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Summer Borrowing in the US Library Begins on May 28th!

Submitted by Sue Phillips on Fri, 05/17/2013 - 11:28pm
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 All returning Upper School students, and all faculty and staff are welcome to participate.  Each year, we send a great number of books out on fabulous vacations.  Won't you help give a great book (or two or ten) a wonderful summer?  See you soon!
--Sue


Poet Malena Mörling Visits Catlin Gabel

Submitted by Sue Phillips on Fri, 04/05/2013 - 9:43am
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Giving a Helping Hand to First-Years

Submitted by Nadine Fiedler on Wed, 03/21/2012 - 10:51am
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From the Winter 2011-12 Caller

By Sue Phillips and David Zonana

Students new to Catlin Gabel, as well as those arriving from our Middle School, find a perfect opportunity to reinvent themselves in their freshman year. While the adults in the Upper School community welcome this reinvention, we know that teenagers find this change both exhilarating and frightening. Fortunately, the freshman team made up of teachers and staff are there to support the students through their first year, cheer them on, and help them when they struggle.

The Freshman Toolkit

This year we reinvigorated the five-year-old Freshman Toolkit. Our 9th graders typically have, for the first time in their school lives, several unstructured free periods each week. To help them establish habits that will support their success, a group of Upper School faculty developed the Toolkit curriculum, which includes structured skills sessions and supervised study time. During the weeks between the beginning of school and Thanksgiving break, freshmen attended two Toolkit sessions each week: a skills session, and a supervised study session managed by a rotating group of committed faculty and staff. The skills sessions taught students strategies for keeping a calendar to manage their assignments, meetings with teachers, sports practices, and after-school activities, and emphasized managing multi-step assignments that require work over the course of a few weeks.
 
Other skills sessions focused on students’ learning styles, working effectively with an academic adviser, and developing a plan for fulfilling community service hours in a meaningful way. Our freshmen met a second time each week in their groups, and followed a protocol of reporting on the homework they planned to complete during that time. The overall purpose of Toolkit was to help our 9th graders understand how to organize and prioritize their lives so they can get their work done in time to enjoy dinner with their families, have a chance to socialize with friends, and get enough sleep to be ready for the next day.
 
Our learning specialist Cindy Murray is a key supporter of Toolkit, and was central to its establishment this fall. She says that it’s effective because students have learned how to start to take responsibility for their learning in ways that allow them to become successful. While the program will evolve based on feedback, we anticipate continuing to offer it next year.

The freshman class trip 

The freshman class trip is an important first step in helping our 9th graders become part of the Upper School community. During this three-day experience, new freshmen get to know each other, connect with faculty, gain understanding of the culture of the Upper School, and begin to form an identity as a cohesive class. For the last three years, this trip has taken place at Scouter’s Mountain, a woodsy camp where students sleep in rustic boxcars and teepees. The setting of the retreat and the activities that fill each day are designed to provide a context for the development of strength of self and community that will be important for students’ happiness and achievement in the Upper School. The values, support from upperclassmen and faculty, friendships, and willingness to put oneself in some new and uncomfortable situations provide a starting point for the open-minded and resilient traits found in many of our Upper School students.
 
The freshman class trip is made up of a variety of activities, from the simple, practical tasks of preparing and cleaning up meals for over 100 peers to an evening of square dancing called by Dave Corkran, retired history teacher. Students on the trip participate in a day-long community service project in collaboration with the National Forest Service. This year, the class of 2015 spent a day in the sun planting hundreds of trees and completing important habitat restoration work along an old road in the Mt. Hood National Forest. The on-site ropes course provides another afternoon of group and individual challenge, and a setting for problem solving and bonding. Simple challenges, such as one that requires the group to pass a carabiner from one end of a rope to another, become moments of intense focus, communication, and collaboration.
 
Students also take part in quiet activities, such as nature sketching, writing workshops, and community values discussions. This year, international mountaineer Willy Oppenheim came to give an inspiring talk about his most recent trip to Pakistan, where he combined research on girls’ education with an attempt to scale an unclimbed Himalayan peak. On the final morning of the trip, students draft letters to their future selves that we give back to them when they enter their senior year. We end the last night of the trip with a talent show around the fire. This year, as spirits were high on this final evening, and many members of the class of 2015 had already shared songs or silly acts, freshman Matthew Bernstein came to the front of the group with just his guitar, voice, and a thoughtful original song and captivated the entire audience. We will remember that for a long time.

