I grabbed my well-worn copy of A Long Way Gone on my way out the door to hear Ishmael Beah speak at an event in Evanston, Illinois. Until that moment, it had never occurred to me how battered my paperback was. Later that evening, when I sheepishly handed it to him to sign, he said, in his meditative tone, “this is a book that has been loved.” His choice of words struck me. I was proud that he could see the curiosity and connection through the abuse his pages suffered in my hands, a unique tough love
I love this Carrie! As a 40-something reader and writer, most of my annotated texts are from high school and colllege. I rarely annotate as an adult reader, partly because I mostly read library books and partly because annotation always felt like a performance for me (often because it was one, for a teacher!)
But reading and writing have been my life's work, and I don't think my relationship with text is any less meaningful without annotation. At many points I've kept a separate notebook where I've jotted down quotes and bits I want to remember. More recently, however, I've found myself taking photos of pages and passages I want to record for later. The irony is that I return to the photos much more often than my notebooks or annotations, because I can use my phone to search for certain keywords.
I look forward to hearing more about what you're doing to create authentic engagement in your classroom. You're asking the right questions!
You’re pretty normal in that regard! We’ve got to do a better job of helping our student understand what it means to be present in a text and then support them in maintaining that presence.
This is such a fascinating topic! I agree that we should center engagement and love of a text. I think making space for students to figure out what meaning annotations look like for them is important. In thinking about myself as an adult reader, I will often annotate a text and mark what resonates or add my thinking as I go. It depends on the text though. So much to think about!!!
I love this Carrie! As a 40-something reader and writer, most of my annotated texts are from high school and colllege. I rarely annotate as an adult reader, partly because I mostly read library books and partly because annotation always felt like a performance for me (often because it was one, for a teacher!)
But reading and writing have been my life's work, and I don't think my relationship with text is any less meaningful without annotation. At many points I've kept a separate notebook where I've jotted down quotes and bits I want to remember. More recently, however, I've found myself taking photos of pages and passages I want to record for later. The irony is that I return to the photos much more often than my notebooks or annotations, because I can use my phone to search for certain keywords.
I look forward to hearing more about what you're doing to create authentic engagement in your classroom. You're asking the right questions!
You’re pretty normal in that regard! We’ve got to do a better job of helping our student understand what it means to be present in a text and then support them in maintaining that presence.
This is such a fascinating topic! I agree that we should center engagement and love of a text. I think making space for students to figure out what meaning annotations look like for them is important. In thinking about myself as an adult reader, I will often annotate a text and mark what resonates or add my thinking as I go. It depends on the text though. So much to think about!!!
I bet it was such an honor to sign such a well loved copy 🥰