In a recent study handed out at a county wide English Department meeting, studies show that students who read for 40 minutes a day score in the 90th percentile of standardized testing, while students who read for only 2 minutes a day score in the 10th percentile.

In reaction to this survey, English department chair Alan Munaker has implemented 30 minutes of silent reading time on Thursdays and Fridays for his classes and suggested the idea for the other English teachers. During silent reading, students get points for bringing in a book and read it the whole time.

“The book cannot be related to school in any way,” said junior Kate Dibble, who is one of Munaker’s students. “At first, I liked the idea of reading time in class, but wanted to be able to study or take the time to read assigned books, but after the first silent reading time, I realized that it wasn’t a 30 minute study hall; it was time to just relax and enjoy a book,” Dibble said.

With the pressures of school, studying and required reading, it is easy to forget that reading can be fun.

“I used to love reading but in high school we started reading books just to analyze them. I don’t always enjoy the book, and now [reading] is not as fun,” junior Eliza Dickson said.

For some students, finding time to read is actually part of a daily routine.

“Usually, at the end of the day, you finish your homework and go straight to bed, but I like to read to get the thoughts of homework out of my head,” junior Paula Rogo said.

Rogo, who is also in Munaker’s 11th grade English class, loves the silent reading time and thinks it’s a good break from the stresses of dealing with life at school.

“You know you are reading for pleasure and by choice as opposed to being told to read, and that just makes it a lot of fun to do,” Rogo said.

Reading often enhances one’s ability in comprehension, writing ability and speed reading, which is especially important with the newly formatted SAT, which focuses heavily on reading comprehension and writing.

Even though it was suggested that English provide time in class to read, not all teachers are. Dickson, who will read for fun at home if she can find the time, wishes she had been provided reading time during class.

“I’d hope that if we had more time to read the books we like, than it would be easier to read the books we don’t like.” Dickson said.

Munaker hopes that providing time to read for fun in class will show students how enjoyable it is to read as opposed to turning them off from English.

“As English teachers, our mission is to get kids to become life long-readers,” Munaker said.