Support from older students

This year we’ve had some of the strongest leadership ever by older students on behalf of the new 9th graders. Each spring, the faculty nominates seniors for leadership roles on the freshman class trip. These students consistently impress us with their commitment as role models, camp counselors, dynamic leaders, and gentle confidantes to their younger peers, both on the trip and afterward. For many freshmen, this is their first experience of having an older, established student as an ally and potential friend, and the experience is powerful. Seniors have a vested interest in transmitting all that they find best about the culture of the school they have grown to love, and they’re cognizant of their responsibility as mentors and role models.
 
Last spring, junior Ella Bohn called a meeting among members of her class to gauge interest in establishing a junior mentors program. Nearly half the class turned out and signed up to help, and late this past summer Ella met with us to match each freshman with one of the juniors. The mentors met, planned, and reached out to the 9th graders one on one to ask how they were doing. Ella said she had realized that “it might have been helpful to have someone to talk to about all the things people think you are supposed to know” by the time you arrive in the Upper School. Juniors have been here for three years, and they are a friendly, approachable group who “know how things work.”
 
The freshman class may not realize the framework that has quietly been constructed to support them through their first year in the Upper School. We are proud that their team of advocates includes not only teachers and staffers, but also trusted older students who are more influential than they recognize. Their peer-to-peer mentoring creates caring, supportive, and respectful collaboration with the 9th graders, and importantly, encourages the transmission of Catlin Gabel’s values and ethos to this next generation of younger teens.
 
Sue Phillips has been the Upper School librarian since 2004. She is a research geek who loves to laugh, work in the garden, and play early music. David Zonana is an outdoor education teacher who has long held an interest in the potential of adventure for growth and learning. Since 2006 he has led students on mountaineering, rafting, backpacking, llama packing, rock climbing, and sea kayaking trips.   

 

Outdoorsy Books for Winterim / Spring Break in the US Library

Submitted by Sue Phillips on Wed, 03/14/2012 - 11:55am
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Plan a hike or read a book over the break

Catlin Gabel Poetry Festival

Submitted by Sue Phillips on Wed, 02/01/2012 - 11:20am
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Literary Censorship in the News

Submitted by Sue Phillips on Mon, 01/23/2012 - 1:03pm
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New Upper School Library Blog: CatlinReads!

Submitted by Sue Phillips on Tue, 11/15/2011 - 2:58pm
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The Karl Jonske '99 Collection in the US Library

Submitted by Sue Phillips on Wed, 10/19/2011 - 10:33am
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In honor of this year's Karl Jonske '99 Lecture Series, the US Library is featuring a display of selected recent additions to the Karl Jonske Collection.  Stop by to see several of the 808 books that comprise this marvelous and growing collection of books selected specifically to promote reading for pleasure among Catlin Gabel's students.  It is a great legacy for generations of readers, and honors Karl, who was a smart, delightful, athletic bibliophile.

In celebration of the pleasures of good books,

--Sue Phillips, US Librarian

 


Summer Borrowing is Underway in the Upper School Library!

Submitted by Sue Phillips on Tue, 05/31/2011 - 2:42pm
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Think outside the classroom this summer!  Take home an armload of good books to read.  Whether you’ll be lounging in a hammock, working as a camp counselor and reading after lights out, or flying on a plane to distant parts of the world, reading for pleasure would surely enhance your summer.

Summer Borrowing is Underway!

Now through June 10th @ 4pm

All returning Upper School students, and all returning faculty and staff may participate!

