Summer Reading is something all students are required to do over the summer, they get to choose their novels from a list provided from their school before summer starts. There are many opinions regarding this as they were not required to read last year due to the pandemic; here’s how Kerr HS is approaching summer reading.

This year, the Summer Reading schedule for both fall and spring students has changed drastically compared to anything they did in the past. One of the biggest changes was the fact that spring students get to take their tests in January, rather than taking it together along with fall students.

“I guess it’s a little bit unfair but like we finish it first,” freshman fall English I student Diego Acosta said. “We get over it quickly, spring kids also have to write an essay so I guess that makes it a little more fair.”

Acosta also included that spring students have to write an essay and they don’t, which makes it a bit fair in his opinion.

“I mean I’m very grateful that I’m a spring student because I get more time for the test,” Spring English I student Christina Trieu said. “But if I was a fall student I would think that it’s unfair because we have less time to do it, so I’m just very grateful for the teacher to give spring kids more time. But from a different perspective I can see why a fall kid would hate it.”

Trieu expressed that she is very grateful for the opportunity she was given and gives opinions on how she’ll feel if she was a fall student, who has less time to do summer reading.

English I teacher Safraz Ali said he doesn’t think it’s fair for students who he doesn’t have class with yet to come and take a test.

“…There’s a chance that they’re going to enter a class in the spring already failing,” he continued. “So, imagine from a motivation standpoint, and a fair standpoint you start a class, and you already have an F in it.” 

In summer reading assignments, students need to read two books ( a novel and mythology) , and take a test as well as making a project. “For summer reading, I was required to do a dialectical journal,” Sophomore Jermaine Tran said. “I had to document at least seven quotes every five chapters, and I had to write a connection to each five chapters as well.” 

Since Tran had a different teacher when he did summer reading, the tasks he was required to do are different from what the students are doing now.

“This is the first time I’ve done summer reading in high school,” freshman Fall English I student Han Vu said. “Middle school summer reading was a lot easier and it was definitely a challenge to finish it.” 

Vu refers back to her past experience with summer reading and said that high school summer reading requirements are way harder.

Ali disagrees with students who do not think summer reading is important.

“It’s meant to keep you sharp in the summer. It’s meant to give you work in the same way so you don’t fall behind. But summer reading doesn’t have to be a whole book, it can be a whole article for you to read over the summer.”

Although Ali said he’ll never cancel summer reading, he also promised to change the requirements to be student-friendly.