Until you get to the college or university level, you're probably required to read a certain number of books during the summer. You may be given just a few that you must read, or you may be allowed to choose from a long list. Either way, do you believe required summer reading is good or bad?
Summer reading is good, because it helps you to keep with it.
“...Despite the mayhem that followed, Bruno found that he was still holding Shmuel's hand in his own and nothing in the world would have persuaded him to let go.”
I love to read, don't get me wrong, but I usually end up hating the required books simply because they're required and we have to take notes on them or whatever. I had two required reading books last year. The first one I started 3 days before school started. The second, I still haven't finished... And last summer I read like 50 books or something. >.> Just not those ones.
Instead, he said, Brother! I know your hunger. To this, the Wolf answered, Lo!
I volunteer at the children's library, where there is summer reading, but not necessarily required summer reading. Every grade in our town has a suggested list of books that the children can read, but again, that's not required. We have a children's summer reading program which encourages them to read everyday(any book of their choice). If they read everyday they get a sticker and prize.I really like this system.
I read summer books assigned by teachers, and I had no problem with them.
A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads only lives once ~George R. Martin Life isn't about finding yourself; it's about recreating yourself. ~George B. Shaw
I usually don't mind it. I already read a lot over the summer, and since I usually like the books I read for English so I'm happy to read them. I hate it when we also have to write an essay on them, though. That's just unfair.
We're all stories in the end.
I think of you as a fairy with a green dress and a flower crown and stuff. -EternalRain
I think you, @Deanie and I are like the Three Book Nerd Musketeers of YWS. -bluewaterlily
Usually required summer reading gives me books that are really boring and ugh. I like to read my own books, the kind I like. Stuff like Sci-Fi or Fanfiction or Fantasy...
Good but... Forcing someone to read usually doesn't work. Same thing with writing. If you are forced to do the things you enjoy, it takes the fun out of it.
Hi Spoiler
Yes, I know I need a signature.
An author paints with words, an artist writes with paint.
We don't have required summer reading in English, but we do have Chinese reading reports required to do during the summer. The book list is full of incredibly dull and boring books though...
Dip your memory in the evening, and the rings will spread. And they spread to who knows how far away... -Ripple Effect
I don't think I ever had required summer reading lists. I know certain AP classes (English and US History) had associated summer reading, but I never took them.
Before entering college, I got a free copy of the "One Book, One Community" book of the year and it was suggested that we should read it and the book would be used in certain freshman classes. I read it, but it was never used for any of my classes. I went to a large university in a science-focused program, so I don't know if other classes used it.
I don't like the idea of required reading lists. It takes the joy out of reading. I think a better approach would be something like what Pretzelsing described, where there are suggested books for each grade in a variety of genres. That way, the student could read challenging books that still match their interests. This could be coupled with library summer reading programs.
"You do ill if you praise, but worse if you censure, what you do not understand." Leonardo Da Vinci
