As we read Fahrenheit 451, it talks about the need for "constant entertainment." Here's part of an article I read recently by Laura Hudgens: "The real danger is that this way of thinking has shifted the responsibility of learning, and of caring about learning, from the student to the teacher. Because it isn’t just administrators and parents who believe that it is a teacher’s job to make learning fun. Kids believe it, too. As a result we have a generation of students who think that if a lesson or an assignment or a class is not interesting, if it isn’t engaging and fun and inspiring, then it simply isn’t worth caring about. They are not obligated to care about it. It’s a teacher’s job to make all learning exciting. If the teacher hasn’t lived up to her responsibility, why should the child? In a workshop I recently attended, teachers were told that kids are so attracted to video games because of the constant feedback – the progress, praise and prizes. We were encouraged to design our instruction more like a video game. How else can we expect to hold their attention? That is a frightening mentality because it has created a generation of consumer learners. Many students don’t see education as a privilege. They see it as a product. And if they don’t like the salesperson, if they aren’t impressed with how it’s packaged, they aren’t buying. But our kids have to learn to be self-motivated because at some point in every person’s life, either at school or in a job or in a marriage, he or she will have to buck up and say, “This is hard. This is boring. I don’t want to do this. But I’m doing it anyway. And I’ll do my best.” https://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/op-ed/article81668307.html?fbclid=IwAR3g_Gkm56VL2om_8ZLGDpNMHfvxzu83S3ZS-ZCHZipDXO1cIO-jzckyP8g

Book Club Meeting for Heidi

Hey there everyone.

It has been a while since I wrote an update of our club meetings. So, I'd like to just make note of our last meeting and what we did.

We had many of our regular members in attendance and talked about how long we have been reading together as a club.

I brought with me a binder that I put together as a sort of journal and business record of our group. In it there were book lists and attendance records of who came and who read the books.

The ambition of mailing out news letters fell flat, but I'm happy to say the blog has been a good replacement.
This Spring will mark the 10th year of our book group, by then we may have  completed nearly 60 books.

As you know we enjoy good food before our discussion and it almost becomes more important than talking about the book. The highlights of our night were the Chicken Panini sandwiches Lorraine provided and thank her for hosting! Great salads, apple cranberry walnut (Kris), caprese (me) and cheese curd (Stefanie) that represented Heidi's life on the mountain. We must always have dessert and will go to great lengths to have something sweet and so Lemon Bars arrived thanks to Karen and apple pie bars (Kris) and eclairs (PeggyAnn) are always welcome and a must have. While there was a healthier choice for those figure conscious Gals who could enjoy the fruit salad Bobbie brought without too much guilt.  Thanks to everyone who brings their best!

Members have come and gone. We were very happy that most of our original members have stuck with the group and have been very loyal readers and friends. So a big "High Five" to Kris, PeggyAnn, Lorraine, Stefanie, Bobby and myself who have continued to participate from the beginning. We are always happy to bring in new readers who can participate while they are in our area. We welcomed Karen a year or two ago and consider her an honorary long term member, she brings a lot to our group and has been a valuable addition.

Our current book will be Fahrenheit 451, followed by King Leer and then we will read 1984 which will take us into Spring.
Happy reading.

Sharon

True Grit

Hi friends!
Thanks for a great evening at Lorraine’s last Saturday! So glad you could make it for at least part of the time Peggy Ann!

Our next book is “True Grit” by Charles Portis. I’ve started it and I’m loving it already. Hope you told your dad Karen, that we were inspired by him! I bought a kindle copy for $7.99. I’m so glad we decided on this book. The movie and discussion should be great. I know we talked about a date for our next meeting, but I can’t remember what it was. Please comment if you remember.

We will meet this Friday, Jan. 26, at Peggy Ann's in Crane. 6:30 PM. We were reading Edgar Allen Poe. You could read "The Cask of Amontillado" (short story available online) before you come! We will watch the video, and maybe also watch the PBS video that tells the story of the Bronte sisters. Bring a creative dish to share, feel free to carpool. See you there!