Mike asked if internet study guides (such as sparknotes) are helpful to students. He points out that many students utilize these resources when they don't feel like doing their assigned reading. Knowing that these resources are so accessible could discourage students from reading the actual book, but I think that many students ( high school age or younger) don't want to read books, and sparknotes or no sparknotes, they will not read books. I think that the problem here is that schools are so goal-oriented. Obviously, achieving goals is a good thing. But there is a lot of pressure to complete assignments by some arbitrary deadline. Not everyone reads at the same pace. Also, not everyone likes reading, or is good at reading. Some people have learning disabilities that make reading hard. So, because reading assignments are so standardized, some students are bound to not be enthusiastic about it. So, I think these "internet summaries" have partially come out of frustration and anxiety about deadlines.
My understanding of reading novels is that it is supposed to be for entertainment. I personally never liked fictional books, yet I was always assigned to read them for school. If reading fiction is a form of entertainment, why are students required do so much of it? I understand reading some novels every once in a while, but why is it so frequent? Reading, obviously, is an important skill. But is reading for pleasure that important?
Hey, thanks for the response. I wrote back.
ReplyDelete