Crowd-sourcing attitudes of readers: a first (online)book club

Overview
Your first major assignment for the semester was a Mentor Text Memoir designed to get you to reflect on your own experiences as a reader, to reflect on the ways you can document your evolving literacy. As I've said many times in class, this is a first step in teaching literacy--we start with with what we know as readers and then learn what we can about other readers. 

One thing that is often true about folks who want to be a teacher is that they themselves are good readers and do like to read, and despite themselves, often don't understand how this is not the case with the students in their classes. Further, folks who want to be teachers often found solace in the classroom (though not always): they were good students, essentially, and new how to do school. 

It is easy to get caught up in who we were as students, and so it is useful to know the experiences of others. Thus, for this first book club, I am asking you to do a little qualitative research. 

Details
1. locate two individuals to talk to about their experience as readers.
Start with the same question for each person you interview: What are your most memorable reading experiences (good or bad, in school or out)? It might turn out that this one question yields follow up questions or it might not, but this is the kind of information you are trying to get at. Keep notes on what they say. 

NOTE: Try to bring some diversity to your interview pool--so, in other words, try to ask folks who are not exactly the same as you. 

2. Once you've talked with two people, compose a summary (150-200 words) & an analysis (150 words).
In addition to the summary, do some analysis: what do the literacy stories you heard say to you as a future teacher of reading and writing? Your analysis need only be another 150 words. It can be longer if need be but it is not required. Post this writing to this page. 

3. Once you've posted, read through your colleagues posts and respond (150 words).
Respond cumulatively to what you are seeing across your colleague's posts. What is the snapshot this exercise gives us of readers (and not so much readers) of all kinds at this moment? What implications does it have for how we teach? For what we teach? 

In class on the 15th, we'll use this information to shape our first contact with our fellow book club members and first year writer/readers in ENGL101E. We'll think about the reading (Rosenblatt and Smith) and the Gertrude Stein exercise from our 1 October 2018 class in light of how others see themselves as readers. 

HOW TO POST ON THIS BLOG: Frankly, it could not be easier. Simply click on the "comments" button available in two places on this page: top right and bottom left. A dialogue box will open up. Fill out the info as required, and then post away. When you are ready, click "submit" and you are done. To reply to a colleague's comment, click on, you guessed it "reply" and the same dialogue box will pop up. Don't worry if things get disorganized in the posting. I (we) will figure it out. 

DEADLINE: You have until class time on the 15th to post and respond.