“To Kill a Mocking Bird,” “The Great Gatsby,” and “Lord of the Flies” are all books that most of us have heard of and are required to read.
It’s true that it’s a hassle, but most teachers try to consider what students will think of the reading assignments before they give it out, especially for something like summer reading.
Donna Hunter, a current RHS English teacher, described the new process that will be used at Herriman High next year.
“There will be a choice for each grade and it is based on different reading levels and interests,” Hunter said.
Hunter also compared reading to broccoli.
“[Students] don’t always want to eat broccoli, but it’s good for you.”
Stress and a busy schedule can lead students into using helpful guides as an easy way out. Sites such as Spark Notes give enough information, from plot overview to chapter summaries, to help a student strum their way through any well-known novel. Reading is something that helps anyone during any point in their life.
“There have been studies showing that people who read have better lives. They are happier, have more money, are less likely to be ripped off, and have a bigger world view,” Hunter said.
She also made a good point that teachers assign students things they need to do, to show them that they have things they need to do. If students didn’t have anything to do over the summer, they would do nothing but eat cereal, watch T.V. and sleep.
And what’s so wrong with that?
“Over the summer your IQ can go down 10 points,” said Hunter, which is due to students throwing aside any thought, or even remembrance of education.
Over all, students should just compromise and try to read as much as they should whether it’s during the school year or over summer break.
“Students need to start picking up wisdom from books, instead of learning the hard way,” Hunter said.
And that is why students are required to read in school. So next time your English teacher starts handing out a class set of a classic book, try to learn something from it, or at least try to find something enjoyable about it.