Importance of Book Whisperers

In my past year of reading books about reading one of the most passionate books I came across was by an elementary teacher here in Texas, Donelyn Miller. The book is The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child. The title reminded me of the Robert Redford movie, The Horse Whisperer. The horse whisperer was a trainer passionate about horses, who had an innate knowledge on communicating with horses in training them. That concept fits well with the Book Whisperer. Donelyn Miller is an example of a teacher with a passion for reading and books and passes that passion and love of reading on to her students. Here is a link to her webpage about the book -- http://bookwhisperer.com

Her comment at the beginning, “Anyone who calls herself or himself a reader can tell you that it starts with encountering great books, heartfelt recommendations, and a community of readers who share this passion.” (page 4). That comment reminded me of my journey with books and reading with the Summer reading programs at my hometown, Barberton Public Library starting when I was in second grade. That is where reading caught on for me. Her comments here are in context of the standardized tests that focus on reading short passages in worksheets. Anyone who has had an honest conversation with students knows that is not how to build readers. Donelyn in her book shared how she encourages independent reading and students would read 40 books a year in her classes. That is how you build the process of “Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child.”

I just want here to share a few of my favorite points I gathered from the book. First of all her statement of the importance of reading struck me, “ Reading changes your life. Reading unlocks worlds unknown or forgotten, taking travelers around the world and through time. Reading helps you escape the confines of school and pursue your own education. Through characters – the saints and the sinners, real or imagined – reading shows you how to be a better human building.” (page 18). Back to my Summer reading programs the books I read opened new worlds to me as I read stories about cultures around the world. As to the thought of making us better people that relates to what I was getting at about two weeks ago with spiritual literacy. Spiritual writings help us improve our lives.

Ms. Miller reveals how reading was an integral part of her teaching time. She made sure the students had time for independent reading of books of their own choosing. This is important to note, that she allows students to read about things they were interested in reading. I over the years have had talks with College students failing remedial reading courses and often it would relate to their being bored or not liking the forced readings the courses revolved around. Her emphasis in taking time to read is a reminder to all of us which hits home from a poignant quote by Atwood H. Townsend, “No matter how busy you think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.” (page 49) The quote and her thoughts in the book point to how reading develops the mind. We need to take even a little time during the day to read.

The develop of the mind is brought out by her mentioning the Power of Reading by Stephen Krashen. She states he, “reveals that no single literacy activity has a more positive effect of students’ comprehension, vocabulary knowledge, spelling, writing ability, and overall academic achievement than free voluntary reading.” (page 51). So why do I see parents leaving libraries with their children carrying stacks of videos instead of books? Reading needs to be encouraged by parents and teachers.

Ms. Miller reveals how she tries to be a role model in sharing her love of reading to students. We need more teachers like her. I remember back to my third grade teacher, Mrs. Clifford who would regularly read to the class from books. That also encouraged my reading. On being a role model for reading she states, “When my students think about me in the future, I want them to remember me as a reader with a book in my hand and a recommendation on my lips.” (page 106).

I was glad to see that she also brought up the harsh realities we face in our lazy minded world of passive video watching versus the enjoyment of reading. “We have created a culture of reading poverty in which a vicious cycle of aliteracy has the potential to devolve into illiteracy for many students… They may be capable of reading well enough to perform academic reading and informational reading, but they do not love to read and have few life reading habits to model to children.” (page 107) I ponder often about the truth of this and how this is creating a dearth of critical and creative thinkers due to the lack of well-read fellow citizens. A video based diet for the mind creates lazy passive thinkers. I have observed this experientially and in conversations with college students who admit they watch videos too much and read too little.

Another point I enjoyed in the book is her discussion on “Finding Your Inner Reader”. The concept reminds me of the importance of savoring memories about reading as in my case I can think back to my mother encouraging my involvement in the local Library Summer reading programs. Memories of my first grade teacher who encouraged reading as well as my third teacher, Mrs. Clifford who read openly in class from various literary books to encourage reading stand out as well. Good memories of reading can build future Book Whisperers.

Reflection: What are your memories about reading from your past? If you have good memories share them with others to become a Book Whisperer yourself. If you did not have good memories of reading in your past start new good memories. Visit your local library and pick out a couple of books on subjects you enjoy to begin reading in this New Year.

Building Spiritual Literacy

Starting off this New Year I want to continue on the topic of last week. Last week I spoke of a spiritual retreat we took to Immanuel Prayer House. It was a relaxing time of spiritual reading and enjoying the natural scenery of the Texas Hill Country. That experience reminded me of a book I had read earlier in the year. The title of the book is Spiritual Literacy: Reading the Sacred in Everyday Life. The authors are Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat. The book brought back memories of reading Practicing the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence that speaks of worshipping God in all experiences of life.

