This week we talked about book clubs, which might be one of the most exciting library prospects. My favorite teaching days for me were when all of my students pulled their desks into circles for Socratic seminars. Students who weren't able or willing to put reading responses on paper regularly shone when discussing characters out loud. I would prepare some questions, but students were responsible for preparing "high quality" questions the night before, and I rarely had to say anything for the full hour. The greatest challenge was ensuring students shared the floor.
Book clubs in the library setting will certainly be different, a lot of the lessons I learned as a teacher will certainly be helpful. The most important thing is to make participants feel safe in order for then to risk participating. Its good to keep in mind that having a college background we have more experience discussing and sharing these kinds of ideas than others. I could see it being a challenge for a fresh librarian to release a little control of discussion to let the participants guide the experience- I know it was a challenge for me at first.
I have thought a lot on our discussion of male focused book blurbs as well. I think the Socratic style would be more appealing to typical male audiences. It seems that the Socratic seminar is more "goal oriented." By that I mean that there is a mission beyond sitting around and sharing. It seems more like the online forum posts we talked about in class. I know my dad looks to his online car buddies to expand and share his knowledge and interests. I think libraries could work to foster that same idea.
After reading our bookclub texts I look forward to discussing the mix of fiction and nonfiction. I think any of then would serve as good model texts for the first book club meetings we hold.
"Goal-oriented" -- hmmm -- hadn't considered that perspective.
ReplyDeleteI think the Socratic style would be more appealing to typical male audiences. " It seems that the Socratic seminar is more "goal oriented." By that I mean that there is a mission beyond sitting around and sharing. "
ReplyDeleteWhen you said this, I thought of my father who once took a class led by a rabbi in preparation for Passover. The class was about new ways to think about the seder. The more I think about, this in many ways was a book club. Perhaps its not just the goal oriented but class structure that might appeal more to some people.
I think "goal oriented" or having a common purpose is a point worth thinking about when considering gender differences too. I think the perception of book clubs is that it's a group of people gathered just to talk about something, rather than learn something or accomplish something. In general, this is going to appeal to women more than men. I think research on men and women's relational styles has shown that women are more likely to just want to talk and listen if they have a problem, whereas men are more likely to go straight to "how do we solve the problem?"
ReplyDeleteObviously this is overly broad and a bit stereotypical, but I think we could relate it here. If we frame "book clubs" in terms of learning new information-- the "online car buddies" and Passover education class are both good examples-- I think men might be more likely to think of them as enjoyable experiences, as something they'll get something out of beyond social interaction. Maybe. Just random thoughts.
this strand of comments has taken on an interesting perspective-- linking the "goal-oriented" nature of socratic seminars to a predominantly male population. i would have to say that i disagree that this is the case. i think that the stereotype of a "book club" has become dominated by Oprah and her minions, and that is what scares men off. ultimately, i see book clubs and socratic seminars having a lot more in common than the articles seemed to suggest, and that ultimately when you sign up for either, you are asking to have a discussion about information you gathered independently and that this appeals to both genders equally.
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