3 ms·

>"read as many books as possible and write down your real thoughts about them." What's gonna stop kids from just asking ChatGPT to do it for them so they can g

>"read as many books as possible and write down your real thoughts about them." What's gonna stop kids from just asking ChatGPT to do it for them so they can get back to doom scrolling social media or playing videogames? If kids today have access to much higher quality (and addictive) entertainment than books, how are you gonna convince them to read anything?

tayo42 2y ago
only read books that came out after chat gpt was trained
AnimalMuppet 2y ago
At least have them read better books. Why do high school kids need to be afflicted with Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man? Is that going to make them want to read more? Or is it going to make them think that even the "best" books are pretentious drivel? Does "great literature" have to be boring? Can't they find non-boring examples and read those?
- quacked 2y ago
  I agree with you. I think also that kids today, and possibly for the past 50 years, don't have enough of a real grasp of history, culture, and civilization to really appreciate the classic novels they're currently exposed to as part of the curriculum. As an example, I didn't realize Pride and Prejudice was hilarious until I was 26 and thinking of getting married. At 16 I refused to engage with it or any novels like it. Given the current disaster brewing in terms of general literacy, I see no issue with bolstering the current curriculum with less-prestigious books that students actually find interesting. If that means kids are reading The Shining as part of high school, so be it.
- gs17 2y ago
  It's more about having choice IMO. You could see the downward trend of my interest in reading as it went from elementary school's "read whatever you want, as long as it has chapters" to high school's "read what we give you and repeat the themes we tell you". Some kids like the classics. I wanted something that entertained me.
  - quacked 2y ago
    Right. I guess a more concise way to phrase the pro-book-choice side of the argument is "it's better for an adult to have a strong reading habit and a weak analysis habit than it is for them to have a weak reading habit and no analysis habit."
quacked 2y ago
The only two things I can think of are handwritten essays and books that are more stimulating and interesting. Normally, I'd prefer that young scholars read difficult, culturally relevant novels, and assume they'll read for fun on their own, but as this clearly isn't the case anymore I think that it's worth reworking middle and high school English curriculums to include modern books that are gripping and lurid, which is the only way that books can compete with the algorithm. I'd pick a kid reading 25 Halo novelizations over pretending to read The Great Gatsby and then returning to his phone.
- gs17 2y ago
  >handwritten essays That would have to be done in class, with drafts, etc. Even pre-ChatGPT I knew people who rewrote essays they may or may not have written themselves, especially for teachers that demanded they be handwritten instead of typed. And it must be pretty old as a concept, 1955 Biff was doing it in Back to the Future.
  - quacked 2y ago
    That's a good point, thanks.

tayo42 2y ago

only read books that came out after chat gpt was trained

AnimalMuppet 2y ago

At least have them read better books. Why do high school kids need to be afflicted with Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man? Is that going to make them want to read more? Or is it going to make them think that even the "best" books are pretentious drivel? Does "great literature" have to be boring? Can't they find non-boring examples and read those?

quacked 2y ago
I agree with you. I think also that kids today, and possibly for the past 50 years, don't have enough of a real grasp of history, culture, and civilization to really appreciate the classic novels they're currently exposed to as part of the curriculum. As an example, I didn't realize Pride and Prejudice was hilarious until I was 26 and thinking of getting married. At 16 I refused to engage with it or any novels like it. Given the current disaster brewing in terms of general literacy, I see no issue with bolstering the current curriculum with less-prestigious books that students actually find interesting. If that means kids are reading The Shining as part of high school, so be it.
gs17 2y ago
It's more about having choice IMO. You could see the downward trend of my interest in reading as it went from elementary school's "read whatever you want, as long as it has chapters" to high school's "read what we give you and repeat the themes we tell you". Some kids like the classics. I wanted something that entertained me.
- quacked 2y ago
  Right. I guess a more concise way to phrase the pro-book-choice side of the argument is "it's better for an adult to have a strong reading habit and a weak analysis habit than it is for them to have a weak reading habit and no analysis habit."

quacked 2y ago

The only two things I can think of are handwritten essays and books that are more stimulating and interesting. Normally, I'd prefer that young scholars read difficult, culturally relevant novels, and assume they'll read for fun on their own, but as this clearly isn't the case anymore I think that it's worth reworking middle and high school English curriculums to include modern books that are gripping and lurid, which is the only way that books can compete with the algorithm. I'd pick a kid reading 25 Halo novelizations over pretending to read The Great Gatsby and then returning to his phone.

gs17 2y ago
>handwritten essays That would have to be done in class, with drafts, etc. Even pre-ChatGPT I knew people who rewrote essays they may or may not have written themselves, especially for teachers that demanded they be handwritten instead of typed. And it must be pretty old as a concept, 1955 Biff was doing it in Back to the Future.
- quacked 2y ago
  That's a good point, thanks.