Reading without learning, learning without reading

As we coast along the 21st century, we notice two phenomena happening at the same time. Some people are reading without learning, and many are learning without reading. People are reading less, except for corporate leaders, particularly in the United States, who seem to be avid readers and advocate for widespread reading. However, it appears that their advice is largely ignored. For most individuals, time is becoming increasingly scarce, and young people are becoming more easily distracted by numerous other activities besides reading. Francis Bacon, a 17th century philosopher, stated: "Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man." By "conference," it is assumed he meant intellectual conversation rather than mere small talk. For many, reading a religious text is a ritual, even if they do not fully comprehend its contents. Some people memorize passages without understanding them, simply because it is required of them, without an immediate need for comprehension or learning from the text. In Bangladesh, and presumably in other places as well, students often read and memorize without truly learning. For example, during my high school years in pre-Bangladesh times, I had to memorize details about the currents of the Atlantic Ocean. I still question why the focus was on the Atlantic and not other bodies of water like the Pacific or Indian, or even the Bay of Bengal. Perhaps the author of the textbook was more familiar with the Atlantic. However, there are serious global issues regarding reading ability. According to recent estimates from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), over 617 million children and adolescents worldwide are failing to achieve minimum proficiency levels in reading and mathematics. Sustainable Development Goal 4 emphasizes the importance of inclusive, equitable, and quality education, as well as promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. Target 4.1 specifically calls for ensuring that all children receive sufficient primary and secondary education to attain relevant and effective learning outcomes. According to the UIS report, most children and adolescents worldwide are falling short of basic proficiency levels in reading and mathematics. Specifically, 56% of all children fail to attain adequate reading and math skills by the time they complete primary education. The percentage is even higher for adolescents, with 61% unable to reach minimum proficiency levels as they approach the completion of lower secondary school. Despite India's reputation as one of the most reading-intensive countries, with an average of 10 or more hours of reading per week, its literacy rate is lower than that of Saudi Arabia. The literacy rate in Saudi Arabia reached 99.38% in 2021. Literacy rate in India was about 76.32% in 2022. This means that only a certain section of Indians are heavy readers. Finland is recognized as one of the world's most literate nations, with a large reading public and an excellent education system. Some countries, such as Denmark, boast high per capita library usage. Americans are noted for purchasing a significant number of books, although there may be a disparity between book purchases and actual reading. In Buenos Aires, Argentina, there are coffee shops with books. So, you read a book or flip through a book as you sip your coffee. In Bangkok, I saw something like “Books and Beers.” I don’t think that works unless you choose one over the other. In Japan, it is not uncommon to see adults reading comic books, which are immensely popular. In general, as a traveller in Europe you see a good many fellow travellers reading a book. When travelling in the US, I used to carry juvenile detective stories in Bengali by authors such as Satyajit Ray, Sirshendu Mukherjee, or Mustafa Shiraj. This often sparked curiosity and led to discussions about the Bengali language and literature. Now things are changing. Books are no longer considered the main sources of knowledge. Many now learn without reading. There is internet-driven knowledge. Google -- on its way to becoming old-fashioned in an AI driven world, is still a major source of information. Wikipedia brings knowledge at your fingertip. Then we have podcasts, audio books, videos, and YouTube. As multi-tasking becomes the norm, some listen to an audio book or podcast while commuting. Students in growing numbers prefer to learn by watching videos rather than reading texts. While technology has revolutionized the learning process, it also poses distractions. For example, a student with a smartphone and internet access may find it difficult to focus on reading an essay when presented with alternatives like watching a music video, cricket match, or a teaser of a new action-film, or playing an online game. While we must be open to new modes of learning, learning through the medium of a book works best for me. And you do not need to read all the books. Remember Francis Bacon’s advice: Some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly. Habibul Haque Khondker is a sociology professor at Zayed University, Abu Dhabi who previously taught at the National University of Singapore.
Published on: 2024-04-06 08:58:59.104363 +0200 CEST