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I graduated high school more than 20 years ago, and we had paperback Cliff Notes then. This is nothing new.
Summer reading assignments are all the buzz in high school English classes -- that is, assuming that students actually read the novels they were told to read.
After all, why read the books when SparkNotes, Wikipedia and Pink Monkey are just a mouse click away?
Right? Or wrong?
Students for years have substituted reading aids such as the electronic CliffsNotes or SparkNotes for actually reading the novels, much to the disdain of educators such as Audrey Smith, an Advanced Placement English literature teacher at John S. Davidson Fine Arts School.
"I absolutely hate when students do that. I don't mind if a student uses such resources to further his or her understanding of the book, but I cannot tolerate when a student reads SparkNotes instead of the book," Mrs. Smith said.
According to Dixie Wells, 17, a senior at Davidson and AP literature student, Mrs. Smith has a right to be upset:
"I don't like it. I don't do it. It's like cheating on a test. You aren't doing the work yourself."
Many high school students trying to balance academics, extracurricular activities and social lives feel pressed for time, so they resort to using SparkNotes, Wikipedia and Pink Monkey instead of reading the assigned novels.
"I believe that those resources are good ones for students to use to guide them along with the book, but of course if they do not have the time to read the book, these resources are also good resources for replacing actually reading the book," said Brianna Bloomfield, 17, a Davidson senior.
This opinion is popular not only in high schools but also on college campuses.
"I think people should read the books, but if they need a little bit of help, I don't see anything wrong with using SparkNotes," said Amy Miller, 18, a freshman at Augusta State University.
Though most teachers are like Mrs. Smith and frown on substituting reading aids with actually reading the novels, Ashlee Fortson, an AP English language teacher at Davidson, said she approves of SparkNotes as an aid.
Other online tools are less acceptable to Mrs. Forston, however.
"Wikipedia is never an acceptable substitute for anything," she said.
Shamari Sylvan is a senior at John S. Davidson Fine Arts School.
Comments
I graduated high school more than 20 years ago, and we had paperback Cliff Notes then. This is nothing new.
same old, same old. this is no revelation
Great article, Shamari! Might be old news, but a lot of people don't understand how bad it is to shirk those responsibilities of reading a novel. I can understand high school kids. Most teacher nowadays don't teach kids how to analyze, thus they rely on resources like that to guide them along. My AP Lit teacher understood the situation, so she didn't grade our essays. Instead, she helped guide us through our summer reading. Although it's an AP Lit class, it's supposed to help us get ready for college, and a teacher guiding us through analytical reading would help.
However, I realize that sparknotes and such is just a crutch that can become a bad habit: like using a calculator too much.
Praises!
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