# data[].attributes.headline
We need to have a love affair with reading

# data[].attributes.subject
We need to have a love affair with reading

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
As an education nonprofit, Teach For America's been placing teachers in schools across the country for nearly 25 years, and sometimes the best exercises are the simplest: just asking people what they think.

What are the books that rocked our world? Dentist, hipster, retired army officer-it doesn't matter. We all have something that moved us, and hearing from our friends and neighbors may surprise us. It may also challenge us to refresh our thinking.

When was the last time you got so lost in a book that you tuned out your entire family? Or cried when the main character died? Or became just a wee bit crazed when the movie version got it wrong? Reading is intensely personal. And yet millions of people share these reactions all of the time, missing a subway stop because they're so engrossed, or using a sliver of bathroom light to get in a few more pages after dark. That love affair-that's really what it is, stealing moments and having a hard time explaining it-is not easily taught. There's no real way to sit someone down and say "get lost in this." It's best experienced naturally, and getting our students to enjoy it when they're young is critical.

The teenage years are a formative period, as anyone who ever wore a backpack can attest. Distractions abound. Hormones rage. And habits harden. On top of that, modes of communication today are short and getting shorter. Who calls when you can text, or writes when you can post a photo? Why read the news when you can skim a weekend summary? And when did vowels become optional, srsly? We're taking Shakespeare's "brevity is the soul of wit" so literally that we'll stop reading him.

And yet tucking into a good book is among the most advanced activities out there, catapulting you to places that no Instagram feed can reach. Far from a throwback, a love of reading will follow teens everywhere they go, unlocking possibility after possibility. In some cases, it'll change their trajectory: Allen Ginsberg, one of America's greatest poets, was inspired by reading Walt Whitman in his Newark high school. We want our teens to be the greatest writers, thinkers, and leaders of their generation, and it starts with being great readers. Nothing should get in the way of their dreams-not zip code, race, or income. Stepping into another universe can be the best way to reconsider and change your own.

On the flip side, we understand the dangers that can arise when reading skills are not embedded at a young age: nearly 85 percent of juvenile offenders are functionally illiterate. Seventy-five percent of people on welfare are at the lowest two reading levels. Some states partially base their projections for prison beds on early literacy tests. The moral and financial costs of failure are untold.

Rationally speaking then, there's no choice. Reading early and often is an essential factor to putting students on a path of their own choosing. But there's a difference between opting to read and being pulled, and it's the irrational draw-the sneaking in a book at dinner, cradling it in bed-that we're after.

That's the stuff that lasts and why we're convening this large-scale kitchen table conversation: to hear from audiences far and wide about the title that inspired them. We want to open up our classrooms to the wisdom of these experiences, update our shelves, and ensure that our students-like all students-have access to the best that's ever been written. Tastes changes, lists evolve, but the timeless works have a way of cutting across all backgrounds. Our hope is that in 5 or 10 years, when this question is turned around to our teens, they'll be stuck in the same internal battle of narrowing down all of their favorite choices to just one. That's as much of the goal as crowning any book a winner: keeping the debate and discussion alive.

Answer this: What's the one book every teen should read?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
We Need Kids to Have a Love Affair With Reading Now More Than Ever

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As an education nonprofit, Teach For America's been placing teachers in schools across the country for nearly 25 years, and sometimes the best exercises are the simplest: just asking people what they think. What are the books that rocked our world? Dentist, hipster, retired army officer-it doesn't matter.

# data[].attributes.body
-across the country

-

# data[].attributes.body
Since 1984, the proportion of adolescents who read for pleasure once a week or more has dropped from 81% to 76% among 9-year-olds, according to research released this week by advocacy group Common Sense Media. Among 13-year-olds, rates of reading for pleasure have dropped from 70% to 53%. Among 17-year-olds, the rate dropped from 64% to 40%. The proportion who say they "never" or "hardly ever" read has gone from 8% of 13-year-olds and 9% of 17-year-olds in 1984 to 22% and 27%, respectively.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This research review charts trends in reading rates and reading achievement over time among kids and teens in the U.S. We focus on national surveys and databases for data on children's reading habits and reading scores, looking at differences across time, and between demographic groups. We also examine the growing literature on ereading among young people, which has largely studied attitudes toward ebooks and ereading. We conclude with a discussion of key future areas of research on reading and ereading.

