English teachers: let’s stop reading Shakespeare in school. There’s something better.
I know this might sound strange coming from an English teacher, but I really think we should stop reading literature in secondary school and start reading more important things.
I’m not saying that we should never read any form of literature with our students. Still, I think it’s time we allow our students to learn something from the book they’re reading, instead of forcing them to read that terrible The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime again (yes, I’m looking at you school in Groningen, the Netherlands).
After reading 12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson, I had already realised that this book would be a better (and more interesting) book to read for higher grade secondary education students, most preferably final year students (17 and 18 year olds). The book offers new perspectives on the world, and it gives students the opportunity to discuss Peterson’s views with each other and learn something from the 12 rules he proposes.
However, there’s a book that might be even more suitable for secondary school students, especially as they’re about to go into the great big scary world on their own: Atomic Habits by James Clear.
Clear talks about the importance and consequence of implementing small habits into your daily routine, and where Peterson tries to provide the same ‘order’ from a theoretical perspective by proposing rules 2, 4, and 6, Clear doesn’t dive into the psychological side of habits; he takes examples from his own life and shows the reader how he has benefitted from applying these habits into his daily routines. Besides showcasing his own experiences, he gives the readers tools to develop their habits and build them based on what they’re already doing. The book even offers free downloadable PDFs readers can use to create their habits and two bonus chapters for parents and businesses.
The importance of this book for students cannot be understated. As a teacher who has taught in the final years of secondary school, both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve seen that students aren’t given the right tools necessary to be succesfull at a college or while studying at a university. They have all the knowledge they need but lack the study skills required to excel at that level. In my current job, I teach students who’ve suffered through the pandemic and are at university now. I see how they’ve lost the two years of their life in which they were supposed to be taught how to study, plan, and balance a life filled with school, fun, friends, and breakups (because that’s part of life too).
Atomic Habits will fill students’ toolboxes and open their eyes to the importance of order and habit formation. They can practice the tips Clear gives in a smaller setting with their secondary school work, track how successful they were, and learn which habits work and don’t work. Their teacher can help them reflect and coach them where necessary. Maybe, as a side benefit, students will feel motivated to finally finish a book in school.