Here are some titles to tempt you.  If you prefer, just browse the catalog at http://catalog.catlin.edu

Southern Fiction
Mama Day, by G. Naylor
Kate Vaiden, by R. Price
The Help, by K. Stockett
Delta Wedding, by E. Welty
Sound and the Fury, by W. Faulkner
Thirteen Moons, by C. Frazier

Glorious Geekdom
Foundations of Python Network Programming, by J. Goerzen
Beginning game development with Python and Pygame, by W. McGugan
Letters to a Young Mathematician, by I. Stewart
Feynman’s Lost Lecture:  The Motion of Planets around the Sun, by D. Goodstein
Beyond Measure:  Modern physics, Philosophy, and the Meaning of Quantum Theory, by JE Baggott

Tasty Fiction
Clear Light of Day, by A. Desai
Notes from Underground, by F. Dostoevsky
Moscow Sting, by A. Dryden
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by M. Haddon
Maltese Falcon, by D. Hammett
A Most Wanted Man, by J. Le Carré
Small Island, by A. Levy
Kalahari Typing School for Men, by RA McCall Smith
Blood Meridian, by C. McCarthy
Master and Commander, by P. O’Brian

Graphic Novels
Saga of the Swamp Thing, by A. Moore
A Drifting Life, by Y. Tatsumi
Complete Persepolis, by M. Satrapi
Black Hole, by C. Burns
Palestine, by J. Sacco

Fantasy Fiction
Brisingr, by C. Paolini
The Hobbit, by JRR Tolkien
Powers, by U. LeGuin
The Wood Wife, by T. Windling
Memory & Dream, by C. DeLint

Far From Here
Iberian Worlds, by G. McDonogh
Almost French:  Love and a New Life in Paris, by S. Turnbull
Oracle Bones:  A Journey Between China’s Past and Present, by P. Hessler
Under the Tuscan Sun, by F. Mayes

Artsy Stuff
The Art and Craft of Handmade Books, by S. LaPlantz
Letters to a Young Artist, by A. Deavere Smith
Conversations with Frank Gehry, by B. Isenberg
Chuck Close:  A Life, by C. Finch
Origami Paper Animals, by D. Boursin

Bite-Sized Fiction
In the Garden of the North American Martyrs, by T. Wolff
The Girl in the Flammable Skirt, by A. Bender
The Runner’s Literary Companion, Ed. G. Battista
Nine Stories, by JD Salinger
Nick Adams Stories, by E. Hemingway

Stop by soon.  

With good wishes,

Sue, Upper School Librarian

 

Summer Borrowing in the US Library Begins on May 31st

Submitted by Sue Phillips on Wed, 05/18/2011 - 2:43pm
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Every summer, the US Library likes to send its books on interesting vacations with students, faculty and staff.  Everyone from the bus drivers to students to teachers and administrators likes to stop by to carry off something interesting to read. 

Over the course of the coming weeks, I'll be adding all sorts of recommendations to this list. After Memorial Day weekend, Summer Borrowing begins!  Returning students, staff and faculty may check out an armload of good books that won't be due until mid-September. 

So, let's begin...

A Taste of the Arts

We've added some new titles on filmmaking, animé, origami, modern architecture, and music.  Here's a sampling.

Didier Boursin:  Origami Paper Animals
Barbara Isenberg:  Conversations with Frank Gehry
Maria Lafont:  Soviet Posters
Shereen LaPlantz:  The Art & Craft of Handmade Books
Steven Mithen:  The Singing Neanderthals:  The Origins of Music, Language, Mind, and Body
Chris Patmore:  Movie Making Course
Simon Richmond:  The Rough Guide to Animé
Bee Shay:  Collage Lab
Stuart Shea and Robert Rodriguez:  Fab Four FAQ:  Everything Left to Know about the Beatles...and More!
Anna Deavere Smith:  Letters to a Young Artist:  Straight0up Advice on Making a Life in the Arts
 

Graphic Novels

Some are political, some are futuristic, and many of them are becoming classics of the genre.  

Charles Burns:  Black Hole
Alan Moore:  Saga of the Swamp Thing; Watchmen
Joe Sacco:  Palestine
Marjane Satrapi:  The Complete Persepolis

Southern Fiction

Hot, still afternoons, complex prose, solitude, thunderstorms, lemonade on the porch, and smoldering post-Civil War tensions are just a few of the characteristics of some of these books by southern authors.  

