The Act of Giving It Your Attention
Start today by reading this, which comes from the Head of School at Wooster:
[S]creens and the internet are causing us all to slowly lose the ability to do what is called “deep reading.” In the meantime, I’m going to keep asking you all to give me your attention in this way: Reading deeply, and then thinking deeply and reflecting. Questions are a part of the process too, and I am happy to answer them at any time. Even if you don’t agree with the content, or it makes you slightly uncomfortable, just the act of giving it your attention, and thinking deeply about it, is good for your brain. In this age of distraction and sound bites, it gives me great joy to help our community members retain and strengthen the gift of deeper reading.
Like our own discussion of online reading, what this doesn’t say is as important as what it does say. We’ve known for a long time now that the Internet is shallowing our brains — Nicholas Carr’s The Shallows is one of the best journalistic books on the subject — but that is a problem with how we use the Internet, not the Internet itself.
We all need help “retain[ing] and strengthen[ing] the gift of deeper reading.” It’s a habit you can only build over time, but it’s as Matt Byrnes says here: “[J]ust the act of giving it your attention, and thinking deeply about it, is good for your brain.”
This is why I write to you instructionally. Put simply, it’s good for your brain to read this sort of thing, even if it makes you uncomfortable.
Today, your reading is a soft reboot of the makerspace itself:
Walk yourself through the entire post. Plug in to watch the video. Skim attached articles. At this point, you’ve been in the space long enough to experience the practical application of these ideas, so you should also consider your own work.
This “deep reading” will contextualize today’s assignment, too. You have reached another inflection point for grade abatement profiling, which means another moment to self-assess, collaborate, and recommit to the work of the space.
Remember that this kind of assessment also requires you to read deeply, to consider uncomfortable truths, to question, etc., in order to think deeply and reflect accurately on your progress. As necessary, you would use the links in the “Essentials Pack” for assessment, which is available in several places online and in class:
Clarifying Grade Abatement
Grade Abatement Profiles
Universal Skills and Traits
Step-By-Step Guide to Assessment
WIP GAP Scores Explained
2019-2020 Calendar of Assessment
2019-2020 Student GAP Reports
The assignment itself is on Google Classroom. The form provides you ample opportunity for honest self-assessment, since it links repeatedly to these other “deep dives” into your learning.
For today, this work is about you, the individual, taking on the sometimes uncomfortable task of deep reading. It’s also about you, the individual, completing the often uncomfortable task of self-assessment.
Plug in, focus, and work. Ask questions in person, but also ask them here, or through email. When in doubt, just ask. Use your voice to be part of the discussion.
Note: The deadline for your GAP reports will be extended to tomorrow to give you time for this. We will still distribute your next novel tomorrow.