Gen Z just recorded the worst reading scores in American history—and Gen Alpha is next in line for catastrophe. If we don’t seize this moment, an entire generation will be lost.
Generation Alpha—born 2010 to 2024—stands at the threshold of adolescence. Nothing about their future is guaranteed.
Our public schools have betrayed these children. They advance struggling students who cannot read, erasing real learning for political optics.
Colleges have followed suit, granting degrees without demanding a single book read cover to cover. We’re graduating generations of functionally illiterate diploma holders.
Now, artificial intelligence looms as the final blow. AI regurgitates past ideas; it never forges original thought. Relying on it erodes the critical reasoning our children desperately need.
Off-screen, old-fashioned reading is the antidote. Physical books force focus. They challenge young minds with complex ideas and sentence structures.
Writing springs from reading—the two skills are inseparable. A child who cannot read deeply will never write persuasively, think strategically, or lead effectively.
Parents are the first line of defense. Replace even a fraction of video games and social media with daily book time. No excuses, no exceptions.
Quality trumps quantity. Seek out enduring classics and rigorous non-fiction. Blend mythology with modern science; history with cutting-edge journalism. The goal is to stretch young brains, not babysit them.
Millennial parents remember Reading Rainbow and Wishbone—tools that sparked lifelong curiosity. Tap into that legacy: curate a home library that rivals any school shelf.
Forget waiting on slow-moving school boards or federal grants. Real change happens at home, under your roof, at your dinner table.
This is a conservative imperative: reclaim educational authority, demand intellectual discipline, and hold children to high standards. Only then will Generation Alpha emerge equipped to outthink AI, innovate boldly, and defend America’s future.
Act now. Every book opened today is a fortress against ignorance tomorrow. The survival of our republic depends on it.
