One of the sad realities of contemporary society is that many youngsters - particularly teens and especially males - have given up books in favor of time-consuming video and computer games and other electronic attractions. The result of this societal shift is predictable. Reading test scores are dropping and the number of teens who read regularly for recreation is falling. That's a prescription for disaster in educational achievement and for readiness to enter a highly competitive job market.
There's no single remedy at hand to reverse the shift in teen's interest from books to electronic media. There are some success stories, though. Many parents and teachers have created reading programs that engage youngsters. Hand-held reading devices like the Kindle and the Nook, which first found favor with adult readers, attract a growing teen audience. And tried-and-true, communitywide reading events at schools and libraries thankfully still win wide followings.
That's certainly the case with Teen Read Week, a national event that starts Sunday and concludes on Oct. 22. Started in 1998, the celebration sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association, a division of the American Library Association, has a wide reach. Thousands of public and private schools, libraries, colleges and universities, parent and home-school groups, bookstores and other agencies participate. Millions of individuals are served, including thousands across Tennessee and Georgia.
The Public Library here participates, as do numerous schools in the region. A preliminary list of area registrants from YALSA includes, for example, sites with Chattanooga, Collegedale, Ooltewah, Crossville, Tunnel Hill and Calhoun, Ga., addresses. Special events and programs at each site vary, but all share a worthy aim: Encouraging teens to read for pleasure and to become regular readers and library users.
That's a goal the nation ignores at its peril. Survey after survey has shown that teens who read regularly and who read for fun have higher average reading test scores than those who say they rarely or never read for fun. And those who read well generally make better grades, obtain higher levels of education and fare better in the job market. Reading, then, confers benefits that last a lifetime.
The problem is that teens who don't or won't read can lose those benefits. Reading skills deteriorate if not used regularly. Teen Read Week won't solve that problem, but it is a highly visible way to promote recreational reading as a positive and painless way to maintain skill levels.
The week is augmented here and elsewhere by a variety of programs at schools, libraries, churches and other places. The public library here, for example, sponsors Kindred Connections, a teen/adult book club that meets monthly. The next meeting is Oct. 29 - the book is "The Monstrumologist," a young adult horror novel by Richard Yancey that would appear eminently suitable for the Halloween season. Information about the group and other library activities geared to teens is available from the library website or by calling 423-757-5301.
Reading remains an important part of a teen's development, even in the computer age. It stimulates the mind, imparts knowledge and spurs the kind of imagination that is an important element of intellectual growth. Given that, every effort and program to strengthen the connection between books and teens - especially young men - deserves, indeed requires, widespread support.