It’s Friday already, I totally forgot about that! This week was so weird with Monday being a day off because of Easter, that I honestly forgot about this entire post… Hence why it’s super super late from what you guys are used to from me.

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme that was originally created and hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books starting in August 2019, and was then cohosted by Dani @ Literary Lion from May 2020 to March 2022. Since April 2022, the meme moved to another host, Aria @ Book Nook Bits. Let’s Talk Bookish is a meme where participants discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and share their love by visiting each other’s posts.

This week, let’s talk about required reading, because I have a lot to say about this… This is an old topic, submitted by the original creator of this meme, Rukky. You can find the original post here.

Prompts: This week, we’re bringing back an old LTB topic from a few years ago: Required reading. How do you feel about required reading? Do you think it is unfair and boring? Or do you think it helps students become better readers? What kinds of books do you think should be required reading, and what should classes avoid? Is it a good way of getting students to read old classics?

How do you feel about required reading? Do you think it is unfair and boring? Or do you think it helps students become better readers?

I don’t mind the actual requirement of reading in schools. However, I do mind the way it’s “forced” upon students. In my country, required reading is a returning topic for discussion. Research states that many adolescents barely possess the skills of receptive reading and reading comprehension. This is mainly because these skills are trained less and less in the past years. When I was in school, we had to write several book reports, starting in high school. In my final 3 years of high school, i had to read at least 13 books, within a wide range of literarture. From the middle ages to modern literature and even one collection of poetry. I am not able to compare to today’s final exam requirements, because I had my school finals in 2010. But I remember that in primary school, we did a lot of practicing with receptive reading as well. Also, teachers did a lot with books et cetera, something that happens less as well. At least, that’s what research says. So, I think required reading will help students to become better readers. Not just in terms of books, but also in terms of for example government letters and other important documents you will face in life. And overall, you need reading comprehension in your day-to-day tasks as well.

What kinds of books do you think should be required reading, and what should classes avoid?

I can only speak for the curriculum in my country, so this is no attack to the reading curriculum in other countries. I remember, and still hear a lot, that teachers often don’t give students the rfreedom of what to read. Many Dutch books are old, stiff literature, mostly written by white, middle-aged men. Again, this is how it is and not an attack. Many books and topics that are on the obligated reading list (yes, we have that) are therefore old-fashioned. I’ve heard a lot that teachers won’t allow students to read original Dutch YA or what they want, because it’s not on the list or not the old-fashioned literature. I was quite lucky that I got teachers who allowed students a limited amount of freedom, but we had to ask whether we were allowed to pick a certain book. Diversity was not as included in media (and books) as it is now, so I never read a book with LGBTQIA+ themes or by a BIPOC author for example. Many of these books on the required reading lists contain subjects that are not interesting for the age range of high school students, so reading became a chore to me. Especially from 10th grade onwards. There we started already with exam preparations and required reading. After finishing high school, I barely picked up a book for almost 6 years, until my final year of college. That’s what required reading can do to people.

So, what should schools do to help make required reading as attractive as possible? Well, change the curriculum. Remove several of the old-fashioned, white, middle-aged literature and replace those books with diverse reading. In my country, I notice a lcak of understanding for people from marchinalized groups. Requiring books by authors of colour, about LGBTQIA+ themes, neurodiversity and disabilities will help students understand the world around them better. Required reading should be a reflection of society in my opinion. Of course some of the old books can stay on the required reading list, because they were important to literature in a certain way. However, listen to the students and listen to the world around you. Because there are so many more books that are worth to be read and also classify for required reading.

Is it a good way of getting students to read old classics?

Hahahaha I’ll be short and sweet here, NO. I still haven’t picked up the classics and required reading only made me want to avoid them even more. I think I’ve only liked 2 books of my required reading, one about a Turkish family immigrating to the Netherlands and one about World War 2. The rest was boring and contained too much sex for my liking. For your information, I was 14 (almost 15, I was an early student) back when required reading started for me and 18 when I finished high school. So, for me it was not a way to inspire me in trying a classic.

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What are your thoughts on required reading?