Free to Read #4

Feb. 28, 2013 Session 4 – To Read or not to Read? Discussions about reading discernment are very important in any Christian community, but the discussions must also lead to decisions. Individual readers (as well as parents and teachers) must decide whether or not to read a novel or to fling it aside. In this session we will begin to formalize such decisions by working together to draft a Christian school library book recommendation form. Required reading: Stephenie Meyer, Twilight.

Last night's session focussed on the practical aspects of book selection for a school library - a particularly hot topic for me as I've been on the Library Committee at my kid's school for the past 2 1/2 years and we struggle regularly with the difficult decisions about whether or not to include certain books in the library.  Dr Smid had lots of good ideas to help with this process and a few of us had an extended discussion again after the session about which of these ideas were really practical.  It was interesting for me to see which of her ideas we already have in place in our school library... and I feel encouraged that we are doing a pretty good job already!

Dr Smid shared some ideas for the purpose of a school library that I think are relevant to our church libraries and home "libraries" as well.  The books we choose should:

• provide information
• send the clear message that learning does not end in the classroom
• highlight the importance and delight of reading
• ensure that all kids have access to books
• allow for individual tastes and interests
• encourage reading AS A CHRISTIAN

Dr. Smid provided a fairly detailed handout for this session, but here are some ideas that are also relevant to us when selecting books to read at Book Club:

1. include a wide variety of books to appeal to various tastes - we do this!  She emphasized here the idea of choosing books not just in different genres or on different topics, but also in different writing styles, points of view and "voices".  I think that overall many of us have welcomed the opportunity to read outside our comfort zone - even if the conclusion was simply that we still don't like that particular type of book!
2. include classics which have stood the test of time - we do this!  Both may (forgotten favorites) and September (reading the classics) cover this category.
3. include new and popular books... Don't automatically avoid books that have been panned in a Christian magazine or blog.  Christian reviewers can and do make mistakes or have a specific agenda, just like everyone else.  Just because the book is unsuited for one Christian, it is not necessarily useless for all Christians. - what do you think?  Can you remember us avoiding a popular book because of negative reviews?  if so, do you think we made the right choice?  I wonder if we should try to build this in to our rotation a bit more.  For example, maybe we can ditch our April theme (how does your garden grow?) which we've been using pretty loosely anyways and replace it with something like "The Latest Buzz" where we choose a popular new book to read. 

Much of the session focussed on the practical workings of a school library, so if you are interested further in that, feel free to call me a up and I'll share some of her ideas and chat your ear off on that topic too.

Thoughts?  Reactions? 

Definitely some ideas to keep in mind when choosing books for the next half year!

Free to Read #3

Feb. 21, 2013 Session 3 – Study What you Most Affect: Novels have various roles in our lives: some we purchase (or borrow) and read privately, some we recommend to others, some we put in a church or school library, and others we read or teach in the classroom. This session examines which texts are particularly suited for novel studies in Christian schools, and how they might be taught most effectively. Required reading: Aldous Huxley, Brave New World; Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games.

Sadly, I missed this session, but Trish grabbed me a handout and I wanted to include a few points from there that I thought might be helpful to us.

Dr. Smid's main idea of this presentation is this:
" Rather than only discerning on behalf of the children in our care, we should be teaching them how to discern, both by modelling discernment and by encouraging them to discern in their independent reading."

Here are some of her practical suggestions for how to model discernment:

1. Fill your home with books.
2. Or, barring that, go to the library often and join reading programs.
3. Read to your kids.
4. Don't stop reading to your kids
5. Read your books in front of your kids
6. Hunt for the best books
7. Anticipate new books
8. Celebrate the classics
9. Help interpret worldviews as you read to your children
10. REad your favorite passages to your children
11. Challenge your children to improve books
12. Read the Bible together.

Here is #13 from me:

13.  Put his/her own bookshelf in your child's room.  Share the love of book ownership and the joy that comes from passing along a good (or to use Dr.Smid's vocabulary, "useful") book to a friend.

Here are some of her practical suggestions for how to teach discernment:

1. Put books in context: in a Christian context; a literary context; and a social context
2. Ask how and why questions.  Why questions ask kids to consider the purpose and point of view of the book.  How questions ask kids to consider the beauty of a a novel and also it's rhetorical impact on its reader.  How questions also ask students to think more consciously about the role of the author.
3. Start early.
4. Have a wide variety of books available to read
5. Read new and popular books(as well as classics) in the classroom.
6. Have faith.

