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College educators are reportedly rethinking their teaching methods as Gen Z students arrive on campus with weaker reading skills than previous generations. Nearly half of all Americans did not read a single book in 2025, and reading habits have declined by roughly 40% over the past decade, Fortune reports . Gen Z continues to lag behind other generations: Americans aged 18–29 read an average of just 5.8 books in 2025, the outlet notes. How Professors Are Adjusting Their Teaching Jessica Hooten Wilson, a professor of great books and humanities at Pepperdine University, told Fortune that some students now arrive in her classroom struggling to read even a single sentence or engage in basic critical thinking. Rather than lowering expectations, Wilson has adapted her approach to instruction. She now reads passages aloud with students, analyzes texts line by line, and returns repeatedly to a single poem or passage throughout a semester. The goal, she says, is to help students rebuild...