Through the Arts and Letters Daily site, I came upon the following article on the decline of Literary Journalism in American Newspapers here. The cover story of the Fall 2007 issue of the Colombia Journalism review entitled, Goodbye to All That, by Steve Wasserman discusses the steady decline in both the print media coverage of literature, as well as the general decline in literacy and 'book reading' over the past century. If the Victorians were such voracious readers, then how did their grandchildren and every subsequent generation become such literary degenerates?
I thought this article had several salient points, as they pertain to our thesis.
First, I think it expresses the opposing view perfectly:
"Others, equally passionate, dismiss these concerns as exaggerations, the overblown reaction of latter-day Luddites vainly resisting the new world order now upon us. They foresee—indeed, welcome—an inevitable if difficult adaptation and seek to free themselves of the nostalgia for a past that never was."
It also expresses the consequences of this attitude, and the degenerative danger that a technologically/science driven culture poses on our ability to learn, (and subsequently our educational system)
"The most troubling crisis is the sea change in the culture of literacy itself, the degree to which our overwhelmingly fast and visually furious culture renders serious reading increasingly irrelevant, hollowing out the habits of attention indispensable for absorbing long-form narrative and the following of sustained argument."
However, the most pointed argument Mr. Wasserman makes comes at the end of the article:
"I shall never forget overhearing some years ago, on the morning of the first day of the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, a woman asking a UCLA police officer if he expected trouble. He looked at her with surprise and said, “Ma’am, books are like Kryptonite to gangs.” There was more wisdom in that cop’s remark than in a thousand academic monographs on reforming the criminal justice system. What he knew, of course, is what all societies since time immemorial have known: If you want to reduce crime, teach your children to read. Civilization is built on a foundation of books."
There you have it. If we want to ebb the flow of our educational degeneration, we have have to make a concerted effort to increase our collective love of books. However, as Wasserman points out, being a critical reader is not easy-- "Acquiring the knowledge and technique to do it well is arduous". And if this is true, then the best time to instill this knowledge is in childhood. In this age of science and technology, the only way the arts and 'the book' are ever to have a fighting chance is if we hammer the importance of reading literature at every level of the education process.
1 comment:
Hammering reading and books at every level of the educational process is absolutely necessary. Many children (and many adults) find it easier to spend their time in front of the television or playing video games. These are perfect examples of the degeneration of society due to technology.
Technology is something that continually progresses and can not be ignored. Schools should use technology to their advantage and somehow incorporate reading into it. A curriculum that combines the two will allow students to become familiar with technology as well as reading skills. With students becoming familiar with both you have a more well rounded and dynamic student as opposed to one who solely possesses computer skills but is an ineffective communicator.
Post a Comment