AKA Review - 06.14.2024

From Education Next
Why Are Books Disappearing from English and Reading Classrooms?
By Doug Lemov

Reading and sharing books improves English and reading outcomes. Sadly, few students read books on their own, and classrooms have migrated toward reading-comprehension passages instead. Teach Like A Champion’s Doug Lemov takes aim at current practices in reading instruction and argues for recentering books as a medium, privileging long-form fiction, and reading aloud to counter “the isolating…technology of the smartphone.” Such changes will create meaningful, connected experiences that inform and link us together. Read this article

From The Chronicle of Higher Education
Is This the End of Reading?
By Beth McMurtrie

This unintended complement to the article above examines the disappointing reading and critical abilities of current college students—unsurprising in light of the weaknesses in K-12 reading instruction. Faculty emphasize that struggles are not limited to particular types of students, colleges, or disciplines. While highlighting approaches they’ve found effective, they also anticipate that a change in media environments, toward a hybrid oral-written culture, will require educators to prepare for a drastically different future. Read this article

From The New Yorker
The Radical Case for Free Speech
By Jay Caspian King

Distinguishing between free speech and the First Amendment, the author observes that arguments over the meaning and application of the latter feel abstract and academic, and entangle us in fruitless debates over legal and procedural minutiae. Instead, he argues, we should make a radical case for free-speech, grounded in widely held beliefs about American liberty. Such a case would “build a broad moral consensus around the universal right to dissent and the importance of civil disobedience”—even the type that gets one thrown in jail. Read this article

From Nature
What is science? Tech heavyweights brawl over definition
By Fred Schwaller

Renowned computer scientist Yann LeCun spawned a heated online debate with his claim that research is only science if it is published. Backlash from the science community was swift, critiquing LeCun’s factual accuracy, understanding of science as a method, and elitist “gatekeeper” perspective. The debate reasserted a cornerstone of modern science: the exposure of new knowledge to rigorous examination and responsiveness to the resulting feedback—but also raised questions about the role of AI in creating scientific solutions. Read this article

From Gallup
State of Higher Education 2024 Report

Colleges nationwide are pursuing adult students aggressively as they face an “enrollment cliff” for traditional-age students. In this context, the Lumina Foundation’s survey of 14,000 adults who are currently enrolled, “stopped out” without a degree, or never enrolled is particularly informative. The report observes that, despite these adults’ strong interest in college and their recognition of the value of a degree, the cost and mental health issues they face significantly hinder their enrollment and completion. Read this article