The promised land! Break! Freedom!
Whatever you call it, summer is the most glorious part of the year. The reason: no school. However, for some students, this break is not really a true break. Why might you ask? The two most dreaded words English teachers could come up with: summer reading.
Now, there are many ways that different types of students handle their summer work.
1) The Nerds – The nerds are the students that rush to BAM! the day after school lets out, thrilled to get their hands on new reading material. They get the first pick of books before they are sold out at bookstores locally. This type of student tends to read the books for fun in June, reread the books again in July, and refresh their memory the night before the test by perusing their detailed notes. The nerds can often be identified by their bespectacled visage and pale skin from spending all their time indoors.
2) The Procrastinators – The procrastinator is the nerd’s worst nightmare. These students are up the night before the first day of school finishing their summer reading assignment. Procrastinators tend to get their best inspiration after midnight for assignments and won’t stop working until it is finished. Needless to say, procrastinators often suffer from sleep deprivation. Caffeine is a procrastinator’s best friend in the morning. It is advised to stay clear of procrastinators during this time because they tend to not be perky or sociable until well after lunch.
3) The Excuse Makers – Although not as extreme as the procrastinator, the excuse maker does put off their assignments but normally finishes it in a timely matter. Their brain tricks them into thinking, “Nah, I got time to read that book.” Sooner rather than later, it is August and they finally have to start their summer reading. The excuse maker tends to hate reading books altogether and tries to avoid reading them by making up wild excuses. Some examples of these wild excuses include, “I have to do my laundry” or “I promised to meet Lisa at the pool.”
4) The Moochers – The moochers are as anti-summer reading as you can get. The mooch does not even bother ordering the summer reading books. They much prefer to read the SparkNotes version. The mooch is aptly named for their ability to persuade the nerds to let them borrow their notes. On the first day of school, the mooch can be found slouching in their desks hoping their English teacher does not call on them.
