Summer Reading

For all the cleverness of mankind's inventions, we have yet to figure out how to get information into someone's head. Oh, sure. Sci Fi movies insinuate that someday we will purchase and swallow pills that have the entire history of the world or an entire language encapsulated in them that will make the swallower a master at whatever the subject is within minutes of ingesting.

Not yet. We still have to get our information the old fashioned way. Either read and evaluate or experience the subject. Even then, mastery takes years often. So we just keep picking away at reading stuff, hoping - well, for what? My kids think reading is a terrible punishment foisted on them by unreasonable teachers who actually think reading is preferable to experiencing life. They would far prefer doing something to reading about it. Even talking about it would be better than reading.

Drew has a summer reading project. He is expected to read The Six Questions of Sophocles and write essays about what he read. He had a hard time with last year's summer reading assignment which was way easier. Every day I ask him, "Have you read more of your book?" Every day he answers, "Sort of." Meaning no.

I see the clock ticking down. He is squirming trying to figure out how to get by. Last year he ended up watching a movie based on the assigned book. Way better as far as he was concerned and I could not convince him that he was missing a lot. He actually asked me to read his book and tell him what it was about! Imagine his despair when I said I was too busy reading things to help me create my Morning and Evening Prayers for Cancer Patients dvd.

Finally, finally, he buckled down and read. He worked steadily through the night even to get the required assignments done and checked off his list. And today, he actually admitted that summer was much more enjoyable now that the weight hanging over his head is gone, turned in, completed. A week before the deadline, just to be sure.

And he wasn't even that upset when the teacher, undoubtedly assailed by parents of other kids, gave an extension and lessened the workload. Hum. I wonder if reading will stick? Maybe he will even end up liking to read. Now, I have to get back to my books.