美国人的读书习惯变化

汪  翔

如果从宏观层面来看，美国人的读书习惯有越来越恶化的趋势。下面这篇文章是2007年底发表的。数据表明，一般性地讲，美国孩子在读书方面，是有越来越恶化的趋势，这样的孩子在长大之后，你是很难让他们有阅读的习惯和爱好的。

阅读在很大程度上就是一种爱好，一种习惯，这和喜欢运动一样，都是需要培养的。习惯成自然，如果有谁期望自己的孩子会很天才地自己给养成读书的习惯，那无异于是异想天开，天上掉馅饼。我不是说没有那样的个例，而是说，如果你将赌注押在那种可能性上，恐怕你受伤的机会更大。

这也是为什么，奥巴马在竞选总统的时候一再强调：如果作为父母的不为孩子关掉电视，不过问孩子的功课和作业，你是不应该期望自己的孩子能有个好的学习习惯的。没有好的学习习惯，又怎么可能有好的学习成绩，没有好的成绩，上不了大学，有怎么可能有个好的工作。结果，就是恶性循环。

我觉得，这是奥巴马自己的经验之谈。小时候的奥巴马并不是一个好孩子，自然也没有好的学习和读书习惯。他和没有多少文化的祖父母一起生活，跟着他们也难以学到很好的学习和读书习惯。我估计，在很幸运地进入哥伦比亚大学之后，他也难以取得好的成绩。这又给了他更多的自卑感。他的处境还不像他的老婆：米歇尔是从小就在一个比较强调教育的环境长大的，其后又很早就有机会进入芝加哥最好的公立学校，虽然她的父母亲也没有多少文化。米歇尔的故事比较独特，靠那种“运气”成功的机会比较小。她的父母亲在当时也没有更好的选择，如果当时她的父母有现在我们这样的华裔能够给孩子提供的机会，我估计，她也不会在普林斯顿大学时那么感到压抑。

值得幸运的是，我所看到的华裔孩子，都有不错的学习习惯，都有爱书到痴迷的“个性”。在一定程度上，我反倒是为这些孩子担忧：是不是书读的太多了一点。

美国人关注体育，华裔的孩子多数将精力放在功课上，太过于看重“学术性”的东西。还有一点，在他们的基因里面，还有我们这代人普遍性的“体育细胞”不足的问题。很多父母亲可能还不会游泳，更多的父母亲对于美国人很流行的网球没有多少概念。倒是热衷于乒乓球的中国人不少，而且还技艺水平不错。

在《都爱Raymond》里面，老爷子瞧不起儿子的乒乓球水平，儿子不服，老爷子告知真相：老子可是从韩国人那里获得过真传的。想想看，如果老爷子能够从“老祖宗”的中国人那里获得真传，那还不牛到天上去了。

回到正题，我们这代以书呆子为主要特色的人，体育运动技能的不足，对运动习惯的缺乏，倒是一个很值得大家关注的问题。前阵，我看到一些做母亲的，在那里“晒”自己不擅长运动的“优良成绩”，心里也不知道应该是什么滋味。在我们成长的时候，国家贫穷，想锻炼也没有多少机会。现在，我们下一代生活的“时代”不同了，我们倒应该好好调整一下自己，至少，是应该多点时间，去陪着自己的孩子参加各种体育运动，让他们觉得父母亲在乎，才对，才好。

附录：National Endowment for the Arts Announces New Reading Study

Follow-up to Reading at Risk links declines in reading with poorer academic and social outcomes

November 19, 2007

Washington, DC -- Today, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announces the release of To Read or Not To Read: A Question of National Consequence, a new and comprehensive analysis of reading patterns in the United States. To Read or Not To Read gathers statistics from more than 40 studies on the reading habits and skills of children, teenagers, and adults. The compendium reveals recent declines in voluntary reading and test scores alike, exposing trends that have severe consequences for American society.

"The new NEA study is the first to bring together reliable, nationally representative data, including everything the federal government knows about reading," said NEA Chairman Dana Gioia. "This study shows the startling declines, in how much and how well Americans read, that are adversely affecting this country's culture, economy, and civic life as well as our children's educational achievement."

To Read or Not To Read expands the investigation of the NEA's landmark 2004 report, Reading at Risk. While that report focused mainly on literary reading trends, To Read or Not To Read looks at all varieties of reading, including fiction and nonfiction genres in various formats such as books, magazines, newspapers, and online reading. Whereas the earlier report assessed reading among adults age 18 and older, To Read or Not To Read analyzes reading trends for youth and adults, and readers of various education levels. To Read or Not To Read is unique for its consideration of reading habits alongside other behaviors and related outcomes including academic achievement, employment, and community involvement.

Among the key findings:

Americans are reading less - teens and young adults read less often and for shorter amounts of time compared with other age groups and with Americans of previous years.

• Less than one-third of 13-year-olds are daily readers, a 14 percent decline from 20 years earlier. Among 17-year-olds, the percentage of non-readers doubled over a 20-year period, from nine percent in 1984 to 19 percent in 2004.¹
• On average, Americans ages 15 to 24 spend almost two hours a day watching TV, and only seven minutes of their daily leisure time on reading.²

Americans are reading less well – reading scores continue to worsen, especially among teenagers and young males. By contrast, the average reading score of 9-year-olds has improved.

• Reading scores for 12th-grade readers fell significantly from 1992 to 2005, with the sharpest declines among lower-level readers.³
• 2005 reading scores for male 12th-graders are 13 points lower than for female 12th-graders, and that gender gap has widened since 1992.⁴
• Reading scores for American adults of almost all education levels have deteriorated, notably among the best-educated groups. From 1992 to 2003, the percentage of adults with graduate school experience who were rated proficient in prose reading dropped by 10 points, a 20 percent rate of decline.⁵

The declines in reading have civic, social, and economic implications – Advanced readers accrue personal, professional, and social advantages. Deficient readers run higher risks of failure in all three areas.

• Nearly two-thirds of employers ranked reading comprehension "very important" for high school graduates. Yet 38 percent consider most high school graduates deficient in this basic skill.⁶
• American 15-year-olds ranked fifteenth in average reading scores for 31 industrialized nations, behind Poland, Korea, France, and Canada, among others.⁷
• Literary readers are more likely than non-readers to engage in positive civic and individual activities – such as volunteering, attending sports or cultural events, and exercising.⁸

"This report shows striking statistical links between reading, advanced reading skills, and other individual and social benefits," said Sunil Iyengar, NEA Director of Research and Analysis. "To Read or Not to Read compels us to consider more carefully how we spend our time, since those choices affect us individually and collectively."

While no single government agency or entity can solve the problem of declining reading rates, the NEA national reading program, the Big Read, is one response to these findings. The Big Read is designed to restore reading to the center of American culture by providing citizens with the opportunity to read and discuss a single book within their communities. In 2007, nearly 200 communities nationwide are participating in the Big Read, reading one of 12 classic American novels such as Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. The NEA presents the Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. For more information, visit www.neabigread.org.

————————————————————————————————

1. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
2. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, American Time Use Survey (2006)
3. U.S. Department of Education, NCES, The Nation's Report Card: Reading 2005
4. U.S. Department of Education, NCES, The Nation's Report Card: Reading 2005
5. U.S Department of Education, NCES, National Assessment of Adult Literacy (2007)
6. The Conference Board, Are They Really Ready to Work? (2006)
7. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Learning for Tomorrow’s World: First Results from PISA 2003
8. National Endowment for the Arts, The Arts and Civic Engagement: Involved in Arts, Involved in Life (2006)