LEARNING TO LEARN
In recent years there has been an increasing focus on Independent reading , or reading for pleasure , in the development of academic attainment . Research referenced by the IBO strikingly shows that children who regularly read books at the age of ten , and more than once a week at sixteen gain higher results in English , Mathematics , Science and History . A student who reads twenty minutes a day will be exposed to 1.8 million words a year and score in the 90th percentile in standardised tests , while a student who reads one minute a day will be exposed to 8,000 words a year and score in the 10th percentile . In 2012 , the Department of Education published “ Research evidence on reading for pleasure ”, which concludes that reading for pleasure is “ an activity that has real emotional and social consequences .” There is growing evidence that reading literary fiction is even more significant in educational attainment than socio-economic background and that children who read books for pleasure are more likely to secure professional jobs ( Sullivan and Brown , 2013 ).
Given the incontestable benefits to students of reading how should schools respond ? The Department for Education report puts access to plentiful choice of interesting books both at home and in school top of the list ; the connection between choice and sustained interest are clear . If twenty minutes a day reading fiction makes such a considerable difference to academic progress , schools should be far sighted enough to think about how it can be integrated into the timetable .
Reading should not however be the sole responsibility of English reading lessons , rather it needs to be seen as key to the culture of learning in all areas of the curriculum . Schools need to talk with parents about how we join up the experience of reading at home and school , and teachers and senior leaders need to show that reading is part of scholarship by stressing its importance in imaginative and strategic planning .
And finally , to come to the large and pressing question of why reading matters in the Twenty First Century in an increasingly digital society . At a time where debate can be reduced to one hundred and forty characters , we need to teach our children that the world is a complex place full of contradictions and ambiguities if they are to thrive . Skilled readers are more able to discriminate and ask questions , to apply reason and critical responses , and less likely to take a narrow view of the world . We are not yet aware of the potential of AI for good or ill but as computers start to behave more like humans the ability to read deeply is crucial in the management of AI solutions . However , ultimately , and whatever the future of AI , what remains a profound truth about reading is that it is through fiction that we realise our sense of uncertainty , love , amazement , and start to reflect in intelligent and creative ways about how to construct some order from the chaos of human existence .
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