William Faulkner:  The Sound and the Fury; Light in August
Charles Frazier:  Cold Mountain; Thirteen Moons
Sue Monk Kidd:  The Mermaid Chair
Carson McCullers:  The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
Toni Morrison: A Mercy
Gloria Naylor:  Mama Day
Reynolds Price:  Kate Vaiden
Kathryn Stockett:  The Help
Eudora Welty:  Delta Wedding; Selected Stories

Fantasy Fiction

These books are filled with other worlds, elves, teenagers with magical powers, hobbits, daemons, and fine storytelling.

Charles de Lint:  Memory & Dream
Ursula LeGuin:  Powers
Christopher Paolini:  Brisingr (part of a series)
Philip Pullman:  The Golden Compass (part of a series)
J.R.R. Tolkien:  The Hobbit (the prelude to a great series)

Keep checking back for more recommendations!

--Sue

 

 

 

 

 

Great Reads for Winterim & Spring Break!

Submitted by Sue Phillips on Wed, 03/09/2011 - 3:37pm
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 Looking for a little diversion for that long flight to Florida?  Ready to choose your own stories rather than sticking to your course syllabus?  Help is on the way!

We added over 150 new titles in January and February alone.  Here are several recommendations for all kinds of readers with all sorts of interests:

Palestine, by Joe Sacco
Do you enjoy political themes and graphic novels?  Check out this classic about an American journalist who travels to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to learn the Palestinian side of the Intifada. Art Spiegelman, author of Maus, writes that Sacco "obviously got the calling. His stuff is obviously well wrought, with dizzying pages and good rhythm" (from Amazon editorial reviews).

Winter of our Disconnect: How Three Totally Wired Teenagers (and a Mother Who Slept with Her iPhone) Pulled the Plug on Their Technology and Lived to Tell the Tale, by Susan Maushart
The Booklist reviewer writes that the teenagers "quickly learn how to do homework without access to Wikipedia and discover such joys as playing the saxophone and having sing-alongs. Interspersed with the family’s experience is a great deal of timely information about the impact of electronic technology on Generation M (8- to 18-year-olds), and not all of it is pretty."  (Amazon.com reviews)

Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy
Travel to St. Petersburg, Russia with a heart-rending, beefy classic about the decisions of a young society woman who chooses to defy the social norms of her time.  If you never have time to immerse yourself in another world, Spring Break and Winterim are great times to do so.

Hardcourt Confidential:  Tales from Twenty Years in the Pro Tennis Trenches, by Patrick McEnroe
ESPN commentator and tennis champion Patrick McEnroe reveals detailed stories of players, coaches, and other personalities associated with the sport.  If you have visions of going pro, this will be an eye-opener.

The Invisible Gorilla:  and Other Ways our Intuitions Deceive Us, by Christopher Chabris
The author of the book says it best:  "Reading this book will make you less sure of yourself-and that's a good thing. In The Invisible Gorilla, we use a wide assortment of stories and counterintuitive scientific findings to reveal an important truth: Our minds don't work the way we think they do. We think we see ourselves and the world as they really are, but we're actually missing a whole lot."  (Invisible Gorilla website).  Be sure to click the link above to see some short video clips of the actual attention tests administered to observers.  You won't believe your eyes!

Becoming Animal:  An Earthly Cosmology, by David Abram
"As Abram identifies underappreciated aspects of our minds and bodies that evolved to enable us to respond with exquisite sensitivity to our surroundings, he tells extraordinary tales of his encounters with wildlife from whales to ravens, illuminates the planet’s myriad forms of sentient life" (from Booklist review).  

 

Jimmy Santiago Baca: Some Resources

Submitted by Sue Phillips on Mon, 03/07/2011 - 10:32am
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"I don't know if I would have lived had I not found poetry."--Jimmy Santiago Baca

The writer Jimmy Santiago Baca will visit Catlin Gabel this Thursday.  If you would like to learn a little bit more about him, here are a few options:

Visit the Poets.org website for a brief biography of Santiago Baca's life.  Three of his poems are listed on the Poets.org website in the upper right hand corner.  If you'd like to learn a little bit more about the writer, his personal struggles, and his approach to language and poetry, there is a good interview with Gabriel Meléndez on the Univ. of Illinois site.  

When you visit the Upper School Library, you can browse our display of books by Jimmy Santiago Baca just inside the door. 

