Reading is nearly unavoidable in school. Whether reading a question for an assignment, or an excerpt from a textbook, almost everyday there is some reading involved. That being said, there are still plenty of ways to get out of reading literature, including the books assigned in English classes. Things like A.I, video recaps, along with other online sources such as SparkNotes and SuperSummary, provide easy ways to get out of doing the work. This academic shortcut is making it difficult for teachers to get students engaged.
When it comes to teaching English, teachers are faced with many struggles, often circling back to reading. “The time and concentration it takes to start a book,” English teacher Chris Martin said, “In this fast paced world where gratification is almost instant, to finish a book is like an accomplishment.” Spending time getting kids to sit and read is one of the challenging aspects of teaching to Martin.
Even through these hardships, reading has had a positive change over the years. “It’s gotten better, which is sometimes hard to wrap my head around. The [amount] of students that are reading has gotten bigger I think. Book culture and social media is helping books become more prominent,” Martin said, “You see groups of people reading the same book, and it sort of [helps] people get into the hobby.”
Along with improvements in general reading habits, teachers have also vouched to change the reading approach in the classroom. One of the methods is simply having a conversation with the students. “I share what I’m reading and try to drum up excitement [by] talking about books casually,” Martin said, “With students it’s not this one-sided conversation anymore. [They’ve] started telling me about their books. I’ve had some pretty good conversations.” He has recently talked to students about books he reads, along with his daughter’s current reads.
Another method English teachers have implemented is the 20 minute independent reading time. “The English department has made a stronger case to make sure kids are reading and provide that time in class,” Martin said. He sees it as an unstructured calm time to get reading done. “It’s really a time that’s not attached to an assignment. It’s okay to read in leisure time.” However, Freshman Leticia Sanchez believes that the time provided is often wasted. “I feel like everyone fake reads all the time because they don’t have a book that they like,” Sanchez said, “It depends on the person. I read, but there will be other people who just don’t do anything. I feel like it’s [based] on the book you get.”
Sanchez wishes for an easier way for student’s to find interesting books, to make independent reading more productive.
“I wish there was something in the library that could tell you what genre fits you best,” Sanchez brings up ideas such as a quiz or chart that could be used to find a good genre for someone to read. “If you just get a book off the shelf it’s obviously gonna be boring. But I feel like it would [make reading] more interesting, and it would help people find their interests.”
