Tuned out: Engaging the 21st century learner by Karen Hume

Tuned Out: Engaging The 21st Century Learner by Karen Hume

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

If you want a quick snapshot of all that’s happening in educational theory, this is the book for you. At the risk of sounding over-confident, this is exactly why this book was not for me. It’s a basic primer on how to engage students. While there are a few gems along the way, these come not from Hume herself, but from those she is quoting. I was encouraged that there might be deeper material online, and a way to interact with Hume herself in her blog or social media, but the online portion is static, not dynamic, and hasn’t been active since the book’s release. As such, the whole thing smells of a marketing ploy and I’m deeply suspicious. Some of my favourite people are quoted on the cover as responding favourably to this book, but I will try to forgive them for this. I’m going to quickly move on to something more exciting in professional development, in hopes that the bad taste of Hume’s work will leave my mouth.

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The Taming by Eric Walters and Teresa Toten

The Taming by Teresa Toten

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I expect high things from anything that Eric Walters puts his name on. After the Ontario Library Association nominated this as one of the best Canadian young adult fiction of the year, I expected even more. Until halfway through I thought I had found a predictable teen romance. When our main character Katie’s life starts to imitate her art on the stage of her high school Shakespeare production, I became engrossed. The rest of the story strikes me as very true dealing with the bizarre power struggles that sometimes arise in first love relationships. Although I wish that the ending will be true in the case of most young people caught in Katie’s circumstance, it was a bit too hopeful to be believable. This book would suit most of the readers who would pick it up…young females searching for love.

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American Gods by Neil Gaiman

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book doesn’t really fit into a genre … it takes place in present day in America. Our protagonist, Shadow, and the dysfunctional relationship with his wife certainly seem realistic. Enter the gods … and suddenly magic is happening everywhere in subtle ways. American Gods is filled with suspense, hints at history, and very descriptive. Imagine a Quentin Tarantino movie where magic is a part of every day life. There is something for everyone here…adventure, violence, fantasy, and even some heart-warming moments. This book would be a great choice for a senior student who is ready to move on from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, but maybe isn’t quite ready for the Dune series. I think any adult who has tried magical realism, or who is interested in the world’s encyclopedia of gods and monsters (like all your D & D friends) would really like this book. I really enjoyed it although it took me a long time to read. Each chapter is like a bite of very rich chocolate cake. Gaiman is a wordmaster.

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Is it possible to grow readers who are also digitally savvy?

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to hear Penny Kittle speak about reading and how complex it is for intermediate/senior teachers to teach.  Kittle estimates that in 1st year college/university that the average pages a student reads is 500.  She proposed that the #1 reason that students drop out after first year is that they can’t keep up with the demand of reading.  Meanwhile Don Tapscott tells us in Grown Up Digital that we need to appeal to the multimedia savvy of the NetGeneration students in our classes.  How do we balance both of those ideas?  Heather Durnin tells us how she does it in her blog post about modifying literature circles in her grade 8 classroom.  What I love about Heather’s work is that she’s still focusing on  teaching reading, critical analysis and through social interaction (Vygotzky would approve).  The students develop their skills in analysis face-to-face with their peers and their teacher, before being accountable to the technology. I suspect that as students hear the types of questions and comments that lead to richer discussion, that in turn their reading becomes stronger as they look for ways to contribute.

What’s the next level?  Maybe it’s that the students publish their work to an authentic audience and get feedback.  The hardest part of inquiry-based learning for me is to ask really meaningful questions that will lead to critical thinking.  I’m at the point where I am conscious of designing my questions to be evaluative ….so that students are developing criteria as well as their analysis, but the questions don’t come naturally to me yet. Is there an app for that?  I don’t think so.  #teachersrock

 

The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory

The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I used my first free credit at audible.com to download the audiobook of The Lady of the Rivers. I absolutely love the myths of the French royal families who descended from merpeople and the story of Melusina is evident throughout this book. The audiobook was well-performed and I really enjoyed this book overall. It’s a different feel from The Tudor series, but once again, Philippa Gregory doesn’t disappoint. One of the strangest side effects of reading this book, is that it affected my gardening….the main character, Jacquetta, gardens according to astronomy….then later this year I found out about biodynamic agriculture…suddenly I’m much more concerned what phase the moon is when I’m planting.

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Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It’s a solid first novel …. lots of world-building and the dragons are introduced well. Paolini’s writing style is juvenile …. self-indulgent in terms of cryptic vocabulary use, and the plot is predictable. The best part about this book is …the dragon.

