It was no wonder that students were impatient and restless by the end of Summer Reading Day.  There had been numerous problems throughout the day, and now the Skype call with the author of “The Art of Racing in the Rain” was failing.  Though the day had good intentions, the overwhelming feeling was one of disappointment and lost opportunities.

The biggest problem with the Summer Reading Day on Sept. 7 was the lack of small group discussion. Because students were required to write essays to prove they read their books, some groups didn’t have enough time to discuss them. Students weren’t able to share ideas, opinions, and lessons they took from the readings, or gain perspectives from other students.

The speakers left something to be desired as well. The presentations for both “Heaven Is For Real” and “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” were compelling, but they didn’t speak to the book. They didn’t promote discussion or help students formulate new ideas and understanding of the books.

Undoubtedly the best part of the day was the Skype session with Garth Stein, author of “The Art of Racing in the Rain.” He talked about his inspiration for the novel, his career as a writer, and how each and every one of us should follow our crazy dreams. Stein emulated the ideal speaker for the situation and our school.

Unfortunately, the ball was dropped on the Skype conversation.  The students had to sit through an excruciating 15 minutes of Stein trying to make calls while faculty tried figure out why the microphone wouldn’t work.  Even though the call was silent for him, Stein managed to be funny and informative while answering written questions from students and discussing his writing experience.

However, Stein’s brilliant and witty banter couldn’t overcome the fact that he only catered to one-third of the student body. Unfortunately, the same was true for all the speakers.

This is the problem with letting students choose their own summer reading book. School-wide summer reading is supposed to connect students. It is supposed to give the seniors and the freshmen something in common. How is that possible when the student body is divided into three groups?

The Summer Reading Day was undoubtedly interesting, but did not have the desired effect. Students needed more discussion, more shared ideas, and more inspiration from the speakers. The speakers themselves needed to be more pertinent to the novel they were supposed to discuss. And now we know that if technology is involved, a back-up plan is a must.