Education >
Educational Philosophy
Get a Widget for this title
RSS FeedIs the Internet hurting reading skills?
Results so far:
| Yes | 36% | 56 votes | Total: 155 votes | |
| No | 64% | 99 votes |
Yes
Write now
Print
Invite a writer™
Add to FavoritesIs the Internet hurting Reading Skills?
The Internet and the marvels of technology associated with it is a major attraction for all age groups, but can and may hurt the proper development of the reading skills necessary to enter certain academic disciplines.
Reading skills are developed by reading widely and engaging in the thought process and word use of diverse writers.
However the Internet provides so much entertainment and personal communication facilities such as texting, emails, blogging, and others so that less time is spent going to libraries and reading at home.
In the process of mingling in any crowd on any given day people can be seen engaging with the Internet on their I-Pods, and cell phones that they hardly even notice those around them.
Reading widely helps to improve ones level of imagination as well as the ability to express one's self in all areas of life. The ability to properly express ones opinion can either help to sink or promote anyone into position of prominence especially at interviews.
In the 1980's a top executive was fired from his job in a West Indian country because he consistently misspelled a specific word despite being corrected a number of times. Research done on the accuracy of his academic achievement showed that he had forged his papers.
Had this man spent time developing proper reading skills at the appropriate age levels, he would not have fallen so disgracefully.
Readin g Skills Development requires mental discipline, efficient time management and application, but the level of time spent browsing the Internet is a great deterrent to the achievement of this critical skill.
We are living in an age where people love to have a quick fix like how the microwave operates, and as such the choice to spent quality time reading as against enjoying the Internet and its fascinating entertaining features is very challenging and demanding.
Children and adults alike will spend hours on the Internet without even being conscious of it, while they will find it too boring to pursue reading which is more beneficial to intellectual development.
A visit to a New York Middle School recently showed a serious delinquency in the Book Reading reports of a number of students especially the 8th and 9th grade students.
However many of them can be seen after school firmly glued to their cell phones,sending and receiving text and even smiling in many instances.
Should this scenario be a microcosm of the state and nation at large, then a serious intellectual disaster will be on the horizon waiting for us.
In order to become Engineers, Physicians, Lawyers, and Scientists, critical reading skills are needed but with the threat from the Internet the number of students entering these professions will face serious and continuing decline, thereby jeopardizing the global competitiveness of the country.
In closing therefore one could conclude that the Internet is definitely hurting the reading skills of the nation and this is reflected in the lower graduation rates, low level of technical skills for certain jobs and the high level of demand for lower paid jobs as well as the number of students entering professional studies that require high levels of reading, comprehension, and analysis.
Learn more about this author, George Leard.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
No
Text messaging acronyms and other Internet language shortcuts are often blamed for declining reading skills among the younger set. Is this a fair assessment? Has the Internet really contributed to the decline of reading skills?
As a mother of three school-age children, I would have to heartily say no. For our children, the use of the Internet is as natural as using the card catalog at the library was for us a generation ago. If anything, I have seen the use of the Internet increase my children's use of the English language. I have seen them use Facebook to communicate with their friends, as well as emailing every day. For them, the Internet is their tool for communication. They learn simply by doing. They figure things out by trial and error, and as a result have spent more time reading, writing, and practicing their language skills than ever before.
Many public schools in the USnow give students access to multiple educational resources from the school district's own web page. For example, elementary students can review spelling words, play games and take practice tests, all from the comfort of their home computer. Teachers assign research that requires the utilization of Internet search engines, giving children the experience of looking up and sorting through information.
. In general, society has rapidly changed over the past several years. During the 2008 Presidential Election in the United States, blogging became more popular than ever as a means of communicating, promoting candidates and protesting ideology. The Internet is the place to go to find news and information. Would we blame our children's reading deficiencies on reading The New York Times? Of course not. The Internet is today's newspaper. Imagine the effectiveness of Thomas Paine if he had been a blog writer!
As a parent, there are certainly things we can do to maximize our children's benefit from the Internet. When one of my kids needs help spelling a word; they are directed to an online dictionary for the reference. Recently my middle-schooler completed a difficult assignment by accessing the Internet source his teacher had suggested. As I watch the kids navigate the World Wide Web, I am impressed at their ability to sort information, find relevant sources, and disregard nonsense. These skills have been developed over time as they have grown up with the use of the Internet.
Ask a homeschooling parent how valuable the Internet can be. From home-based classrooms, home schoolers have access to the world through educational resources, on-line books and even distance learning sites that compose their curriculum. There are countless resources available at the touch of a button.
Would banning a child from the Internet make him a better reader? Logically, it would not. Low literacy skills have plagued the US for many years. Government agencies have struggled to develop strategies to combat poor reading performance.
There are certainly negatives to the Internet; but as our world evolves more and more into a global society through the use of the Internet, our children will continue to adapt and become more and more literate. The Internet has opened the world up to knowledge like no other time in history. It is the printing press of the present day. As with anything, it should be monitored carefully by parents to ensure proper usage; but the bigger picture paints an exciting new world for our children where information is accessible to everyone, communication is instant, and even education itself is available more people than ever before.
Learn more about this author, Stephanie Durden Edwards.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
Difference of opinion? Debate now.
- Educational Philosophy
- Should basic skills tests evaluate Internet reading?
- Should the architects of 'No Child Left Behind' be blamed for the victimization of schools by parasites and predators?
- Should disease prevention curriculum be considered the highest priority for teachers to use in developing contexts?
- Returning local control to schools will enhance education
- Is engaging parents in their children's education a major factor in turning around low-performing schools?
