The Reading Promise

 

 

 

I just finished reading this book.  It is WONDERFUL!!!   I highly recommend that all our Esperanza stakeholders read it and check out the website:  http://makeareadingpromise.com/   A great interview with the author and her father can be found at  

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7365537n

The author has this promise at the end of her book that would be great to invite every Esperanza stakeholder to sign. 

 

The Reading Promise

 

I, _______________________________, promise to read.

I promise to read on my own, in print or on a screen, wherever books appear.  I promise to visit fictional worlds and gain new perspectives--to keep an open mind about books, even when the cover is unappealing and the author is unfamiliar.  I promise to laugh out loud (especially in public) when the chapter amuses me, and to sob uncontrollably on my bed for hours at a time when my favorite characters die.  I promise to look up words when I don't know them, and cities when I can't locate them, and people when I can't remember them.  I promise to lose track of time.

 

I promise to read with __________________________ , if not every night, then whenever I can.  I promise to remember that this person is more than my son, daughter, mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, cousin, landlord, or dog walker; he or she has a mind that, like mine, loves to be used and challenged.  I promise to share books however it suits us best, whether we choose to read to each other or simply get together for discussions and homemade baked goods.  I promise to appreciate the time we spend together and the literature we meet, even when I am stressed or tired or sunburned (or an awful combination of the three), because books are better when they're shared.  I promise to do my best to meet our goal, whether that goal is to read for ten thousand nights or simply to get to know each other better.  I promise never to give up on reading, nor let us give up on each other, whether we meet our goal or not.

 

I promise to support reading in my community of ____________________ however I can, and everywhere else for that matter.  I promise to spread the word about words, whether it's volunteering at my local library or just recommending good books to friends.  I promise to speak out if reading is cut from the school curriculum, and to fight for books whenever their value is challenged.  I promise to tell everyone I know how reading calms me down, riles me up, makes me think, or helps me get to sleep at night.  I promise to read, and read to someone, as long as human thought is still valued and there are still words to be shared.

 

I promise to be there for books, because I know they will always be there for me.

 

Signed_________________________

Date___________________________

 

 

The author also mentions the episode of Twilight Zone---"The Obsolete Man"--that is definitely a worthwhile watch.  The script can be found here:  http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2289136/posts  The episode can also be found on YouTube. 





What's "Normal"?

In my posting yesterday I noted that I'm reading Creating Emotionally Safe Schools by Jane Bluestein.  In my reading this morning the author mentioned her all-time favorite Twilight Zone episode which all happens to be my favorite episode, too.  Jane summarizes the episode writing, "...a young woman, waits in a hospital room, her face swathed in bandages, waiting to see the results of a plastic surgeon's final attempt to reconstruct her face so that she can live among 'normal' people.  In a feat of remarkable camera work, you don't actually see anyone's face throught the entire show until the bandages are removed, revealing a perfectly lovely young woman--much to her horror and the horror of everyone around her.  Only when the camera reveals the grotesquely distorted faces of the doctors and nurses do you realize that, in this society, the standards for beauty are quite different from those of the show's intended audience."

It is important for us to remember this episode when we tend to judge or criticize based on a criteria that makes any of our Esperanza scholars look like he or she doesn't measure up.