It is a beautiful August day; the sun is shining, your feet sink into the sand, and the ocean’s waves gently break in front of you. You reach for a water bottle from your bag, but your hand grabs something else- a book?
Don’t get me wrong: I love to read. Especially on the beach; I can relax and let the book take me into another world. However, almost all of the required summer reading I have been forced to read has not exactly sparked my interest.
Let’s be honest- who actually reads all their summer reading? The most reading we do is scrambling on SparkNotes’ website the day before the test when school comes around.
CHS has worked on this problem over the past few years. Now, there is a required book, and the choice of one book from a list of pre-approved selections. I think that a choice is a great start; it gives students an option to pick a book from the genre they most enjoy.
But what’s the point of assigning summer reading if kids aren’t actually taking away anything from it, besides learning how to cram for an exam? Summer reading should be about refreshing your brain over a long break with something that will stimulate it- whether for you, that’s a James Patterson thriller or a vampire-themed science fiction novel (though I hope not the latter).
Instead, I challenge CHS to break the traditional summer reading barrier. Instead of a required, lackluster novel, students can choose their own summer reading- maybe by using guidelines such as a page number requirement or recognition (for example, a New York Times Bestseller). And while nothing says “welcome back” like a summer reading test, an alternate assignment could be instated, such as a book report or review.
While summer reading may need to be a constant in the education world, it doesn’t have to be hackneyed. Allowing students to choose their own books gives them the freedom that we have come to know and love here at Communications- and maybe, it will give teachers some new book ideas for themselves.