It has been said that the job of a university faculty member is to read. We read books, journal articles, assessment reports, policy memos--and more than a few student papers and theses! Most of us also spend a great deal of time reading for pleasure. (I just finished "New England White" a wonderful mystery novel by Stephen Carter.)
It is noteworthy, though, to learn that reading both for pleasure and for "work" or educational benefit, has markedly declined in recent years. A National Endowment for The Arts study, released in November 2007, confirms what many faculty have suspected: namely that young people are among the least likely to read on a regular basis.
Another study, recently described in this Chronicle of Higher Education article, adds that today's college students are much less likely than those of earlier generations to take full advantage of the "liberal arts education," and much more likely to use their education as a means to an end.
None of this is shocking to those of us who work among students each day. Yet as faculty we often cling to notions of our students which may be borne more of our own student experience (in my case that was many years ago!) than of current realities. Yet to be effective, these twin realities must be acknowledged in our courses, in our assessment of learning, and in our planning.
I, for one, want to do a little more reading on the subject before I can form any opinions as to what it might mean for higher education....