My Reading History

Personally I do not have any children, but as a child, I was read to quite frequently.  My parents would read me picture books at night as they would tuck in me for bed. The Great Illustrated Classics such as Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations are the ones that stick with me the most.  When I was able to read on my own, my mother would listen to and help me along to become a fluent reader and speaker.  I didn’t know then, but reading and comprehension would become a crucial part of my life as a student and a functioning human being.  

In high school, I came under certain circumstances that stopped me from excelling academically.  Even though I’ve always known how and when to use specific skills to help me get the most of my reading material and the most of my time as well.  As early as 9th grade, I was shown by teachers how to skim text for general ideas and specific knowledge that would play an integral role in the lessons we were currently learning.  I would use a highlighter while skimming text to make note of any necessary information I might forget.  In hindsight, that wasn’t the best idea because according to my teachers I was “defacing school property.”  C’est la vie.  In my memory, I haven’t been taught many other strategies besides this, but it could be that I just wasn’t paying attention.  As I said, there were certain things happening during my high school years that I regretfully cannot change.  

In my most recent reading history, I have been known to enjoy a good biography as well as some post-apocalyptic fantasy series.  In the past two months, I read 3 books out of the series Yesterday’s Gone by Sean Platt and David Wright.  The most appealing thing to me about these books is the interesting way the setting and narrative change so frequently.  Instead of following one character throughout the book, every chapter switches from character to character much the same way a TV show would switch from character to character.  It’s so much fun the way you get to meet and befriend every character in the story.  Currently, though, I’m reading Cash by Johnny Cash, a biography about the great musician and his woes as a child and adult.  I’m currently on the chapter about the passing of his wife and best friend, June-Carter.  

Aside from books, I’ve been known to read articles online about things that interest me.  Today I read an article about David Bowie’s last album Blackstar.  According to his producer, Bowie knew he wouldn’t make it much longer and wrote the album as a “parting gift” to the many thousands of fans and listeners he’d created over his 40 year run in pop music.   I don’t read as much as I used to, but I have never been known to use audiobooks. The experience isn’t quite the same, and I love the way I’m able to picture everything. Almost as though I’m hallucinating.  Reading is an important part of my life, and it will remain an integral part of education and career work.  Since I’ve been at TNCC, I’ve learned a lot about writing and reading critically in the 111 section of the english course here.

When I came to TNCC, I didn’t realize there were so many efficient ways to read, write and understand prose.  Through the ENG111 english course I’ve come to know very effective ways to get the most out of time while reading and taking notes.  There are processes like the academic reading and writing processes or the sq4r approach to reading and remembering recorded information, and other mechanisms like cornell-style note taking which can organize the material learned into a conducive study guide for the material.  

To begin, the first letter of the acronym “S” stands for skimming.  This just means to read the text quickly once over and gather all main points and ideas to form an idea and an outline for any notes one might be taking.  The second phase, “Q” stands for question.  This is when the reader would form a list of questions in his cornell style notes to answer while reading more thoroughly.  This will serve as a study guide once the assignment is complete.  The “R” portion counts for four different parts of the practice; reading, reciting, wRiting and review.  Once the questions have been written down from the headings and subtext, read through the entire piece and craft independent and personal answers to the questions already listed.  Once that is complete, recite the answers without looking at the text or notes to see if it recorded to memory.  The penultimate, writing, is done simply by writing the answers to the self-posed questions relating to the text.  The last, review, is a means of making sure all the information is recorded and that the reader is satisfied with their knowledge on the topic.

Other methods taught in the semester were ones like the academic critical reading and writing process which are condensed versions of the SQ4R method mentioned above.  The best function of this process are when you are reading a chapter in a textbook to take notes.  Towards the end of the class, we learned about the differences between summarizing something and paraphrasing.  A summary might be a condensation of any material along with the in-text citation to support the point the writer is making, where a paraphrase is a version of the text in “your own words.” According to the Writing Lab at Purdue.edu, when accompanied by the correct documentation, paraphrasing is a more effective tool, because you’re better able to remember the subject.  

In regards to time management skills, our second paper was entirely devoted to finding the pros and cons of multitasking.  In an article by Sarah Sparks, she covers and explains Stephen Covey’s time management matrix and how to get the most of any time allowed for projects whether it be at school or at work.  

We’ve had a very productive semester in Professor Dollieslager’s class, and I, personally, have learned more than I can remember, but as long as we can remember to practice and hard wire the connections we’ve made between the neurons and synapses in our brain, we will be able to use all of the information we’ve gathered in this class to help us further our professional and personal lives.  

Works Cited

"SQ4R – A Study and Reading Strategy." Dear Teacher. Web. 09 May 2016. <http://www.dearteacher.com/sq4r>

"Welcome to the Purdue OWL." Purdue OWL: Paraphrase Exercises. 10 Oct. 2014. Web. 09 May 2016. <https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/619/1/>.

Sparks, Sarah. "Studies on Multitasking Highlight Value of Self-Control." Education Week. Education Week, 15 May 2012. Web. 09 May 2016.

<http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/05/16/31multitasking_ep.h31.html?tkn=PTWFGpBwR5o7bKrnCvQZswL8Vr%2BlUoJB%2B62c&cmp=clp-edweek>.