LLB/00015/025

CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT
READING IS A WASTE OF TIME
INTRODUCTION
Reading cannot deemed as waste of time as it is a very important skill in cognitive demands and
social significance. Reading in its literal meaning is the skill of looking at and comprehending
the meaning of written or printed matter by interpreting the characters or symbols of which it is
composed1. Therefore reading is a fundamental intellectual activity involving decoding,
comprehending, evaluating, interpreting and analyzing text. Thereby reading is a more active
skill than it is passive, it is intellectually demanding, requires critical analysis and required for
academic and professional competence.
READING AS AN INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY.
Reading is an activity of the mind as stated by Adler and Charles, thereby it reveals that reading
is a very vital point in intellectual growth and its formation at large meaning that reading is a
more active skill2. It is not merely the reception of information but rather a meeting of the mind;
the author and the reader.
Reading is a process that requires interpretation, as words on a page are just characters that do
not carry meaning automatically rather through careful construction and attention to the structure
and language used the words are understood by the reader. Through this process the individual is
trained intellectually to seek clarity and unravel the message the writer is intending in passing.
Knowledge that is said to transcend through text is truly acquired through active reconstruction
of meaning through thoughts, analysis and judgement. Without this interpretation process
reading becomes a superficial activity that nothing else but words without the meaning of the
idea that the writer is presenting therefore demonstrates that reading is intellectually demanding
and purposeful. As Alder and Van Doren state as follows;
“Reading is an activity much like catching a ball or hitting one; it is something you do, not
something that happens to you.”
READING IN DEVELOPMENT OF CRITICAL THINKING.
Reading is essential for development of critical thinking as true reading involves analyzing the
text given. Paulo friere outwardly rejects mechanical reading which he terms as ‘banking model’
of education whereby teachers passively deposit knowledge into passive student who do not
question the origin or the implication of the said knowledge, taking what they are informed to be
true which he terms as oppression by the status quo3.

1
Oxford Dictionary
2
Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren, How to read a book (New York; Simon and Schuster, 1972)
3
Paulo Friere, Pedagogy of the oppressed (New York: Continuum,1970)
Instead he advocates for critical reading whereby learners actively engage with what they are
learning whereby the learners are able to challenge either politically, socially or legally the
different texts that they are exposed to in order to derive the deep interests that may be embedded
in certain texts. Through critical reading, individuals move from shallow internalizing of the
language to deep interrogation of words and languages. Readers learn how to interrogate text so
as to deeply legitimize the text presented before them. The process of critically analyzing text
fosters intellectual activity and awareness in general through learning how to internalize and
interrogate text within their broad scope as Friere argues.
READING AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Reading is not only theoretical but it has great impact on the mind of human beings. Maryanne
Wolf’s Proust and the squid argues how the act of reading reshapes the human brain. Wolf’s
argues that human beings were not born to read and it is a cultural invention that required the
brain to reorganize itself to accommodate the new skill.4 Through frequent interaction with
various texts with different complexities the reader develops what Wolf terms as ‘deep reading
circuit’. Which is achieved through decoding, fluency, comprehension and interpretation. This
circuit enables higher order cognitive functions such as critical analysis, abstract reasoning and
reflective judgment. She argues that deep reading creates the space allowing readers to pause,
reflect, and form understanding beyond the literal meaning of a word or text.4
Reading also fosters empathy enabling readers to see the perspectives of others other than their
own. This is illustrated by her by how immersion in narratives activates affective and reflective
processes that encourage understanding of others’ inner lives. She argues that this empathy
develops gradually through repeated exposure to various text. Reading therefore functions as a
cognitive training ground for emotional insight and awareness. Keith Oatley’s complements
Wolf’s argument by providing psychological evidence for reading that engages with various
literacy texts enhances cognitive by allowing readers to stimulate difficult human experience. 5
He argues that fiction readers often demonstrate improved empathy and emotional intelligence.
As such books tend to mirror real life situations enabling readers to interact socially with others,
thereby enhancing social understanding.5 Deep readings strengthens reasoning and reflection as it
enables readers to actively infer meaning and emotional states. Reading is not an idle or passive
active but a formative process that contributes to cognitive development.
READING AND ACADEMIC COMPETENCE
Reading also plays a critical role in academic and professional competence which can be further
illustrated by Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of critical capital. He argues that academic competence is
not based on intellectual effort but by forms of knowledge and competence. By reading and
engaging with the texts valued by certain institutions does not merely transmit information but it
cultivates the required institutional expectations. Learners who actively analyze the required text
4
Maryanne wolf, Proust and the Squid: The story and science of the reading brain (New York:
Greenwood press, 1986)
5
Keith Oatley, “Fiction: Simulation of social worlds,” Trends in Cognitive Sciences 20,no.8 (2016): 618 -
628
are better equipped to decode text and demonstrate intellectual authority. Therefore reading
proficiently so strongly correlates with academic achievement. In fields such as law and
medicine which are heavily reliant on historically accumulated bodies of knowledge are highly
dependent on deep internalization of texts.6 For instance in law, sustained reading trains
practitioners to interpret precedents, weigh the outcomes of various laws and to make best
informed decision on certain cases of cases. Particularly for professionals where expertise is
demonstrated through interpretation mastery of in deep reading which is critical reading
enhances the credibility of the text.

However reading might be very unproductive and therefore can be deemed as a waste of time if
it lacks purpose and is interfered with by distractions. Nicholas Carr supports this argument in
his writings where he states that frequent exposure to various interruptions such as multitasking
and the digital environment in general as this trains the brain to skim through texts and not
necessarily retain the content of the text.
He deeply contrasts distracted digital reading with the immersed reading associated with books
which cultivates sustained attention, linear reasoning and introspection. These habits are
essential for various writings and form foundation for various intellectual achievements. This is
mainly because as he argues the brain is plastic similar to Wolf’s argument above therefore
enables adaptability to various forms of reading if reading is done repeatedly but also it can adapt
to various media. His critic on reading does not really imply decline, but rather calls for
intentional reading practice that resists fragmentation.7
CONCLUSION
Reading, therefore is not a waste of time per say, rather it is a vital pivot required for intellectual
growth, critically analysis, cognitive value and for academic competence. When reading is done
with purpose and critically, reading develops knowledge, sharpens reasoning and deepens
understanding of both self and society.

REFERENCES
1. Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren, How to Read a Book ( New York: Simon &
Schuster, 1972)
2. Paulo Friere, Pedagogy of the Oppressed (New York: Continuum, 1970)
3. Maryanne Wolf, Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain (New
York: Harpercollins,2007)
4. Keith Oatley, “ Fiction: Simulation of Social Worlds,” Trends in cognitive Science 20,
no.8 (2016): 618 – 628

6
Pierre Bourdieu, “The forms of capital,” in Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of
Education, ed. J. Richardson(New York: Greenwood Press, 1986)
7
Nicholas Carr, The Shallows: What the Internet is doing to Our Brains (New York: [Link], 2010).
5. Pierre Bourdieu, “The forms of capital,” in Handbook of Theory and Research for the
Sociology of Education, ed. J. Richardson(New York: Greenwood Press, 1986)
6. Nicholas Carr, The Shallows: What the Internet is doing to Our Brains (New York:
[Link], 2010).