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In recent years, a new incentive has been put forth to get students to read, not for assignments or the sake of school, but to incentivize students to read what they want to read. It is called the Reading Challenge, and this is the third year it has been done, skipping one year due to Covid. To participate, you must grab a Reading Challenge bookmark from the library, then one must read a book, and then simply tell Geis about it. If you get her signature, then you can get your name into a drawing for a prize. Prizes include gift cards and candy, among other things. Each student gets one ticket for each book read. The reading challenge runs from October 6 to December 16.
“It is a district-wide challenge for high school students to just read. We know you guys are super busy. But reading is still super important for several reasons. And so it’s just challenging students to just pick up a book and read it in their free time,” Media Specialist Leigh Geis said.“Everybody should do it because it’s just one book between now and December. You get to pick by category and some are even like a book a friend recommended. We got a bunch of fun recommendations from staff members that I’ll be putting up too.”
Some students have been hesitant about joining the Reading Challenge.
“I am not the best at reading,” senior Keira Harries said. “We will see though.”
Others have voiced their intentions to join the challenge.
“I like to read and haven’t had time lately, so it gives me a reason to prioritize it,” sophomore Italia Durant said.
Some teachers have incentivized extra credit as well for participating in the reading challenge, according to Geis. The idea of incentivizing students to read instead of having them read for the sake of it has raised some questions about whether it is better to read without the expectation of an award.
“Some [students] do, but there are students who don’t need that incentive. They just like reading,” English teacher Jen Hadley said. “Anything that gets students to read is beneficial.”
