This semester each of us constructed a reading survey and administered it to teens. We were allowed to create our own survey questions, to choose our population, etc. I found the process and the results to be very interesting and useful. The experience was valuable to me because as a former graduate student, I find that I often approach literature (even Young Adult literature) from a very analytical standpoint. While I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing, what this survey helped me realize that I need to begin to consider how teenagers read books, why they read books, why they don't read at all, and what might get them reading, if this is the case. After I finished the survey, I was left wanting to ask several more questions. Below is my analysis of the reading survey I conducted.
A Hundred More Questions
A Hundred More Questions
My husband teaches high school English at George Washington. Up until this year, he’s loved it. This year the teachers were given an extra class, a Freshman Seminar. It’s at the end of the day, it has no real structure, and it’s supposed to function like a study hall. He hates it. I asked him to distribute my survey in one of his classes. For some reason, I was expecting that he would pick one of his A.P. English classes. Naturally, he picked his Freshman Seminar students because generally they aren’t doing anything anyway and because he didn’t want my survey to take away from A.P. instruction time. I suppose this makes him a good teacher, but it made my survey results something much different than I had anticipated.
I surveyed eight 9th graders, 6 girls and 2 boys. I would have liked it to be even (4 boys and 4 girls), but I suspect that Aaron asked students to volunteer to participate and more girls than boys volunteered. However, this assumption may come from my preconceived notion that teenage girls are more cooperative than boys. In general, with a couple of exceptions, the students gave very brief answers to my questions. I was expecting to see more lengthy answers with explanations, but it makes sense that they would write the bare minimum. They aren’t getting a grade on it after all. Generally, the students claim to enjoy reading. Most of the students are reading age-appropriate novels that would fall under the Young Adult Literature category (Speak, Push, Love, Stargirl, to name a few). Nearly all of the students surveyed claimed to finish the books assigned to them for school, with the exception of two, who claimed they “usually” finish their books. These results surprised me. Maybe I am a skeptic, but I assume that teenagers almost always go to the Internet for plot summaries. Perhaps the students were reluctant to admit this, or perhaps these are simply good students. I hope it’s the latter. All of the books listed as the last book read for a class assignment were books I have not read and books that were not considered regular 9th grade classroom curriculum when I was in high school. This also came as a surprise to me. I had thought they would be reading more of the “classics.” Some of the books listed were A Child Called It, Slam, and Forged by Fire, none of which I’ve read.
In general, the students surveyed said they enjoy books that fall under the “scary, suspense, or mystery” category with the other half calling poetry their favorite. I didn’t expect so many students to list poetry as a favorite genre. My experience has been that students think poetry is difficult. Although I generally didn’t see a lot of difference between the types of books the students say they read for class and the types of books they read on their own, most students claim that they would prefer to read books of their choice over books that their teachers assign. All students said they think that English teachers should also show movies in class (though some of the students provided caveats, such as “only if the movie is educational”); however, none of the students said they believe that a movie could change a person’s life. Most agreed that books might be able to have life-altering effects, on the other hand. Some indicated that books have changed their lives. One student shared that the novel Eat, Pray, Love led her to decide to go to Europe after graduation and also helped her find “a religion [she] could actually believe.” This sentiment echoes Terri Lesesne’s idea of “unconscious delight” or emerging from a book changed in some way (18).
In contrast to our class discussions, where many people seem to think that high school students should be reading or are reading the classics, the students surveyed demonstrate that they are definitely reading books that can be classified as Young Adult Literature. They are reading these for class assignments and for pleasure, which is very reassuring. I wish I would have asked where students get a hold of the books they read for pleasure. Are they making trips to the local library? Are they books they find at home? Do they buy books? Or are they books they found on the shelf in their English classrooms? I was initially very skeptical of Cecilia Goodnow’s article, which claims that, “teens are buying books at the fastest rate in decades,” but the survey demonstrates that some teens do really enjoy reading, especially when they are given choices.
