For children who were raised with smartphones, by contrast, that foundation is missing. It is probably no coincidence that the iPhone itself, originally released in 2007, is approaching college age
If the changes that Kotsko talks about were produced by such network effects, the natural variation in populations would have led at least a few other professors to notice occasional improvement in the quality of their students—and that’s a story I haven’t heard told. Nor do I tell that one myself. My experience is one of relative stability, not of a noticeable long-term increase in student abilities…
And what I find is that my students are, to a degree that’s strongly countercultural these days, people of the book. When they were young they were read to, and read to all the time—the Bible, yes, but not just the Bible and maybe not even primarily the Bible.
interesting response to the "students can't read" article/discussion
I am very far from US Christian culture so I cannot confirm nor deny the author's claims, but I can say that being read to and having books available at home is what made me a resilient reader. Not only did I grow up enjoying books, I also grew up trying to read books above my skill level and figuring them out. Either by asking questions or using a dictionary or leaving them for a bit until I felt brave enough to come back. And this wasn't a conscious process. I was just a bored 8-year old that already knew the "age appropriate" books by memory so I would naturally reach for new books, try to read them and look up new words, ask questions so I could keep reading. And if they were too much, I would stop and reach for another book (or ask my parents for guidance, they could usually point to the grown-up books with simpler prose, for example).
I am incredibly grateful that was the environment I grew up in. It taught me that a single obstacle when reading is not a reason to stop. It taught me that I can try again later. I don't know how to replicate that for kids that don't have the same environment. And I don't know how to make up for that lack of resiliency in adulthood.
