This gap in the literacy market can motivate reluctant readers
- Jolie Radunich
- Mar 10
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 21
Classics like The Great Gatsby can truly prepare even reluctant readers for high-growth careers.
I'm deciding to niche down what I write about on LinkedIn and the blog to write Making Reading Return$. After focusing on general edtech news, entrepreneurship, and industry events I've attended, I think I've found a gap in the literacy market worth exploring.
We learn to read. Read to learn. Then reluctant readers are free-fallin'
We teach kids to learn to read. Then read to learn. That's our goal at least, but the latest NAEP scores may say differently.
One day later, we hold up these doves and release them. We expect our students to fly into college and career pathways, applying literacy skills they've (again hopefully) honed over the past twelve years with a motivation to keep reading what they can to find their calling.
The $4.62 billion K-12 supplemental edtech market is missing something within our sea of products.
Step 1: Learning to read. Think Decodables, Reader's Theater Scripts, and Sound/Symbol Books.
Step 2: Reading to learn. With Graphic Novels, Close Read Passages, and Project-Based Learning.
Step 3: ...Paging Step 3?
How do we expect students to know (besides osmosis) how to apply twelve years of instruction to skill-building, searching for, and succeeding in high-growth careers? Our youngest adults are stuck dealing with:
Selecting a college major that balances passion and high ROI
Marketing themselves to secure internships and full-time jobs
Finding work that energizes them so they can thrive
I know firsthand that having relentless research and reading skills plus drive, is at the heart of each issue.
We need to rethink motivating reluctant readers
I think the lack of a step 3 means there's green space. It would be great if we could tell high school students to read for pleasure, and they'd listen. But I'll choose to deal with the reality we're in.
I'm thinking of a solution at the corner of these markets:
K-12 supplemental instruction
Career education counseling
Both are billion-dollar industries that I'm not sure do a great job of talking to each other. Both are strong but have their flaws:
K-12 supplemental instruction leans on gamification to make reading comprehension activities fun. But it fails to solve the inevitable questions students ask:
"When will I ever use this?"
It's also known as the relevancy problem.
Career education counseling sells aptitude assessments and career frameworks, but these don’t directly connect to students’ bottom line. Students know that they have to read Shakespeare and perform well on tests TODAY before thinking about securing a career tomorrow.
I don't think the answer is throwing books of the past out of our curriculum.
Making reading returns for reluctant readers
We need to make the value of reading clear to our young people by connecting what they have to read today, with inspiring careers these books could be preparing them to pursue, tomorrow.
Books—classics included—aren't outdated assignments. They’re blueprints for the future.
Do you disagree? If you think edtech solutions in our literacy market have this gap covered, let me know!
High school students need to see their future in what they read.🚀
Novel Transfer is a fresh take on literacy edtech—from a Gen Z who's been there.