Hello, it’s been quite a while since I have done anything with Bookish Bovine. Life sometimes gets in the way.
However, I am here now. I am back. And I am still dedicated now, more than ever, to finding a way to get reading and writing back into the folds of our youth’s minds and hearts. To ensure a commitment to literacy is carried on. Like passing on time-honored family recipes, I want to ensure we keep reading and writing alive.
Should reading and writing go the way of the dinosaur
Remember shorthand? No, it’s because it was rendered obsolete. Is there a need for shorthand? I think there still could be. With the advent of voice recorders, there wasn’t. And now, we have cellphones that not only record audio, but video. So where is the value in shorthand? Should we let reading and writing do the same? Walk the way of the dinosaur and shorthand, typewriters, and the like?
The short answer should be no. Reading and writing is linked to understanding things in a deeper way. In future posts, I’ll link to articles and/or studies that show why.
Deep down though, inherently, we know this to be true. When something is written down, there’s a connection between body and mind. Writing to-do lists are completed more than lists on a tablet; handwritten notes to our loved ones mean more than a pre-printed card; and scribbled notes in class are remembered more than typed or highlighted excerpts.
The current generation, not being taught cursive writing, doesn’t know how to slow down and think about things in a deeper, more thoughtful manner. They process things in the blink of an eye, a tidbit of time before they swipe to the next post.
Have you watched a child or teen on TikTok or any other short-form social media? They are literally looking, judging the content and swiping within a fraction of a second to the next post. Where is the time to process, truly process what they’re seeing? At the end of the day, aren’t we adults doing the same?
To read a book, it’s almost the exact opposite in terms of amount of thought process involved. To read, you must see the words, process the definitions, and then use context and perspective to fully understand what’s going on. And this must happen over and over, sentence after sentence, paragraph after paragraph, chapter after chapter, until the end of the book.
That’s deeper than simply watching an Instagram reel any day.
Loss of attention span
Loss of attention span is another culprit of not reading and writing. No one has the patience to read anything, it’s why TL;DR exists. Which leads to shortened attention span in other walks of life: listening to a speaker at a conference, attending a sermon at church, learning in school!
Again, there are multiple posts, articles and studies on loss of attention span linked to the decline in children’s literacy. I will link and repost them in the near future.
It’s not just the phone. It’s the combination of consuming short-form content on the cellphone, plus children’s disinterest in reading and writing, or their lack of proficiency in both or either.
Imagine trying to learn in a two-hour college class when your whole life has been two-second spurts of sporadic images?
Commitment to improving children’s literacy
Anyways, I do want to head this off. I do want to commit. Truly commit. This needs to be done. This can’t wait. This must be the goal, the problem I need to solve with unshakable focus.
Along the way, I’ve learned more about writing for children in a learning manner. I have written before, but to capture and teach the minds of children, it’s a wholly different animal. I have spent the past year learning about the Science of Reading and how I can apply these concepts to Bookish Bovine. To make Bookish Bovine better at doing what I want it to do. I want Bookish Bovine to help children want to read and write more.
And so here I am now on my quest. I hope you continue on with me as I am more determined than ever to continue till fruition. And what is fruition? How will I know if I have done what I set out to do? What defines success?
I’m not sure.
I want to see children, especially those that grow up in the neighborhood my kids and I grew up in, inner-city, predominantly Black and Brown communities, attain higher reading test scores. I want to go to the local library and see kids pick up a book, instead of a DVD, or get on a computer.
I want to see kids less likely to have “tech neck” and play, do a puppet show, draw, write, anything but pick up a phone.
What I wanted when I was in my early 30’s was a publishing company. What I wanted before was to be able to publish children’s stories, to help them want to be authors. So they could feel success firsthand.
All adults have a stake in the matter
I am a little long in the tooth for that. But, I still strive. And I will continue to keep pushing for more. For better. Because it’s for our children. My own children are older, adults now. But soon, they will have children of their own. I do have a stake in this. I believe our future as a society is at stake. Regardless if you have children in your lives currently or not. These are the ones who grow into adults. These are the ones who will vote. Will become managers of stores. CEOs of businesses. Drivers of buses, trains, cars on the road. Cooks. Farmers. Neighbors. Parents of future children.
And if they are stunted due to not being able to process things deeply or longer than half a second, you can be sure it’ll affect even the most child-free person at that.
Please consider joining me on my renewed quest. I will not abandon again.
Thank you.
Jennifer