--Sue, US Librarian

Books about Child Soldiers in Sudan

Submitted by Sue Phillips on Tue, 01/25/2011 - 12:56pm
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 As you may have heard, we'll be hosting Gabriel Bol Deng, one of the "lost boys" from the war in Sudan.  He will come to Catlin as a speaker on Wednesday, February 9th.  In support of his visit, I've assembled a group of books on the subect of child soldiers, and the war in this region of the world. 

Be sure to also check out Gabriel Bol Deng's website, Hope for Ariang, to learn more about his nonprofit organization to provide primary education to children in Sudan.  

Here's a list of titles that you may want to browse before his visit:

A Long Way Gone:  Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, by Ishmael Beah

Out of Exile:  Narratives from the Abducted and Displaced People of Sudan, by Craig Walzer

The Devil Came on Horseback:  Bearing Witness to the Genocide in Darfur, by Brian Steidle & Gretchen Steidle Wallace

Child Soldiers:  From Violence to Protection, by Michael Wessells

What is the What, by Dave Eggers (a powerful fictionalized memoir of a lost boy)

The Translator:  A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur, by Daoud Hari

Please ask us if you need any assistance in locating the books.  Thanks.  --Sue 

 

 

 

Winter Break with Good Books to Read!

Submitted by Sue Phillips on Mon, 12/13/2010 - 1:24pm
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 Hi, everybody!


It’s just a few days before Winter Break, and I’d like to offer you some reading recommendations.  If novels and biographies aren’t your thing, we have books on programming in Python, codecracking, politics or history.  There are thousands of options, so stop by to find your perfect match. We’re open until 4pm on Friday, December 17th so you can find something good to read in your free time.  

Happy countdown to the break!

--Sue

In a Strange Room, by Damon Galgut  
In this newest novel from South African writer Damon Galgut, a young loner travels across eastern Africa, Europe, and India. Unsure what he's after, and reluctant to return home, he follows the paths of travelers he meets along the way. Treated as a lover, a follower, a guardian, each new encounter-with an enigmatic stranger, a group of careless backpackers, a woman on the verge-leads him closer to confronting his own identity. Traversing the quiet of wilderness and the frenzy of border crossings, every new direction is tinged with surmounting mourning, as he is propelled toward a tragic conclusion. (from the book jacket).  This novel has received fine reviews, and was a finalist for the Man Booker prize, 2010.

Alan’s War, by Emmanuel Guibert
If you like graphic novels, check out this gritty account of a Second World War soldier’s experiences during and after the war, both in the US and Europe.  Nik Hall recommended this book to us, so if you read it, be sure to talk to him about it!

The Photographer, by Emmanuel Guibert
“A graphic novel and photo journal that follows reporter Didier Lefevre on a dangerous journey through Afghanistan with the Doctors Without Borders mission” (US library catalog).  If you’re interested in the range of the graphic novel across genres including history, politics, and biography, here’s a good read.  Notice that it’s also by the author of Alan’s War.  

Linus Pauling in His Own Words, by Linus Pauling
“Pauling's scientific career spanned nearly the entire 20th century, from his revolutionary Nobel Prize-winning theories on the chemical bond to his controversial work on orthomolecular medicine and vitamin therapy, which continued up to his death in 1994. To many, however, he is best remembered as an ardent peace activist and a crusader for human rights, which brought him his second Nobel. Throughout his career, he was called a genius, a visionary, a Communist, and even a crank. Nothing about Pauling was simple or obvious.” (from a review in Library Journal)

Small Island, by Andrea Levy
This is the story of a young woman who “arrives in London from Jamaica in 1948 with her life in her suitcase, her heart broken, [and] her resolve intact.  Her husband, Gilber Joseph, returns from the war expecting to be received as a hero, but finds his status as a black man in Britain to be second class”  (from the book jacket).  This novel won the Orange Prize and the Whitbread book of the year prize.  

 

Thanksgiving Break is Better with a Good Book!

Submitted by Sue Phillips on Fri, 11/12/2010 - 3:10pm
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The leaves are falling, and in a matter of days, all of the Upper School students will be enjoying Thanksgiving Break.

