By Kristin Leak

Summer reading is something that students often dislike in high school; some students say it’s boring or they never complete it because they don’t feel like it’s needed.

Many English teachers at Reynolds assign summer reading to their students so they will have some type of academics going on instead of being on their phone all summer.

Reynolds Junior Nell Watts said she did complete summer reading, but she dislikes having to think about school during her summer break. However, Watts claims there are both positive and negative aspects of summer reading.

“A pro is summer reading sort of gives you an introduction to the class before it actually starts and a con is a lot of students don’t do it so it’s kind of confusing and a waste of time at the beginning of the year.”

Watts says she wouldn’t recommend another school in Forsyth County do summer reading because it’s a waste of time when students don’t even attempt to do it. “However, it can be beneficial if all the students complete it but if not it’s just not good.”

Many students feel like summer reading is a good thing. Even though students want to enjoy their summer, they find it helpful  to read a book sometimes.

Mr. Allen, English department head, shared his feelings towards summer reading. Allen believes that summer reading is an important part of the English curriculum and is beneficial to students.

“It came to our attention that there was some slippage in student reading ability over the summer break. Summer reading is a means to keep students reading and keep up their skills over the summer.”

Allen also explained how the summer reading books are selected. “The teachers for English on each grade level discuss texts and try to choose texts that are challenging, but will have some appeal for students.”

In order to keep students accountable for their summer reading when they come back to class in the fall, “teachers do a variety of things,” Allen said. “There is an assignment that is due at the beginning of the course that is associated with summer reading.  Some teachers do quizzes, tests, and projects on the summer reading as well.”

Some students, however, desire to keep school completely out of their summer vacation. To them Allen has this response: “I would ask them to think of reading as they would any other skill.  If they play sports, my guess is they do some work in the offseason to keep up their skills and strength. The idea behind [reading] is the same.”

While Allen has definite ideas about summer reading, he remains open to those of students. “I would love to hear student thoughts about summer reading and their ideas on how it can improve.  It is not going away, but I think their input is valuable.”

Photo provided by Creative Commons