Summer break is something that every student and teacher looks forward to after a long school year. For two months no kids go to school, and no teachers go to work, but just because you’re not physically in school, doesn’t excuse you from some responsibilities you have as a student. 

   For me personally, I have had a summer reading assignment since the summer going into fifth grade. Back then, I had to read the same book as everyone else in my grade since there was no division by academic level at the time. If I’m being honest, I didn’t read the book. 

   Since I started highschool, the book options have become more lenient in the way where if you’re in a college preparatory or accelerated class, you’re able to choose a book of your choice and then when you get into school you will do an assignment for the book. Although, the same doesn’t apply for honors, accelerated honors, or AP. 

   While I do understand that for a higher academic course you will have more challenging books to read,  just because the books are old doesn’t mean they are challenging. Not to mention that they teach you little to nothing that I feel is important anymore. 

   Books like “The Odyssey” or “The Iliad” have been in the course for many years, and have made an impact on students, but I feel as if it’s time to change it up to more relevant books for students living in the world today. Maybe schools should ask students what they want to read, while still keeping it level appropriate. Today, many students don’t read their summer reading books, and this could be from a lack of interest in the book.  

   As a student who loves to read, I have read multiple different genres and have  found what genre interests me most. This should be able to be a part of our academic reading more because students will eventually find a genre that suits them best and hopefully get interested in the assignment and feel like it’s more fun rather than an obligation.

  It’s impossible for students to all agree on one book, which is why I truly feel that all levels should be able to choose their own books since everyone will be interested in different genres. AP or honors classes typically have to read more than one book, so instead of having them pick one book of their choice, they can choose two to read.   

    Schools should make more of an effort in engaging their students into summer assignments. We all know about the assignments due when you get to school or assigned the first few weeks related to summer reading, and personally I believe this is driving more students to be less motivated to read. Having students work on school assignments during summer is very frustrating because it’s supposed to be our break and nobody wants to take time out to do school work. 

   I might be biased since I am a student, but I think it would be much more beneficial to have the summer assignment(s) assigned in school as homework. Personally, I would try ten times harder.  

    Ultimately, summer reading isn’t an assignment that students will ever get out of, so instead of making it harder for students to get engaged, schools should try and make it so all students can read what they like and are interested in as an alternative for the classics.