Closing Thought: The more you read, the better you can discern!

Thoughts?  Reactions?

Anyone else have any practical tips for encouraging the love of reading and modeling thoughtful reading to your kids?  I'd love to hear your ideas!

Free to Read - Session #2

Feb. 14, 2013 Session 2 – Words, Words, Words: Many of us are accustomed to evaluating a novel based on what it says. This session will emphasize, instead, the value of how a book says what it says. For a novel to be useful to Christian readers, it must be full of literary beauty, and thus we will consider how to recognize and respond to such beauty. Required reading: J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

Dr. Smid challengd us to rethink the way we understand  "beauty" in novels.
Some thoughts she shared with us:

• a novel can instruct (content) and delight (beauty)... these aspects are equally important
• the pursuit of beauty is a Christian obligation, not an option
• The Bible shows us a connect between beauty and holiness (for example, the adornment of the tabernacle, temple, creation, the description of the new Jerusalem)
• adult novels and children's novels must be held to the same high standard of beauty
• reading is a moral act; any beauty that we can create is a gift from our Creator God
• a Christian message or moral cannot redeem a text marred by shoddy workmanship; both craftsmanship and morality are necessary

How then can we identify beautiful writing? Dr Smid shared some characteristics of a poorly written novel and some hilarious examples from real texts.

• didacticism - preachy, moral bludgeoning
• sentimentality - sweet, syrupy and condescending
• sensationalism - focus on the thrill/scare; dulls reader to real pain/emotion
• stilted dialogue - choppy and unbeliveable
• cliches - overused and unoriginal
• weak metaphors - distract us from the point of the text
• stilted choppy language - boring sentences that put you to sleep
• unbelievable characters - can be unbelievably good or evil; not someone that you feel like you know
• dullness - when we're bored, we will disengage and then quit reading

A well written novel will contain many of these things:

• believable characters, and at least one character the reader is rooting for
• believable dialogue - could you imagine this conversation really taking place?
• apt, fresh metaphors - could surprise us into thinking about something familiar in a new way
• excellent diciton - ie. word choice
• symbolism - something that represents something more/greater; subtly done
• allusions - direct or indirect references to knowledge beyond the text; depends upon the reader's own understanding
• plot complexity - story could be told in a complex way: not linear progression, multiple points of view, etc
• suspense - a genuine sense of anticipation for what's going to happen
• trust the reader - gives the reader some credit for intelligence and allows them to invest themselves in the story

After the main lecture, we broke up into groups again to discuss three pairs of exerpts to see which one we felt had greater beauty.  In many groups, the readers were quite divided.  This showed us that to some extent, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  Our preference for a certain style of writing is affected by:

- our own life experience

- our exposure to other writing

- our personal preferences

This makes it difficult to say definitively which texts are well written and which ones are poorly written.  Some chatting after the lecture, revealed that although Dr Smid used Harry Potter as an example of "beautiful" writing, some readers were still not convinced.  Could the writing still be beautiful if you object to the morality of the content?  Again - a though-provoking evening!

Thoughts?  Comments?

Free to Read - Session #1

Feb. 7, 2013 Session 1 – The Matter that you Read: In this session, we will consider what it means to read on behalf of others, particularly children or students. How and why do adults read children’s literature? We will also lay the groundwork for further sessions by creating a common terminology for reading discernment. Required reading: William Golding, The Lord of the Flies.

Dr. Smid gave an excellent introduction on the value of novels in this first session.  It was encouraging to hear that reading novels should be an experience of learning, but also delight!  

Two books that she referred to fairly extensively are:

1. Literature through the Eyes of Faith by Susan Gallagher and Roger Lundin
2. Triumphs of the Imagination: Literature in Christian Perspective by Leland Ryken

Here are some throughts that she shared with us:

Literature has value:

- in providing us with a new experience

- in illuminating the universal human experience

- in providing enjoyment

- in aiding us to understand the human experience 

- in reaffirming the uniqueness of man (that's man as opposed to animal; not man as opposed to woman)

She introduced two key terms to help us discern:

1. useful literature... broadens our vision and increases our understanding; can depict sin but does not glorify it.  I thought here of our recent book, A Long Way Gone.  There was horrifying sinful lives and actions in this book - but the author wanted us to be horrified!  We can read about the brokenness of Sierra Leonne and mourn it rather than imitate it.
2. obscene literature... depicts sin in order to encourage it's practice or glorify it's existance.  I thought here of the divorce in Sarah's Key.  I think that you could argue that this aspect of the book was obscene - the author wanted us to cheer for Julia in escaping her marriage and provided justifications to make this situation seem ideal.  Then the author provides Julia with "rewards" in terms of a child and the potential for a happy new relationship. (ps. I'm not saying Sarah's Key is obscene literature as it certainly fulfuls some of the above values; I'm just using this aspect of the book as an example as it was the first thing that popped into my mind during Dr. Smid's lecture last night.)

Dr. Smid also made several points that we have found to be true in book club:

• every novel calls for a reaction; does the book want us to laugh? cry? feel pity? disgust? does the book call us to social action?  does the book want us to choose sides on an issue?
• the ultimate responsibility in reading lies with the reader; there is no entirely "safe" literature
• we need to read with faith, not fear.  No one book can overshadow a strong faith.
• we ought to read widely to experience a wide range of human experience.  Knowing our "neighbour" is essential to practicing Christian love and charity

We ended the session with about 1/2 an hour of small group discussion and two of the three questions were particularly relevant to our book club situation, so I will replicate them for your consideration:

1. A friend loans you her favorite book: "It's the best book I've ever read," she tells you.  When you begin to read the book, however, you are horrified to discover that it is full of profanity, selfishness, and sinful behavior.  Do you continue to read the book, hoping to find out why your friend loves the book so much?  Do you continue to read so that you can tell your friend in detail why you didn't like the book?  Do you stop reading and return the book to your friend?
2. Are certain sins never acceptable in a novel?  For example, is profanity in a novel ever useful?

Thoughts? Reactions?  

* Note that this is not a complete summary of last night's session- just the points that I thought would be most relevant to all of us.  :-)

Free to Read Seminar

Free to Read: The Joys of Christian Discernment


Instructor: Dr. Deanna Smid
Venue: Covenant Canadian Reformed Teachers College
Dates: Thursday February 7, 14, 21, and 28, 2013 [7:30-9:30 PM]
Cost: $ 40.00 – Payable at the first session (Feb. 7)

Of particular interest to parents, teachers, librarians, and all those who revel in reading, this brief seminar series highlights the value of literature for Christian readers. Good literature instructs, delights, surprises, and reforms. But are all texts created equal? Are they all profitable for personal edification, for in-class novel study, or for inclusion in a church or school library? In answer, each of the sessions debates particular means of discernment through the lens of five well-known novels: Lord of the Flies, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Brave New World, The Hunger Games, and Twilight.

By reading, analyzing, and discussing the relative usefulness (even necessity) of such texts, the course will provide tools to answer the question, “What then shall we read?”

Feb. 7, 2013 Session 1 – The Matter that you Read: In this session, we will consider what it means to read on behalf of others, particularly children or students. How and why do adults read children’s literature? We will also lay the groundwork for further sessions by creating a common terminology for reading discernment. Required reading: William Golding, The Lord of the Flies.

Feb. 14, 2013 Session 2 – Words, Words, Words: Many of us are accustomed to evaluating a novel based on what it says. This session will emphasize, instead, the value of how a book says what it says. For a novel to be useful to Christian readers, it must be full of literary beauty, and thus we will consider how to recognize and respond to such beauty. Required reading: J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

Feb. 21, 2013 Session 3 – Study What you Most Affect: Novels have various roles in our lives: some we purchase (or borrow) and read privately, some we recommend to others, some we put in a church or school library, and others we read or teach in the classroom. This session examines which texts are particularly suited for novel studies in Christian schools, and how they might be taught most effectively. Required reading: Aldous Huxley, Brave New World; Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games.

Feb. 28, 2013 Session 4 – To Read or not to Read? Discussions about reading discernment are very important in any Christian community, but the discussions must also lead to decisions. Individual readers (as well as parents and teachers) must decide whether or not to read a novel or to fling it aside. In this session we will begin to formalize such decisions by working together to draft a Christian school library book recommendation form. Required reading: Stephenie Meyer, Twilight.

I'm signed up for this Seminar at the Teacher's College this month.  I'll keep you posted after each session as this topic applies to us too.  Should be super interesting!

Anyone else going, too?