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STAFF EDITORIAL

Week one: no sign of the book list online. Week two: still no sign of the book list. Week three: this is ridiculous. The number one problem with Bishop McNamara’s summer reading program is that we don’t have an adequate amount of time to read them all; it happens every year. The book list gets posted a month after school lets out. (The posting date online for the last summer’s assignments was June 26, 2009.) Our staff agrees that by this time in summer, some people are out of the country, on vacation or in some other place where they don’t have access to a computer or library. This causes the students to cram in two to five books in the last two months of summer.

Not only is there a delay in the posting of this list, but the separate reading requirements for classes such as AP and honors don’t go up the same time as the math packet and the summer reading. This is inconvenient for students and their parents who end up making multiple trips to the library or bookstore. We want a one-time, in-and-out trip with the list in our hands of all that is needed.

There should be a date by which the summer reading assignments for all classes are posted — all at once. Don’t stagger the pain. We don’t want a surprise in July or August that we actually aren’t finished because more assignments were posted online. The Stampede believes that the students should receive the book list or it should be posted before summer even begins.

We understand that teachers have challenging schedules, making it hard for them to meet a deadline date, but it’s expected of the student body each and every day — it’s called homework. We are giving you this assignment, months in advance. Summer reading list: due June 1st 2010.

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The staff editorial is authored through a group process. The Opinion Editors select one or more topics for debate by the staff. After the staff has discussed the issue and approached a consensus on the topic, the Opinion Editors write on behalf of the entire staff.  The staff then reviews and approves the final editorial before publication.