美國人的讀書習慣變化

汪  翔

如果從宏觀層面來看，美國人的讀書習慣有越來越惡化的趨勢。下面這篇文章是2007年底發表的。數據表明，一般性地講，美國孩子在讀書方面，是有越來越惡化的趨勢，這樣的孩子在長大之後，你是很難讓他們有閱讀的習慣和愛好的。

閱讀在很大程度上就是一種愛好，一種習慣，這和喜歡運動一樣，都是需要培養的。習慣成自然，如果有誰期望自己的孩子會很天才地自己給養成讀書的習慣，那無異於是異想天開，天上掉餡餅。我不是說沒有那樣的個例，而是說，如果你將賭注押在那種可能性上，恐怕你受傷的機會更大。

這也是為什麼，奧巴馬在競選總統的時候一再強調：如果作為父母的不為孩子關掉電視，不過問孩子的功課和作業，你是不應該期望自己的孩子能有個好的學習習慣的。沒有好的學習習慣，又怎麼可能有好的學習成績，沒有好的成績，上不了大學，有怎麼可能有個好的工作。結果，就是惡性循環。

我覺得，這是奧巴馬自己的經驗之談。小時候的奧巴馬並不是一個好孩子，自然也沒有好的學習和讀書習慣。他和沒有多少文化的祖父母一起生活，跟着他們也難以學到很好的學習和讀書習慣。我估計，在很幸運地進入哥倫比亞大學之後，他也難以取得好的成績。這又給了他更多的自卑感。他的處境還不像他的老婆：米歇爾是從小就在一個比較強調教育的環境長大的，其後又很早就有機會進入芝加哥最好的公立學校，雖然她的父母親也沒有多少文化。米歇爾的故事比較獨特，靠那種“運氣”成功的機會比較小。她的父母親在當時也沒有更好的選擇，如果當時她的父母有現在我們這樣的華裔能夠給孩子提供的機會，我估計，她也不會在普林斯頓大學時那麼感到壓抑。

值得幸運的是，我所看到的華裔孩子，都有不錯的學習習慣，都有愛書到痴迷的“個性”。在一定程度上，我反倒是為這些孩子擔憂：是不是書讀的太多了一點。

美國人關注體育，華裔的孩子多數將精力放在功課上，太過於看重“學術性”的東西。還有一點，在他們的基因裡面，還有我們這代人普遍性的“體育細胞”不足的問題。很多父母親可能還不會游泳，更多的父母親對於美國人很流行的網球沒有多少概念。倒是熱衷於乒乓球的中國人不少，而且還技藝水平不錯。

在《都愛Raymond》裡面，老爺子瞧不起兒子的乒乓球水平，兒子不服，老爺子告知真相：老子可是從韓國人那裡獲得過真傳的。想想看，如果老爺子能夠從“老祖宗”的中國人那裡獲得真傳，那還不牛到天上去了。

回到正題，我們這代以書呆子為主要特色的人，體育運動技能的不足，對運動習慣的缺乏，倒是一個很值得大家關注的問題。前陣，我看到一些做母親的，在那裡“曬”自己不擅長運動的“優良成績”，心裡也不知道應該是什麼滋味。在我們成長的時候，國家貧窮，想鍛煉也沒有多少機會。現在，我們下一代生活的“時代”不同了，我們倒應該好好調整一下自己，至少，是應該多點時間，去陪着自己的孩子參加各種體育運動，讓他們覺得父母親在乎，才對，才好。

附錄：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.

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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)