Brennian Lush

Mr.Lowenberg

Creative Writing

14 March 2019

Reading Reformation Required

A task that every student is subjected to at one point at another, whether it’s a sign of finally coming to an end, or the work to come, finds many unmotivated when faced with summer reading. While teachers may view this assignment as a way to keep students from dulling their senses and skills, most students believe they’re being subjected to a pointless duty which will be forgotten moments after the next year begins. This can mainly be contributed to the fact that the students are being forced into a task where there seems to be no merit for them to gain by completing the task aside from avoiding the guilty of not failing to complete the assignment. This negative reinforcement is slowly pushing students to hate the idea of reading itself which is harmful to both the students and educators. Rather than forcing students into these situations it would be more productive for both sides if the students were provided with choice of reading materials as well as affording opportunities for using the Socratic Seminar model once they return to school. By providing productive and interactive reading activities and allowing students to choose the material they learn about it will help to create a more positive environment of mutual benefit.

The current state of the teaching industry has teachers assigning books to be read over the summer and when students return they must have the books finished and often be ready to complete an assignment that does a short recap of the story and individual interpretations of what the students read. While this may satisfy the minimum that must be completed by both teacher and student, all this does is detract meaning from the relationship between students and education. After spending a whole summer slaving away on these books they return to only go over them in a short few days if at all. This makes the work that is done by the students seem insignificant in comparison as the time gap between that spent by both parties rather large. The student’s seem to have been cheated in the matter while the teacher just seems to be avoiding the topic. This situation is bound to have negative effects on both sides as students will feel unmotivated and the teacher’s won’t be satisfied with the results.

To create a beneficial environment for both groups the first step is reaching a point where both student and teacher see immediate results. The students are mainly looking for validation for the work so the easiest solution would be to start the year off by spending a week or two both reviewing and discussing that material provided over the summer. This way students who were confused can reach a better understanding and those who had different interpretations can bounce ideas off each other. While students were given a choice there may be a variety of books, but in some way they can all be related to one another. After the subject is properly reviewed the teacher’s can give what they normally would at the end of the summer such as an essay or something else along those lines to work as a final grade for that subject. By following this the students would get value and teachers would also be accomplishing their goals in the meantime. The following value of doing this is to avoid discouraging students from reading. If the task itself isn’t seen as a negative more students are likely to pick up reading as a pleasure activity.

Overall, the current system in place comes with it’s flaws even if it does satisfy the curriculum requirement. It’s convenient in a way, but isn’t the most beneficial as neither side has much to gain from its current state. Therefore, changes should be made in order to not only provide a more reciprocal experience for the students, but lead to a positive association between students and reading. This practice will strengthen the will of students to embrace life long learning as it is a valuable asset to have nowadays in a declining amount of readers.