Family Talk: Are Your Kids Reading 'The Great Gypsy' This Summer?

This article was written by Liliana De Jesus.

Summer vacation is in full swing and the kids may have just started to work on that summer reading list.

Making stops at Barnes & Noble and Queens libraries have replaced working on the latest project or studying for that upcoming test.

What is somewhat of a welcomed break for many parents may have turned into a wild goose chase if they aren’t paying close attention, as a reading list from the Hempstead School District has quite a few blunders.

The reading list includes more than 30 inaccuracies, from incorrect titles to misspellings of author names, as reported by Huffington Post and New York Magazine.

From such titles as “The Great Gypsy (Gatsby)” and “The Cantebury (Canterbury) Tale” to books by “Emily Bonte” (Bronte) and “George Ornell” (Orwell), the reading list is indicative of the necessity of “a stable administration,” as stated by Roger Tilles, a member of the New York State Department of Education’s Board of Regents.

The heading of the list includes the tip “Those who read more, achieve more,” without any punctuation.

While the message is of the utmost importance, and the books on the list are exemplary, the delivery is definitely lacking.

While being well read is a necessity, so is the ability to check over your work and research uncertainties.

I’ll be sure to reiterate those lessons while my kids are reading books from their assigned lists.