It's not how much you have, it's how you use it

Recently, there has been a spate of standardised testing conducted both locally and internationally. These tests reveal Australian students to be at a disappointingly low rank in the international community, particularly when it comes to literacy. It has been suggested that this is partly because many Australian students simply do not read enough. (This and this article explain the reports quite well).

Peter Garrett, the Schools Minister (whatever that title means), has pointed the finger of blame at a few factors, but one of them is inadequate funding. 

In life it is rarely how much you have but rather, how you use it. Undeniably, funds can mean that schools can acquire better facilities or learning tools, but having a library full of shiny new books is useless if nobody reads them.

There is an increasing trend in Australia society away from reading books to playing on ipads or computers. More and more, you can see mothers giving their children ipads or iphones to occupy them rather than a book or toy. This year, I tutored twin nine year old girls who each had an ipad, loaded with games. Unsurprisingly, they both did not read enough, or read books which were not beneficial to their literacy. 

When I ask my English students whether or not they read, I inevitably know the answer is going to be “not really”.

Increasing funding to schools isn’t going to help if the underlying culture and attitude toward reading remains unchanged. I know I certainly read less than I used to, and that’s partly because electronic distractions are so easily accessible.

When you set the pattern of reaching for an ipad rather than a book, that is a habit that will be set for life. No wonder the literacy of Australian students compares poorly to other societies.

It’s great that this is an issue which has been brought to our attention, but the answer from the Federal government should not be to throw money at it. That is a quick-fix solution that doesn’t do anything to change the culture that means that students don’t read enough.