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Showing posts from July 9, 2017

Unpopular Opinion: Summer Reading Does More Harm Than Good

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My summer TBR pile is growing Hello, everyone! Today's post is a bit different than my normal reviews or posts, but I want to share it none the less. Recently, I came to realize I had strong feelings about something we are all in the midst of right now, required summer reading. Every year students are handed a list of books they are expected to have read by the time they return to school supposedly to enrich the minds of students over the summer and prevent loss of knowledge. This sounds great, right? If only the execution was as good as the idea. Instead we, as both students and parents, are faced with more problems brought about by this simple assignment. While I see summer reading as counterintuitive to the purpose it was created for, I do believe there is a way for schools to work to fix this, a way that will work productively toward their major goal of getting students to read. The Problems 1. It Has a Bad Wrap: Summer reading, while not as loathed as the elementary m

Weekly Reviews and Recommendations: Week 17

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Hello, everyone! It's now full on summer here, just after the Fourth of July, and this week I have a great beech read and one really thought provoking amazing book (but who says you can't read that on the beech?). I've been reading like crazy this summer and have been enjoying both my local independent bookstore and the amazing library here. I suggest you explore the libraries and bookstores in your area!  It's Kind of a Funny Story  by Ned Vizzini (444 pages) Overview: Craig suffers from clinical depression that appeared shortly after starting at prestigious  Executive Pre-Professional High School. He had worked all through his eighth grade year to study for the admissions test, and the day he got the results, a perfect 800 and an acceptance letter, was his last good day. As he starts to attend the school he realizes that he might not be cut out for the rigorous course work and intense pressure of the school. These feelings are only made worse by the effortle