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Crowd sourcing Psycho using Twitter

[View the story "Crowd sourcing Psycho using #maODSS" on Storify]

Trying to teach about Hitchcock’s Psycho, how Twitter can be used for learning and improving the self-directedness of learning all at once in media arts using the Twitter hashtag #maODSS

Storified by Alanna King· Wed, Mar 06 2013 17:22:17

 

Comprehension & Collaboration: Inquiry Circles in Action by Stephanie Harvey and Harvey Daniels

Comprehension & Collaboration: Inquiry Circles in Action by Stephanie Harvey & Harvey Daniels

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A bit 101 for my taste. It was so busy trying to be all encompassing that I’m not sure it presented any new information…. It outlines the phases of the inquiry process very well, but doesn’t follow through on the execution of inquiry as well.

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The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence

The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A classic Canadian tale of a pioneering woman’s spirit. This is living proof the survival theme as part of the Canadian identity. People who will particularly enjoy this book are: someone who knows the Canadian Prairies, mothers, and single women. I’m not sure why it’s sometimes suggested reading for high school students other than it is part of the Canadian literary canon. I thoroughly enjoyed it …. but it would have to be a very special student that I would recommend it to.

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The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb

The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I rate Wally Lamb’s other two books as some of my all-time favourites. The Hour I First Believed has his usual depth into emotional hell (which I love!) but it was not something that I could read all in one sitting. It was arduous without being epic. I felt that the ending was anti-climactic.

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Misconceptions by Naomi Wolf

Misconceptions: Truth, Lies, and the Unexpected on the Journey to Motherhood by Naomi Wolf

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After 10 years of struggling with fertility, 2 miscarriages, and a healthy boy born by emergency C-section, I still turn to Misconceptions. Whenever I feel abnormal for questioning the rights of women in our health system, this book cheers me up. This book is something I recommend to all women in their child-bearing years, or to anyone who is involved in the ongoing absurdities of motherhood. Very few books have been powerful enough to change my life, but Misconceptions is one of them.

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Kiss of the Fur Queen by Tomson Highway

Kiss of the Fur Queen by Tomson Highway

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I’m not sure why I never read this book when it first came out, but I just found it this year. It is an incredibly moving story of what it was like to attend a residential school. More importantly, it made me feel much more in touch with the complicated issues surrounding native Canadians and the displacement of their culture. A must read for Can Lit fans. This book would be an excellent complement to a reading of The Rez Sisters, also by Tomson Highway.

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The Book of Human Skin by Michelle Lovric

The Book of Human Skin by Michelle Lovric

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Transported me in time and space to an unfamiliar world where brothers are very very mean to sisters. In this patriarchal place, the female protagonist has to do her utmost to survive her brother’s bizarre tastes. This book is kind of like a Cronenberg flick….you hate to read the gruesome details, and you just can’t put it down.

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Triptych by J.M. Frey

Triptych by J.M. Frey

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Triptych’s exploration of heteronormativity touched me in places that I didn’t even know existed. The characters and their relationships make the sci fi problems Frey creates, very real and very relevant to the human reader. It is a very brave first novel, and I found it surprisingly accessible for something that I consider outside of my genre. I will definitely pick up J.M. Frey’s next novel.

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Under My Skin by Charles de Lint

Under My Skin by Charles de Lint

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This Young Adult fantasy begins in Santa Feliz, California in present day. The story unfolds through two voices, Josh and Marina, who are best friends. In this school year, each character has become a Wildling, a shapeshifter from human to animal form. As more and more local teens are becoming Wildlings overnight, government and corporate organizations move in to lock down the situation. Josh’s quest is to make sure any external interest has good intentions, and Marina’s journey is more about acceptance and making sure that Wildlings are treated with respect.

Both Josh and Marina are caught up in the movement as different factions of Wildlings compete for their attention. Some come across as eco-warriors, while others explore the spiritual blessing nature of shapeshifting and other natural gifts. Every single adult and teen group involved in the Wilding phenomenon has a different agenda, and neither Josh nor Marina can identify where they belong. Instead, Josh is singled out as a natural leader, as his animal self, the mountain lion, is one of the oldest animal clans known. Marina’s intentions of aiding the Wildling cause confuse her as she has to choose between the cause and her own dreams.

The alternating voices in each chapter allow the reader to understand the perspectives more deeply. The novel is a familiar story of teens being misunderstood as they go through their quest for identity. The shapeshifter motif allows the author a way to explore questions of identity in sexuality, race and belief. As the shapeshifter story is now a popular culture meme, this puts Under My Skin clearly in a fantasy category for beginners. The novel ends only as Josh and Marina escape their first test of Wildling experimentation leaving room for the proposed sequels to take place. The story hints briefly at stirrings of sexuality and the violence is dramatic but not overdone. This novel’s realistic and modern setting will appeal to most any reader who is ready to dabble in the fantastic. Readers who are more experienced with the genre may find de Lint’s explanations of fantastical elements to be juvenile.

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