Rhetoric Argument

   Did you know that two-thirds of eighth graders do not read at a proficient level? What about the fact that 47% of high school students who took the ACT in 2009 did not reach the ACT College Readiness for the reading section of the test? These are some scary statistics considering that reading is such a huge part of most adults’ every day lives. High proficiency in literacy can change the course of a person’s life. For example, only 4% of adults with strong literacy skills live in poverty. So why study film in high school if it is so obvious that our country is falling behind in literature? As a high schooler, I see technology used all around me in the forms of tv, video games, and texting. It is always frustrating to try having a conversation with someone who is distracted by a screen. In fact, 8- to 18-year-olds spend an average of 7 hours and 11 minutes using screen media per day! Our country would be much better off if we concentrated on more important ways of spending our time, choosing to study literature over film as we have chosen in the past.