Reading Books

Sad that third graders can't always read these days and its not a given that they can open a book the right way up to begin with.

Increasingly, younger kids were not nailing basic reading skills before third grade — a crucial window. Those who miss it have a tough road ahead in middle and high school. Even adept readers in their tweens and teens have become afraid of complex or extended reading tasks and more comfortable with short texts or bite-size summaries.

McGoun, who has a doctorate in education, shared one stark example. With struggling readers, he hands each child a book upside down and backward. "They should be able to turn the book the right way up and open it at the first page," he said. These days, "some students aren't able to do that."

What seems like a complex and insurmountable problem seems to have a simple solution according to educators - just have the parents put away their phone and devices, lead by example what books are meant for. As someone who once only read physical books and a lot of them and now simply cannot read anything that is not on Kindle, I know how easy it is to lose a skill. I never imagined that there would come a day when I would no longer read physical books. That day came and then it became a multi-decade, unshakable habit. It is not hard to imagine why a present day eight year old might never be able to read a physical book and not be able to read at all.