I’ll admit, Langley doesn’t have the best school spirit. But the Langley read is just another way to raise spirit-don’t dismiss it just because it’s another 200 pages you’ll have the whole summer to read. 

High school is a time to develop friendships and connections that will last so you have the chance to understand the world before college.  Part of this understanding is being able to connect with other students on an intellectual level.

“The idea is not new. Colleges have been assigning upcoming freshmen a book to read for awhile, despite students’ majors, as part of their ‘freshmen experience,’” said Ms. Aubrey Ludwig, an junior English teacher on the selection committee.

Think about it: if the Langley student body approaches the Langley Read with the right outlook, reading doesn’t have to be such a burden.  As Ms. Susan Broad, who came up with the idea for the Langley Read last year, says, “this isn’t designed to make students read a book and take a quiz.” Rather, she says, it’s about “building a community.”

Instead of being negative and dismissing the idea, look at the book as a way to connect with students of all grades.  It’s not just another book you read for an AP class, it’s a book specifically chosen because of its content, plot or theme.

“It’s great that summer reading isn’t just a quiz in your English class anymore.  It connects Langley with something interesting to discuss and think about,” said junior Alicia Underhill, a student on the committee. 

As books are designed to promote thought, let the Langley read do more: let it spur conversation.  You never know, you may learn something about your classmates or yourself, you might never have learned.