Ah yes, the tradition of summer reading. Gradually, however, this task of reading over the summer has gotten worse by the years. Originally in elementary school, if one were to read ten short chilren's books during the summer, one would be rewarded with a free ice cream from the school cafeteria.
Middle school came around and one found himself forced to read 2 short books out of a selection of ten. Still, this could be dealt with, seeing how some of these books were decent.
However, when high school came around, the books have gotten even worse, and now one is forced to read the horrible books. For example, one year the required book to read was The Man Who Ate the 747 by Ben Sherwood (yes, it is as bad as it sounds). Along with this one book, honors English students must also read books such as Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.
Along with summer reading, students taking an AP Science course next year must also complete a summer packet, which is very long. The AP Chemistry work, for one example, is to read the first two chapters of the textbook, fourty-four pages worth of fill in packets, sixteen book questions, and a memorization of common ions.
So forget about hanging outside with your friends and taking that trip down the shore. You have to stay home and work!
