The latest reading
scores are in: America's fourth graders haven't improved
in spite of a decade of concentrated effort. Since the National
Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released this
gloomy news, teachers, teachers' colleges, and public schools
have been blamed. But the problem with our kids' reading
skills isn't solely or even primarily the fault of educators.
Our kids can't read because they are not reading. Instead,
they are plopped in front of TVs and video games.
Kids' screen time, not counting computer use, is a whopping
average of thirty-two hours every week. Children are watching
less TV, but the slight decrease from 28 to 25 hours has
been more than offset by the seven hours an average child
plays video games. The average kid has the equivalent of
a full time job as a couch potato. We know this sedentary
lifestyle is behind an epidemic of childhood obesity and
Type II Diabetes. Now the NAEP reports couch potatoes can't
read either.
TV and video games offer instant rewards -- no prerequisites
required; no effort needed. Reading, on the other hand,
requires delayed gratification. It takes four to five years
to master the skills. Heavy TV watching or video game playing
reinforces the pattern of instant gratification -- a dangerous
situation for kids who find learning to read difficult.
For them, watching TV or playing video games becomes the
path of least resistance. Faced with choosing the frustration
of reading or the instant kick from video games, the more
enjoyable choice wins out.
When these kids are pushed by teachers to work on reading
they become more frustrated because they've missed the reading
practice they need and they've come to expect the instant
payoff of entertainment media. Not surprisingly, they are
less willing to work for the rewards of reading.
The kids who work diligently at their reading skills begin
to reap rewards. They enjoy reading a good story. As they
get the rewards, they want to read more. And as they read
more, their skills get even better. Unfortunately, the same
cycle works in reverse.
Research by the National Institute on Media and the Family
shows that kids with TVs in their bedrooms watch an extra
five and a half hours every week and don't do as well in
school. The NAEP findings show more than half of American
kids now have TVs or video games in their bedrooms and over
a third of the poor readers watch TV a whopping six hours
a day. NAEP didn't even ask about video games.
There's obviously a long list of factors behind our kids'
reading crisis, but real progress won't happen if we continue
to ignore the fact that couch potatoes can't read.
Let's start paying more attention to how kids are spending
their time when they're not in the classroom
David Walsh, Ph.D. is the president and
founder of the National Institute on Media and the Family
(www.mediafamily.org).
He has written seven books and is a frequent guest on national
radio and television.
