Since America’s literacy crisis became well-known in 2013, it has been largely left unaddressed. Recent 2024 studies from the National Literacy Institute found that 21% of American adults lack the capacity to read and/or write. Many, including students and staff at SCHS, credit the increase, up from 1.3% of Americans being illiterate in 2007, to significant developments in modern technology.
Sophomore Claire Hinton believes the literacy crisis needs to be taken more seriously than it currently is through enforcement of reliable sources and physical media.
“I think it is a serious issue because all of our media is no longer focused on books, and books are the backbone of our society,” Hinton said. “We use language and words to communicate with each other, and books are a way for us to really empathize with one another.”
Staff members like English teacher Elizabeth Kelly fear for students’ development of literacy and struggle to plan their lessons around the rise in accessibility of technology such as AI, SparkNotes and film adaptations.
“I’m constantly trying to stay a step ahead of all that stuff,” Kelly said. “In the beginning of the year, we waffled a little bit, and we were trying to talk to kids about how to use it ethically. And it just wasn’t working.”
Hinton worries the crisis might affect the lives of her and her peers, especially due to the fact it might not only alter their classes and grades but also their future success outside of school.
“I would say that literature is the way that we communicate, and for some people, it is their art,” Hinton said. “Reading literature in its actual form is much better for your attention span and for how you formulate sentences, your critical thinking skills, and it’ll build onto your skills that you can use for the rest of your life.”
Senior Annabelle Granger finds the use of AI and summaries almost completely unnecessary due to the assortment of resources SCHS offers on and off campus to aid their students academically.
“There’s a lot of other resources that I’d be more interested in relying on to help me, like tutorial periods where I can actually talk to my teacher who has that in-depth understanding instead of relying on an AI or a website that may not be up to par with what I’m trying to do and with the level that I’m trying to achieve,” Granger said.
Relying on electronic resources might not be the best option for most students to succeed academically and achieve literacy. Freshman Jay Patel finds students’ use of AI excessive and believes it stagnates their learning.
“I feel like people might need to stop using AI to do basic needs. I could just take a book and start reading it page by page until I’m done so that I can summarize everything instead of having AI summarize it,” Patel said. “If you’re having AI summarize it, then there’s no point in learning.”
Junior Alex Barsotti emphasized the importance of people maintaining literacy skills.
“I know there’s this saying, if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it. If you don’t use your skills about reading stuff and coming up with your own ideas about it, you’ll eventually lose that skill,” Barsotti said.
Many students believe the future of technological aid and its effects on American literacy is that one should use AI and other such sources only when necessary.
“I think that it’s very easy to rely on a lot of these tools while you’re in high school or even college. But I think once you’re in a field of work where you’re expected to have a work ethic and integrity, it’s a lot riskier,” Granger said. “There are a lot of fields that are now integrating AI and resources like these because it’s so efficient and it can save a lot of time, so I think it’s kind of having a balance between what is beneficial and what is actually harming you.”