  Here's what we're featuring in the Upper School Library just now:

• The Karl Jonske '99 Collection:  Come browse your way through delicious works of fiction or a good biography.  The US Library honors the memory of 1999 graduate and voracious reader, Karl Jonske, whose family created the book fund as a memorial to Karl after his untimely death in a car accident.  Honor the memory of one of Catlin's brightest and kindest by enjoying the books that bear his nameplate inside their front cover.  There are hundreds of titles to browse. 

• The Poetry of Billy Collins:  Collins is this year's Jonske speaker.  We've got copies of several of his books of poems on hand, and have a Billy Collins poetry window just inside the front door.  Want a fun, visual approach to his poems?  Check out Billy Collins Action Poetry website.

We have new subscriptions to Outside and Seventeen magazine.  Come by for a browse, or to check out an issue. 

See you soon,

--Sue Phillips, US Librarian

Reflections on Reading: How to Create an Inviting Library--and Eager Readers

Submitted by Nadine Fiedler on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 3:53pm
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By Lynn Silbernagel

From the Fall 2010 Caller
“The reading of all good books is indeed like a conversation with the noblest men of past centuries who were the authors of them, nay a carefully studied conversation, in which they reveal to us none but the best of their thoughts.” —René Descartes
 
“I cannot live without books.” —Thomas Jefferson
 
“My library was dukedom large enough.” —William Shakespeare
 
Together these quotes speak to some of the values I find in reading: it is a way to connect with and understand other people, past and present; it is something I, too, cannot imagine living without; and ultimately, it is a solitary intellectual experience.
 
The last point seems at odds with life in Catlin Gabel’s middle school library, where we are surrounded with the energies of nearly 200 people, oversee a collection of 10,000 items, and work with 6th through 8th graders to foster reading. This hardly makes reading seem a solitary endeavor. Yet one of the main goals I bring to the school is to help students become strong independent readers—to really get them engaged with reading as an enjoyable practice and to encourage them to grapple in their own ways with the ideas presented.
 
In order to encourage students to become readers, a number of strategies have been proven helpful. Overall, my aim is to make reading, and the library in general, inviting, accessible, convenient, non-judgmental, and non-restrictive. Here are some specific things I do to foster this type of environment.
 
* The library has comfortable spaces for both groups and individuals to read and explore library materials.
 
* I purchase a variety of materials in a broad range of genres, and change displays of material frequently.
 
* I rely on students and teachers to recommend and review books. (Nothing encourages students to read more than a recommendation from a peer!) This often results in our generating waitlists of people who want the recommended titles when they come in.
 
* Teachers and I are committed to students making independent reading choices each month. For example, 7th grade students spin the “Genre Wheel” then choose any book they’d like from that genre.
 
* We do not limit the number of items students may check out, how long they may have them, or what types of material they may check out.
 
* The library has invested in a number of audio titles so students who are auditory learners can read more easily.
 
* We also have newer types of material (graphic novels, for example) that allow reluctant readers, or those who are more oriented toward visuals, to become engaged and successful at reading.
 
* We recommend books when students ask for ideas, but allow them free access to the materials to explore if they prefer.
 
* We encourage adults in the community to model reading as a valuable, pleasurable activity.
 
Reading is a joy for me, as it is for so many people. I am particularly fortunate to be in a profession that allows me to share that joy with others, and help engage them in a conversation that can span generations.
 
Lynn Silbernagel has been Catlin Gabel’s Middle School librarian for 16 years. As a fused glass artisan, she has also taught several Catlin Gabel summer programs and Breakaway experiences.  

Has Technology Changed How We Read?

Submitted by Nadine Fiedler on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 3:52pm
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By Paul Andrichuk

From the Fall 2010 Caller
The scene repeats itself at coffee shops all over Portland; people staring at their computer screens as they move from site to site, document to document. It’s worse if you are a parent, watching your child avoid eye contact or other social cues as they “study, read, or research” (even as the music plays). We react as the cranky adults we swore we would never be.
 
