Junior Connor Gress tries his best to keep up with school reading, although sometimes he is tempted by internet sites that claim to provide supplemental help to difficult literature. “When we were assigned Huckleberry Finn in my American Studies class, I found it to be very hard to understand because of the different language in the book,” Connor said.
English Department Head Heidi D’Acosta also noticed problems students have with picking up books outside of school. “Ms. Bonarrigo ran a discussion group with teachers on how to encourage students to do more reading,” she said. “We are all reading a book called Readicide by Kelly Gallagher, a teacher in Anaheim, CA. His premise is that students lose interest in reading when the emphasis is on test scores, multiple choice tests or the environment in school.”
A 2007 NPR study noticed a significant decline in student reading. The study showed that an average American will read for seven minutes a day, yet watch two hours of television. They also found that only one-third of teenagers were daily readers.
This study isn’t alone. The Connecticut Council for Education Reform documented a significant decline in student achievement on standardized tests while also noticing a decline in the number of books assigned, and the number of assignments on those books.
Mrs. D’Acosta has attempted to bring these ideas into the classroom and encourage students to further develop their reading skills while also enjoy literature.“Gallagher argues that we need to give students time to read in school in different subject areas, particularly non-fiction,” she said. “He also argues that we need to give students access to complex texts, not just pieces of texts in anthologies.”
“I still think reading the actual book is much more helpful, I always try and find effective quotes and arguments, while Sparknotes only has one opinion,” Connor said.
“I know a lot of kids who do rely on Sparknotes for their homework, but I find it much more rewarding and worth my time to read the book thoroughly,” sophomore Eli Litchman said.
Junior Theo Christian feels differently about Sparknotes compared to some of his peers. “I’ve used Sparknotes once, and it was freshmen year, I ended up doing terrible on the essay and promised to always set aside time to read and understand the book,” he said.
Theo believes that Sparknotes is a good resource when you are trying to get a different perspective on the book, but otherwise should be ignored. “Reading is only half the battle, paying attention in class and listening to what your teacher says in class is also very important,” Theo said. “It helps me more to have a book filled with post-it notes that I spent the time to read and understand then if I just quickly looked at Sparknotes. After all, teachers know what information is on Sparknotes.”
“I usually do well on reading quizzes and reading assignments, but it is the essays that really punish me for not reading,” senior Josh* said. “My English teacher expects me to actively read and find quotes and themes. However, when I actually go to write the essay I have to look up quotes and analysis online.”
Connor typically sets aside 45 minutes to do homework per class, however he admits that he has skimmed the reading and looked up the summary on such sites as Sparknotes or Cliffnotes. “I rarely do, but when I do look on Sparknotes it is when I’m in a serious crunch with time,” he said. “It’s more of backup if anything.”
“I personally think there are many NCHS students who like to read when they have some choice,” Ms. D’Acosta said. “They also need time. Students are very busy and reading for a half an hour before bed may not be the best time.”
Eli knows first hand that reading is often considered an afterthought. “I really enjoy reading, but I can understand if students don’t have time because they have sports or other after school activities,” he said. “If a student is assigned 25 pages of Lord of the Flies, which is a very hard book to read and understand, they will often lean toward Sparknotes to give them a quick summary of what happened in the book.”
Theo believes the best strategy to encourage reading is to devote half an hour a night to just reading for English class. He uses these strategies to help him do well with papers and reading quizzes.
Not all students have the same opinions on how helpful online resources are, and Josh* acknowledges the trend of relying on Sparknotes for homework or book summaries. “I don’t think I have even opened a book in any of my high school English classes,” Josh* said. “It’s just so much easier to spend five minutes skimming Sparknotes than to actually read the book.”
* Names have been changed