Download the full report at the link above, or see highlights in our infographic.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Children, Teens, and Reading | Common Sense Media

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This research review charts trends in reading rates and reading achievement over time among kids and teens in the U.S. We focus on national surveys and databases for data on children's reading habits and reading scores, looking at differences across time, and between demographic groups.

# data[].attributes.headline
Engaging with kids--making it meaningful

# data[].attributes.subject
Engaging with kids--making it meaningful

# data[].attributes.body
the 4 C’s – creativity, critical thinking,communication, and collaboration.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Our world is changing and changing rapidly. But while we often see digital natives on the covers of contemporary magazines, we have students in our classrooms from both sides of the divide. A 21st century classroom must engage and energize both natives and non-natives, preparing all students to be active participants in our exciting global community.

Many look at this divide and cry out for a renewed focus on the 3 R's - reading, writing, and arithmetic. But in order to fully participate in today's global community, students must also master the - creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration.

So often, when we talk about change in the classroom, we simply add one more thing to the list of topics we expect educators to cover. However, as you constructivists out there know, learning is activated when we help our students uncover information, not simply cover it for them.

When we think about bringing the 4 C's into our classroom, we don't need to "add" a thing. The best way to help students master these skills is to change HOW we teach and learn in our classrooms. It is the process of learning, not the content of learning, that addresses the 4 C's.

Technology is a perfect vehicle for facilitating this. But this isn't about learning how to use technology or even teaching with technology tools, it is about students creating and constructing with technology. That is why we develop tools like Wixie and lead professional development on PBL at Tech4Learning.

We can help students build creativity and critical thinking by the types of questions we ask them to respond to. With all of the information that can easily be found online, we no longer need to have students think of things, but think about them.

Students should be building communication skills that reflect the media rich world they are surrounded by. Rather than writing an essay or a report about a subject they are learning, ask students to help solve a problem and let them share their solution using formats they see in the world around them, such as digital stories, eBooks, virtual museums, video journals, news broadcasts, and interactive games.

While you can encourage students to respond to a question in multiple ways without technology tools, multimedia authoring tools engage student's different intelligences and interests and naturally encourage them to create products that reflect their individuality and unique ideas.

While we often think about collaboration in terms of connecting with experts or emailing experts, technology tools, like Wixie and GoogleDocs, are allowing for collaboration on documents. But, collaborative learning entails more than just students working next to each other or even helping one another. Truly collaborative project work enhances student learning by modeling authentic work in the 21st century and helping students achieve the large-scale goals of a project in the time allotted. (Read more on collaboration)

The hardest questions and biggest problems we face today do not have one right answer. In our test-driven classrooms, it is easy to get in a rut of looking for that one correct answer. Products that look different help to foster a learning environment where lots of right answers are accepted and encouraged. As David Thornburg states, "Helping students figure out how to ask good questions prepares them for their future, not for our past."

21st century classrooms are not about technology, they are about learning! The are places that have moved from "teachers telling to students doing." They are places where students are media producers, not just consumers.
How do you utilize student-created technology projects to encourage mastery of the 4 C's? Please let us know! Update 12/13/2016
Want to read more about this, I recently wrote an article for the Creative Educator web site that I am sure you will find intersting.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The 21st century classroom - where the 3 R's meet the 4 C's!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Our world is changing and changing rapidly. But while we often see digital natives on the covers of contemporary magazines, we have students in our classrooms from both sides of the divide. A 21st century classroom must engage and energize both natives and non-natives, preparing all students to be active participants in our exciting global community.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Original Stories By Kids Directed By Adults! Comedy for everyone!

# data[].attributes.headline
Jaden Smith Finds Wisdom in Everybody Dropping Out of School

# data[].attributes.subject
Jaden Smith Finds Wisdom in Everybody Dropping Out of School

# data[].attributes.body
"Jaden tweeted to his more than 4.5 million followers Sept. 12, “School Is The Tool To Brainwash The Youth” and “If Newborn Babies Could Speak They Would Be The Most Intelligent Beings On Planet Earth.”

