Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Reading

In this Monday's class with Mrs. Gold, we focused on the importance of reading. We were instructed to bring a childhood book, a favorite outside of school book, and a New York Times article; I brought the Lorax, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and an article about black beauty contestants winning awards. We discussed the decline in interest of reading in students, and what some of the causes and solutions may be. Some of the causes are the rise in using Netflix as a students entertainment source and passtime, and also the workload that high schoolers face that seems to diminish their incentive to read. A solution to this was done in a classroom in which the teacher allowed the students 10 minutes at the beginning of class to read whatever they wanted, instead of the usual small talk that would take place in its time. The effect of this experiment leads students to feel more of a connection to literature, being able to read what they desired, and it also offered them a calm transition into class. This little experiment showed the vast benefits of giving young readers the opportunity to break from the mandatory readings of various English classes and explore their own personal creative interests in literature. Broadening students literary scope helps them explore more parts of the world through books that they would not be able to experience through Netflix, while simultaneously educating them. I have always valued reading, being a heavy reader throughout my youth, and having grown up in houses filled with books. My parents read daily, and I have always been encouraged to read. While I have definitely found that I read dramatically less in the school year, because of other mandatory work, I praise those who find time to read for themselves. I don't even watch that much Netflix, other than watching with my friends in the dorm, I find it hard to even have any alone time at all!

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