Should Schools Require Summer Reading?
Abington High School Enters Its Third Year of Required Summer Reading
This bookcase seen in English classroom room 2215 on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019 is overflowing with books encouraging students to read.
Summer reading gives students a way to keep their brains active while on vacation. Reading prevents them from falling behind at the start of the next school year. I have always read books over the summer and it has personally helped me a lot when it’s time to go back to school. When school starts, I don’t feel like I’m behind other students and can keep up with all my classes. Reading helps keep my brain active while I am not in school.
Kids who do not read over the summer often experience “summer slide” when returning to school in the fall. Summer Slide is when students lose some of the information that they learned from the year before because they did not practice it over the summer. In an article “Should Schools Require Summer Reading?” written by Cindy Long, she states, “research shows that students who read over the summer gain reading skills, while those who do not often slide backward, losing up to two months of what they learned while in school.” In other words, students who do not read over the summer will fall behind those who did and could even lose two months of what they learned the previous year in school.
During summer vacation, many students are not thinking critically or practicing the skills they have learned in school. Hence, reading is a good way to ensure that students will keep their minds active over the summer. For instance, the act of reading a book can keep minds sharp and provide the ability to continue improving reading and literacy skills learned in school. Though already learned in school, students will not grow that knowledge if they don’t continue to practice it over the summer. This happens with any skill that’s not practiced enough. For example, if an athlete stops working on a specific skill, they won’t get any better at it.
In addition to practice, summer reading teaches students new things, like new vocabulary and ideas to influence a student’s perspective. Over the summer students can still be learning new enriching words while not being taught any in school. Also, a book can affect their mindset. Books can completely alter how everything is seen in a person’s eyes.
Reading can also be for pleasure over the summer. It can help us learn more about specific topics we’re interested in. For instance, athletes can read sports magazines. This is especially essential to juniors and seniors who are thinking about college. They can read about different subjects and find out which ones they’re interested in.
Based on these reasons, all schools should require students to read over the summer.
Meagan is a member of the class of 2020. She enjoys writing about people. Meagan joined the Green Wave Gazette her senior year as a Staff Writer with a...
Anna • Oct 8, 2019 at 2:22 PM
This is a great article! Proud of you!
Aidan Fisher • Oct 2, 2019 at 1:45 PM
Great piece Colleen!!
jtlyons • Oct 1, 2019 at 5:38 PM
Excellent points, capably supported.
As a now-retired, 32-year HS English teacher, I think every student should read every summer; however, so should every parent. I would love to see schools at the forefront of a cultural renaissance in reading. One possibility is to work with town libraries to invite all residents to read the same thing over the course of the summer. Schools and libraries could facilitate community access and discussions. It might be… fun?