How often have you had to read a book for a class that you had absolutely no interest in?

The answer? Too often.

Many of the things that are assigned to students to read in their English class are not particularly something they would enjoy. Students must read Shakespeare plays, The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and so many other things.

Senior Kori Tuttle says “I don’t think I’ve had an English class where I wasn’t assigned something to read.”

She goes on to say that many of these things she understands, however it can be difficult to keep up. Often times, the hardest thing for students with assigned reading is keeping up with what the teacher has assigned.

Another problem that some students may have is getting the motivation to do the assignment. When the topic that the book is on does not interest the reader, it is very hard to finish a book.

There are lists of books that are suggested for teachers to have their students read. These books are suggested by other teachers.

The students do not have any input on these lists. If the students could get a say in what went on these lists, maybe the teachers wouldn’t have the problem of students not reading the books they’re assigned.

Senior Trenton Jones says, “I think that they’re pretty reasonable, but if you fall behind even just a little bit it can feel overwhelming to try and catch back up because you have to do a lot of extra reading and extra questions and stuff.”

Often times, this is because the teacher does not take in the students reading level into how they chose their books. It can make things far more difficult for when students get behind in their reading. Everything will pile up on students, and it brings down their grades.

These books are much harder for some students, but not for others. The teachers may think that these are important, even if they are hard on the students.

Tuttle also says,  “I think some of these books are important, but not all of them. I feel like some of them don’t have to do with the things we are dealing with today.”

Both students share the opinion that teachers need to change some of our book selections for classes, but they don’t know what they need to become.

It is clear that there needs to be a change in what students read in the classroom. Schools need to make sure that it continues to match what is going on in the world today, not just what has gone on in the past.