Alien Pedagogy

I’m monitoring the extra-curricular Reading and Writing Club, a student group. Yesterday we had an activity fair in the school hall, filled with students yelling out for people to join.

We displayed our writing and then sat in a circle reading.

We stood out.

At my school, we have a staff book club. We’re now entering our third year and I’m in charge. Here’s what’s happening.

Starting the Club:

We sent out a staff-wide email inviting anyone to join. After that, our email list consisted of those who responded. We expanded the club through word of mouth.

How We Meet:

We meet twice a month — both times before school starts. At one meeting, we discuss our “free” novels — whatever we happen to be reading. At the second, we discuss our book club selection.

Every member is responsible for getting a copy of the text. Two or three people can share, or everyone can buy a copy.

Selection Guidelines:

• Length — no more than 400 pages generally.
• The focus on selection should be community enjoyment more than “I think very few people will actually like this but everyone should be reading more obscure science fiction.”
• Everyone in the club should get to choose one text to be read during the year.

Popular Selections We’ve Read:

• Cormac McCarthy’s The Road
• Haruki Murakami’s After Dark
• Alan Moore’s The Watchmen
• Tim Winton’s Breath
• Schlink’s The Reader

Unpopular Selections:

• Enright’s The Gathering *
• Jiang Rong’s Wolf Totem
• Ian Fleming’s James Bond books **

Benefits:

I strongly believe in modeling reading and an enjoyment of reading for students. Having a staff book club shows that adults do form communities based around literature. We often put in extra copies of our selections into our classroom libraries and then say “oh the staff book club read that last month — it’s really good, though Mr. X didn’t like it.”

You’re exposed to literature that you might not have read otherwise.

I think it’s always a good idea to have systems that allow staff to meet each other. It makes it easier to collaborate.

***

*Although we unanimously loathed The Gathering, it was a fun meeting explaining why we found it so difficult to read.

**Each of us chose a different Bond novel. It was my idea, and I still think it had potential. Quantum of Solace was released that month.

I often think about what it means to be a great teacher, and one condition for being a great teacher at a small school is involvement. I often find that the teachers that I (not to mention the students) respect the most are the teachers that are involved in the school community and culture. They lead extra-curricular activities, they show up to performances and games, and their classes reflect dedication.

Teachers that are involved tend not to seek acknowledgement, but because they’re always around you feel like you can depend on them.