Mike Rutherford of the supergroup Mike and the Mechanics opens his generationally traumatic song “The Living Years” with the timeless line: “Every generation blames the one before.” These generational concerns could be as frivolous as a fashion choice or as serious as a perceived feeble work ethic. Either way - like death and taxes - the certainty of judgment is continually passed down from generation to generation.
As much as I decry the “bootstraps” and “back in my day” narratives, which both seem to be based on an alternate reality, I’ve recently found myself with some generational concerns of my own, primarily because of my experience as an educator.
I just completed the first quarter of my 22nd year in education, with the vast majority of those years in an English/Language Arts classroom. While I won’t bore you with my vitriolic takes on standardized testing, I’ll simply say that the testing and accountability process in public education has indirectly harmed students’ attention spans, reading comprehension, and critical thinking skills in ways that aren’t discussed enough.
Smartphones and social media have also substantially influenced the shrinking attention spans of secondary students. Combined with the test-prep mentality of teaching most core subjects, students have almost wholly abandoned long-form reading and writing unless they do it independently. Unfortunately, most teens won’t choose to read or write for pleasure alone, but the public library in Downtown Jackson aims to shift that narrative.
While public and school libraries have been ground zero over the last several years for political warfare, their importance in communities and educational settings is immeasurable. Libraries provide free access to a wealth of literature and information while being the most equitable of all public services because libraries help meet the intellectual needs of nearly every community member, regardless of age or educational level. At their very best, public libraries provide a safe space for children, teens, and adults to explore topics that are confusing, confounding, interesting, or all of the above.
Recently, the Jackson-Madison County Public Library unveiled a new “teen room” geared toward providing a space for teenage patrons to gather, read, and check out books. It should go without saying that having a free public space that’s also educational is a big win, but as a concerned, middle-aged teacher, this new space is a much-needed life preserver in a sea of TikTok clips and YouTube shorts.
For better or worse, information is everywhere - literally at our fingertips. Long gone are the days of memorizing states and capitals or the order of the Presidents of the United States. Knowing that information alone is worthless when the answers can be found in mere seconds. What is important, however, is being able to synthesize why certain Presidents made certain decisions during their terms or why a particular city is the capital of a state and what that means for the citizens of that state. The key to synthesizing information isn’t found on a phone screen or in a short clip. Anything worth intellectual value that is nuanced and complex won’t be discovered in a soundbite or a meme; valuable information has to be excavated from the depths of text. Our culture has allowed teenagers and young adults to dismiss the benefits of long-form reading through no fault of their own. By creating a space for teens to browse literature and discuss relevant topics, the library has taken a needed step to re-engage students in a valuable practice with long-term benefits - reading for pleasure.
It goes without saying that a room dedicated to teenagers within the walls of a library is grounded in reading, but the space also provides ways for teens to connect with their hobbies and passions and other teenagers who share those same interests. Synthesizing information starts on a page but is often fully realized through practice. Teenagers can browse books and take a cooking class, join an Anime club, and simply enjoy a safe, third space within a supportive community.
During my senior year in high school, I received a Playstation 1 for Christmas, along with a few other presents, including two books written by Jimmy Buffett. After playing on my new gaming system for a few hours, I picked up one of the Buffett books. I settled on the couch and rarely left it for much of the next several days. The book, like any work created by Buffett, was set on a Caribbean-esque island filled with colorful characters and a plot that was anything but complex. That didn’t matter to me, though. What mattered was that for those few days of reading nearly 500 pages of uncomplicated prose, I was transported to somewhere entirely different than West Tennessee in late December. Almost 30 years later, I still get the same feeling of being transported somewhere else when I read a novel. If there’s any time we all could use a momentary escape, it has to be now, right?
My daughter is 17 - the same age I was when I read two novels for pleasure on Christmas break in 1996. I can’t imagine her doing that. And, if I was 17 in 2024, I can’t imagine myself doing that, either. My hope, however, is that more opportunities for teenagers to interact with long-form reading will continue to pop up throughout our community.
Well done, Jackson-Madison County Public Library. The work you’re doing has immense value.
Gabe Hart is a local educator whose columns have appeared in multiple news outlets locally and statewide.