Los Angeles Times

Commentary: My high school students don't read any more. I think I know why

Most of us who grew up in the United States before the advent of smartphones and social media can remember adults using phrases like "serious reading" or can name people in our orbit who claimed certain books changed their lives. I can still vividly recall teachers, friends and family members insisting I read this book or that poem, usually for reasons I had yet to understand.

Early on, we were imbued with the notion that reading mattered. Not because it empowered us to effectively absorb information or positioned us to do well

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