A.R. by Mahadin

Accelerated Reader

This accelerated reader or A.R. is a class that we all know has to do with reading, and it also counts as our Language Arts grade. This to me is a problem because it sometimes takes fun out of reading, adds to stress, and it cuts into your leisure time. No, I don't want A.R. to be part of our Language Arts grade. We could read still but not for A grade. When A.R. doesn't count as a grade then people could concentrate more on their subjects that they're failing, instead of reading.

Yes, I am all for reading to expand our vocabulary and to learn things we didn't know before, but it's different when you’re reading just so you can pass a class. See, when we read for a grade we don't care what words we don't know or anything we didn't know before. We also just forget about all the tiny little details in the book. All we care about is passing the test on the book and getting points so we can pass our goal. As quoted by Saint Augestine," The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page." I agree the world is a book filled with adventures and despair, but when you do something just because you're supposed to it feels like you're stuck on the same page. If we just read for the sake of reading then we might slow our pace down and find tiny details that we might not have noticed when we read for a grade. In Francis C. Hammond, 50% of the students’ thought A.R. takes the fun out of reading. Yes, 50% can you believe it? If people didn’t have A.R. they probably wouldn’t read. Wrong, 49% said they would read the same and 17% said they’d read more, according to the survey.



Stress is also another component of A.R. Stress is a feeling created when we react to particular events. It is something that may make you fail other subjects and the one you're stressing about. As quoted by Natalie Goldberg "Stress is basically a disconnection to earth, a forgetting of the breath. Stress is an ignorant state. It believes that everything is an emergency. Nothing is that important. Just lie down." Stress is something that puts you in a state where everything to you becomes very important. So, when you put stress on yourself you're making yourself think things out too much then they need to be. So, basically I am saying reading for a grade will put stress on you to finish your goal. Then, you think what might happen if you don’t reach your goal. See how it relates.A.R. takes away your leisure time to do things you feel like to do. So, to put it in simple terms it takes away your play time. You basically spend most of your time reading and the rest is homework. Yeah I know you’re saying we only read 30min, but when your about to fail if you don’t finish this book. Then, you’ll read more than 30min way more. Reading everyday is time consuming and everyday includes the weekends. To me, reading isn't bad but reading everyday can make me feel bored. Plus, we kids need leisure time to exercise and go outside to get a breath of fresh air. So, we asked people how long, on average, do they spend on reading, and 37% said 30 min. Also, 10% said 45min, 4% said 1hr, and 18% said more than 1hr. (According to the survey)



A.R. is a class that should not count as a grade, but I am not saying not to read at all. Reading is time consuming and reading everyday may make us get bored of it. It puts stress on us to finish a book quickly and get 100% on the test. You know accelerated reader takes fun out of reading is true. I told you everything I think and know about A.R., so it's up to if you want to change this.