As is well known by the students here, underclassmen English is full of reading, reading, vocabulary, and more reading. It seems they are never finished with the novels they have to read followed by the ever-present essay that requires students to connect what they have learned with their real life. However, how many of the students really read the books that they wrote essays on and passed tests for? How did they get the information from the book without reading it? Did their teacher have suspicions? It’s never a good idea to cheat, but these people have taken the easy way out.

Senior Hailey Tokarsyck says that she read all of the books during her freshman and sophomore years but it was during her junior year when she “slacked off and didn’t read a single book.” “I got all of my info off sparknotes and when we had class discussions I took notes like crazy so I could get other people’s information” Tokarsyck said. When asked about if her teacher ever suspected anything Tokarsyck said that she didn’t think so because she got A’s on every essay. When asked about whether or not she suspected anything, Hailey’s AP Language teacher Mrs. Hayman replied, “I always suspect that the books they write style analysis essays on that they don’t spend as much time with those as I’d like.” Tokarsyck ends her answers with “junior year taught me how to play school.” She knew very well how to get the information she needed without always doing the maximum work.

Junior Alyssa Crain admits to not always reading the books for her english classes either. “They’re all boring and don’t catch interest” she says. She often starts with the intentions of reading it cover to cover, but ends up getting bored with it or not always having the time with her busy sports schedule. She says when she doesn’t finish them she gets her information for the essays from looking back over the book and taking notes on the main points from class discussions. When asked if any of her teachers had ever suspected her not reading the books she said that she really had no idea. “Most teachers have a pretty good idea that a lot of kids don’t read them” she adds. Like most students, Crain expresses that though she wasn’t interested in the books, she knew she had to at least skim them to do the essays. Both of our upperclassmen have expressed similar answers, but, are the feelings shared between both under and upperclassmen?

Sophomore Rachel Hunter gives very similar answers to the previous two. When asked about reading all the books cover to cover she admits that she honestly hasn’t. “I don’t have the time and get too distracted so I usually just skim it’’ she said. She said that she gets the information for her essays by looking back through the book and she says that she has used sparknotes. She also said that she doesn’t think any of her teachers have suspected anything because she always gets pretty good grades on essays.

Though it is concerning that on a consensus most students of grades 10-12 don’t feel it necessary to read their english books cover to cover, should they really be punished for the use of resources that are given to them? Also, what about the freshmen? After all, they have only been in high school for a few months so do they take the same easy way out as the others?

Freshman Mary-Cathrine Meno says that she has read all the books assigned to her this year because “even though it’s a lot of work, I can’t start a book without finishing it, even if I don’t like it.” She also expresses having high expectations for herself in school. Meno admits that in the coming years she will probably end up skimming a book in a time crunch but says she will probably finish it eventually.

So what could be the solution to this problem? Should students suck it up and lose even more sleep to read every book cover to cover? Should teachers change their lesson plans to make activities with the books more appealing to students? Whichever it may be, something should be changed to both ease the stress of and better entertain students.