Yes, teachers give you things to do that you may not want to do. Some of it may not seem relevant. The same happens at work but you have to do it with a smile on your face.
I've seen that people read faster if they read more. Whether that's cause or effect or neither is up in the air. All the same if you are a slow reader I would suggest finding a way to fix that, it is a very important skill.
You know, I'm a slow reader. I also don't find reading that interesting. I'm not targeting anyone that DOES read, but I'm not a fan of it. Now, why do teachers FORCE you to read? It's just another stress of, "Oh if I don't finish that, I'm screwed." I have to keep facing this "stress" a few times a year, and I'm getting very agitated about it.
I don't think teachers realize this but they say that reading helps your "vocabulary", but we are already doing vocabulary assignments constantly throughout the year! Also, another thing is that some people just simply have better things to do.
You see, I could be using that valuable time and studying the French Defense opening for chess. I could be working on my chess study right now. Something A LOT MORE USEFUL AND ENTERTAINING. It also stimulates the mind. Teachers say, "Oh kids don't have any mental exercise these days so we'll give them something to do over the break. Read this book," But there are many activities that involve the brain. And chess is a BETTER exercise I'll say right now, than reading. There's no possible way that reading is any better than playing chess, because those who thing chess is just a game, have SIMPLY NOT STUDIED THE HEART OF THE GAME AND DON'T PLAY TACTICALLY, POSITIONALLY, STRATEGICALLY, AND DON'T TAKE A SUFFICIENT AMOUNT OF TIME TO MAKE THE BEST MOVE THAT CAN EITHER MAKE THEIR POSITION BETTER, OR WIN BY FORCE. INSTEAD THEY GET THEMSELVES CHECKMATED BECAUSE THEY DON'T FOLLOW ANY CHESS PRINCIPLES, OR PLAY BLITZ CHESS...
That's for my chess rant...
Getting back on topic, seriously though, reading should not be forced... There are just too many better things to do these days and reading really sucks it up. You know, people say that going to work is worse, well actually, I'D RATHER GO TO WORK FOR 8 HOURS RATHER THAN HAVING TO DEAL WITH ALL THIS SCHOOL CRAP because AT LEAST I would have no stress at home after that, and could calmly study some common defenses for black and increase my quality of play, rather than sitting at home reading a book...
What do you guys think?