Wat R U Reeding?

I fear for the English language. I look around a room of 25 ninth graders, 14 year-olds, with young adult literature open on their desks and I wonder who is truly reading and who is just skimming to get through the class. The ones I know read, the ones who tell me about their novels daily, have a tighter grasp on the English language. They master words, phrases, and sentences. They can explain themselves more fully and their minds can more creatively infer what literature or even a prompt is really getting at. They could be natural more gifted at language, but I can't tell that. What I can see is that - they read!

I read an article recently about the decline of reading. Americans, when polled, explained that they are too busy, that visual media has usurped their time. They watch the news; they don't read the Times. They wait for the movie to come out; they don't read the book (even though 97% of the time I am convinced the book is better). The article even indicated that some parents would rather sit their children in front of an educational video, i.e. Baby Einstein, instead of read to them.

This all worries me. My ninth graders have trouble spelling many common words - when, what, believe, beginning, friendship, character, write, peace. However, the students who enjoy reading, who read at home, are better writers. I tell them this. I tell them to be better writers, they need to read, but I don't think they have "time."

I don't know if I sound pompous saying all of this. I guess it has just been on my mind.