What book should all High School Students read by Jeralyn

What book should all High School Students read by Jeralyn - February 2015 Scholarship Essay

Normally I wouldn't be one to dictate what people do. I believe in basic human rights and this includes free will. Given this, I also believe that each action requires a proportional consequence. I live in Lincoln, NE and it is a very sheltered life for most people and unless you are directly affected by an event, you don’t get to know the details. This is sadly detrimental in the sense that people should be well informed of their environment so that they can act accordingly. There have been at least seven attempted suicides this school year. I didn't know about the issue until it was brought up in one of my classes. Each teacher was required to read a statement to their classes about suicide and to let the students know they have somewhere to turn. This brings me to the book that I believe would greatly enhance the students’ knowledge base about the world around them and give them a chance to understand the world that they are growing up in by showing them how their actions impact everyone around them.

The book I decided to write about is Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. It is an astonishing piece of writing that transports you into the mind of a high school student who was friends with a girl who committed suicide. The author eloquently melds the past and the present when he weaves his story. The boy that the book follows has just arrived home a week or so after the death of the girl that he had a crush on for years. He found a box on the porch addressed to him. Inside was a box of tapes. When he started listening, they were from the girl. There were thirteen tapes, one for each person/reason why she committed suicide. Throughout the book you go through experiencing the pain and loss not only for the boy who has no idea how he caused her death but for the girl who was constantly bullied and harassed until she felt the only option left was to leave everything. It wasn't one major thing that happened that just made her world crumble but rather an accumulation of all of the small things that kept happening.

If I were to choose one book that every high schooler should read, I would choose this one. It goes into depth of not only the pain that your actions cause but the inner workings of each and every encounter we have and the influence that can have on those around us. If any one of the people she was around stopped and paid attention to how she looked and the things that she was doing, or even the things that were being done to her, they could have stopped the events that transpired. Each of us has a choice. We can choose to be so self-involved that we don’t care what we do or the consequences of those actions. But we can also choose to pay attention to what is happening to those around us and learn to read the signs that people give off. There are always signs as to what people are feeling and when you don’t pay attention you have no idea what devastation you are causing. Being in such a volatile state as high school where everyone is extremely emotional and not always logical can be very stressful. I know that if it was required for high school students to read this and actually got involved with the book, it would open a door to perspective. People would be given the chance to see beyond themselves and understand their impact. This is a much better alternative than having the people who cared about those who commit suicide feel responsible and over analyze every encounter they ever had and feel guilt because they didn't understand.

The problem with forcing a high schooler to read something is that they don’t always take things seriously. I know that I resist most things if I’m forced to do them on the basis that I am an independent person. I do things that I feel are necessary and beneficial. I know that when I was in 10th grade and we were forced to read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury I couldn't/wouldn't do it. It was an interesting concept but I personally couldn't get into the book because it was so bland and because it was a requirement to which our grade was tied to. The real problem here is not what literature are we going to require but rather how are we going to alter the system to where we can allow everyone to read a book and get the deep understanding without feeling like they are being forced to do something? That is the question I pose to you. How do you make a classroom more free flowing and make students more anticipatory and excited to get an education? Knowledge is power and it starts with a question. This question.