As the school year comes to an end, the final bell rings, signaling the end of anything related to academics for students. But that isn’t the case. Although it may seem like a break from learning, or even remotely thinking, just around the corner is summer reading.
Summer reading is a very heated topic. Generally, students (including myself) believe that it may take too much time out of summer, and creates a looming cloud over our heads.
Usually, if a child is being forced to read two books, both of which the school selected, it is hard to finish the work before the new school year starts. Some students tend to lose interest in a book simply because the school assigned it over the summer.
“[A challenge] we have faced is there are always kids who don’t like any of the book [choices] or never want to read at all,” Dr. Elizabeth McKenna, the district English/Language Arts supervisor 6-12, told The Fanscotian. “There are kids who only want to read a certain kind of book.”
Oftentimes, summer reading is supported by parents, but they are frequently confused on how this is helpful to their children. According to a survey conducted by Scholastic, research shows that with little use of summer reading in the curriculum during the year, 96% of parents questioned its purpose.
Although summer reading may seem dreadful to some students, it does have benefits that could potentially outweigh the negatives. Kids tend to overlook summer reading as a required task, with no academic use, which is not necessarily true.
For a handful of students, summer reading may feel like a waste of time to complete over the summer. However for teachers, it is a nice icebreaker to get to know students, and start on the right track for the school year.
“I think it provides both teachers and students with a common ground to start off the school year with,” McKenna said. “Since we all know we’ve read one of these books, we can start having conversations right away.”
Maintaining a consistency of reading over the summer can give an advantage for strengthening reading skills and vocabulary.
“One of the significant advantages of summer reading is its positive impact on academic achievement,” according to Dr. Cynthia Cohen, pediatrician at Boston Children’s Health. “Studies have consistently shown that children who engage in regular reading during the summer break maintain or even enhance their reading skills.”
While summer reading programs shouldn’t be fully removed or taken away, they need to be reformed into something kids can enjoy. These programs should be tweaked into something students can look forward to, helping to foster a love for reading with texts they can appreciate more. Nevertheless, reading over the summer helps enhance skills that students will use in their academic careers.
