#78, "Helping Children Succeed"

"Helping Children Succeed: What Works and Why"
Paul Tough

In the summer, I read Tough's first book, "How Children Succeed" (my Goodreads review here), which was an examination of why developing character traits such as determination, grit, conscientiousness, and optimism in students is as important as teaching them reading and writing. This follow up is a response to the question that has been asked of him ever since that book was published: "What do we do now?" That is, how do we take the concepts of character and interleave them into our educational policies and classrooms, especially in order to close the achievement gap and make a difference for disadvantaged children? This is a very tough subject, because there are so many theories, ideas and studies that seek to answer that very question. Again, Tough takes the role of a journalist, a reporter, parsing the data and filling in the blanks between.

Educators will not be surprised to hear Tough report that this battle is begun at home. Home environment has an enormous effect on the well-being and future success of children, starting almost from birth. The nurturing, loving interaction of an adult in the first 3 years of life can make an impact that gives a child psychological and cognitive strength that lasts a lifetime; the absence of this starts a child's life behind, sometimes devastatingly. For teachers, with whom most schoolchildren spend more time than their parents, the establishment of a healthy, nurturing, ordered and sensible environment is of utmost importance. Tough stresses (like Dweck, Brown, and Willingham) the importance of having and encouraging a growth mindset: the belief that, through hard work and perseverance, one can become smarter. Children need to believe that hard work makes a difference, even in adverse conditions. That can be the difference between catching up, getting ahead, and falling behind--both in school and in life.

Overall, the book is clearly written. Tough doesn't always nail his ideas perfectly, but the bulk of the material is good. The tricky part about writing on psychological research is that there are so many studies, you can nearly draw any conclusion you wish if you aren't careful. That being said, as Tough's conclusions have been echoed in different ways by so many others, I think his large points are salient and important. #whatIreadin2017

#76, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"

"The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy"
Douglas Adams

I read this book when I was a teenager. I have friends who used to quote bits of it to me, and many moments in it have become a part of my regular lexicon. It has so many memorable parts! That being said, coming back to it 15 years later, I did not enjoy it as much as I thought I remembered. The jokes are still pretty good, although I think some of my grins were partly due to nostalgia bias. I tend to enjoy British humor, which is characteristically dry. Adams is drier than most, and gives his nonsensical phrases in absolute and unbroken deadpan. He'll pop off with something completely out of the blue and then just move on like it was nothing, and that is the key to his style. It's pretty good, as far as it goes. The story is quite wandering. Adams is not concerned with drafting a perfect archetypal story of rising and falling tension, good and evil. He needs none of that. The story just goes until it is over, almost but not quite like a stream-of-consciousness narrative, with many detours and odd asides. That's just how he writes.

The philosophy behind this book was my big takeaway, however, much more than the jokes. Adams was, in his words, a "radical atheist." I see this on almost every page of this book. His militant and piercing hatred of Christianity, his scorn for God and even the concept of God are plainly seen, and intentionally threaded into the story. Absolute meaninglessness is, in fact, the main theme of the book. The phrasing, the words, the non sequiturs--yes, they are funny, but they are also calculated to lay a foundation of meaningless nothingness (if that sentence is syntactically possible). An obvious example of this nihilistic worldview is the central joke of the book: the search for The Ultimate Answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything. The answer, given after 7.5 million years of calculation by the supercomputer Deep Thought, is, of course, "Forty-two." Such an absurd "answer" is a wonderful joke, we think. What a foolish way to spend 7.5 million years. We discover that the Earth was actually a giant computer constructed to calculate The Ultimate Question, the Question that corresponds to the Answer already given. It is at this point that the joke stops being funny, and we realize in Adams' two potential Questions that the implications are deadly serious: either "How many roads must a man walk down?" or "What do you get when you multiply six by nine?"Both of these are nonsense.  That is the point. The answer to the universe is meaningless. The question is meaningless. Everything is absurd and random. Chance is god, impersonal and uncaring.

As Ford Prefect says, "Drink up. The world's about to end."A paraphrase and thematic twisting of 1 Corinthians 15:32. But if the world does end, Adams will tell us that no one cares. It does not ultimately matter if the world exists or if it, and everything on it, vanishes in the next five minutes. There are no answers, no questions, no reasons, and no meaning. That is not funny. It is heartbreaking.

