Jason Gomez

Mr.Lowenberg

Creative Writing

13 March 2019

Oh, Those Reading Woes

Summer has finally arrived, time to relax after yet another school year of plentiful projects, several study sessions, and the myriad of homework exercises. However, don’t forget about that dreaded summer reading assignment, which requires one, perhaps even two, novels to be read before returning. Once those are read and dealt with, be prepared to write an essay on the first few days back. Afterwards, push everything to the side and focus on the lesson, which may or not have anything to do with what the class just read. Such a peculiar routine has remained the bane of the majority of student’s summer vacation. One possibility is perhaps that precious vacation time becomes bombarded by pieces of literature that the reader is simply not invested in. From the adolescent’s eyes, mandatory summer reading seems much more similar to a tedious chore than an opportunity to delve into a lyrical work of art.

On the other hand, it’s understandable why teachers enforce certain novels to be read over the course of summer vacation. Provided that students are able to have free range over their literary choices, they may not decide on novels that challenge their academic potential. A rather large point behind mandatory reading lies within the idea that readers will read literature that enforces problem solving rather than for pleasure. In turn, some students return back to school having thoroughly read a rather strenuous title rather than one that doesn’t build upon their cognitive capabilities. There is as well the major point that students will have read the same book, allowing for discussions to be through the means of Socratic, Harkness, and Hochman methods to name a few. Every student could share their opinions and further insight on the novel, allowing for thoughts to bounce off one another. This would allow readers to form rational ideas and navigate the numerous complexities the text holds, not to mention affording the opportunity to connect with peers on an intellectual level.

Judgement behind reading assignments are dreadfully split between the teacher and student mindset, although there could be middle ground between the two. Rather than confining students behind a literary wall, they should be handed more freedom when it comes to deciding upon a novel for their assignment,afterall, the lifeblood of sharing literature is in discovering others interpretations. There certainly would be limitations and restrictions, complete free range over such a decision would not occur. Nevertheless, instead of breaking down this textual jailhouse, expand upon those boundaries and allow for options to settle in. Adolescents would benefit by reading material that they find interesting, while teachers could still allocate reading assignments. Literary decisions could help break down the disconnect that exists between both student and teacher. Anxiety or pressure within classrooms would decrease while still allowing students to build patience, tolerance, and develop a rational perception towards society.

Reading has gone/morphed from being an intimate or entering another state of mind, to becoming yet another stagnant routine, plagued with banality and a crude feeling of inauthenticity. This is all too real for students, from children to young adults, as they are mandated to read specific novels for a grade. Another common issue stemming from involuntary reading in classrooms, come from the discussions held after finishing pieces of literature. The topic would revolve around a novel the class had read, pushing these assignments further into a teacher driven learning environment. If students were provided the choice to analyze their chosen novels, these discussions would benefit from a diverse line of novels that interested each individual learner. Students would be held responsible for their personal choices, setting the classroom environment to feel more organically student driven. Reading becomes individualistic, pushing more independent thinking students.

Reading inside of a school environment would benefit from students having choice over their personal reading, however, not complete freedom. The current system for reading assignments is an understable, yet troublesome process at the same time. Nevertheless, there is no need to break down the current academical structure when one can simply build on top of such foundations. The classroom should exist as a haven for learning, for both students and teachers alike, not as a frontier that cuts ties between the two perspectives.