h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The longer the poem, the less the per-word value. (except in scrabble)

The literacy rates for adolescents in the Netherlands has dropped dramatically over the last few years. This has nothing to do with COVID but coincides nicely with the introduction of a new education method that focuses on the technicalities of reading rather than interesing kids in reading a lot for themselves.

I always used to hate having to ride out the consequences of the latest lousy educational theory.

Yep: there is one way to make reading pay off. Show the kids where the books are and get out of their way. I always told people, whether it was their native language or one they were trying to learn: find something you like to read. It doesn't have to be great literature - it can be formula fiction, or genre fluff - just something you can read comfortably. Concentrate on the story, not the mechanics.

Reading the stuff will trigger all the right places in the brain and give you the language. I always called it the 'junk food theory'.

Last weekend the Dutch satyrical television programme "Even tot hier" introduced the lezergame (conjunction of lasergame and lezer (reader)) where a group of students played a lasergame in the gym that was stacked with books. To get back into the game after being hit, they had to read a passage and answer questions about it.

The students were moderately enthousiastic about what they read (which was an improvement).

Sounds like a fun game!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3obCgPdMKYY

If you want to see it (in Dutch)

That boy didn't look too overwhelmed by his prize at the end.

I suppose that to win he only shot others and didn't as yet experience the joys of actual reading firsthand...

That...er, might be considered a flaw in the game design, no?

My thoughts exactly.