# data[].attributes.headline
James Patterson: Quit knocking reading, Justin Bieber!

# data[].attributes.subject
James Patterson: Quit knocking reading, Justin Bieber!

# data[].attributes.body
"Yes, you’ll get the rare athlete or the rare musical artist, like Justin Bieber, who then goes and starts knocking reading. Give me a break, Justin. Wake the hell up. For most kids, who aren’t as lucky as you are, if they can’t read it’s going to be a big problem. It’s going to be a problem in high school and it’s going to be a problem afterward. They’re not going to get into college, and they’re going to have trouble getting jobs."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Earlier this week, bestselling author James Patterson announced a pledge of at least a million dollars to aid independent bookstores in need. A writer who has sold more than 280 million books, Patterson is pretty much the definition of someone who doesn't need supposedly old-fashioned, small-time institutions like independent bookstores to reach his readers. Nevertheless, as Patterson explained on "CBS This Morning," he became so concerned about "bookstores vanishing," that he felt moved to intervene. I spoke with him on the phone to find out more about this new project.
What is it about independent booksellers that makes you want to save them?
It's an issue of independent bookstores, libraries and school libraries. As we go through this transition where a lot more people will be reading on devices, nobody is paying enough attention to make sure it's a smooth transition. I believe we still need places where people can go to handle, hold and talk about books, get information about what books are out there, and so on. At least at the moment.

In a lot of European countries, books are protected. We have the government stepping in when we have a bank crisis -- Oh my god, the banks! Well: Oh my god, the books, the schools! I'm sorry, but I think that's important.

This will help some stores, and we may give away $2 million. We'll see how it goes. I'll tell you one thing, it's harder to give away money than you might think. Is that weird, or what? People like to talk more than they like to act. They like to sit there and complain and vent. Somehow they think that changes things, when it doesn't.

So now bookstores need to step up and say, here we are, in Des Moines or wherever, and here's our situation. The help they need could be anything from an employee who hasn't had a bonus in six years to a hole in the roof. There's so many ways we could be in a position to help. Obviously we also need to feel it's a viable store. The third qualification, we're pretty sure, is that they need to have a children's books section.
Why is that in particular important to you?
We have a nation where kids are reading less and less. On one level, there are kids who are quite bright and are going to go to good schools anyway, but they're not reading as much as people used to. So their thinking is not as broad as you'd like it to be. But most important are the millions of kids in this country who are not going to be competent readers by the time they get through school, which in some cases will be no further than 9th or 10th grade.

I think most kids can be saved in middle school. When I go out to speak to librarians or educators, I'll say, "I'm here to save lives," and I don't think that's an overstatement. Because for a lot of these kids, if they don't become competent readers, they'll have so much trouble getting through high school. They're going to feel it's hopeless, and they're going to be right. Because if they can't read reasonable well, they can't do science or history or English -- how can they possibly succeed?

Yes, you'll get the rare athlete or the rare musical artist, like Justin Bieber, who then goes and starts knocking reading. Give me a break, Justin. Wake the hell up. For most kids, who aren't as lucky as you are, if they can't read it's going to be a big problem. It's going to be a problem in high school and it's going to be a problem afterward. They're not going to get into college, and they're going to have trouble getting jobs.
What would you say to those who argue that the business model of a bricks-and-mortar bookstore is doomed?
I don't think it's doomed. If people think they're going to make a lot of money with a bookstore, that's not going to happen. But look, a lot of people go through life and money isn't the most important thing to them.

I grew up in a small town, and it was very limited in terms of the way people looked at the world. I used to go into Cambridge every week and get a half-dozen books. That just opened my mind up. I began to see that people think in a lot of different ways than they did in my hometown.

More and more now we have people closing their minds off and thinking that the world is black and white. They come to these simple-minded, asinine points of view like "The business model is doomed." That's a black-and-white, dumb point of view.
Some would say that authors don't need middlemen like bookstores or even publishers to reach readers, and that a brand-name author like yourself certainly doesn't need either one.
This country, right now, needs bookstores. This country needs readers. It needs people opening their minds up. It needs people capable of going to higher education and succeeding. This country needs people who can look at the world in different ways, have a broader perspective on things and be more compassionate. That concerns me and I'm in a position to nudge people and to help the discussion get going. I'd like to see some people in the government stepping up, to say: Books are important. Publishers are important. Bookstores are important. Libraries are important. Unfortunately, that's not happening.
Booksellers who are interested in James Patterson's Pledge to Booksellers can sign up to receive more information here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
James Patterson: Quit knocking reading, Justin Bieber!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Earlier this week, bestselling author James Patterson announced a pledge of at least a million dollars to aid independent bookstores in need. A writer who has sold more than 280 million books, Patterson is pretty much the definition of someone who doesn't need supposedly old-fashioned, small-time institutions like independent bookstores to reach his readers.