That’s the emotional, personal reaction, but in the back of our minds we wonder if people are really reading and learning. Has Google made us stupid, as the Nicholas Carr article in the Atlantic suggested? He seems to come down on the side of believing the internet has rewired his brain, affecting his attention and ability to sustain reading:
 
“Over the past few years I’ve had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain, remapping the neural circuitry, reprogramming the memory. My mind isn’t going—so far as I can tell—but it’s changing. I’m not thinking the way I used to think. I can feel it most strongly when I’m reading. Immersing myself in a book or a lengthy article used to be easy. My mind would get caught up in the narrative or the turns of the argument, and I’d spend hours strolling through long stretches of prose. That’s rarely the case anymore. Now my concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages. I get fidgety, lose the thread, and begin looking for something else to do. I feel as if I’m always dragging my wayward brain back to the text. The deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle.”
 
You may be nodding to yourself in agreement, even as you curse technological breakdowns that suddenly make your life more difficult. You hate our reliance on technology and pine for the good old days without it, but it sure is great to find a restaurant when you are lost or Skype with your sister in Florida.
 
Here are my three basic thoughts regarding reading in a technological age.
 
* Books and computers are here to stay (short term), and young people will be reading from both.
 
* The brain is constantly evolving, including rewiring itself. Indeed, Maryanne Wolf, author of Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain, argues that we are not born to read. The brain will continue to change in response to new symbols, the speed with which information comes at us, and the myriad forms it will take.
 
* Critical thinking skills transcend how and where reading is done.
 
The evolution of the brain
 
The brain has been changing and adapting since the invention of language. That’s reading the symbols, but more importantly it’s about how the brain connects the meaning of words to the experiences and imagination of the reader. If our brains were able to begin this evolution with the advent of written language 6,000 years ago, surely it can adapt to the speed and scope of information, especially language, available on the internet.
 
Reading begins at infancy
 
One of the best indicators of reading is how much time children spend listening to adults who read to them. The gobbledygook on the page are words, and words will make up your son’s or daughter’s universe.
 
This point has little to do with computers and reading, but it’s an important one to make for three reasons. Books are not going away. Reading is a great family activity. Students often say they have always remembered their parents reading.
 
Finally (and it is a related point), always remember that you are your child’s first and most important teacher!
 
Reading means independence
 
Socrates feared that reading would make people too autonomous and, worse, would retard the brain’s capacity to infer, analyze, and think critically. He was mistaken. Images of the brain during fluent reading light up areas that indicate all of these things are happening.
 
If Socrates was incorrect about literacy, then perhaps we are mistaken in our assumptions about reading and technology. Young people understand that there are different types of reading, depending on its purpose.
 
Questions for Catlin Gabel
 
Schools like Catlin Gabel can be explicit in how they teach reading and use technology. Computers are here, they are not going away, and they are great educational tools. So what does this mean for the young people in our charge? What does it mean for parents?
 
Critical thinking makes stronger readers
 
Catlin Gabel students are critical and independent thinkers. It’s an aspect of the school culture that is celebrated, but more importantly, it allows students to be careful consumers of all information. Reading skills are guided, modeled, and practiced, regardless of whether the information is on the screen or in a first-edition novel.
 
I connect critical thinking to reading, but it’s equally important to connect critical thinking to a careful assessment of the source, especially internet sites. After all, if what you’re reading is inaccurate or false, it tends to affect the educational process.
 
The value of time and reflection
 
Getting lost in a book is a luxury, so is getting lost after you’re done with it. Just as Goodnight Moon allows you to see the connection of words to a child’s world, so does connecting ideas in a book to our notion of possibilities in the world.
 
Youth should be “multitextual”
 
Students are naturally making judgments about how to read based on the purpose of their task. A general survey of the news on the front page of the Oregonian, reading four pages of a biology text, and reading an online editorial in the New York Times require different levels of attention.
 
I’ve meandered a bit through this discussion of reading in the digital age. I was prepared to subscribe to Nicholas Carr’s viewpoint, but I simply cannot. Computers and technology are no longer luxuries but necessities, both in terms of our quality of life and our education. In addition, books and computers can coexist— and we will read from both. Those who worry that the internet may be rewiring our brains are correct, and the evolution of this vital organ continues, just as it has responded to every other substantial change in human history. What remains at the core of reading—from books and computers—is that we continue to value and teach the thinking skills beyond the symbols.
 
Paul Andrichuk is the head of Catlin Gabel’s middle school.