Bob Probst
@BobProbst
Followers
14K
Following
4
Media
3
Statuses
569
English Teacher. Professor Emeritus at Georgia State U; now in Roswell, GA. Writing.
Roswell, Georgia
Joined October 2008
And the importance of having an independent reader, one who doesn't simply accept the visions offered by his group, his party, his religion. A responsible reader.#g2great.
When Bob and I began #ForgedbyReading, we thought we were writing a book about how to run independent reading programs. The more we wrote, the more we realized the problem is the program. We needed to write about the power of independent reading. #g2great.
1
2
11
A7 Sometimes I think that reshaping self is a necessary (but occasionally unpleasant) first step in reshaping society. #g2great.
1
5
10
A7 The big problem is that reshaping oneself may require letting go of treasured beliefs or visions and replacing them with one less comfortable but more defensible. #g2great.
2
5
31
A6 The problems of the world are often the problems of our literature and nonfiction. If we let kids seek relevance, and speculate about possibilities, then they may be attacking the problems that matter to them. #g2great.
2
1
8
A5 I didn’t make clear to students the importance of responsible literacy, since literacy enable them to shape themselves and the world around them. #g2great.
1
0
6
A4 If we value lacrosse we may reject football. Sorry -- that a personal and irrelevant comment. #g2great.
1
0
3
A4 If we value reason and evidence, then we reject conforming to the positions of groups, with which we might be affiliated, if logic demands it. #g2great.
0
0
3
A4 If we value the individual and her unique responses, then we reject conformity to one answer, one interpretation, one vision. #g2great.
0
3
6
Frost once started a reading of "Something there is that doesn't love a wall." Then he interrupted himself and said "Something there is that DOES love a wall, too. Oh, well." And he resumed the reading.
0
0
1
A3 By asking them to think about whether prior assumptions and thoughts have been confirmed, changed, or refuted. And by asking they if there are any implications in their reading: for changing their behaviors, by adopting or rejecting positions, by taking some action. #g2great.
0
3
11
Literacy can be power if the reader is willing to change, perhaps to act. Reading should often, not always but often, lead to something. #g2great.
0
0
2
A2 If texts change people, then texts have the control. We can be made into what the writer wants us to be. But if the reader knows he is responsible for his own thoughts, he may be more thoughtful and more assertive. #g2great.
0
3
9
The word "literature" should have a verb form. ("Littering doesn't work.").
When students have different interpretations of books, we are showing them that literacy is active. #g2great.
2
0
5
#g2great R1 Slave-owners didn’t want slaves to learn to read, because they might then be more able to articulate the immorality of the owners. Some countries don’t want girls educated, because the skill might better enable them to understand and speak against their suppression.
0
4
14