Revitalizing reading requires sustained attention
Reading, especially long-form reading, has been on the decline, and some wonder whether it truly is a dying medium. The problem of declining readership can be seen as two interrelated but distinct issues: people can’t read and people won’t read.
As my sister-in-law, who happens to be a reading specialist, explained to me: “What motivates you to read is your skill to read.”
In the Philippines, we have serious problems when it comes to reading skills among students. According to the World Bank, 9 out of 10 Filipino children cannot read and understand age-appropriate text at age 10.
Children, especially public school students, are many years behind when it comes to the skill of reading, requiring more than just the Department of Education’s Catch-up Fridays program.
What is promising, however, is that there is a spotlight now on this issue and various government initiatives like the “Tara, Basa!” tutoring program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, now designated as a flagship program by the President through Executive Order No. 76, have been given due attention.
The Second Congressional Commission on Education is also hard at work crafting multisectoral solutions. The challenge ahead is if government can sustain attention on this issue in the form of long-term funding and an openness to work with education experts to craft innovative solutions.
Frustrating experience
It doesn’t help that what little reading is required at school are usually reserved for textbooks or references, not exactly enjoyable reads. If people struggle with being able to read, then reading becomes a frustrating experience that they would rather avoid.
Reading avoidance, however, is a vicious cycle. The less we practice reading, the more effort and challenge it takes to resume doing so. At that point, simply being reminded to read beckons memories of struggle and frustration. It wouldn’t surprise us, then, that people refuse to read. We must get into the habit of reading to find it easier and more fun to do; but we also can’t get started on the habit if we find it hard to read in the first place.
Reading for pleasure has also sharply declined. In the 2023 National Readership Survey commissioned by the National Book Development Board, adult nonschool book readership was at 42 percent and children at 47 percent.
This is in stark contrast to a separate survey back in 2017 by the Philippine Statistical Research and Training Institute that showed a high of 80-percent readership for adults and 93 percent for children.
I can imagine how the pandemic has contributed greatly to this drop in readership, with much fewer access to school and community libraries. The lack of funding for public libraries has furthered the access gap for those who cannot afford to buy their own books.
Limited funding has also forced libraries to prioritize informational texts rather than make space for books on various interests and genres, making it less likely for people to find a book they would be interested in. Reading as an activity requires a conducive environment for sustained focus. Public libraries offer a vital safe space for those who don’t have the luxury of a quiet private space at home.
Not just in PH
The reading crisis isn’t unique to the Philippines. In the Atlantic article “The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books” in October, it described how even well-to-do American college students struggle with reading whole texts.
While their reading comprehension is intact, they are challenged in sustaining attention and motivation toward immersing in a book. While they can read, they choose not to. The article attributes this phenomenon to basic education curricula requiring students to read less and less, requiring only excerpts and short texts rather than having students read books.
Critical thinking, analysis
With the pressure to achieve in standardized tests, teachers are increasingly focused on singular reading comprehension items rather than flexing critical thinking and analysis of whole books.
This is a warning for us, lest our desire to improve in assessments like the Programme for International Student Assessment may have us “teach to the test” rather than invest in developing a culture of reading.
In social media, we see the term “TL;DR,” short for “too long; didn’t read.” It seems that people no longer have the stamina to read, driven by how today’s information is now consumed only in short bursts of attention. With the plethora of information available freely and instantaneously at our fingertips, attention has become a scarce resource.
Journalism has been likewise affected, with reporters now being forced to write shorter and shorter pieces.
The thing is, though, has this fast-paced, multitasking, short-attention-span world made us any happier? If the pandemic has taught us something about what we value, it is that we crave slow and simple things.
When things get too fast, we want to be allowed to slow down. When we start to feel like work robots, we want to be given the space to reflect and just be.
Reading for pleasure allows us to live out these values: It is slow and requires our whole attention—and that is a good thing.
(The author also writes a column which appears in the Inquirer Opinion section on Thursdays.)
