Last summer I had the opportunity to teach two distinct classes unlike any I do during a regular school year. The first, for 11th and 12th graders, is an intense “boot camp” meant to prepare students for the SAT. Unlike other test prep programs, however, this company refuses to teach strategies or methods to “beat the test” and instead maintains that the smartest people are those who read deeply and extensively, so to do well on a test of reading comprehension or writing, a student must read and write. A lot. Daily. Intensely. Last August I posted two articles I got from that experience. Those were the mornings.
In the afternoons, however, I had a completely different assignment for students entering 9th and 10th grade. This “book camp” was equally intense: 7 books in 8 weeks, 2 hour classes for discussion and exploration 4 days per week. It was heavenly for me. We read a mix of fiction and non-fiction, traditional and off-beat literature. I had students who were motivated, who actually did the reading and came to class ready to discuss their thoughts and opinions and observations. I felt like I was discovering alongside them and almost felt like I was taking a class myself.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – Sherlock Holmes: Hound of the Baskervilles
Mark Haddon - Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (a mystery story from the point of view of an autistic, 16-year-old British boy)
Neil Postman - Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business (a diatribe against television and all it has done to us)
Temple Grandin - Animals in Translation (a non-fiction piece about how autism can help humans make connections to the ways animals think)
Malcolm Gladwell - The Outliers (an exploration of the roots of success: opportunity and legacy)
Leif Enger - Peace Like a River (a novel about a teenaged outlaw and his family)
Paulo Coelho - The Alchemist (an allegory about finding yourself and your life’s purpose)
Yann Martel - Life of Pi (fall extension class – a novel about an Indian boy, a sunken ship, and 7 months on a lifeboat with a tiger)
Of the 8 books I read, I have wanted to blog about 3 of them ever since. Here is the Cliff’s Notes version of my thoughts:
The Outliers
Rarely, even in the experience of an avid reader, does a single book completely change how a person sees the world. For me, The Outliers is one such book. I was so captivated by this text that for weeks I read it at anyone who sat still long enough. I read the first chapter to my mom and she proceeded to read the entire book. I read it to Joe. I read it to Joe’s mom. I read to my sister and Rocco and Kirk and his girlfriend and then bought the book as a gift for two more people. If I were to make one of those Top Ten Books That Changed My Life lists, this book would definitely be there.
The premise of the book is that our traditional ideas of how someone becomes successful in America – pull yourself up by your bootstraps, work hard and long and be dedicated – while not completely untrue are definitely misguided. The author, Malcolm Gladwell, separates his investigation into two categories, Opportunity and Legacy, and then develops the stories of several archetypes of success. He uses examples like Bill Gates and the 18th century railroad and newspaper tycoons to show that it’s not just about talent, intelligence, and diligence but about being at the right place (in the world, in your life) and at the right time. Then he talks about how none of that, without the proper background and cultural mindset can even work. A person’s legacy can be their ticket to success or can be a wall that stops all effort.
Peace Like a River
I read a lot of novels. I read a lot of great literature and chick lit and classics. Peace Like a River is one of those stories that I never would have picked up from a book store if I had just seen the cover, title, or dust-jacket blurb. It’s about a teenaged outlaw, his asthmatic brother, child-prodigy sister, miracle-working father, the Midwest and the badlands – none of which sound interesting to me at all. But oh, I was fooled. Because Hound of the Baskervilles is a mystery and Curious Incident is narrated so unusually by an autistic boy, Peace Like a River felt like the only “proper novel” we read during summer book camp. Together, my students and I fell in love with the 8 year old Swede, a budding writer who composes epic poetry about Sunny Sundance and his rides through the old west. We were captivated by the whole novel – uncanny as it may be. We were disappointed that we only had a week and a half to spend on the whole thing.
Life of Pi
This novel played a big role on the New York Times Bestseller list a few years back but, again, based on the back of the paperback I really didn’t see myself getting into it. The basic plot is that a young Indian boy and his family are sailing to the US with a zoo-full of animals, basically a modern, Indian Noah’s arc. The ship sinks. The family dies. The boy is lost in the ocean for months, alone, except for a Bengal tiger that could kill him. Again, not my idea of some fun, relaxing reading to do when I’m done grading essays or lesson planning for Hamlet. This was also the reading assignment for my new, fall book camp; only 4 students, me and this novel. But again, I fell in love. There were so many layers of literary, cultural, spiritual, and social significance to get into. It was beautifully written, and although there was really only one human character throughout the 600 page breadth of it, it was never boring or dull. I cried and laughed out loud so many times that Joe got sick of asking me what was going on (because then I would read him 2-3 page long sections and expect him to react in a similar fashion). I know that most of the reading public in America has already read this one, but if you haven’t, please consider it.
To see my blog for students click here: Read Deep Blog
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