While reading Rob Weir's article, "They Don't Read," I fully agree with him. He stated that the reason college students don't read is because they never did. Rob's response, "they never did" is without a doubt a true statement. From my own experience in high school, when teachers assigned reading material most students opted out and this resulted in using spark notes over reading the material for themselves. If students didn't develop the concept of reading in high school, then there is no way that between the short months of summer that these same students, who are preparing for college, would develop this concept. Students enter college still trying to just get by without reading.
As a student, I know that being assigned a boring book from a professor isn't the most thrilling assignment. Rob Weir gives tips for professors to assign appropriate material that will engage their students. He insisted on feeding students small doses of material that they're use to seeing. If the professors are willing to pick better material, then students ought to do their part and try to read more. With technology moving more rapidly, students can be and are distracted with life’s social networking systems. From twitter to face book to online video gaming, our minds are constantly battling school work vs. socialization. This could be the very key why students aren't devoting more time to read.
My overall response to this article is students should be eager to read and learn everything the professor assigns since their parents are spending vast amounts of money for college. By reading this article, it has given me insight to become a better reader. If you look past the title of the book or the number of pages it has and try to focus only on the furtherance of your education then the concept of reading should become easier. Hopefully this will expand the student’s knowledge in his area of study. Furthermore, I believe that fewer encounters with twitter and face book will help students spend more time on their studies and actually read. Hopefully in years to come, professor Rob Weir will write another article titled They Do Read a testament to “They Don't Read.”
