SCREEN SHIFTS

Science
is
about
what
you
can
measure.


Literacy
is
about
measuring
reading.

Reading
is
about
books.

Or is it?

An American report called To Read or Not to Read: a Question of National Consequence here was published in November, 2007 by the National Endowment for the Arts. It measures book reading and says literacy is declining and that it is bad for the nation's culture (in this case, America.)

The report "gathers statistics from more than 40 studies on the reading habits and skills of children, teenagers, and adults. The compendium reveals recent declines in voluntary reading and test scores alike .... They are reading less ... and less well."

But reading is not only about books, i.e. they haven't measured reading on the internet (called' text-based interactive media'). The Guardian of February 7, 2008 here points this out stating that "The only reason the intellectual benefits are not measurable is that they haven't been measured yet."

Our favourite little person who has now learned to turn the pages over to look at the pictures (as opposed to flinging them on the floor!) Full marks to the library for layout and robustness!

_______________________________________________________________

* Photo from To Read or Not To Read (Research Report #47), courtesy of the National Endowment for the Arts.