In the introduction they define Spiritual Literacy as “the ability to read the signs written in the texts of our own experiences.” (p. 15). They both speak of their love and passion for reading from which they gleaned wisdom that relates to spirituality. Their book is built upon sharing spiritual thoughts from books, movies, and a wide variety of experiences of life that point to understanding the spiritual side of the lives we lead. A quote they use by theologian Samuel H. Miller, expounds on the premise of their book, “In the muddled mess of this world, in the confusion and boredom, we ought to be able to spot something – an event, a person, a memory, an act, a turning of the soul, a flash of bright wings, the surprise of sweet compassion – somewhere we ought to pick out a glory to celebrate.” (p.16). The spiritual literate individual is mindful of seeking God’s interaction in their lives to celebrate the grace and love of God.

They do mention that all the world religions have literature that relates to each philosophical worldview. The additional thoughts in the book is showing the spiritual in all other aspects of life. I personally feel that it is avid readers who are more Intune with the power of story, so are able to pick up on the spiritual that appears in life experiences. The authors point out that to be spiritually literate we need to be open to the possibility of the divine reaching into our world. There needs to be openness to wonder and mystery. This is based on our worldview. They present a quote from Albert Einstein when he was asked, “’What’s the most important question you can ask in life?’” He replied, “’Is the universe a friendly place or not?’” (p33). If the world is just random chaos with no God, true wonder and mystery is absent. If there is a God who is interested in involvement with humankind than wonder occurs as the world has the potential of being a friendly place.

Keeping so busy or living a life of just getting by, limits the sense of wonder to pick up on the spiritual rays of light that the Divine wants to shine into our pathways. “By skimming the surface, we miss what lies beneath. ‘Your soul suffers if you live superficially,’ Nobel Peace Prize – winner Albert Schweitzer cautions. (p.35). This is exactly what I try to get across in my book, Living More Than OK. If we are just living boring OK lives we are just existing and not being open to the spiritual light breaking into our lives. Being open to the spiritual around us provides meaning and purpose even in the little mundane issues of life. We can be more thankful and we can understand how the coincidences and even the disappointments of life as being His appointments to teach us new thoughts or reminders of important principles to apply in our personal growth.

One of the favorite quotes I came across in the book was “the words of the Christian journalist Malcolm Muggeridge: ‘Every happening great and small is a parable whereby God speaks to us, and the art of life is to get the message’ (p. 40). The question is “are we open to His message?” If you are the type who enjoys spiritual reading books, this book by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat will be a helpful aid in your spiritual growth journey. They also have a website with a variety of resources. I have that website listed under the reflection definitely check it out.

Reflection – Are you open to seeing God work in your life each day? Do you make it a habit to read Spiritual Readings each day? What has been a way God has spoken to you in the parables of life?

Resources --
www.spiritualityandpractice.com Website by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Spiritual Literacy: Reading the Sacred in Everyday Life by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat.

Taking a Break Towards Simplicity

This Christmas we chose to take a break from the hectic nature of the modern Christmas time. The break also incorporated a few days of hiatus from the technology of computers, Facebook and Twitter. We went up to Belton, Texas to a spiritual retreat center, Immanuel Prayer House. The setting was a quiet Texas Hill Country ranch. The simple buildings at the base of the hill reminded be of little villages at the base of mountains in South Korea I had seen when my wife and I visited her family there. At the top of this post you see my wife and daughter by their sign and the other pictures are of the grounds of the retreat center. My wife had read about the prayer house in a Korean newspaper she had picked up at a San Antonio Korean grocery store where we occasionally shop. This was a small Butterfly effect that grew to a fulfilling get away that was much needed for us all.

While it was a break from stress and the hustle and bustle of Christmas I recognized there was a break towards simplicity and a renewal of spiritual thinking and being. Each evening at 7:00 pm there was a worship service and each morning at 6:00 am there was a morning prayer service. Each service was in Korean and translated into English. The accommodations were simple in that we stayed in an old mobile home unit with no tv, and modest living arrangements. The sanctuary was very plain as well as the very small prayer buildings along the hillside. The grounds showed the ministry’s simplicity in being mostly self-sufficient, as they had vegetable gardens and chicken coups for eggs.

