Our generation is currently facing a severe literacy crisis. The average American adult reads at a seventh to eighth grade reading level, and school curriculums are not helping.
DCPS shifted their English and Language Arts curriculum this year to focus on more short stories and passages, rather than full length novels. On top of that, they recently announced a plan to further cut back on reading instruction time next year, an announcement that quickly received community backlash.
As a generation that already struggles with reading and short attention spans, this move is hurting students and their future.
Alice Deal Middle School switched to the CommonLit 360 curriculum this year, where they only read one full novel per year. In eighth grade I read To Kill a Mockingbird and A Raisin in the Sun, but my eighth grade brother is only reading 12 Angry Men, which is arguably a short play, not even a novel.
Middle school is the prime period for students to learn how to sit and read a book, analyze it, and discuss it, but DCPS doesn’t prioritize these skills.
Instead, they are trying to teach kids basic reading skills, which, while important, focuses more on increasing CAPE scores rather than teaching kids comprehension and critical thinking skills.
DCPS has also shifted away from full length texts in high schools by cutting down the number of books read per year. Last year, as a sophomore, I read five full length books. However, this year they have cut the number sophomores read down to four, nixing The Kite Runner, which was my favorite book last year.
While it had sensitive topics, they were important to talk about and having class discussions on it helped me broaden my understanding of the world.
While DCPS cutting down full-length novels worsens the literacy crisis we are in, there is not much they can do to prevent students from not even reading the singular book they are assigned.
Whether students have too much on their plates, don’t like the hurried reading schedules, or don’t like the book they are reading, many end up turning to online summaries or AI instead. While DCPS is playing a role in this crisis, they are not the sole problem, nor can they be the sole solution.
Students have to pull their weight, as well.
As students, we need to start reading the books, participating in discussions, and stop chasing the grades. Especially in today’s society, books can provide examples of resistance, which can inspire our generation to speak out against problems in our world.
Continually decreasing attention spans from social media and students reading less in school means that the literacy crisis is becoming one of the most prevalent issues in schools. And while DCPS has a role in fixing it, the first thing we need to do is start reading our books and stop relying on the internet. •
