Explore Reading Lives

The current book that I am reading is named Midnight: and the meaning of love. It is written by my favorite author Sister Souljah. The book has a smooth hardback black exterior with the title in gold lettering down its spine. It’s a good size book that I carry around either in my backpack or under my arm or something. It’s a very captivating book, so it’s usually with me. I pick up the book during my breaks at work or when I get a spare moment to dive in. I enjoy reading the book most in my recliner. That’s not always possible so the main reading spot is usually in my car. Not as quiet but still makes for an enjoyable experience. I don’t like reading in areas that have a lot of talking around. I can deal with background noise like a television or radio, but in person voices prove to be too distracting for me. My daughter who is a college student herself shares her love for this series. She is 2 books behind but has already been recommending more books for me to check out. I wonder what her perspective of this series is since the 2 of us had completely different upbringings. Stories like these are easy and exciting for me. The King James version of the bible is a book that I struggle with. Because it is open to interpretation, I often wonder about intention, perspective, and background. This leads me to doing more research and finding myself stuck on one section longer than anticipated. 

Reading as Thinking

I love reading urban novels! I have an easier time relating to them because the lower income area that I was raised in Philadelphia, PA. The novels become fun for me. My mind usually sets the scenery in an area of Philadelphia that I am familiar with. The only time that changes is if I have been to the area that the story is based in or the author does that good of a job describing the area. Omar Tyree one of my favorite authors. Ironically, he is a native Philadelphian as well. He wrote a book called Sweet Saint Louis. I have never been to St. Louis, but he did such a great job of describing it that I felt like I had been. Another thing that I like to do when reading my urban novels is give the characters of the story a face of a person that I’ve encounter before. Therefore, that character already has a face, voice, and even their own fashion style. The novel ends up playing out like a movie in mind. So much so that I get annoyed when someone speaks during my reading the same way, someone would in the movie theater. This also makes it easier to have an emotional attachment to the characters of the story. On the other side of this, I get confused easily when reading other genres. I have to read lines multiple times in order for me to gain a true understanding. I feel like I am a visual learner and struggle with learning once that movies image is distorted.

Another Slice of Life

Perspective can be a very complicated thing. One may have certain intentions and another can/will perceive them from a different perspective. This evening I was placed into a group project that favored male’s being on one team, leaving only one guy on the other. Naturally, to me I would feel like the lone guy would feel left out and want to be apart. Especially when there were, questions asked that involved a comparison between males and females. Therefore, as my team presented I tried to include him as much as possible. I thought that I was helping. Instead, the opposite was happening. He felt that we were making a mockery of him, and singling him out. I felt so bad knowing that my intentions were the complete opposite and that he took it the other way. I went over and over in my head on what I could have done differently. At the end, the two of us were able to make amends and move on. Next time I will ask about inclusion instead of assuming it’s wanted.

Slice of Life

 Today I was walking to my car and saw my neighbor’s kid playing in the front yard with his toys. He looked he was having a great time! So much so, that he did not even notice my good morning wave. His enthusiasm reminded of my favorite cousin growing up. I use to love going to visit my cousin Doug! He would have all of his action figures strategically placed around the living. He would leave them there until I arrived. Once I got to our grandmother’s house, the show would began. Doug made playing with those toys like being in a movie. The drama, stunts, music, noises, and amazing energy would light up my world! Thirty years later, the thought of those days still changes the trajectory of my day. Doug gave me a gift that will carry me for a lifetime. Rest in Peace Doug.

BHH

 

We’ll Fly Away was a very captivating book that highlighted a life of two boys. The boys had a very rough upbringing that lead to a fatal ending. One of the boys named Luke is telling the story of him and his best friend Toby. I believe the author wanted us to know that too often we fail the kids in our communities. That result almost never ends in a positive life.

I was very surprised to learn that adults would knowingly ignore kids that obviously needed their help. That is one of the great things of the book, the author moves on as if we should already know how often this type of neglect happens. The drama that began and ended the story had more meaning in the end. I was able to understand how such things happened.

This book reminded me that it is imperative to act on our instincts and do our best to protect children. I am already, the type of person that will check on a person’s well-being. This book has motivated to keep that going. Great read!

Life and Literature:

Mr Campher was my seventh grade English teacher. He would make stories come alive like IMAX movies! I remember him using popular action figures to demonstrate battles from Beowulf. It was even better for us because the figures he used came from the popular toys we used just a few years earlier. That was my favorite book in that class due to the enthusiasm he used. What I believe made Mr Campher as successful a teacher was his ability to catch our attention and make the material fun/relatable to us. That will be one of my goals as an educator. To bring the material to life and to hopefully have as big of an impact on my students as Mr Campher has had on me. 

Humble will be the word that remains a constant during my studies this semester. This word serves as a constant reminder of what I believe is necessary to be successful in the current school district that I serve. I also believe that as an educator it is important to not only remain humble but foster an environment that produces humble students. Remembering that we all come from different backgrounds aids us in understanding what it is that we need to know to educate our future.