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Check out this article, which cites new research about the potential utility (or lack therof) of eReaders and other devices: http://www.intellectualtakeout.org/blog/children-prefer-reading-books-paper-not-screens.
Given the fact that many schools now give out iPads/eReaders and are even transferring textbooks over to devices, this is worth thinking about. Is the potential for distraction on technology too great to allow for actual reading?
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While I recommend a wide variety of study methods and productivity strategies to my students, the Pomodoro Technique is nearest and dearest to my heart. Let me explain.
Years ago, as an undergraduate at Columbia double-majoring in English Lit and History, I averaged 20-30 pages of writing every week. This was pretty painful, especially in the first few years. Often, I would make the trek to Butler Library (which was open 24 hours a day) with my computer bag, headphones, and some chocolate covered espresso beans (my favorite indulgence). Yet instead of buckling down, I would engage in ALL manners of avoidance -- from pacing around the library hoping to run into someone I knew, to refilling my fourth cup of tea, to returning a phone call or checking my email for the 400th time. Maddeningly, I could spend all day at the library and accomplish virtually nothing -- because I was utterly paralyzed by the Fear Of Getting Started. The amount of work ahead of me was simply too much. I am sure I don’t need to describe how those weeks turned out. Sure, I always finished the work -- a bleary-eyed, overly caffeinated zombie, I often printed out my assignments minutes before they were due. Only a 19-year-old could survive so well without sleep! Enter the Pomodoro Method. Unlike a lot of other study skills, which rely on apps, fancy tools or technology, all you need for the Pomodoro Method is a timer (MarinaraTimer.com is a great web version of a productivity timer!). You can also use your phone or a traditional kitchen timer. The beauty of the method is that it simply brings the idea of interval training (a favorite with physical exercise) to your studying. Overwhelmed, as I was, by the idea of sitting for 12 hours to cram for finals? Not to worry! You’ll only be working in “pomodoros” -- that is, 25-minute increments, followed by 5 minute breaks. After every 4 pomodoros, you get a longer break (at least 15 minutes -- but give yourself enough to “recharge”). Try it the next time you are writing a paper (setting goals, like 3 pomodoros to get the thesis and outline set) or studying for a test (4 pomodoros to review Chapters 1 and 2, and then…) The idea that there is a “finish line” within a short duration of time trains your brain to sustain focus -- and you’ll find that within each interval, you are hyper-alert and more productive, wanting to accomplish everything you can before that timer goes off. When used regularly, this method is even associated with better concentration and improved attention span. Would love to hear what you think. Happy studying! I believe that reading literature is like flossing in one way only: that if you make a practice of it early in life, your future self will be infinitely grateful. I personally would never want to know a life where I did not have a regular habit of stepping out of reality and into the warm bathwater that is a good book.
The following list includes books that, when I see their familiar covers peeking out of my students’ backpacks, I sigh with delight. These are the books that never lose their excitement for me, that I can read again and again, always finding something new and fresh to offer up to my students for examination. These books, in other words, are like whirling kaleidoscopes -- offering a shiny new vision depending on the reader and the angle from which he or she observes them. They also are books that taught me what it means to be alive, and in that sense, I believe they are “musts” to read while in high school. They’re also books I’m pretty sure you’ll love, so ask me if you’re curious about my own personal favorites. I, for one, LOVE Moby Dick, but haven’t met many students who share my appreciation for hundreds of pages about whale blubber. (Not that interested in prose-y fiction? Try one of my favorite graphic novels: Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis or Art Speigelman’s Maus.) 1. The Autobiography of Frederick Douglass, by Frederick Douglass I am not sure why this is not standard reading for every high school student. Usually, it makes the list of “free choice” books, if you see it at all. In addition to being one of the only firsthand accounts of slavery (Douglass taught himself to read in early adulthood), I find it to be perhaps the most profound exploration of the human spirit ever written. 2. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley This book changed the way I think about science, nature, technology, parenthood -- it has inspired more homages and adaptations than virtually any other story ever told, but nothing comes close to Shelley’s beautiful and disturbing prose. Shelley wrote this feat of the human imagination when she was NINETEEN -- practically in high school herself. Never have I felt more unaccomplished than when I read this gem. 3. Macbeth, by William Shakespeare If you can read Shakespeare and the Bible, you can understand every story every written. You can anticipate its themes, recognize its allusions, know what motivates its characters. Here's a great place to start. (In addition to Shakespeare’s predictable obsession with fate, free will, and revenge, this particular offering from Shakespeare features bearded ladies who coined the phrase “Double, double, toil and trouble.” Win.) 4. Beloved, by Toni Morrison Morrison is dark, difficult to understand and...well, dazzling. Beloved is the ultimate ghost story, and one which explores the impact of slavery and trauma in a way that is entirely unique. It’s one of the only books I actually remember being struck dumb by when I was in high school, even though my junior year English teacher did a “meh” job of explaining it. It’s also a novel that you can flip open to any page, point to ANY LINE -- and find infinite layers of meaning. No idea how she does it. 5. The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak This book is incredibly important for a number of reasons, but my favorite is that it’s the first time I’ve ever felt sympathy for a little girl in a Nazi youth uniform. It is a Holocaust novel unlike any other (hint: you’ll never look at colors the same way again). Bonus: This is also one of the only books that offers an exceptional movie adaptation. PS: Don’t pick up his subsequent novel, I am the Messenger. It’s not great. In fact, I am convinced that The Book Thief must have been the product of divine inspiration, because the quality of Zusak's second work is so drastically inferior. |
AuthorJessica Brenner is an educational consultant, counselor and parent. Archives
May 2022
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