Like most children, starting at a young age I was encouraged to read. Teachers, it seems, believe that forcing book upon book for curriculum and teaching will improve our love for reading. They think our excitement level will grow or it will force us into an appreciation for literature. I am sorry to disappoint, but this is the complete opposite of the case.

I was one of those children that used to absolutely love to read for pleasure. My mother has always held reading in high regards and can always be found reading a book. I would like to think I get my appreciation for a good book from her. As I got older and older though, more teachers piled readings on me, worth more than pleasure but now for a grade. When something is for a grade, it automatically removes any enjoyment out of doing it. Being overloaded with homework and exams to study for in high school and now college, you no longer want to read for pleasure and frankly you do not have the time either as it becomes a chore. I could not even tell you the last time I had a chance to pick up a book and just read something to escape reality, and honestly with the amount of work I have to do for school, I hardly have time to read books assigned to me. I swear I am not the only student who relies on the quick skimming over books or looking up facts on reliable websites I can find. All of this to just write that fifteen-page essay a teacher assigned to me, giving me a week to read the book in entirety and write the paper.

I guess where I am coming from with this rant, is that if teachers want to continue to complain that their high school students and even college students, lack the appreciation for literature in this day in age, then maybe consider that modern day education has sucked dry the remaining love we all have for books, and time also for that matter. I miss the days in elementary school where we had just begun reading chapter books. You were required to read one book a month yes, but it was a book of your choice. The book could be something that truly interested you, that made you want to go back home and read it, the books you could read three times in a row and find something new in it. In the end I just am so tired of teachers or adults shaking their heads at me in disappointment over the fact that I no longer read. If you want more of today’s youth to read let’s bring life back into picking up a book, because I sure do miss that form of reading.