We had our meals with the Pastor and her husband, along with three ladies who helped with the ministry. It was at these dinner times I learned through my wife’s translation of their Korean that this retreat had been a vision the Pastor felt God had given her over 25 years prior when they had moved to the U. S. A. to help with church work. Her husband for those 25 years helped develop the land by building the various buildings and the garden areas. He verified my initial reflection as he stated he wanted to replicate small farming villages that can be seen in the countryside of South Korea.

This simple elderly Korean couple was the real deal of living out Christianity. They were not running a business instead it was a faith ministry. They did not have rates to stay there instead they asked only for a donation based on how an individual could pay or felt God telling them to give. They had no flashy furniture or high tech gadgets. Everything from their main residence to the worship chapel was simple and functional. Their lifestyle was an example of following the ways of Jesus.
The time spent there listening to her Bible messages, praying and walking through nature gazing at the awesome Texas skies renewed my spirit. I also had time instead of being on the computer, to read positive literature I had brought with me and my Bible. I used the time to think over the past year and pray about God’s will in the coming year of 2015. There is something about being on a hillside with a camera staring at the clouds and countryside reflecting on what God’s plans may be for the days and year ahead.

I don’t know if this is will be a yearly tradition at Christmas time. The relaxation that came from knowing that there is life away from Facebook and Twitter reminded me that we need breaks from technology as I have mentioned in the past. Technology is not bad in itself and there are good aspects to Twitter and Facebook. The key is to understand those social platforms should not control our lives. As a Christian who believes in the Biblical worldview of following Jesus in a simple and faith based manner is the primary way of living. The experience at Immanuel Prayer House reminded me that from time to time it is important to set aside time to break towards enjoying the simple pleasures of life that God has for a fulfilled life.
I would encourage you to in the New Year find times through the year to take a break from technology and do a personal or family retreat at a nature center or spiritual retreat center. The inner relaxation of your mind and spirit is a benefit to your well-being.

Reflection - Are you hooked on technology? How easy is it for you to take a short break from Social media platforms? Look for retreat centers or nature parks in your area where you could take a couple days away from home for a spiritual break for your being.

Thank You For Stopping by Please Explore Past Posts!!!

There have been no posts recently as I have had a few crazy past weeks finishing up an Advanced Statistics course for my Phd. It has been hard for me as I am a story guy not a numbers guy. This Christmas week I am having some solitude with my family at a prayer retreat center in the Hill Country area of Texas.

New Year's Day week I will be back writing. Thank you for stopping by my blog! Please take some time to look at some of my posts from the previous years.

Have a Blessed Holiday Season and a Positive New Year!
Frank Coulson

Thankful for Books as a Bookhead

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In the past I have mentioned that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. For me it is not the food that comes foremost in my mind. Even though I enjoy the turkey, my wife’s garlic ranch mashed potatoes and pie. The importance of being thankful is what has been most important in my thinking of the holiday. This year with one goal of finishing my book on reading (which is a goal I am still struggling with), I thought I should share why as a Bookhead, I am thankful for books and reading. I see reading as an important way to impact changes in the mind which of course affects our living. That is the aim is Living More Than OK -- the title of my blog. A reminder of continual growth on our life journey.

Dr. Edmond Huey in the book, The Psychology and Pedagogy of Reading (1915), speaks of the unique development of reading through history. His research revealed how in the study of the eyes of those reading, it is not a natural aspect of human development. Early humankind passed information through oral tradition and storytelling. Reading takes work and effort and had to be taught and developed. As reading became habit new thought patterns developed. He mentions “ Among early peoples the mystery of reading naturally , led to reverence for the printed word and book and for reading and the reader. Reading became a holy office, performed by individuals who possessed divine powers, and the book became a fetish.” (Huey. p. 2). Reading was for a selected few until the invention of the printing press. Huey describes a wonder filled description of reading, to him it is “a wonderful process by which our thoughts and thought-wanderings to the finest shades of detail, the play of our inmost feelings and desires and will, the subtle image of the innermost that we are, are reflected from us to another soul who reads us through our book. (p. 6). What a powerful picture of the importance of reading and books. The thought that comes to my mind is of students I have had who are reading books that had movies made from them. Most of the time the student would tell me the book was better as there were more details in the book. That is what Huey is getting at with the phrase, “… finest shades of detail….”.

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It is the power of reading I find in Dr. Huey’s research on reading that makes me thankful that my mother when I was young had me be involved in the Summer reading programs at my hometown library in Barberton, Ohio. I am also thankful my third grade teacher, Verna Clifford, read to us regularly in class, which helped fan the flames of enjoying reading. Books have been companions and advisors in my life over the years. Through times of depression when I secluded myself in my apartment in Chicago, it was books that would impact my mind back to reality. It was through books such as the Bible, the works of C.S. Lewis, Dr. Victor Frankl, Dr. William Glasser and others that helped me. So I have many reasons to be thankful for books and reading.

