Reading for pleasure?

[Nelleh]

I'm researching why (it appears) young people - especially once they reach secondary school - no longer read for pleasure. I asked my own 15yr old ds. I fully expected him to say it was because he read what he needed to on the internet but he told me 'reading for pleasure' had been destroyed for him because reading (which he once loved) now felt 'like work'. He hates the 'prescriptive' nature of English classes and would prefer if he could choose his own reading material. (I did tell him the teacher couldn't be expected to mark on an individual basis!!!!).

The government blame phonics (amongst other things) for the decline in reading for pleasure.

I would love to hear the views of other parents.

I rather loved it unlike White Teeth which I couldn't quite finish .

I must admit to enjoying the first third, but then lost my enthusiasm. Itw as a day to day, blow by blow account. As if Cromwell were using Facebook.

But I adored White Teeth. I'd love to say I didn't, because Zadie Smith is so annoyingly young and lovely...but I thought it was flawless.

My DS who was an avid reader ( yr 10) seemed to stop about 18 months ago I was really disappointed. Then we bought him a kindle he now back to reading about 15 books a month. When I asked him what's so special about it? He likes the enormous choice, we live in a rural location and our library is as much a community centre as a place to get books, most of the books he likes are not the usual popular fiction so not readily available to buy/ borrow unless you order them, the kindle of course is instant, he likes the fact that you can effortlessly read four books at once and the fact that it's portable. I've tried it and it just doesn't do it for me I like to hold a book but who cares he's reading!

Dc's school have just introduced kindles to the school library. I am not sure how they go about borrowing them, or the security about them.

I'd just had a baby last time I tried White Teeth, so that may be part of it. Also the young loveliness and the I Am The Mixed Race Writer was probably more than slightly wearing at the time .

The world has always been divided into non-readers, avid-only-up-to-preteen-readers and genuinely-avid-readers.

My ds is a non-reader, nothing to do with the English teachers, they could stand on their head and do juggling tricks to amuse him and it still wouldn't make a difference.

Dd is a genuinely-avid-reader, which means she sees reading as a need on a par with eating and drinking; she can't do without it and the school doesn't make a blind bit of difference.

I was the same and I was expected (by family and the school system) to read in several different languages- which meant constant recourse to the dictionary- didn't spoil my pleasure at all.

If your ds falls in the middle category, then the school may or may not be to blame. But surely if all he wants is to choose his own reading material, he has hours and hours every day after school to do that- sounds a weak excuse to me.

constant recourse to the dictionary- didn't spoil my pleasure at all

I love reading the dictionary. I had hours of fun in my youth looking up a word, finding a new one in the definition, so then you chase that one, which leads you to another one and another one, ad infinitum ...

Some people read for pleasure some don't? Like most activities.
For some people books will lays be a chore and for some they won't.

I read at least 3 novels a week, my DS has NEVER read a book and tells me he never will, he hates books. He has no problem reading, he just dislikes it.

My DH loathes books, my sister finds reading a chore.

We are all different.

Ps loved White Teeth.

You don't expect everyone to like knitting, golf, stamp collecting so it is a little odd to think eveyone would like reading.

I would have thought it would have improved from when we were teenagers as there are now so many good books for teenagers around - from Harry potter on, there is now a whole new genre of books that didn't exist when i was a teenager.

There were teen films then - but now they are based on books.

I agree breadand butterfly and now some of the adult writers are writing specifically for teens ie James Patterson Maximum Ride series and Harden Corbin had also written a teen character.

Not necessarily, I have always been a bookworm and had no problem finding books. If they have to be attracted by special genres they are probably not avid readers.

Thank you all very much! I have read all your comments and they will inform part of my research.

OP, I can recommend contacting school librarians who might give you plenty of information for your research. Try the School Library Association.

I find this very interesting. I have twins (b/g now 15). Ds has never read fiction for pleasure, would always choose non-fiction books at the library, would read biographies of sportsmen etc. DD read fluently later than him, but has been an avid reader since. In yrs 7-9 she and her friends swapped books, read to each other on the bus to school, and went through about 2/3 books a week (yes it was Twighlight/Hunger Games etc).
This seems to have stopped now, I haven't been begged to buy a book for ages. My theory is spare time is spent on the Internet/Facebook.
We are going sailing for two weeks in August, no Internet access at all, I know dd will be reading then, and possibly even ds will take a few books (it's the only time I ever see him read).
Top tip: if you want your kids to read , put them on a boat with no Internet access. It's also really good for encouraging conversation!

Thank you all!!

Soda 1234, do you think GCSEs/examinations pay a part in your children reading less? Please let me know if your children read when they have no other distractions! I would love to know how soon they get back to reading!!

My own ds school (he's yr 10) want him to join a book club as a summer experiment to get A grades to A*. My inly issue is that, again, the list is prescriptive and I feel this is what puts our kids off!!

Ref: readers/non-reader debate - reading ANYTHING through CHOICE counts.

Do we actually know that there has been a decline in reading for pleasure? Do we have any reliable statistics on what percentage of the population read for pleasure 30 years ago? Or even on what percentage do so now?

All dd's friends seem to do it and I suspect some of ds' friends do too, though he's never going to tell me that. I had friends that didn't 30 years ago.

And O-levels in my day (just over 30 years ago) also had set books- Graham Greene and Shakespeare as I remember it; why are GCSEs more likely to spoil pleasure in reading?

My ds Yr 7 just turned 12 y.o adores reading.

Always been an advanced reader and has read since the age of 3 (achieved a 2b SATs level in YR at the age of 4 y.o - don't even start on why the school felt he had to do SATs then)

He however, switched off reading between Yr 2 and Yr 4 in part due to the fact his school had a poor choice of library books, he is fussy with his choice of literature and also due to the fact although he was advanced at reading the content of the books he was capable of reading was inappropriate and the books suitable for his age where dull.

Ds is not keen on female authors, books with characters that are animals or female main characters and he is rather rude about books written by celebrity authors

Now that he is older he's enjoying Skulduggery Pleasant, Young James Bond, Hunger Games etc.

I disagree that kids don't read for pleasure. I'm an English teacher and my KS3 classes absolutely gobble up books. There are a few reluctant readers but they're in the minority at my (admittedly very middle class) school.

My own reading, on the other hand, has declined somewhat. And it's nothing to do with phonics!! I was a voracious reader until I got to university, where I had to read so much that it became a chore. I've never really been the same since then, although I do love books.

The internet has been a factor too though. I read A LOT of stuff on the internet (not just mumsnet!), hence my shitty eyesight.

Thank you again!

Yes, there is national (NUT), US (National Endowment for the Arts)and international research (PISA, 2009) which has found a decline in reading for pleasure amongst young people.

I will certainly contact the school's library association - thank you! We have an amazing librarian at my own school.

Freerangeeggs - I work an an excellent academy which achieves impressive results - particularly in English. However, it was the deputy head (also English teacher) who expressed concerns around the decline of 'reading for pleasure' amongst students in the school - prompting my research. However, your comments about academic reading are resonating with me! I too was a voracious reader and hope to be again VERY SOON!

I started another post on MN asking 'Stress and reading for pleasure? Do they go together?'. Whilst most responders (9) read to escape, the majority felt they read 'lighter' material or not at all, when stressed. Interesting.