Book Club by Mariana

Book Club by Mariana - June 2025 Scholarship Essay

Book Club. I know. It's boring and repetitive and it is a different English class. However, in this country the illiteracy rate is at an all time high, we have students using Chat GPT to try to pass their classes. People don’t want to learn, much less read. School– from a young age– teaches us reading as an obligation, as a chore. It demonstrates the million and one ways in which it can be boring. If a student has ADHD or dyslexia is 20 times worse, and when kids don’t have actual reasons to hate it, they still do because the books taught in school are meant to teach, not to enjoy. Book clubs are a way to enjoy a book. I, however, pose one that does not have required readings or deadlines. I propose one in which students will be allowed to roam free in colorful, comfy chairs from a young age (maybe six or seven), in which they are allowed to pick a wide variety of books on a variety of topics. A place in which the teaching is being done by the student not because they have to, but because they want to. A place in which they can read in their own terms and form their own opinions and can decide to leave the book they were reading halfway through and simply pick up a different one that they think will be more interesting.

A well made book club will teach students critical thinking skills, self advocacy, personality types, countries and words. It will create writers and readers, people that– without realizing it–know how to form a proper sentence. And what words to use if they want to get a point across, it will expand their vocabulary and their view. Maybe even then, some people will still dislike reading, maybe they will simply feel like it is not for them. In which cases I propose introducing audio books, manga, comics, ebooks or even interactive books. This will help said students learn what their learning style is, the alternative media that they can consume, and above all, that they are not inherently dumb for not liking reading. I propose that said book club lets kids explore and research without the stuffiness of an academic setting. On final’s week the students from the class can interact and tutor each other; not in a one-on-one office but instead, in a room in which they can talk or present the books that they have read and share their passions, tastes, and dislikes. In which they can rant like kids about a topic they thought was silly. I am aware this sounds a lot like a library, maybe because-to some extent– it is. Making reading accessible and easy is important to our society. Showing young children that books exis; ones which don’t necessarily have dates to be memorized or required topics to discuss is not only essential but vital.