Textbooks: always required, usually expensive, sometimes boring and occasionally
ignored — at least by some
University students.
Skipping out on required reading is a classic student trick for decreasing class workloads.
Jacob Goudy, a sophomore
business administration major,
admitted he spends a total of
about three hours reading the entire term.
“It’s pointless, because with all the teachers
I have, the lectures sum it up,” Goudy said. “I spent $137 for my accounting book, and I have not cracked it once the entire term.
“In one of my poly sci classes, I read the glossary because we have a vocab test,”
he said. “I’ve aced every one of those quizzes.”
Goudy said he holds a 3.0 GPA.
“If I read the book, I’d probably study more,” he said. “But does it justify me spending 40 hours per week reading for another .5 on my GPA? No.”
Goudy said he doesn’t feel guilty when he sells back the book at the end of the term.
“I keep all the cash. It goes toward my alcohol for the first few weeks of the next term,” he said.
Yunah Lee, a sophomore double major in biology and physiology, said she reads her textbooks four to five hours every day.
Lee said the pressure of always being busy motivates her to do
her reading.
“When you have time, you use it,” she said.
“I sometimes read half the course load (during the break between terms),” she said, adding that
it helps take pressure off during the term. “I can’t read any faster than I do now.”
Lee said she has a few tips
for students who have trouble
motivating themselves to read.
“Know where you study best,” she said. Lee often does her reading in the library where there’s nothing to distract her.
However, Lee is subject to
the same difficulties in reading that other students are. She often finds her reading boring and occasionally has to read things twice.
“If I’m tired, I’ll always space out,” she said.
She has a system to keep
herself focused.
“Since I am pretty busy, I
always write as I read,” said Lee. “I highlight and write in the text.”
By writing summaries of
paragraphs, Lee ensures that she gets the point of what she reads
before moving on.
Lee added that if the textbook
has a summary of the chapter or notes are available on a novel, she tries to read them first so she has an idea of what to pay attention to in the text.
“Sometimes, it’s harder to do
reading if you don’t know the text as a whole.”
Professors have a number of tricks to keep students
reading, such as
giving pop quizzes or calling on students at random in class. Some are even known to kick out students who don’t do the reading prior
to class.
History professor Matthew Dennis said it’s annoying when students don’t read, but he understands that students get swamped.
“I don’t take it personally,”
Dennis said.
“It seems like a waste if they don’t take the time to do the reading,” he added. “We’re busy, so we hate to have our time wasted and to waste other people’s time. If the students don’t do the reading, they won’t fully understand lectures. … It’s much more enjoyable to teach (when students read).”

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