English classes such as Honors English and AP Literature at Freedom High School require students to read certain books for their curriculum. These classes provide copies of books but there is typically only a certain amount and is limited.
Some classes get books first and don’t have enough for the other classes. This causes students to pick between buying their own copy of a book, going to the public library to get one, or using a PDF. There are pros and cons to each of the options.
“I had to read Born A Crime by Trevor Noah,” said senior Ellie Richey. “Originally, our teacher had enough copies for everyone in the room but another teacher ended up taking all of them, leaving us with just 10. So some people had to either use a PDF to read or buy their own copy.”
Again, many classes can provide a few hard copies, but do not have enough for all students in the class. Some students have to either download and read a PDF or buy their own copy. Using a PDF makes it easier to search for words and quotes in the books, but hard copies are usually easier to read.
“If you have your own book, you can directly write or annotate in it. But PDFs are a lot more accessible,“ said senior Mokshith Valleri.
Some students also have different opinions on access to hard copies of books within schools. Certain students in the county also can’t afford to spend extra money on books, so they are forced to use a PDF, which can be harder to read in some cases.
“We live in the richest county in the United States, I feel like the county should be able to provide hard copies for all of the students,” Richey said. “But at the same time, using a PDF is easier sometimes because you can search for words. But sometimes the page numbers are off from the hard copies which makes it harder.”
PDFs are more portable but can be harder to access without the internet, whereas hard copies of books can be taken anywhere at any time. It is also easier to create your own annotations through hard copies.
The English Department is responsible for providing English classes with their required texts. Although this is the main supply of books, the English Department can’t always promise to have enough books for all English classes immediately. When the English department is not able to provide books, they attempt to gather books from other schools.
“In the event that we do not have enough copies of a book to provide a copy to each student, I reach out to other schools to borrow books,” said Veronica Short, English Department Chair. “There is never a need for a student to purchase their own copy of a book for school. We will always provide a copy of a required text.”
