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Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Lost Art by Joshua Liao

The Lost Art

                So many teens today don’t read anymore. In fact, you yourself probably don’t like to read. In the digital age that exists today, reading has become almost non-existent. Teens are more focused on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, where posts by their friends, celebrities, and acquaintances have become their reading. Gone are the days where reading was the main entertainment for kids. But all of that is fine. One doesn’t have to use reading as their object of entertainment. The problem comes with school. In school, there is a lot of reading involved and as the classes get harder and harder, the reading load for any subject becomes heavier. Kids are told to read classics and speeches in English. Many kids really do not actually read the works, because they cannot make it through the whole thing. Instead they simply Sparknote or Schmoop the information that they need to know.  In social studies, a massive amount of research is needed for the many papers. Without adequate reading skills, finding information from books in the library or online sources becomes much harder. It severely hinders the all-important paraphrasing skill and puts them at a higher risk for plagiarism. I propose that a quiet reading time be instilled in the elementary and even some middle schools to expose kids to more reading at a young age. They should be allowed to pick one book on a topic of their choice, and given a time where phones and all other electronics are taken away. Reading would be the only thing for them to do. Some kids still wouldn’t want to read, but that is OK. Reading is not for everyone. But it has gotten so non-existent to the point today that it needs to be instilled back into society. Even if a person does not like to read, they need to at least be adequate in that area. Not everything can be turned digital and into electronics. Some things will always be on paper.    
Joshua Liao

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