The Idea of an Essay, Volume 3

Analysis & Response 123 than the ones I had already read. Roman historian’s droning felt too overwhelming for a middle schooler; I felt frustrated, defeated, and alone with many more pages to read. Even though I felt defeated and alone, I was fortunate to have the constant encouragement of my mother. Many students do not have a support team telling them to persevere and are, therefore, really alone in their effort to conquer the skill of reading. Even with the support that I had frommy mother, I still felt like I was drowning and the four years of high school looked dismal. How much more disheartening this would be for a student who struggles alone! This type of experience crushes a middle school student and destroys his confidence as a successful student. It makes him feel unprepared for the assignments to come later in the year. Serious implications can impact the remainder of the student’s academic career—if a student thinks she will fail, she will hesitate to try new things, have low self- esteem, and settle in many areas in her life where she could excel. In contrast, if she thinks she can succeed, she will more likely thrive, try new things, push herself, and grow as a confident individual. All easily have roots in a student’s perception of their academic success. All of these contribute to a student’s feelings of defeat, often starting in middle school. Students cannot only feel overwhelmed by assignments, but even when the readings are level-appropriate they can experience a difficulty transitioning to adult literature due to disinterest. This rings especially true for male students. In a survey by Cedarville University English Composition class which interviewed over 55 students regarding their past experience in literacy, male students rated the enjoyment of the assigned readings in school as a two on a one through ten scale. When I asked one particular student why he didn’t like them, he responded, “Because they were boring! If they had let me read about cars or other things I was interested in, I would have been so much more engaged,” (Heinig, Will, Personal interview). Surveys have found that many students respond similarly. A more in-depth survey in 2001 of thousands of middle school students found the same conclusion (Gay and Broaddus 350)—middle school students do not like to read because they find their assigned reading boring and then they associate those feelings with reading in general. These preconceptions of reading permeate the rest of their studies including high school and collegiate classes.