In response to the survey question about what students would like to read for class if they were able to create the syllabus, one said, “I would pick books that are about girls my age.” In Naked Reading, Terri Lesesne suggests that it is important for teens to “read autobiographically” (19). She argues, “Our challenge as educators is to help all of our students see their lives reflected in the pages of a book. The diversity of a collection, whether in a classroom or a school library is essential if students are to be able to read autobiographically” (19). At least some of the students surveyed demonstrated that they have the desire to read autobiographically, which is why I think it’s important for teachers to understand teenagers (at least to a degree) and to expose them to books that will allow them to find themselves in literature but also to texts that will allow them to see lives, experiences, and worlds totally unlike their own.
The students’ responses surprised me, made me laugh, and made me want to ask a hundred more questions. After reading these surveys I feel like I want to meet these kids. I think that’s a good indication that I chose the right career path.
I surveyed eight 9th graders, 6 girls and 2 boys. I would have liked it to be even (4 boys and 4 girls), but I suspect that Aaron asked students to volunteer to participate and more girls than boys volunteered. However, this assumption may come from my preconceived notion that teenage girls are more cooperative than boys. In general, with a couple of exceptions, the students gave very brief answers to my questions. I was expecting to see more lengthy answers with explanations, but it makes sense that they would write the bare minimum. They aren’t getting a grade on it after all. Generally, the students claim to enjoy reading. Most of the students are reading age-appropriate novels that would fall under the Young Adult Literature category (Speak, Push, Love, Stargirl, to name a few). Nearly all of the students surveyed claimed to finish the books assigned to them for school, with the exception of two, who claimed they “usually” finish their books. These results surprised me. Maybe I am a skeptic, but I assume that teenagers almost always go to the Internet for plot summaries. Perhaps the students were reluctant to admit this, or perhaps these are simply good students. I hope it’s the latter. All of the books listed as the last book read for a class assignment were books I have not read and books that were not considered regular 9th grade classroom curriculum when I was in high school. This also came as a surprise to me. I had thought they would be reading more of the “classics.” Some of the books listed were A Child Called It, Slam, and Forged by Fire, none of which I’ve read.
In general, the students surveyed said they enjoy books that fall under the “scary, suspense, or mystery” category with the other half calling poetry their favorite. I didn’t expect so many students to list poetry as a favorite genre. My experience has been that students think poetry is difficult. Although I generally didn’t see a lot of difference between the types of books the students say they read for class and the types of books they read on their own, most students claim that they would prefer to read books of their choice over books that their teachers assign. All students said they think that English teachers should also show movies in class (though some of the students provided caveats, such as “only if the movie is educational”); however, none of the students said they believe that a movie could change a person’s life. Most agreed that books might be able to have life-altering effects, on the other hand. Some indicated that books have changed their lives. One student shared that the novel Eat, Pray, Love led her to decide to go to Europe after graduation and also helped her find “a religion [she] could actually believe.” This sentiment echoes Terri Lesesne’s idea of “unconscious delight” or emerging from a book changed in some way (18).
In contrast to our class discussions, where many people seem to think that high school students should be reading or are reading the classics, the students surveyed demonstrate that they are definitely reading books that can be classified as Young Adult Literature. They are reading these for class assignments and for pleasure, which is very reassuring. I wish I would have asked where students get a hold of the books they read for pleasure. Are they making trips to the local library? Are they books they find at home? Do they buy books? Or are they books they found on the shelf in their English classrooms? I was initially very skeptical of Cecilia Goodnow’s article, which claims that, “teens are buying books at the fastest rate in decades,” but the survey demonstrates that some teens do really enjoy reading, especially when they are given choices.
In response to the survey question about what students would like to read for class if they were able to create the syllabus, one said, “I would pick books that are about girls my age.” In Naked Reading, Terri Lesesne suggests that it is important for teens to “read autobiographically” (19). She argues, “Our challenge as educators is to help all of our students see their lives reflected in the pages of a book. The diversity of a collection, whether in a classroom or a school library is essential if students are to be able to read autobiographically” (19). At least some of the students surveyed demonstrated that they have the desire to read autobiographically, which is why I think it’s important for teachers to understand teenagers (at least to a degree) and to expose them to books that will allow them to find themselves in literature but also to texts that will allow them to see lives, experiences, and worlds totally unlike their own.
The students’ responses surprised me, made me laugh, and made me want to ask a hundred more questions. After reading these surveys I feel like I want to meet these kids. I think that’s a good indication that I chose the right career path.