#75, "Make It Stick"

"Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning"

Peter C. Brown, 

How can you get surface learning into durable, easily retrieved memory? That is the central question behind this book, co-written by two psychologists and one self-described "storyteller." The authors explain, examine, and analyze an impressive array of studies describing how the mind works, study habits that foster durable learning, as well as those that are statistically meaningless, and 

The best way to learn, the authors tell us, is to enable memory retrieval. That is, learning occurs best when I hear or read something, then later try to recall it. When we first study something, say, a textbook, the information is immediately placed into "working memory," the frontline of cognitive function that deals with moment-by-moment comprehension, decision-making and instinct. Because so much happens in working memory, information tends to be shuffled to the back of the mind, or long-term memory, when it is not in use. That makes sense. Retrieval practice is therefore used to strengthen the connection between immediate working memory and long term memory. The effort to remember a thing builds that connection better than the standard study technique of cramming or rereading. Flash cards are a good example of a way to foster this kind of memory retrieval. This powerful practice, coupled with other techniques such as chunking (grouping small pieces of information into larger groups), interleaving (learning a thing in the context of another thing), using mnemonics and "memory palaces," spacing retrieval practice, and varying practice all add up to significant improvement in retention and  durable, sustained long term memory.

It also ties in very well to another book I read recently, nearly point-by-point in some areas. Both books tell of the importance of developing and maintaining a "growth mindset," a concept picked up from Carol Dweck's work. Both take time to discount the pervasive notion of learning styles (kinesthetic, auditory, visual). It is interesting to see similar material presented in different ways, but often in terms that I've now become familiar with. I think that has increased my understanding of the material, as I am coming into a topic with some background knowledge (another thing that both books talk about at length).

The authors also look at what they call "illusions of knowing," which they tie to the short-term gains that we seem to have when we reread a text. This illusion manifests initially in the ability to recall facts and bullet points, but often belies the truth that we are ignorant of foundational concepts or key ideas, which we are unable to retrieve beyond the short-term. Again, they stress that for long-term, deep and rounded learning, this surface-level "understanding" is best bolstered by the techniques mentioned above.

It is fairly easy to read, as long as you maintain focus--I had to go back in the middle of the section on chunking because I spaced out and missed an important concept--and has implications for both students (of all ages) as well as parents and teachers. As I am all three of these, I found it relevant, enlightening and engaging. #whatIreadin2017

#74, "The Art of War"

"The Art of War"
Sun Tzu

I have been wanting to read this for years. When I was a teenager, I saw it somewhere--maybe the library--and the idea of an ancient text that offered knowledge and wisdom and pro tips on battle and war was enticing. It seemed cool, in a word. Plus I heard that businessmen and politicians had referenced it for their endeavors, something that I didn't think all the way through philosophically at the time and had no problem with.

Now, fifteen years later, I can say that it is fairly dull. I don't know much about modern military tactics, but I don't think the ability to read enemy movements by watching dust on the horizon is up to the standards of the 21st century. Of course I joke here. There is interesting content, especially when you consider the age of the writings--according to Wikipedia, there were compiled about 500 BC--that I suppose can have implications for modern military or business people. The opening section, which outlines basic foundations for warfare, is great stuff when applied to debate, to politics, and to a general understanding of warfare. I reckon some people employ these tactics in relationships, too, though I wouldn't say that is a great way to win friends. As the tract progresses, the prescriptions become less practical and more inconsequential. Overall, the effect is much like any self-help book: take what seems to apply to you, and ditch the rest.

My biggest takeaway is that Sun Tzu is pronounced, "shinswuh". So now at a dinner party you can correct the ignorant savage who says, "Ever read that book by Suhn Zoo?"

#73, "Nazism and War"

"Nazism and War"

Richard Bessel

"Nazism was inseparable from war." Bessel begins with this statement, one that ties every page of the text to the next, unified in perspective and goal. The book is made of four essays that trace, in turn, the development of Nazism following the First World War, the sudden growth of the ideology and its rapid and unfaltering advancement toward war, the brutal and bloody cost of Nazism in the course of the Second World War, and finally the aftermath of the war, especially in Germany. It is an exhausting, draining book--mentally and emotionally tiring to read the descent into insanity and evil that engulfed the world, and to consider the terrifying way it all began. Hitler vowed revenge from his cell in 1918, at the end of WW1, writing in his manifesto/autobiography "Mein Kampf" of Germany's vengeance upon its enemies, especially "international Jewry". This pledge carried him and his ideals to their conclusion.

Bessel is an excellent writer and an extraordinary scholar. I was astounded, for one thing, at the depth and breadth of his citations--hundreds and hundreds of end-of-text notes, in perfect detail and with full references to sources. His work is enviably well-researched. I have read some criticism of his writing style, which occasionally indulges in lengthy and wordy sentences and paragraphs. However, I found his writing fresh and very readable, as long as I was concentrating.

In the end, my biggest takeaway from this book was that Nazism, whose beginning and end was racist war, was not forced upon those who wore the swastika. It was insidiously embraced by the people, who voted--actually freely chose--to give up their freedom, dissolve the democratic system, and assume a position and take a path that led to the murder of millions. We must learn the lessons of history, 70 years later. We must be wary of charismatic but characterless leaders who hide poisoned tongues with words of honey. We must guard our freedom jealously, and seek to bring freedom to others. It is our lot to protect the weak, to decry violence, to celebrate goodness and stamp out evil. To do otherwise is to open ourselves again to horrors too many have seen.

