Elite colleges shocked to discover students ‘don’t know how’ to read books: ‘My jaw dropped’

Several university professors expressed concerns to the Atlantic about students who come to college unable to read full-length books. Assistant editor Rose Horowitch spoke to several teachers from elite schools like Columbia, Georgetown and Stanford, who each described the phenomenon of students being overwhelmed by the prospect of reading entire books. Columbia University humanities professor Nicholas Dames described feeling “bewildered” when a first-year student told him that she had never been required to read a full book at her public high school. “My jaw dropped,” Dames said. Some professors do find a few students up to the task, but described...