When I was in middle school, I didn't read a lot. Not because I didn't like it but because I didn't know what to read. I used to think there weren't enough good books. How could I have thought differently when my teachers only made me read uninteresting and, let's be honest, incomprehensible - for middle-graders - books ?
I don't even remember what I had to read in middle school because most of the times, I didn't even pick up the books. Searching for summaries by chapter was more than enough to have good grades after all.
And then came High School and I promised myself not to be lazy anymore. I promised myself I would do the required homeworks and read every book on the list.
Guess what ? I didn't do the latter (nor the former *cough*). Want to know why ? In one word : Zola. I don't know if you've heard of him or if you had to read one of his books at some point but let me tell you one thing : I hated his work. Way too detailed. Way too slow.
I was so bored I couldn't read. At this point, I believed I didn't like reading. I didn't like the writing styles nor the stories so maybe reading just wasn't for me.
I obviously stopped reading until one of my friend recommended The Hunger Games to me and it changed everything. I started reading more and I loved it. I wanted to tell everyone about it but when I mentionned books to my friends they still had the required reading in mind. Just like me, they couldn't believe they'd ever like a book.
When I asked my brother about this issue he confessed that the reason he doesn't read is because of school. Being serious in his studies, he forced himself to read everything. No matter if it bored him or if he didn't understand. He read every single page and now he doesn't want to do it ever again. The worst is he knows he's missing out. He knows books can be amazing but he can't do it anymore.
It sounds dramatic but school does have an impact on us. They could give students fun but meaningful read like Harry Potter or The Hunger Games. They can just give extract of the boring stuff just to get a picture of the author. I'm sure reading would be seen as a much funnier thing to do. And they could have debates and not just write down what the teacher says.
Books are a great way to develop one's opinion. It's never read twice the same way after all. Children could be more involved in class while confronting other's perspective.
I agree that the books they make students read in school are just... ugh. And you make such a great point---it probably does influence a lot of people in exactly the same way it influenced you. It makes kids and teens believe reading is not fun, it makes them believe they won't ever enjoy a book simply because they're reading the wrong ones for their taste. And as if that's not bad enough, they make us remember the most ridiculous details and analyze things but then tell us we're wrong if it doesn't match what the standard interpretation is.
RépondreSupprimerFortunately though I got really into reading right at the start of middle school before I could be influenced to dislike it. I somehow found a book I liked that made me realize reading was fun, and then off into bookworm-dom I went lol.
Exactly ! I was in the literary section in High School and I remember almost nothing because 90% of what we did is completely useless. In senior year we had to analyze 2 whole books and learn their analyses by heart, I think I'll never understand the point of that.
RépondreSupprimerHaha I wish I started reading in middle school !