TikTok video exposes America’s reading crisis: Why parents and schools are failing kids
A video has gone viral on TikTok for revealing a literacy crisis in America — showing high school students failing to read a very simple sentence: “She wore a silhouette of clothes that were extraordinary but somewhat gauche.”And BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey believes that one of the reasons for this crisis is not only the method for teaching literacy in schools, but that the amount of parents reading to their children daily has dropped. And according to a study conducted by HarperCollins Publishers, the drop is significant.“I saw this statistic that says only 41% of children aged 0 to 4 are read to daily as of 2025. That is a nine-point drop only since 2019. Only 55%, a little over half of children aged 0 to 5, are read to at least five days a week,” she continues.“There are a lot of parents who are overstimulated. They’re tired. They’re distracted. It’s really not about these kids having their own lack of discipline. It starts with a lack of discipline and bad priorities for parents honestly,” she adds.Stuckey believes that the difficulty parents face finding the time or energy to read to their kids is manifesting in "difficulty for them for the rest of their lives.”And the reason this is creating so much difficulty for children is because “the comprehension of words is necessary for understanding the world.”“It is very difficult to be a diligent student, an informed voter, a productive citizen, a helpful neighbor if you do not understand words,” Stuckey says.But it’s not just the ability to participate in modern society that’s being threatened by the literacy crisis.“Unlike Buddhism, Christianity does not place a premium on silence or the emptying of the mind. Christianity is a word-based faith. You go all the way back to the beginning. God spoke the universe into existence,” Stuckey explains.“He dictated all of creation, including the creation of man and woman who were made in his image. He spoke to Noah. He spoke to and through Moses,” she continues.This is why, Stuckey explains, Christians have historically been “the best communicators in the world.”“Christians dominated academia in this country before giving it over to the liberals and the secularists over time. And now, I think we have the opportunity to take the lead again. We have to. I mean, look at where we are,” she says.“We have schools that are not teaching kids to read. We have people going to college and becoming lawyers and doctors with barely a high school-reading level. We’re scared of objective standards here in the U.S., standards of excellence because of whom they might exclude,” she continues, adding, "And all of us are going to suffer for that.”Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
TikTok video exposes America’s reading crisis: Why parents and schools are failing kids A viral TikTok video exposed a significant literacy crisis in America, showcasing high school students unable to read basic sentences. BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey attributes this to a decline in daily reading to children and ineffective school teaching methods, noting a sharp drop in parents reading to young children. She argues that poor literacy hinders individuals’ ability to function in society and even impacts religious understanding, as Christianity is a word-based faith.
- A viral TikTok video revealed a literacy crisis in America, with high school students unable to read simple sentences.
- BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey believes declining daily reading to children by parents and flawed school literacy methods are causes.
- A HarperCollins Publishers study shows a significant drop in daily reading to children aged 0-4, with only 41% being read to daily as of 2025.
- Stuckey suggests parental overstimulation, tiredness, and distractions contribute to the decline in reading to children.
- She asserts that poor literacy comprehension creates lifelong difficulties for individuals, impacting their ability to be students, voters, and citizens.
- Stuckey also connects literacy to Christianity, describing it as a word-based faith and historical strength of Christians in communication and academia.
- She expresses concern over declining academic standards in the U.S., fearing that avoiding objective excellence due to inclusivity concerns will lead to widespread suffering.
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