The high school years. Those were some good times! Am I right about that or what? Uh, I think it actually depends on who you ask. I can't say that I had a blast in high school, but I will mention how great it was to get out of there. Anyway, one aspect of those four long years that I can't forget is the book reports. Yeah, we all remember these. They seemed to come one after the other.
If you weren't reading "Beowulf," you were probably reading "Death of a Salesman." Good times! Okay, let's be honest about one thing. Most of us or at least half of us weren't reading these "classics" at all. No sir; we were searching for Cliff Notes in the local book store or skimming the book summary on the back. Fortunately for kids now days, things are much simpler. I will admit, I am a bit jealous.
Check out the Internet. This is the epitome of sources. I don't care what it is you're looking for. There is something about it on the web. Not only can you find a brief book summary, but you can likely find the whole darn book if you like. What's really crazy is the all the notes. There are websites that highlight the main points of novels. Wow, cheating and taking short-cuts are in full swing these days. Any kid with a computer and Internet access can hop online and get the rundown of any book they please. So what's to keep them from doing this, and not actually reading the book? Uhh, pretty much nothing.
I admit that I read a book summary or two back in high school. There were definitely occasions where I didn't want to read an entire book and right a paper on it. And certainly not a book that I didn't get to pick out on my own. Before a quiz, I would typically read the Cliff Notes if they were available at the local bookstore. It's pretty hard to resist short-cuts when you're not motivated to do the work in the first place. On the other hand, Cliff Notes and book summaries can come in handy for other reasons. Especially if we're considering reading a new book. We want the scoop before we actually delve in for the long hall.
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