Do the Math!
Adapted from Explaining Why Some Read A Lot and Others Read Very Little by Jim Trelease @ 2007
It's a fact: some people—including highly educated ones—read very little, and some — including those with or without higher education — read a great deal. Why?
Since we know that those who read the most, read the best, if we could find the answer to that question we might find clues to solving some student reading woes.
What is it that prevents some students from reading outside school? Is it the same thing that prevents adults from reading in their free time?
The answer may very well lie in the work of a man named Wilbur Schramm (1907-1987), the founder of mass communication as a science. I must confess to discovering Schramm's work only recently and am chagrined that it is not included in every edition of The Read-Aloud Handbook. Schramm's research had led him at one point to explain why some people read certain items in a newspaper or magazine and not other items. Exploring why we read what we read, he created a formula he called the Fraction of Selection. As I read it, it was as though I'd had a sudden epiphany. Here was a simple explanation of human reading behavior that is largely unknown and unexplored by professors and reading teachers, to say nothing of Secretaries of Education. It also helps us understand some of the nation's reading woes and what we can do about them.
Now to the Divisor —that is, the Difficulties or Effort Required for reading:
*Distractions are a major problem in some homes—too many TV 's, DVD's, phones, video games; or just the general state of chaos in the home or school;
*For others there's a lack of print—no newspapers, magazines, or books to read. This is most true in poverty situations;
*For some folks it's a lack of time—working too many hours, raising too many kids, rushing to too many games or malls, or too much homework;
*For some people it's a case of not being able to read easily; they're plagued by learning disabilities or decoding woes;
*Other people are surrounded by family or peers who have negative attitudes toward school and reading. "Hey! Nicky -- get your head out of the book and get in here and watch TV with us! Who you tryin' to impress with the readin'?"
*And finally there can be a lack of quiet space; they're surrounded by too much noise at home or too many tests and demands in the classroom.
Since we know that those who read the most, read the best, if we could find the answer to that question we might find clues to solving some student reading woes.
What is it that prevents some students from reading outside school? Is it the same thing that prevents adults from reading in their free time?
The answer may very well lie in the work of a man named Wilbur Schramm (1907-1987), the founder of mass communication as a science. I must confess to discovering Schramm's work only recently and am chagrined that it is not included in every edition of The Read-Aloud Handbook. Schramm's research had led him at one point to explain why some people read certain items in a newspaper or magazine and not other items. Exploring why we read what we read, he created a formula he called the Fraction of Selection. As I read it, it was as though I'd had a sudden epiphany. Here was a simple explanation of human reading behavior that is largely unknown and unexplored by professors and reading teachers, to say nothing of Secretaries of Education. It also helps us understand some of the nation's reading woes and what we can do about them.
Now to the Divisor —that is, the Difficulties or Effort Required for reading:
*Distractions are a major problem in some homes—too many TV 's, DVD's, phones, video games; or just the general state of chaos in the home or school;
*For others there's a lack of print—no newspapers, magazines, or books to read. This is most true in poverty situations;
*For some folks it's a lack of time—working too many hours, raising too many kids, rushing to too many games or malls, or too much homework;
*For some people it's a case of not being able to read easily; they're plagued by learning disabilities or decoding woes;
*Other people are surrounded by family or peers who have negative attitudes toward school and reading. "Hey! Nicky -- get your head out of the book and get in here and watch TV with us! Who you tryin' to impress with the readin'?"
*And finally there can be a lack of quiet space; they're surrounded by too much noise at home or too many tests and demands in the classroom.
