Ashlyn Bollenbach

Mr. Lowenberg

Creative Writing

25 March 2019

High School Assignments: Seemingly Pointless

The bell rings to announce the start of a dreadful day. It is the first day back to school after a couple fleeting months of summer vacation. The class syllabus sits in front of each student as the teacher goes through the classroom rules; 90% of them mirroring those from the previous years. There a student sits, tapping their pencil against the desk or their foot on the floor in a rhythmic beat while waiting for the demands to cease; wishing for just one more day of freedom. Some disinterested minds wander to the fear of what this school year will bring and this fear is brought to life as individual thoughts are interrupted and fused into one as the teacher announces the first assignment. Tomorrow, everyone will be writing an essay on the books they were supposed to read over the summer.

Tomorrow comes, students arrive to class with outlines in hand and sit as the teacher hands out two pieces of lined paper to analyze their knowledge. Less than an hour later, a demand is made for the papers to be handed in, and all is forgotten. No discussion follows the day after, weeks later, or even the last day of school; ever. So students are left wondering, “what was the point of taking days and weeks from summer break to just simply write an essay?”

Education is a topic widely discussed throughout the world, filled with shared and varied opinions. A common view for countless students is that a majority of assignments received in high school actually hold value and importance to future success, especially when these assignments are done and never reviewed in class. Summer reading assignment, for instance, are assigned year after year, and yes, students complain, but does anyone question to reason for these complaints? Is it laziness? That's what teachers and parents may assume, and to extent, they are right, but, there is more to it. Reading is pointless and a waste of time when the objective of reading is not achieved. Reading should be an engaging process which constitutes critical thinking and analysis, and boosts the knowledge of the reader. Reading boosts acumen and schema, increases abilities of word recognition, and uses the parietal lobe of the brain which is responsible for attention of the reader when readers are engaged in their book. Are students getting these benefits from books forced upon them that they are supposed to “get a lot out of?” It is clear that students lack interest in assignments they do not see value in, and this is not just limited to reading. School reading assignments have caused a decrease in students reading for entertainment because they are so used to the rushed reading deadlines for books they rarely relate to. When students choose their own books to read, more control and interest is developed, which allows them to relate to characters and settings while gaining world experience without leaving the comfort of their home.

What if the school curriculum focuses on assigning summer reading with a couple dozen books to choose from with variances in topics that cater to different interests students have. All of these books can be related to a general theme or literary devices so that students can discuss how the author introduces different aspects and ideas in their book. With this, students would not look at reading assignments with disinterest and disgust. In class, students can still have time to read classic books that are effective references for life and college and take time to participate in socratic seminars where they can discuss important ideas. For summer reading, students are on their own and are just limited to their ideas and quickly become disinterested, but by providing choices, students sense of ownership and responsibility may increase and will still have the whole school year to go analyze books widely reviewed in high schools throughout the world such as Shakespeare's Hamlet or Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby.

Imagine a classroom where students are engaged, feet pressed against the floor with their heads up instead of down on the desk with drool hanging from their mouths. When students are bored, their minds and eyes are everywhere but on what is happening and being said in the front of the room. Envision a classroom where student eyes are glued to the instructor or their peers during a class discussion following the reading of a classic novel. Or on the first day of school, when students share the book they had and the theme presented by the author. With a change to the school reading curriculum, parents and teachers will see an adjustment in the attitude of young students who previously despised books after experiencing numerous undergraduate years of being forced to read books that didn’t spark any interest. A simple change is all it takes to have a classroom bursting with energy and ideas, and it is a change schools should really evaluate and consider taking in order to pave a new path for a favorable future of society and its state of reading.