A friend of Katie's (Sara) is a high school librarian, and runs a wonderful program as part of that. It's a "Breakfast Book Club" where the students meet on a purely voluntary basis to get together once a month to discuss a book. It was covered recently in a local news broadcast. Sara is the one in the clip asking the students if Muhammad Yunus (microcredit pioneer) deserved his Nobel Prize in Economics.
I really think it's a great program. Too often I think students slip into viewing school in a negative light because it's mandatory. An engaging but voluntary scholarly activity such as your book club is a wonderful reminder that learning is fun. It empowers students to think, "Hey, I enjoy learning so much that I'm doing it without it being required!"
I've fallen prey to that type of thinking in the past, too. When I played football in high school, I hated the gruelling practices. For some reason, though, I always went to the one optional practice that was held on the last day of summer before classes began. Even though it was just as physically gruelling, it was somehow easier and more enjoyable because it was optional. How odd the human brain can be!
I really think it's a great program. Too often I think students slip into viewing school in a negative light because it's mandatory. An engaging but voluntary scholarly activity such as your book club is a wonderful reminder that learning is fun. It empowers students to think, "Hey, I enjoy learning so much that I'm doing it without it being required!"
I've fallen prey to that type of thinking in the past, too. When I played football in high school, I hated the gruelling practices. For some reason, though, I always went to the one optional practice that was held on the last day of summer before classes began. Even though it was just as physically gruelling, it was somehow easier and more enjoyable because it was optional. How odd the human brain can be!
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