I Wanna Read What I Want

I am convinced that student choice belongs in my classroom. At the college level, no. At the high school level, yes. Is it so terrible that I just want my students to read?

One of my strongest students admitted today that he has not completely read any of the novels from this semester. Of course, I took this comment personally, which is silly. That student probably would not finish a book, even if he were given the choice.

But I gave an online anonymous survey today, and across the board, students agreed that the way to improve my class would be to add more student choice in the books that they read. I find this surprisingly because English teachers rarely do this in high school, yet I gave two "free" reading assignments this semester. And they still want more!