I have also been thankful for those who promote reading and books. Recently the author, James Patterson has had an emphasis on saving books that I would encourage all readers to be a part of. Underneath the reflection I have a link to his salon.com column where he is interviewed on his call to arms to promote reading and books. I wish more authors would join him in this. He rightly points out that our culture by moving away from reading is dumbing down. I have had some students at the college who are honest with me on the topic of reading. They have shared that they see the rise in just watching videos and video gaming is making their minds lazy so they don’t want to do the hard work of reading college level material. What I like about the Patterson interview, and I do hope you will click on the link and take the few minutes to read it, as he is saying we can reverse the trend. He speaks as well how fewer people go to bookstores and how there are fewer bookstores in the country which I also believe effects the lower emphasis on reading in society.

With Christmas nearing I would encourage you to bypass doing your book buying on Amazon. How about going to a bookstore in your area? Go to a Barnes & Noble, or another bookstore of choice. Here is Texas they have Hastings and some towns still have independent bookstores. Some people like Half Price bookstores. Go in and touch the books and flip through the books. There is nothing more personal than a gift of a book that has been chosen particularly for that individual on your gift list. Then of course get a book for yourself.

The day after I thought of writing about being thankful for books and reading, I came across on the Barnes and Noble book blog a post about being thankful for books by Ginni Chen. I list the link under the reflection. Do take the time to read her blogpost as it is an enjoyable read that will make you think of why you are thankful for books. Take time this Thanksgiving to be thankful and to do some personal reading.

Reflection - Who influenced your reading desire or habits? What is your fondest memories of book reading? What can you do to encourage reading just as author James Patterson is trying to get more people involved in reading?

Patterson on saving books

http://www.salon.com/2014/11/19/james_patterson_amazon_could_actually_dedicate_itself_to_saving_books_and_literature_in_this_country/

15 Reasons to be Thankful for books Barnes and Noble book blog by Ginni Chen

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/15-reasons-were-thankful-for-books/

Revealing Pain Through Beauty

Last week while I was at the Texas Counseling Association conference in Dallas, Texas, my wife, daughter and I went to hear the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. They were performing Concerto in E minor for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 85 by English composer Edward Elgar. They also performed Pavane, Op. 50 and Requiem, Op. 48 by French Composer Gabriel Faure’. I had never heard of these composers so we attended the lecture prior to the performance to learn more about the composers. I highly recommend taking advantage of any community lectures before a classical performance as the information adds to the enjoyment of the performing of the musical works.

With Edward Elgar I was surprised that I was familiar with one of his works. Matter of fact anyone who has graduated would be familiar with his Pomp and Circumstance No. 1 that is played as a march at most high school and university graduations. His cello concerto was composed in his later years. It is a dark emotional work reflecting the mindset of Elgar, who had become disillusioned like many after WWI with the atrocities of mass killings and mustard gas killings. Also his wife that he loved dearly was gravely ill and he was facing illness as well. The program listed a quote from a letter he wrote that showed Elgar’s mindset, “Everything good and nice and clean is far away never to return.”
Knowing what his mindset was, I was setting up myself to hear a depressing sad piece. Yet as the young cellist, Alisa Weilerstein, performed her magic on the piece, I was captured with the beauty of the notes and emotion rising from the music. Yes, melancholic and dark, but still beautiful at the same time. It made me think of the wonder of the creative mind of Elgar to be going through personal pain yet creating music that could showcase the beauty of the range of tones from the cello.

With Gabriel Faure’ he was a contemporary of Elgar and the pre-performance lecture noted they had even met. Faure’ was trained in his schooling to go into church music and he started as a church organist. The requiem was a funeral mass piece Faure’ composed. So again at the lecture I was thinking another depressing piece about death. A difference was mentioned though compared to regular funeral mass music Faure’ wanted to take a different view of death. Most requiems that were popular at that time period, emphasized judgment in death. His requiem focused on solace and rest. The program notes listed a quote from Faure’ “It has been said that my Requiem does not express the fear of death and someone has called it a lullaby of death. But it is thus that we see death: as a happy deliverance, an aspiration toward happiness above; rather than a painful experience.” What a powerful statement as a way to look at death. It caused me to think back to my mother’s death years ago and the joy that was expressed at her home-going celebration at her church, remembering hymns she enjoyed and also as people shared kind thoughts about her.

