Based on a True Story

I think that in some cases, it is important to have these different genres. For example, textbooks. The things we learn need to be 100% true. Like Mr. Coates said, I want my surgeon to have read real stuff; I don’t want anyone reading fiction stories about how to be a surgeon.

Textbooks need to be nonfiction.

 Facts need to be nonfiction.

 But stories, I personally think stories are stories. If you’re just going to entertain me, who cares if it’s real or fake? Not me. I just want to be entertained.

I don’t like nonfiction. It’s a genre I like to steer clear of. I might just be reading the wrong books though; maybe there are plenty of spectacular, mind boggling stories. To think of it, I think that if some of the books I’ve read, if they were true, they would be more amazing. Amaginger.

If you’re going to lie about what your story is, that’s wrong. Because people do care, I might not, but others probably do. I don’t like to be lied to. Embellishment for entertainment is okay, but not if you embellish the whole book, or you embellish too much.

If you completely make up things that didn’t happen, it’s fiction.

Based on a true story.

Like the movies, you can say based on a true story. Because it’s not the actual thing happening right there on the screen.

If you embellish, it should be based on a true story.

If you write it exactly how it happened, its nonfiction.

If you make the whole thing up, it’s fiction.

If you make some of it up, based on a true story.

Readicide

What should schools do?

In school, most of our classes go the same way, as for reading. You read a boring book or two, and then they let you choose your own and do pretty much the same project just for a different book. It’s repetitive, and most kids don’t like it. A lot of kids our age hate reading, and those who like reading, like it less because of the books we read, and the projects we do. It’s all the same. We just want to read. I understand that we have to learn something, and without the worksheets and quizzes and projects most students wouldn’t read the books, if they do anyway, or they wouldn’t get anything out of it. But I’m sure there’s another way, something to make it more interesting. I think the solution is, change it up. Choose more books, genre fiction books that have the same lesson, just easier to read, unlike Shakespeare, something that isn’t made of art thous, and language we don’t understand. Why do we have to study these things and learn about them, when they have nothing to do with life today? Sure there is some underlying message, but students can learn that in newer books. I can’t think of a single job where it’d be necessary or even helpful to have read Macbeth. In English, I’m currently reading To Kill a Mockingbird and sure it’s not horrible, but it’s not as interesting as The Help, the book I’m reading in here. These books are dated and the least schools can do is swap them for more enjoyable books that we’ll be able to relate to or at least understand! As for the projects, they’ve been around probably as long as the books have. I have been doing pretty much the same project every year since third grade. You pick a book, you give a summary. Of course there’s more to it than that, but it’s all the same. Some teachers try to spice it up, pick songs and compare the lyrics to the main idea or theme of the book! No. It doesn’t make it less dreadful, in fact, I hate finding songs that relate to my book. I think it’s horrible, it’s not a fun activity, and the teachers think it’s creative, but they are not the only teacher who has thought of that. They give you points for creativity, but sometimes it’s hard to be creative and you can’t think of anything. I shouldn’t get points of because I couldn’t find some glitter. The grade should be based on how well I know the book, or what I’ve included in my project. It’s a simple problem, with a simple solution. Times have changed, so should the books, and so should the projects. We get graded on being creative, so the teachers should be more creative with the projects.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Trailer