English classes make kids hate reading, but advanced classes provide a better environment for students to learn about literature, and foster a lifelong enjoyment of reading. Students are bored with dealing with the same topics, writing and reading books at the same level that they did in middle school–and reasonably so, no student should be forced back by their classes.
You’re sitting in class bored, fidgeting with your pencil. You try to open up your computer halfway to have some refuge from the incomprehensible verbal storm that your teacher is producing, and get promptly yelled at. It may be true that many children fall behind in English classes, but it’s not entirely their fault.
According to The National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance, more than 60% of seniors did not score proficient in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Additionally, less than half of the American population reads literature–novels, short stories, plays, etc. Masses of high schoolers leave high school without being able to properly read. This fosters a distaste for literature in later life, which leads to a population that is less informed overall.
Let’s be honest, high school English classes make students hate to read. The end is the same whether through agonizing and over-interpreting certain books using copies older than the students or by some other method. Students grow to hate reading literature-especially classical literature.
The best way to solve this is to offer alternate classes. Advanced options for English classes provide a different and challenging outlet for students to hone their English skills. If a class is easy, students fall into a rut, assignments are busywork, arguments are mindless and essays are just a series of key clicks.
If a class actually gives the students a genuine challenge, it engages the students. Reading a difficult book, or writing a masterpiece essay creates a feeling of success that is unmatched to any experience found when your work is overly simple.
There is absolutely no reason why a class should move at the pace of the least advanced students. If a class is not designed for a student’s academic ability, they should not be taking that class. I understand the benefits of schools not being established as an absolute meritocracy, however, only having one level of English class puts students into a box.
In a survey, over 60% of students (122 respondents) indicated that they felt that there should be advanced English classes for freshmen at Ladue. It’s clear that many students feel the same way as me, so why are students still forced into trivially easy English classes, repeating the same material that has been covered every year since fifth grade?
