Did You Like It?
A few points to this entry:
For those freshmen that are moved in on campus, welcome! It's great to see more students on campus, and it's a great feeling to know that the new school year is just around the bend!
For those that haven't arrived yet or are commuting, safe journeys please!
If there are any of them present, I'd like to welcome the RTAs at SHU to Dust Jacket. As the books were handed out during a training session the other day, I took the opportunity to announce this blog to those that are interested (and find a spare second to stop by!). Hopefully some more input would spur some more discussion.
With the date of the book discussion growing closer, I thought it might be nice to welcome some open questions about the story. Please feel free to post any specific questions to begin discussion.
I would like to hear your thoughts on whether or not you liked it, but also specifically why or why not. Try to dig deep into the book's pages for reasoning and to question your usual methods of deciding if you do or do not like a book.
Sound off, freshmen! I want to know what YOU think.
News Flash: Autistic Tee-Ball Player Targeted
Recent news in the Pittsburgh area (specifically Fayette County, directly south from Westmoreland County which is where SHU is located) has said that an autistic boy on a tee-ball team was hit by a fellow player who was supposedly told that he would receive money for doing this.
Who told him he would be paid to hit the boy? The coach.
(Above link is to the Post Gazette. Here is a link to the Pittsburgh Tribune's article on the same story. Also New York Daily News.)
The Right Answer
I might finally be able to begin keeping up with this reading and blogging now that I have a moment to breathe... Thank goodness!
Although, I shouldn't be complaining because I somehow always find time to blog. It's just something that I do. Whether it's about things in my life, news, a book I'm reading, or just a bit of rambling, I find time to sit and type for a bit.
I want to address an important point without lecturing. This is an exercise in exercise, really, so I'll begin with a stretch--you can't expect to find the right answer.
It's just not possible.
Now, you're thinking that what I just said is a real stretch--that I'm lying.
"Of course I should expect to find the 'right' answer. It's out there and, golly, I'll find it! With the right books, search engines, literary guides, and footnotes I will find the right answer."
Guess again. This is college. Sometimes there isn't a "right" answer. You're going to have to decide whether or not it's "right" all on your own.
The reason this is an "exercise in exercise" is because you must practice not looking for the "right" answer. A fault of the majority of secondary schools is to instill that there is one answer that will be correct, leaving the rest as incorrect and therefore not of value. This is sad because schools must "teach to the test" for assessments, and students get the bad bargain because their intellectual stimulation plummets. Cutting off thinking at the "right" answer stunts creativity. Narrowmindedness stems from this sickness, leaving young minds shriveled and living from hit to hit on the "right" answer, their drug for sustenance.
This is the basis of literary discussion, which is something I'm sure all of you have had experience with in the past. At the very least, you've got to be open minded in discussing a text. There are innumerable facets to any one piece. If you come into a discussion with a "right" answer in your head, that's fine. Just be prepared to defend it against some other person who also has a "right" answer in mind. They might not be the same "right" answer, and in fact, one of you may be wrong!
There's the best part, though. Not in error, but in defense. Finding evidence in the text to support your points: passages, nuances, implication, and all the best things you can draw out of the words you've been given--this is the fun, the challenge, and the purpose. Even if your answer doesn't turn out to be what you expected, you have learned, through defense, more about looking for answers.
What really matters, though--a consensus? A majority? Whatever the teacher says?
Yes.
Never take for granted the thoughts and opinions of anyone in your classroom. You are all there to learn, and you learn from each other as much as you do any other source. Literature is rather subjective--it can be interpreted differently by different people. I may not see the same things as you do, but we read the same book and still got different results. Why? I am not you. You are not me. Our lives influence how we see things, and therefore we are not objective (unless we must be or choose to be, then this is a different scenario and would perhaps produce the same conclusions; however, this cannot be certain).
You've been given this book and reading assignment to stimulate this sort of discussion. Thinking differently is not a problem. The problem is the intuitive want to find a "right" answer when, in fact, one may not exist.
Stick It Up: noting a good start
I've been able to finally sit down with this book and read. Lately with the craziness of my summer, reading has been the last thing on my mind, other than the reading I do for my summer classes...
First of all, I want to say that I am enjoying the art of the book. When I bought my copy at B&N I thought it was neat that the dog was cut-out on the front cover, and that the inside panel was a starry, colorful page with the traditional snippets of reviews laid out nicely. An attractive book is never a bad, thing, although I typically adhere strictly to the adage about judging by covers.
I was struck by the number of the "first" chapter--2. "Two," I thought. "But this is the first chapter..." *shrug* I turned the pages without any trouble. A book is a book is a book, whether the first chapter is "2" or "157" (which is also a chapter in the book because they are all prime numbers).
Before I got very far in the book, I realized that the numeric value of the chapters was growing much quicker than the number of pages. This is usually reversed. Pagination (thankfully NOT in prime numbers, because then I would be really confused...) is not something I pay much attention to unless I'm making notes. Scribbling a phrase or topic I want to remember with a little "p.#" is a habit I've made with the assistance of a large rainbow cube of Post-its. Sometimes I'll write the chapter and page number, but today as I wrote "ch. 31, p.16" I was confused for a millisecond. I guess that's something I'm not used to, that's all.
Oh, more about those perfectly pasted Post-its... (Sidenote: Wow, do I love Post-its.) It's a habit I formed early in my academic reading endeavors. When I didn't want to tote around my notebook with my lit. book, I'd stick a little stack of maybe ten or twenty sticky notes in the back of my book. The best thing about them is that you can put them on the pages as-is, rip them for little tags, use different colors to systematically dialogue what you need to remember...
Okay, so I get a little obsessive about the Post-it thing :-)
But just having little slips of paper handy makes my reading easier (I prefer the sticky paper because if I clumsily drop my book they won't scatter). When it's for class I make lists or reference possible themes... but anymore all I jot down are blogging topics, things of personal interest, and stuff that I think is purely and uniquely stated and worth remembering.
I got to about page 40 before I had to get back to my take-home math test :-/ (This week is mid-term for the rest of my classes, so I don't know how much I'll get to read this week, either! At least I'll be done with my math class this Thursday.)
But I already tore up three Post-its--one green, two pink--and I have two more pink ones stuck to the inside cover decorated with my sloppy script. Off to a good start...
Welcome to Dust Jacket
Hello, Class of 2009! My name is Karissa Kilgore. I'm a student at Seton Hill University, and I'm helping to facilitate this blog we're calling "Dust Jacket."
Who's the "we" I'm talking about? Well, I'm working with faculty (specifically Dr. Jerz) to help you learn more about the book you've been assigned to read before coming to Seton Hill in the fall for your first semester at the University.
That's the whole purpose of this blog--helping you. We'll discuss relevant topics and themes within the book, and even take a deeper look at some things just by asking questions.
I'm just getting through the book, myself, so be sure to add your thoughts by clicking "Comment" below any entry. This entire blog is dedicated to YOU, so feel free to give feedback and suggestions.
