Too Dumb for Complex Texts?
Every year, millions of high school graduates head off to college, but many (about a third or more) will hit a detour before their first day: they're not ready for college-level work and need to take remedial classes.
What separates the college-ready from the college-unready?
ACT data points to the inability to comprehend complex texts as the primary cause for unreadiness. Exposure and practice with complex texts would help close the college readiness gap, but in "Too Dumb for Complex Texts?," author Mark Bauerlein warns that the surfeit of digital texts in high school curricula does little to address this need.
Skimming, diversions, immediate feedback, personal opinions, and frequent interruptions characterize digital texts, says Bauerlein. "[S]urrounded by the tools of acceleration," it becomes nearly impossible for students to decelerate their reading to absorb complex texts, he adds.
Complex texts demand readers who are
- willing to pause and probe
- capable of uninterrupted thinking
- open to deep thinking
Complex texts are humbling and require single-tasking, an increasingly foreign experience for screenagers. But, Bauerlein argues, students benefit more and are better prepared for college when schools introduce these sorts of unwired learning experiences into the curriculum.
Do you agree that digital texts detract from deep-reading habits? How is "acoustic" learning encouraged or discouraged in your school?
