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Questions, no answers
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From: Sally Miller <derbymiller>
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 21:49:01 -0400
This discussion has raised so many questions for me. Why do we value reading? Do we feel that its value depends upon what is read? Would I rather see my grandchild reading anything at all than watching something on television or Googling on the net? Would I prefer my local high school's English teachers to concentrate on books colleges will expect students to be familiar with or to introduce them to good contemporary writers who may encourage them to think about issues that matter? Or should most of the time be spent helping students write in such a way that they say what they mean -- if not eloquently, then at least intelligibly. And if a teacher wants to revise the curriculum, where will the money for new books come from? As for libraries, do I side with the old school who used to ban Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys from library shelves, or do I applaud the inclusion of graphic novels?
But a more troubling question -- how do we get and keep readers? My teaching days are behind me, but I mentor a seventh grader who has never seen anyone in her family read anything just for the pleasure of reading. There's not a book or a magazine in any of the houses she's shuttled between. I have watched two of my granddaughters who used to devour books turn into teen-agers who don't have time to read anything that hasn't been assigned by a teacher.
I'm rambling, I know, but one thing has struck me the last few days, in line with our discussion. According to NPR, Europeans are beginning to resign themselves to work schedules more similar to those in our country -- that is, longer work weeks, shorter lunch hours and fewer vacations. They have to, we are told, to remain competitive. This high regard for diligence and industry is an aspect of our culture we ought to scrutinize carefully, and Europeans may want to think twice about letting us export it. "Quality of life" is a popular phrase today, but surely a life without leisure to be quiet, to think, to read is a life that is lacking in much of what makes it worthwhile.
My fears echo Ruth's. If we don't figure out how to encourage young people to read, to think, to discuss, then all too soon someone else will do their thinking for them. And we'll wonder how we let it happen.
from Sally Derby, who's becoming a curmudgeon. (And if I've depressed you thoroughly, let me offer an antidote. Just go into a grade school and ask a class
"Would you like to hear a story?" We can still reach them.)
Received on Mon 12 Jul 2004 08:49:01 PM CDT
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 21:49:01 -0400
This discussion has raised so many questions for me. Why do we value reading? Do we feel that its value depends upon what is read? Would I rather see my grandchild reading anything at all than watching something on television or Googling on the net? Would I prefer my local high school's English teachers to concentrate on books colleges will expect students to be familiar with or to introduce them to good contemporary writers who may encourage them to think about issues that matter? Or should most of the time be spent helping students write in such a way that they say what they mean -- if not eloquently, then at least intelligibly. And if a teacher wants to revise the curriculum, where will the money for new books come from? As for libraries, do I side with the old school who used to ban Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys from library shelves, or do I applaud the inclusion of graphic novels?
But a more troubling question -- how do we get and keep readers? My teaching days are behind me, but I mentor a seventh grader who has never seen anyone in her family read anything just for the pleasure of reading. There's not a book or a magazine in any of the houses she's shuttled between. I have watched two of my granddaughters who used to devour books turn into teen-agers who don't have time to read anything that hasn't been assigned by a teacher.
I'm rambling, I know, but one thing has struck me the last few days, in line with our discussion. According to NPR, Europeans are beginning to resign themselves to work schedules more similar to those in our country -- that is, longer work weeks, shorter lunch hours and fewer vacations. They have to, we are told, to remain competitive. This high regard for diligence and industry is an aspect of our culture we ought to scrutinize carefully, and Europeans may want to think twice about letting us export it. "Quality of life" is a popular phrase today, but surely a life without leisure to be quiet, to think, to read is a life that is lacking in much of what makes it worthwhile.
My fears echo Ruth's. If we don't figure out how to encourage young people to read, to think, to discuss, then all too soon someone else will do their thinking for them. And we'll wonder how we let it happen.
from Sally Derby, who's becoming a curmudgeon. (And if I've depressed you thoroughly, let me offer an antidote. Just go into a grade school and ask a class
"Would you like to hear a story?" We can still reach them.)
Received on Mon 12 Jul 2004 08:49:01 PM CDT
