RC

For me personally, reading is the only time in school where I feel like I am getting smarter. Getting a good grade on a lab report or translating a Spanish packet or finishing a math worksheet correctly just makes me feel like I am somewhat good at handling the system. That I can do assignments given to me. I don’t feel like I’m ultimately being shaped as a person in any way, in terms of ethics or judgment. I think someone is smart if they have a world-view and opinions. I cannot form an adequate opinion until I hear other’s ideas and then evaluate and analyze them to form my own. When I read, I get to do that.

In middle school I used to read everything and anything because I had the time to do it. Now, books are more like an investment. It’s not a great way to go about it but in the time constraints and social/academic obligations I have in high school, it’s what I have to deal with. If I wanted to read a typical, fun, enjoyable “trashy novel”, I will hold on until the summer or a vacation. During school, I figure, if I’m going to “invest” time, 2-4 hours on a book, I want it to be something that I felt was worthwhile to me as a person when I finish. Reading a trashy novel would be the equivalent of watching a comedy movie. Both of those are what we like to call “escapes”. In high school I’m less interested in the escape route of a book as opposed to the knowledge I could gain from one. Both types provided me with temporary entertainment, but the former doesn’t really provide intellectual stimulation or use later in life necessarily.

I love reading and I love books. I don’t have a problem with SparkNotes either. People think the people that go on SparkNotes don’t care about English or can’t analyze on their own. For me, it’s just that I SparkNote the books that I don’t care to read or don’t find interesting but I’m obligated to. I have never regretted SparkNoting a book I didn’t feel was good. Example… Lord of The Flies. I read books I wanted to instead. And I was still able to gain the necessary cultural references to participate in conversations and go out later in life and understand when people say things like “we’re like savages from Lord of the Flies.”

I think I also get sensitive to the idea that English skills are undervalued. Since we live in a society where ranking opinions is taboo, it’s easier to tell who is better at subjects like math and science. There are clear-cut answers for those subjects, so the people who got the right answer are clearly more talented. This is not to say that there are clear-cut answers for English or history, but there ARE better interpretations or opinions. Some are deeper or more thought-out, and some are based off of almost nothing. Some people have better mathematical skills, and some people have better analytical skills. So yeah, some people may complain reading “kills the magic” of certain books. But just as there are more interpretations of books there are different “magic’s” that can be produced. Analysis and thinking deeply are two things that I try to do and I personally do get a lot of satisfaction from it. It may kill that initial magic, but in the end, the net gain of all of that is worth it.  You learn how to look at things differently, you get to hear other people’s opinions on the same text, you can notice things you didn’t notice before.

I don’t necessarily ENJOY being assigned books to read, but I know I need it. I like reading but I get too easily distracted so I don’t always do it. I will hang out with my friends or go on Facebook or watch TV and just make excuses not to. So I’m sure many will argue that school books kill that joy of reading, but I know plenty of people would just not read, unless school required it. It’s not really a win-win situation anywhere.  I think more than anything I just wish I had more time to read. The only time I have is before bed and I’m usually too tired by then.