability to think and be creative. I read an
interesting article in Scholastic Instructor called "Can Texting Help Spelling." The article sites two recent studies from England that demonstrate that texting actually helps aspects of reading and spelling like phonemic awareness and phonology, improves creative use of language (developing new "textisms") and encourages word play.
[As a note, there are some great lesson ideas for using texting in class in this article.]
If we could just translate Shakespeare to text...
Wisdom for Infusing Technology Into The Classroom
"Lyf S lk ridin a bke. 2 kip yr balNs, u must kip movN." -Albert Einstein
