The other day a homeschooling parent, whose child is in the ninth grade, wrote to me to ask what books I thought are essential for a young person to have read before coming to college. My reply:
For what it's worth, I don't think what a young person reads is nearly as important as how he or she reads. Young people who learn to read with patience and care and long-term concentration, with pencil in hand to make notes (including questions and disagreements), will be better prepared for college than students who read all the "right" books but read them carelessly or passively.
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
Read Well
Alan Jacobs:
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4 comments:
With those thoughts in mind, perhaps the best book to read before college would be Mortimer J. Adler's "How to Read a Book?"
I agree completely. I forwarded Jacob's post to my kids asking them if they wanted to read Adler with me. You are right on.
Ah yes, I overlooked that the comments were Jacob's and not yours!
At any rate Adler's book is brilliant. I re-read it every once in awhile to remind myself of ways to improve my reading.
Did your kids agree to going through it with you? Look forward to going through it with my kids someday! :)
Strangely enough, my kids have not responded to my request!
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