by Brendan O’Donnell ’16
The administration has chosen to celebrate student choice, at least in this instance: the successful new summer reading program, in which students select a book from a list of 64 titles and are assigned a teacher to facilitate discussion about their book, will continue this year.
The old program, which involved the English department selecting books that every student in a grade level had to read, was scrapped once there was a consensus that it had been become a “burden,” according to Mr. Jarc, who is leading the summer reading program this year. He says that there are several reasons for the new program’s creation.
“General summer reading was looked at as a burden,” he said. “Reading should be for fun and enjoyment, and that’s what the new program was designed to do.”
“This takes summer reading out of English class, something that the English department has been wanting,” Jarc said.The program also encourages students to meet with teachers they normally would never encounter, creating a stronger student-teacher connection.
The success of last year’s program has inspired the continuation of the program this year.
“I knew a lot of people who had a good time reading their books over the summer,” Mr. Jarc said. “The freedom of choice that it gave students encouraged them to actually read the books, instead of using services like Sparknotes.”
Some books, of course, were chosen more than others, and several books in particular were very popular. For example, 55 people signed up for The Shining, and 54 for Fearless: The Undaunted Courage. Fifteen books, however, had no signups at all.
Several factors may be at play. One concern, according to Mr. Jarc, is “that people are selecting books that they have already read or movies they have watched,” as evidenced by the fact that The Shining, which has a very popular movie adaptation, was the most popular selection.
Page length does not seem to deter students from choosing a book, according to Mr. Jarc. “The books that were selected often were typically between 250 to 300 pages long,” he said. “Some short books were not very popular.”
The books that got over 25 signups, such as The Shining, will be split up into two groups, while most books with fewer than five signups will not be read at all, and students who signed up for them will be given other books to read; the same goes for students who did not sign up at all.
This year’s incarnation of the program began with an extended meeting May 20 to discuss the book with the moderators, and will be followed by a delayed start schedule on the first day of school for students to be tested on the book. The test will be the first English grade of the year.
The summer reading program promises to encourage students to read, and to encourage new bonds between students and teachers from across the academic spectrum.
“It’s valuable for students meet with the teachers that they normally wouldn’t,” Jarc said. “[and] get interested in reading this summer.”
