Kids can't read anymore. Does it matter? (with author Jason Reynolds)

Are we really in a literacy crisis?

Happy Wednesday Thingers,

This week, we dig in to the so-called reading crisis running rampant in our schools. News outlets are constantly reporting on the death of reading. School test scores by measures like the “Nation’s Report Card” say math and literacy levels are down to their lowest rates since the early 1990s. Schools aren’t even assigning full books in class anymore. Are things really as bad as they seem? And if so, does it actually matter? To find out, we spoke to children’s book author Jason Reynolds, an active Chicago public school teacher, and a professor who’s looked into the actual research and says the literacy crisis doesn’t even exist!

Now, here’s something you don’t see much of anymore…

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Our guests this week are author Jason Reynolds, professor Paul Thomas, and teacher Kelsey Clodfelter. Take a listen to the episode and let us know in the comments what you think. Have we evolved past the need for reading? How can we get people to value books again?

Related links

• Washington Post: Professor Thomas’ op-ed debunking the reading crisis

• The Atlantic: America Is Sliding Towards Illiteracy

• Check out this post from Paul’s Substack to dig more into the “Science of Reading”

Research Contradicts “Science of Reading” Media Story Being Sold

@stillateacheri will never give up on the novel 📚#teacher #teachertok #teachersoftiktok #englishteacher #literature

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• Buy Jason’s book Soundtrack

• New data on American reading habits from Pew Research Center

• EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ http://www.nordvpn.com/nst Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee

If you liked this episode, you might like our early episodes on audiobooks and phones in schools:

Do audiobooks count as reading?🎧📖🤔

Should schools ban phones? 🏫 📵😭

Email us at mannynoahdevan@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at ‪(860) 325-0286.

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