We as students know what motivates us to do our best in school. With the pressure of college looming over our heads, school is a big deal. Some of the hardest classes we experience are not difficult due to the subject, but rather the boring and ineffective assignments.

In 2012, a study was conducted with 112 second and third graders. Half were assigned a mandatory reading log, whereas the other half had a voluntary reading log. After two months, those with voluntary logs experienced more interest in reading for fun than those with a mandatory log. Unfortunately, reading logs decreased the interest in academic reading for both parties, demonstrating that perhaps reading logs wasn’t the best teaching method for that particular group.

According to the Institute of Education Sciences, higher school level materials require a certain amount of interest, which can be obtained by how the content is presented and taught. When students have more interest, they are more motivated which can spike their engagement in classroom settings. Drawing vital conclusions from each unit’s content usually results from students thinking critically while concentrating. The only way a student will be able to concentrate is with engaging assignments and information.

After interviewing FLHS English teacher Ms. Amanda Roland, I was able to gather that Fairfield Public Schools is going through an English curriculum review. These occasions are rare, occurring only every ten years. This time is used as an opportunity to review the curriculum and see what should be updated, after which the curriculum is then adjusted as necessary. The entire point of these curriculum reviews is to meet the needs of the students. 

Amanda Roland also stated, “Combining the professional knowledge of educators with the knowledge of what’s relevant from the students can make learning more meaningful.” As an FLHS student myself, I believe that it could be very helpful to both students and educators if students were given a chance to provide feedback on the current curriculum and offer some suggestions. Not only could this provide more interest in learning, but it helps students retain more information and feel more passionate about their favorite subjects in school. This could potentially help pick future career paths. By allowing students and educators to work together to adjust the curriculum to their needs, we can create a stronger education for all Ludlowe students.