I was a college English professor for 17 years. Trust me: reading problems for young people are worse than ever. They have trouble with comprehension, summarizing, background knowledge, even basic vocabulary. And these deficiencies lead to writing difficulties and other incompetencies that are harming not only the college students themselves but also the potential employers that may want to hire them.
This is not the path toward being an English Champion.
But literacy isn’t just a problem for individuals. It’s a sign of a much larger problem going on at universities. On this episode, I discuss a recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education in which I connect the reading dilemma with the rest of the declining education establishment.
Enjoy!
Reading Problems Indicate Systemic University Problems