Tuesday, June 30, 2009

What will they read this summer?

Summer reading lists have been popular--at least with teachers--for a long time. Often the books listed by the schools are featured in public libraries and large bookstores so students can pick them up easily. One questions that's often raised is how to balance classics with popular reading on these lists. The scales are turning in favor of popular books according to an article in the Boston Globe If the reason for these lists, the argument goes, is to get students to enjoy reading, there's no point in assigning books that are too difficult and/or "boring". Who would read Jane Austen when Pride and Prejudice and Vampires is on the list, as it is on several high school lists this summer? Many librarians and teachers hope that developing a love of reading will lead teens to wider reading and eventually perhaps to the classics. And if they don't read the traditional canon, is that so bad? Maybe encouraging teenagers to read manga from Japan, journalists from India and Afghanistan and novels from South America will be better preparation for 21st century life than reading the old standbys like Kipling, Dickens and Melville.

No comments:

Post a Comment