Summer reading programs hit first year college students
The month of August usually signals one thing: the start of a new school year is closing in fast. Of course, my university recently kicked me out with a Bachelor of Arts degree, so I have no such thing to look forward to, but many college-bound freshman are starting to pack their bags!
A trend at many colleges and universities around the country is to assign these first year students a book to read during that three-month time warp between high school graduation and the first day of college classes. These summer reading programs are really nothing new. But they are becoming "trendy" and starting to catch on at more campuses around the country:
Nationwide, hundreds of colleges and universities, large and small, public and private, assign first-year students a book to read over the summer, hoping to create a sense of community and engage students intellectually.
Creating a sense of community and challenging new students is great, but I hope that they also aim to show these kids that reading outside of an academic setting can be fun. Having a casual conversation (or even a light-hearted argument) about a book is much more fun than essays, literary theory, criticism and all the other secret weapons English professors like to throw at their students.
So what kind of books are students required to read before even stepping foot on campus? According to an article in the New York Times there’s no one genre or category that dominates the others:
The range of books colleges use is enormous, covering fiction and nonfiction. Classics are largely absent, with most of the works chosen falling closer to Oprah than academic.
The article continues:
Still, a certain canon of summer reading is emerging: books that are readable, short, engaging, cheap. Often, it helps if the book is a best seller dealing with some aspect of diversity, some multicultural encounter — and if the author will come to speak on campus.
I’m not surprised by the lack of classic books in these programs – they appear to be diminishing in classrooms a lot these days. And it’s good that these schools are trying to find books that the students will actually read, not just buy the Cliff Notes for and skim them the weekend before school starts.
My general impression is that these programs are a good thing. But I would take them a step further and incorporate summer reading into high schools as well (and let it trickle down to middle schools and grade schools). By the time a student reaches college age, it might be too late to get them hooked on reading (my gosh, I’m starting to sound like my parents!). This idea is amplified even more if a student’s only exposure to reading is in a classroom setting, which usually makes it more work than fun.
My interest in a story like this is, I’ll admit, self-serving. If I, or anyone else out there, ever wishes to "make it" as a writer (ie. have your published book available and selling), we need a constant supply of readers. However, the news is somewhat grim. Reading is getting beaten down by the internet, video games, television, movies and even…sports (shudder)! Reading is generally seen as an academic activity that really holds no importance outside the classroom.
Having said that, I can’t stress how important it is that young kids are reading for pleasure at an early age. I was lucky. I come from a family of readers. When I was growing up, reading a few chapters of a book each night before going to bed was something I really enjoyed and never thought twice about it. I’m the same way today. Heck, I have a hard time sleeping if I don’t read at least a few pages before turning my light off.
I’m sorry for getting off topic. This is one of those stories that can trickle down into a lot of places in the literary community. Anyway, colleges and universities are doing the right thing. I only hope that more get on this "summer reading" bandwagon. The future of literature just might depend on it.
Read the entire New York Times article here:
Summer reading programs gain momentum for students about to enter college
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