We're Booked!

Today we began reading Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. For some of us it was our first introduction and for some of us, the book is a re-read.

I love this book! It was first read aloud to my classmates and myself when we were in the Fifth Grade. I was so excited, upon my hire at TPA, to find out that it would be part of our Sixth Grade curriculum.

Some of the students in Room 503 read the book as recently as last school year (some for school, others on their own). I overheard a few grumblings about having to read the book again. I encouraged the students to attempt to approach the book with a "beginner's mind" - to come to the book anew.

I realize, I told them, that employing a "beginner's mind" is difficult to do because 1) you can't simply erase information you already have stored in your brain, and 2) it's difficult to let go of pre-conceptions (pre-conceptions from your own opinions and those of your previous teacher). However, there are always things you can find you missed the first time around, or simply think and feel differently about what you are reading from where you are now in your life as opposed to where you were the first time you read the book (even if it's just after the passing of two seaons or simply transitioning from Fifth to Sixth Grade).

Before we began Chapter One, I asked the students to turn to the dedication page, and a student read it aloud. Two of the boys who had read the book before seemed to delight in finding something new right on the dedication page:

For Charles Wadsworth Camp
and
Wallace Collin Franklin

A combination of "Charles" and "Wallace" is the name of one of the story's main characters, Charles Wallace. Both boys had not noticed that upon reading the book the first time around. Obviously, I hope (and I am fairly certain) that in experiencing the book a second time, the students will find more and - dare I say it?! - "dig deeper."

Here's another "here, here" for the re-read: I read The Phantom Tollbooth for the first time, somewhere along the lines of thirty-six or thirty-seven years ago. I remember it very well and, at the same time, only vaguely. Today, I remembered it vaguely. I read a chapter of the book aloud to the class daily - it's our time of "re-entry"/transition from lunch back to the classroom.

Today, I stalled reading aloud the title to Chapter 14. I stood, somewhat mystified and mortified as I realized, not only did I not know what one of the words in the title meant - I couldn't even pronounce it! I realized I needed to fess up to my students. Some of them knew the word, could pronounce it, and also knew its meaning. I felt a bit sheepish, and at the same time, I thought: "here's an opportunity: to demonstrate one of the reasons to re-read a book and also why it is so important to be (an albeit humbled) a life-long learner."

For those interested, the chapter title is The Dodecahedron Leads the Way, and for those who don't know - as I didn't - a "dodecahedron" is a solid having twelve plane faces and commonly in either of two forms: 1) with twelve equal regular pentagonal faces or, 2) with twelve equal rhombic faces.

I believe the saying goes - "When the student is ready the teacher appears" or in my case "When the teacher is ready the student appears"...but really, the students in Room 503 are my teachers every day, and in the past twenty-three days (can you believe it's only been twenty-three days?!), they've been at the top of my gratitude list!

Cheers,
Ms. Pitman