Kids developing video game skills but not reading skills; are we in trouble?

After arriving at some questions looking over his sixth-grade daughter’s school reading list, KIRO Radio host John Curley did some research and found some disturbing info.

“Americans are becoming a country of non-readers. Last year, just one out of four people, Americans, read a book. And they’re showing that kids now a days at tenth or twelfth grade level are reading fifth and sixth grade level books,” says John. “Most kids just can’t read complicated material and therefore they’re not ready for college.”

While kids today might not be great readers, co-host Tom Tangney points out their skills are superior to other generations in some areas.

“Their hand-eye coordination in terms of visual scenarios is bar-none the best because of video games and all that.”

Tom says he thinks kids get a bad rap for all areas marked by diminishing skills, and that other areas where they might outdo predecessors are being ignored.

“I think we’re using old-school metrics to gauge kids today and I think kids are a lot more talented in certain areas than we give them credit for, because they don’t fit the old-fashioned academic structure.”

Kids from generation to generation have a pretty level platform when it comes to potential intelligence and talents, but those areas they show growth are just the places they choose to spend their time, says Tom.

“I don’t think they’re any dumber than we were or our parents’ generation, it’s just what we’re focusing our energies on.”

But is there any case in which losing these traditional scholastic skills will hurt us?

“Would you like to compare a typical American Caucasian kid growing up middle class, would you like to compare him to somebody in India or Japan?” John asked. “Would you like to compare the abilities of those kids to be able to comprehend complicated and comprehensive reading material and be able to solve complicated problems? I don’t think you want to do that comparison […] You will find that we are failing every single year.”

Tom says there has been some proof that military operations dependent on remote navigation by screen, say in the operation of a drone, that in those cases, these video game skills are a great boon.

“I’m not buying it,” says Curley.