My teacher claims to read 5 books a week, do you think that is true?

Question

she is my grade eleven english teacher

Answer 1

Yes, depends on the type of book and length, I also read about 5 books a week.

Answer 2

I'm an English teacher myself. I like it when students question what I'm saying -- I intend for them to think, not just to absorb whatever I have to offer. Having said that, not every teacher's the same and you may want to be careful about how you voice your healthy skepticism.

I'm an avid reader - I love to read, for study and for pleasure - but the demands of a full-time job etc. keep me from reading five books a week most of the time. I've done it -- and more -- but I know it's hard to find the time necessary every week. In my opinion, your teacher's statement is unlikely to be unequivocal, verifiable fact. It's probably an exaggeration, or true on average throughout her entire career, etc. Not 100% true.

I suspect your teacher is like me, and that when she says this she means she *often* reads five books a week, i.e. she is always reading as much as she can, probably a lot in the summer, a little less when she's grading all of your classes' assignments. She reads a lot, and it's five books a week some of the time.

Think about it: she doesn't play videogames, watch much television, doesn't hang out online ... all that time you spend doing those (cool!) things she spends reading.

It's possible for a reader to get the same kind of pleasure from reading other people get from these other things, and it makes sense for her, an English teacher, to be in love with reading. Bottom line: she may be exaggerating a little, but her statement has some truth in it too.

Answer 3

Why would she lie? The more you read, the faster you get...it's a bit like touch typing. Sounds to me like you are very lucky to have her for your teacher...you've obviously got someone there who loves her subject.

(doesn't mean she doesn't have a life at all. nor are they necessarily small books. It really depends on what you're reading.........most people will take a shorter amount of time to read Hemingway's "The Old Man and The Sea" than Shakespeare's "Macbeth" although if you actually counted the words Hemingway's novel is longer than the play.

As for her having a life........personally I think literature can only enrich a life. She is actually doing something rather than vegetating in front of TV all day or wasting hours playing games.

Incidentally, you can train yourself to speed read if you want. Get a book and read a paragraph as fast as you can but don't worry whether anything sinks in or not. If you practice this, the speed of your reading will improve and you will soon start taking it all in as well.

Answer 4

This can be done easily. I would read at least one book a day/night and sometimes a few more over the weekend. This is even while working fulltime and with a 5 year old. I am a fast reader and it depends what I am actually reading. A junk type book can be read in an hour or so without much effort.

Answer 5

I have a life ( I work part time, run a Brownie Pack, a Rainbow group, a Toddler Group and have a family) and I read 5 books a week (not War and Peace, obviously). The thing is to use your time well. I read while cleaning my teeth and in the bath, and I hardly watch any television. So your teacher is probably a well rounded person and a fast reader.

Answer 6

it's possible.. it depends how much free time your teacher has. It also depends on how long each book is and how difficult it is. Depending on what I'm reading, i sometimes finish two books in a week, and I'm in eleventh grade. So if in eleventh grade i can read two books a week i dont see why an eleventh grade teacher can't read five... You might as well give her the benefit of the doubt since there's no way of really knowing how honest she is.

Answer 7

I don't know if she'd have time to do that *every* week. She probably has a lot of papers to grade and such. But it is possible to read 5 books a week, depending on how long the books are and how quickly she can read. (English teachers are usually quick readers.)

Answer 8

Some weeks I read that much or more. I teach children's literature, so I read a lot of kids books -- picture books through novels. I did when I was a children's librarian, too.

Some novels are easier to read than others. John Grisham, Clive Cussler, Janet Evanovich, all quick reads.

Some people don't watch much TV. I even have a job, a husband and two small kids, and I read a lot. It's what I choose to do with my free time.

Answer 9

Very possibly. I am young, active duty in the military which takes up quite a bit of time, cook dinner for myself and two others 4 nights a week, travel or tour locally often, go out to the bars or clubs every weekend, usually have at least one party to attend each week, and I still manage to read upwards of 400 pages of non-fiction a week for pleasure (I'm also working on an econ degree). If she's reading short works of fiction, it's entirely possible.

Answer 10

I could easily read 5 full novels a week, if I had the time. Evenings would do. Some people read fast, likely they are one of us.

When tested for reading speed, I was off the chart. I know I am not the only one this way.