According to a new study, English children are now fifteenth in the world for their reading ability, plummeting from the once lofty position of third place because they spend too much time playing videogames.
That’s right, according to UK tabloid newspaper the Sun, it’s kids addicted to videogames who are letting the side down.
“Kids hooked on computer games have sent England plummeting down world league tables for reading,” the Sun’s story begins. “Ministers claimed pupils spend so much time on consoles that they are not burying their noses in books.”
The Sun’s story comes from a study of England’s primary schoolers, which has apparently revealed that more than a third of ten-year-olds spend at least three hours a day playing videogames, much more than children of other European countries.
We think this is a bit unfair. Videogames may not actively educate kids while they play, but neither do many things, such as eating dinner or sleeping, but no-one’s complaining about them.
In fact, if we’re looking to place blame, why not attribute the duncing down of our kids to the widespread availability of mobile phones and more specifically the nation’s sad embrace of ‘txt’ speak. Txt speak is surely the true evil, as it actually routinely conditions children to write in such a crippled manner.
As ever, schools secretary Ed Balls (stop laughing at the back) had something to say: “Today’s youngsters have more choice now than in 2001 about how they spend their time. Most of them have their own TVs and mobiles and 37 per cent are playing computer games for three hours a day. We all need to help our children of all ages to see that reading can bring fun to their lives.”
More hilarity to be found over at the Sun. Thanks to MCV for the heads up.