When we heard the Requiem performed the Dallas Symphony choir performed along with the piece. The piece was far from depressing instead sections were majestic and powerful and other sections where light and airy. The solo “Pie Jesu” was performed by soprano Susanna Phillips. Her voice was amazing in capturing the emotion and lightness of the piece. In the reflection section below I have a short video clip of Barbara Bonney performing this solo. Do give it a listen.

Pain and death are subjects we don’t like to consider but they are part and parcel of our life journey. It helps us to understand these negative aspects of life through the creative mind of the artist, poet, or music composer as they bring bring beauty and different ways to understand the topics.

Reflection - What solace do you turn to during times of pain or grief through loss? To these composers who lived in difficult times of the hardships right after WWI music was a solace to use as an outlet. Take a listen to “Pie Jesu” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJanc3-a320 and think over what you felt after listening to it

Encouraging Reading to Create Booklovers

At the recent Texas Book Festival in Austin I found myself conversing with a librarian and a sales rep for Penguin Publishing while waiting in the long line for Crepes in the outdoor food court. Part of the discussion was the decline in reading in the country especially among young people. The reality of our discussion I read in an article I found online where Jordan Weissmann speaks in The Atlantic (2014) about the decline of reading. He pointed out that recent research showed that about 25% of American adults had done no book reading in the previous year. He pointed out a Gallup study that showed in 1978 that 42 % of adults read 11 books and then a recent Pew study showed that percentage had declined to 28%. He correctly points out that a major difference is that in this modern era there is an increase of technological gadgetry to sidetrack from reading. Students at the college level that I speak with in classes agree that most of their technology time is spent watching videos or chatting through texting not reading.

Weissmann is optimistic in his article, in that he shows that the statistic of readers had stabilized so he is not seeing further decline. Myself I would like to see the 28% go back up to 42%. His article ends with bar graphs in response to a question “How many Americans Read a Book for Pleasure Last Year?”. The years reported were 1992, 2002, 2008, and 2012. The last two years showed a stable mid 50s percentage. One problem I have is the question is stated in the singular “book”. How about working on getting people involved in their local library reading more than one book a year? I think that can happen if we encourage the importance of reading. That is why I promote reading in the classes I teach to college students.

I also came across a column by Dr. Howard Gardner back in 2008 he makes good points that even in our digital age that literacy will continue to grow. He doesn’t worry because “it’s essential to read and write fluently.” That is a point I discuss with my college students. They do get it. They will tell me they prefer just watching videos to entertain themselves and an easy way to get information. Yet they admit the work it takes to read pays off in a stronger thinking capacity and better creativity.

Gardner brings out important differences in our modern quick hi-tech media. One is that it limits authors’ ability to organize complex arguments that takes time for the reader to work through. He uses Kant’s “Critique of Pure Reason” as an example due to what he calls “The Web’s speedy browsing.” I see it more that the web makes the mind lazy in that everything has to be written in short sound bites of low mental fluff. I have actually had students admit to that point that the quick information and videos make them mentally lazy. That is why I encourage building up the mind with critical thinking skills.

Gardner also looks at another aspect of reading that is changing with technology and that is the solitude of reading where an individual would spend hours alone being absorbed in their book reading. I remember as a child enjoying hours of reading in the Summer. He points out rightly that young people today because of social media cannot enjoy solitude, but need to be continually connected with checking social media with their network of friends. I question whether this is really a good thing? Isn’t there a benefit to encouraging a break away from the connection to staring at the tech gadgets that control so many lives? Why not encourage a balance between using social media and web surfing to also include a 30 minutes a day of reading of a book?

I was encouraged on a recent Sunday evening at a Bible study where a young couple walked in and their little girl was holding several children books. She is just a one year old but they are incorporating books into her life by reading to her. They told the group about the 1,000 book challenge. It is a program to encourage parents to have their children starting at age 1 to be involved in reading to their child and having the child read up to 1,000 books before kindergarten. That sounds like a positive way to be creating future booklovers. If you want to know more information on the program here is the website for the organization behind it -- http://1000booksbeforekindergarten.org/

Reflection - How can you encourage others around you to read more? Do you enjoy reading a book in solitude? If you have difficulty finding time to read start out with reading a book just 30 minutes a day or even every other day.

References

http://1000booksbeforekindergarten.org/


Gardner, H, (Feb. 17. 2008) The End of Literacy? Don’t Stop Reading. In the washingtonpost.com

Weissmann, J. (Jan.21.2014) The Decline of the American Book Lover. The Atlantic.