Decline in Reading Skills Among Students
A comparative study by the ministry of education shows a worrying downward trend in reading skills. This is evident from the dismal performance in reading skill test undertaken by the students. Furthermore, according to a comprehensive U. S. -wide study of reading skills by the National Endowment for the Arts. (2007). Americans reading a lot less: a study on reading skills. Retrieved from www. washingtonpost. com . in Washington draws on a variety of sources, public and private, and essentially reaches one conclusion; Americans read less more. Across other continents the same trend is worrying the governments.
A look at the societal behavior and education trend would draw various reasons on the downward trend of reading skills. In nations where more than half the population lives below a dollar day, a focus on Africa and Asia, it gets difficult for students in such families to have easy access to reading materials. Poverty is a major factor reducing accessibility of reading materials to the less fortunate. Besdes not being able to access the reading materials, the students would rather spend much of the time trying to assist their family make ends meet by engaging cheap labor or attending to home chores while the parents engage in fending for them.
In the long run the trend is passed on to the next generation and the families remain in this vicious cycle. A technological focus of the society shows a higher advance in social media with more of these technological advancement targeting the youth and young who have hit these markets with a bang. The students are more glued to these social media development which increases their networking levels. On the rise is also the rate at which these students have turned to visual media which takes much of their s time. People find it easier to have visual media other than involving themselves in reading which they perceive to be rather tasking.
This factor has been encouraged by our institutions which also turn most materials, originally produced for reading, into visual media reducing the chances of one having to read the materials than watching it, which is much easier and less involving. With all the above ,a more worrying trend is the teaching methods and skills passed to the students at school . Current education curriculum focuses more on passing particular test rather than developing students reading culture. The effect is that the students are more interested in passing tests and would want to use other methods to enable them pass the xams. The reading culture developed at the elementary level is eventually destroyed in these student and instead they get focused on other stuff and passing exams.
The way students are taught takes, rather a passive line towards reading skills. In conclusion, reading skills among high school students ,is and has been on the decline due to three major factors; inaccessibility of reading material due to poverty, technological advancement in the visual media and social networks which provide a leeway to the students to evade reading and teaching skill which gives reading skills an inactive approach.
