From the scores of books on writing that I’ve used over the last twenty years, the one piece of advice that floats to the top most frequently comes from this book. Author Anne Lamott tells the story about the time her brother, at age ten, was overwhelmed by an assignment … Read More
Category: non-fiction
“Let them discover.”
When I started teaching years ago, my job was to give information to students, and their job was to pay attention. I don’t see it this way anymore. Instead, I embrace an approach called learner-centered teaching. Maryellen Weimer, arguably the most respected leader of this movement, says in … Read More
“One of the saddest sentences I know is ‘I wish I had asked my mother about that.'”
William Zinsser, a writer’s writer if there ever was one, died this week. I wonder how many of the authors whose books are featured in this blog have read or taught from On Writing Well. I agree with the editors and teachers who believe that this book ought to … Read More
With a ‘twofold identify,’ immigrants could embrace their new country, while simultaneously believing that ‘the old world’ was not to be discarded but would remain an inspiration and source of pride in the new.”
Is it possible to identify with two countries? My family has a fondness for Norway that is hard to explain. Our Norwegian heritage comes up in conversations all the time, which is why it might be surprising to learn that my family immigrated three generations ago. Apparently, this is … Read More
“I began to think about what it means to be a facilitator of learning rather than a teacher.”
What is the difference between “educating people” and “helping people learn”? This classic book by Malcolm Knowles — the central figure in US adult education during the last century — explores the different sets of assumptions behind these two approaches. Educators who lecture, for example, assume that their job is … Read More
“They’d be sat there eating on the stairs and as they got older, they’d go higher up the stairs.”
This oral history collection by the York Archaeological Trust gives us a startling glimpse of life in a poor part of a city in northern England during the first third of the twentieth century. Our quotation above describes what it was like to have meals in homes with large families … Read More
Best Books of 2014
No blog about books would be complete without a year-end “best of” list. For me, the best are “books that I am most likely to read again.” For fiction, I predict that I will turn to Donna Tart’s The Goldfinch many times in the years to come. For non-fiction/memoir, I’ve … Read More
“Those who merely write, or talk, about literature . . . should be humble in their judgments and prepared to defer to the comments of those who actually make the stuff.”
The word “humble” is not the first word I’d use to describe the tone of the academic articles that I read for a living. John Sutherland — highly respected and cited in the US and the UK — writes with an appealing mix of candor, authority, humor and decisiveness. I … Read More
“There should be brief intervals of time for quiet reflection . . .”
In this 1938 book about educational theory, John Dewey continues: “But they are periods of genuine reflection only when they follow after times of more overt action and are used to organize what has been gained . . .” He famously observed that you don’t learn from experience, you learn … Read More
“Our national strength matters, but the spirit which informs and controls our strength matters just as much.”
This comes from a speech by John F. Kennedy that pays tribute to Robert Frost. He said, “When power leads men towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man’s concerns, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power … Read More
“We travel, some of us, to slip through the curtain of the ordinary…”
“Montaigne proved himself a literary revolutionary from the start, writing like no one else. . .”
I’ve always been interested in how writers choose to structure their stories. I was particularly curious about the narrative architecture of this book because it’s a biography about someone who is famous for the revolutionary way he constructed his autobiography. If this author had chosen to describe events chronologically, it … Read More
“For the most part, we are going about learning in the wrong ways.”
The authors tell us that going over and over something is “a time-consuming study strategy that yields neglibile benefits at the expense of much more effective strategies that take less time.” (15) What works better? Quizzing yourself, or writing a summary paragraph about possible applications, or drawing diagrams, or even … Read More
“Not a week goes by without my telling a lie, but I suppose that is the same for most people.”
Under what circumstances do you lie? This book shows how our tendencies to lie can be influenced by the culture we live in. Kyoko Mori describes situations in her home country of Japan, where it’s more important to be polite than honest, especially with people who have authority over you. … Read More
“Education and safety are unavoidably interrelated.”
Should colleges take care of students? How? To what extent? When affordable education is a priority, is it also important to install sirens, locks on classroom doors, and help students with mental illness? I can’t think of anyone who can provide more interesting ideas on these issues than Peter Lake… Read More