By Victoria Mezera
Here at Apopka High School, it is common to hear kids complaining in the hallway or in class that they hate reading. However, books and reading are an important part of learning, pop culture, and many other things. Many book series’ have blown up in recent years, becoming huge pop culture phenomenon’s such as: Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Twilight, and many more. There are entire online communities devoted to reading and writing, with online blogs, fanfiction sites, and online channels being amongst them. However, many students still seem to have a very intense hatred of reading. We talked to teachers, students, and the school librarian to find out all about reading at Apopka High School.
First off, Apopka High has many book related clubs and activities. Things such as the Oasis Book Club, Battle of the Books, and Million Word Challenge. When asked, Mrs. Willard, the school librarian, said that, “Battle of the Books is a District wide competition that tests students’ knowledge on the 15 Florida Teen Reads books. Students read each of the Teen Reads and then meet monthly (sometimes more frequently) to quiz each other on their knowledge of the books. The final match is held at the end of March where our team competes against all other high schools in Orange County.” In regards to the Oasis Book club, she said it, “is open to any teacher or student who would like to select a book or article to read and discuss. Once the piece is read, they then meet in the Oasis Room during lunch to discuss important points. Pizza and drinks are also provided. Currently, Mr. Cintron is our top participant. This year’s topics have ranged from gun control to the power of the myth.” We also asked about the Million Word Challenge, to which she said, “The Million Word Challenge is a contest designed to get students reading. Starting Celebrate Literacy Week (usually the last week in January) and running through the week before spring break, students read books and write down how many words are in each. These totals are then added up and students receive prizes based on how many words they have read. Prizes range from a Million Word Challenge t-shirt to a free book of their choice.” When asked, in her opinion, if enough students are reading, Mrs. Willard also said that “Until every student is checking out books and has a love of reading, my answer will be no.”
With so many reading clubs and activities around school, it comes as a surprise that books have mainly been taken out of the curriculum. While some excerpts may be read and analyzed in English class, books or novels are no longer read in whole. We asked Ms. Nieves, a tenth grade English teacher, what she thought about this. She said, “I understand the reasoning behind our focus on shorter readings, especially in tenth grade. We need to make sure we are covering specific standards and not all stories/articles can be used to cover all of the standards. These standards are important in making sure all students learn the appropriate information and helps us teachers stay accountable. However, I think we lose the essence of an English literature course when we no longer read full books in our classes. Part of the reason I decided to major in English in college and teach English at the high school level was my love for reading that was fostered in my tenth grade English class. I had a great teacher that taught me the power of books and their ability to teach us empathy and compassion by exposing us to different points of view. There is a lot more that we learn from reading books that cannot be measured through a standard scale or a test.”
Sophomores Lauren Lambert and Emily Reda are both students who like to read, despite the stereotype that teenagers hate reading. For Lauren, she described reading as, “a way to just forget about everything going on, whether it be home or school life, and I love the feeling of getting so into a book that everything else around you is just background noise.” Emily Reda also said something to that extent, saying that, “What I suppose I like about it [reading] is the worlds that you can get lost in, and how with each story you get to know all of these characters and you get a connection with them and it sometimes hurts to have to leave them when the/their story is done. I mean, I put off The Deathly Hallows for a good month because I didn’t want it to end.” They also both seemed to agree that even if you don’t like to read, there are definitely books out there for everyone.