Summer Reading
Robert Frost once wrote that “we go to school to get the book side of things.” Indeed, no single academic skill is as crucial to a student’s intellectual development as reading. With this in mind, the Choate Summer Reading Committee, a group comprised of members from each academic department and the school’s library staff, invites you to partner up with your son or daughter by reading books together this summer.
These books are to be selected from the list of recommended titles. We have grouped the choices by discipline and have suggested the level of difficulty or age appropriateness. Faculty members from each department have made these recommendations, and we have tried to achieve a balance between classic and contemporary texts. (Most of the book descriptions have been penned by the faculty though we have borrowed from Amazon on occasion.)
Each student is required by the English Department to read one book over the summer, and we are requesting that at least two other titles be read in a subject area or areas of the student’s personal interest. As in the past, students will be quizzed on the appropriate English text during the second day of classes in the fall.
As for the other reading, you and your child will indicate at registration the titles s/he has read. We are well aware that students are busy with a number of meaningful activities during the summer months, so we have asked students to read a minimum of three books. Of course, we strongly encourage students to read much more, and we hope that by inviting your participation in this initiative, you and your child will have a wonderful opportunity for meaningful discussion.
Thank you for your support and encouragement of leisure reading. We hope that you will enjoy sharing and exploring some of these fine works with your child.
The Committee: Cyrus Cook, Chair; David Doster; Cynthia Hill; Charlie Long; Joe Scanio; Barbara Webb; and Tom White