One of the questions I frequently get asked by frustrated parents of teenagers living in the digital age is “how do I get my child to read?”. They don’t mean the reams of reading their children are getting in stuttered texted messages or online chats. They are talking about reading novels of depth and interest for pleasure. Given that reading skill is one of the most important predictors for success at university and in life, the question is an important one to address (ok, I made the life part up, but I have found well-read people to be more interesting and open-minded than others). Assuming that the parents have read to and with their children while they were young, my answer always contains this piece of advice: unplug. 

 In order for a reader to understand a book deeply and thoroughly, to really get into a novel, everyday digital distractions such as TVs, iProducts, and smartphones must be removed. I find that with most of my students, it takes 10 to 15 minutes to reach the zen-like state of deep reading. I have found that it is more difficult getting digitally-raised kids to reach this stage, so immersed are they in a world that dings or tweets every minute. Often they give up after trying to read after five minutes. In fact, many never really persevere beyond this stage, resulting in the reading of a novel in five-minute, one-page increments that achieves nothing in understanding or enjoyment. Parents and educators need to create comfortable unplugged situations where teenagers have no option but to relax and read. Like reflection and meditation, reading for pleasure cannot be rushed and should be mentored.

One of the best ways to enable reading is to remove your teenager from access to the digital world. For my family, this means escaping to our cabin in the woods at Gunn Lake. Originally a log cabin built by my father, recent improvements made by my brothers, including electricity and a landline, have made the structure more Whistler than Barkerville, but it is still the place where we unplug from electronic communication devices and read as a family. It usually takes a day and a night for the pace to slow: a campfire and some card games to change the settings on my teenagers from Call of Duty and Sims to Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew (actually, despite the fact we have both series at the cabin, they are not the series of choice for the kids).  Nick, our 16-year-old, who battles reading mightily in his sports-playing, homework-full, video-game-relaxing daily life, immerses himself in novels such as The Game of Thrones, a 1000 page tomb that he finishes in three days. Ky, Olivia, and cousin Charlotte (on the one exception to unplugging, her Kindle) read voraciously, devouring books borrowed from the Gold Bridge Library, where Jeanne, the librarian, is also the person who made honey jars for Susy and my wedding at the lake five years ago. We read on the ice-covered lake in the wintertime, on the dock in the summertime, and sprawled on couches in the cabin all the time. A silent communal family experience, interrupted by the making of tea and the yawning of our dogs, that brings us closer without talking. Of course, the kids swim, fish, play Capture the Flag, and a do a plethora of other outdoor activities, but they really look forward to unplugged time; in fact, when we offered to put Wi-Fi in two years ago, they adamantly opposed the idea. They value the slow, reflective pace at the lake and Susy and I feel blessed by this. 

I realize that not everyone has the opportunity to escape the rush of their lives by taking their family away. It is important to create unplugged sanctuaries of time and place at home as well. A comfortable couch where the kids can read. A day on the weekend when electronics are turned off.  An evening when the family plays cards or board games or reads together. Reading for pleasure takes time and planning in the digital age. Of course, all the time and planning means little if parents are telling and not doing. If we never slow down, reflect, and read ourselves, then it is unlikely that our teenagers will learn to value of these unplugged activities.

When I speak with educators about the potential of Twitter to energize and improve the learning culture in schools, one question that is always asked is "how can a good idea be disseminated in 160 characters?". It's a good question when one looks at how Twitter is used by the majority of tweeters: posting comments about events or personal activities that do not have much depth.The answer, of course, is that Twitter is best used when it is linked to sites that offer deeper thought and reflection. One connection that some top educators are making is the Twitter—blog connection. They are using Twitter to draw learners to their personal blogs, where ideas can then be discussed and argued in more detail. Here are three top educators who are using Twitter and personal blogs to inspire and facilitate discussions about learning:

Chris Kennedy is the Superintendent of the West Vancouver School District. He has a cultureofyes blog that he uses to promote learning ideas from principals, teachers, and students of his district. Here, he links a tweet about students developing an iPhone App to his blog (click on image to link to blog):

Neil Stephensen is an administrator with the Delta School District. His thinkinginmind blog is included as part of his profile on Twitter:

Here is a blog post of his about using Twitter to backchannel at conferences. 

Brad Ovenell-Carter is the Director of Educational Technologies at Mulgrave School in West Vancouver. 

He blogs on his personal website about big issues and philosophy surrounding the use of educational technology in schools. 

All three of these educators are "value for money" if you add them to your personal learning network. 

If you are an educator, especially in administration, you have a responsibility to be part of the local, national, and international conversation about learning. Creating a blog and linking to it from your twitter account is one way to do this.

Taking a look at the above post, I realize that I have chosen three males for the article. There are just as many female educators who are using the Twitter—blog connection. Rachel de Souza is but one example (she blogs on her school website):

Update:

March 17, 2012—the conversation around STOP KONY just got a bit stranger with the director of the film being arrested for public nudity—his wife says it is because of the harsh criticism he was getting after the video was posted.

I love it when I am able to write about good things happening with social media because I believe that many parents and teachers are preoccupied with negative aspects of online communication that do not truly represent how teenagers are interacting with each other in the digital world. Here is an example of the power of social media to educate and enable action about injustice in the world.

Yesterday morning before 8 a.m., 10 different students, who had not talked with each other, approached me about the STOP KONY campaign, telling me that this was something important that I needed to see and understand. STOP KONY is a campaign, powered by a documentary video by Jason Russell, that aims to stop Joseph Kony, a Ugandan rebel leader responsible for kidnapping and forcing over 30,000 children to become child soldiers and sex slaves. Throughout the day, I asked students if they had heard about the campaign: every student I talked with had heard about the campaign; most had shared or posted the video; and many wanted to act on what they had seen.

There is an opportunity here for adults to have an authentic discussion with teenagers about the issue of child soldiers and our responsibility, as individuals who make a difference in the world, to be aware of injustice and find ways to make the world a better place.What is great about this opportunity is that the teenagers can start the conversation. There are certainly individuals out there who have issues with some parts of this campaign, but the fact that teenagers are engaged, with the best intentions, about injustice in the world should not be ignored.

Take the time today to ask a teenager about the STOP KONY campaign. You might be surprised at the depth of the conversation that will follow. 

KONY 2012 from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.