#whatIreadin2017

#72, "Why Don't Students Like School?"

"Why Don't Students Like School?: A Cognitive Scientist Answers Questions About How the Mind Works and What It Means for the Classroom"

Daniel Willingham

I was surprised by this book. The title suggested to me a work that talked primarily about student attitudes about school and learning, and possibly ways to solve related problems that arise. That is not the case, however. The answer to the question posed by the title is given in the first chapter, in the first few paragraphs. Students don't like school because school requires thinking. Thinking is hard, so students dislike school. Of course, the title and these answers are purposefully general--not every student dislikes school, after all--and they instead serve as seeds that lead to a deep, thoughtful, and thorough examination of topics including the mind, thoughts and thinking, learning, memory, and teaching. The author relies on a massive (and occasionally overwhelming) trove of studies and works to make his points, the combination of which lead inexorably to his foundational and sober conclusions, all of which are then directly and practically related to the modern classroom.

Willingham has fascinating ways of describing thinking and memory, most of which I had never heard or had not heard in this way. As I mentioned above, his primary argument is that the human brain does not like to think. Thinking takes time and energy, and the brain therefore does whatever it can to streamline, organize, minimize, and even cheat at receiving and processing information in order to conserve time and energy. This requires the use of two types of memory: background knowledge (the library of information available in your mind) and working memory (the instantaneous retrieval of information that pertains to your moment-by-moment needs). The interaction between these two types of memory, including the importance of factual knowledge as well as abstract thought, comprise the "intelligence" of a mind. He goes on from talking about the mind to a psychological perspective on "fixed" versus "malleable" intelligence, with the conclusion that students perform best who believe that intelligence can be increased with hard work, not just through genetic "smartness".

There's much, much more, and all of it has direct power in our everyday interactions with students in the classroom. The mind is a wonderful, terrible, incredible thing. Mine could barely keep up with this excellent book, but I think enough seeped in to make a difference.

#whatIreadin2017

#71, "Animal Farm"

"Animal Farm"

George Orwell

Though this is a book generally assigned in high school, it somehow slipped by in my adolescence. Oh, that's right, it's because I chose my own reading lists and opted for philosophy, The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. Anyway, I finally got around to it. It is a shortish work (one of the characteristics of many books I like), often funny with mercilessly dry remarks, and pretty good as a political satire. I guess by now just about everyone knows both the plot of the book and the intent of the author in writing it. I feel that, though the novel was specifically constructed around the Bolshevik revolution and the ensuing rise of Stalin, its themes--of the danger of totalitarianism, of a community accepting dictatorship with little real questioning--ring true for all eras, and not least our own. While madmen lead nations once again, the allegory of a self-inflicted downfall is a sobering one. A well written, thoughtful, and stimulating (in the sense of engaging our minds to compare the past with our present) novel.

#whatIreadin2017

#68, "The God Who Is There"

"The God Who Is There"

Francis Schaeffer

A part of Francis Schaeffer's great trilogy of Christian philosophy and apologetics, "The God Who Is There" is focused on contrasting the Christian system of thought with modern humanism (also labeled rationalism). The contrast is described through an examination of presuppositions, the historical radical change from a basic understanding of antithesis to that of synthesis, which formed the basis of modern rationalism, and finally by an overview of the Christian answer to modern humanism's existential problem.

As I've written before, Schaeffer is easy to read, but rather more difficult to comprehend. He uses simple phrases, but often in unconventional ways, which simply means if you aren't paying attention you can easily become confused. This isn't casual reading. You have to invest a bit in order to understand what he is driving at. Yet when the pieces come together, his thinking is filled with power and clarity. I especially appreciate his compassionate spirit and his urging to other believers to use Christian thought not as a weapon, but as a tool in order for them to see their eternal crisis and to turn to the only one who can save them. That is clearly seen in this book. Every page practically shouts the author's caring for the souls in despair that he writes about. If every Christian uses his or her mind and heart like Schaeffer, I wonder what a different world we would live in.

#whatireadin2017

#69, "A Study in Scarlet"

"A Study in Scarlet"

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

A good mystery, and a fine introduction to both Sherlock Holmes and the narrator of the story, Dr. John Watson. The book is, as you know, the first of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and is concerned with a murder that continually increases in complexity as the story progresses. There are memorable characters, but of course the primary focus is on the eccentric and brilliant detective Holmes, and on the narrator Watson. The main mystery is fine. The section that goes back in time and to America, nearly 2/3 through the book, was very jarring and strange initially. It became apparent after a while how it fit with the rest of the story, but I wonder if would be more seamless transition if it had been advertised a little better what the deuce was happening. Anyway, it was a good crime story, if not the best of the best of the Holmes tales.

#whatIreadin2017