A student mentioned the other day that he had learned more in the last 8 weeks of class than he learned in all of high school.  I am not sure how active he was in his high school classes, but I never saw him doing homework outside of the classroom.  He also said that he did not like to read books at all before taking his current courses.  “Who knew that I would like reading?” he asked, sounding amazed that books had so much information.  “Everyone who has ever read a book” I though of responding, but he kept talking without giving me a chance to respond.  I did not know if he was being rhetorical, or really did not care if I had an answer or not.   He continued on his road to self-discovery.  “I never had to study before, but I found out I like studying.  I am also reading the Game of Thrones, and there is a lot more stuff in there than in the TV show.”  I was going to correct the title of the series as being A Song of Fire and Ice, but again he was not waiting for a response.  He has learned that not all information is in the form of a 30-minute TV show or a 10-minute online video.  The observation of this student transitioning to a college student reminded me of my first year of college.   There was quite a learning curve to learn how to study, and that the assignments were not meant to be completed in class.   Reading was mandatory for learning, because we did not have videos, or even the internet, and the textbook and library were the most readily available sources of information.  I am glad he has discovered reading.  I hope that the next generation of electronic media, in whatever form it takes, does not make book-reading an extinct skill.