Book Club Begins! Wicked Awesome Learning Opportunity #1 I am not a fast reader.

In fact, to use a first-grade phrase, I am turtle slow. Im envious of people who seem to consume books as quickly as meals. I once heard that Bill Clinton reads approximately one book a day! Compared with Bill, Im a little off the pace. As a new arrival to the United States, I was asked in my freshman English class in high school how long it took me to read a book. About a year, I replied, and the class giggled in response. I wasnt lying. Although the pace of my reading has sped up since high school, Im still not cheetah fast. But I dont mind. If a piece of writing is worth reading, I prefer to read carefully and wrestle with its ideas. As the old saying goes: if somethings worth doing, its worth doing well. While I am comfortable with my reading style (for good books, at least), I do wish that I read more. Over the past couple of years, the books I wanted to read often lost out to the daily grind; with two-part time jobs and other responsibilities, optional reading just wasnt a priority. This year, however, Im hoping to make a change. As a masters student, Id like to tackle many of those works on my to-read list, all with the aim of improving my teaching practice. Since my reading rate isnt likely to increase dramatically, I needed to schedule more time for this activity. But, with all my other responsibilities co-teaching, academic coaching, coursework, and course readings! how would I find the time? I needed a structure that would keep me accountable. In my first meeting with Anne Worrall, the director of High Tech Elementary, I shared these goals and challenges. Connecting the dots, Annes suggestion was simple: start a book club. A book club pushes people to read entire books within a reasonable time frame. It could follow a put-it-to-practice model, allowing people to reflect on their experience and set relevant goals. Finally, the clubs social expectations could help to keep its members, including myself, on track. As leader, I would have to prioritize the readings because I would be responsible for leading the group. After just one collegial conversation, I had found the right structure, one that could advance my personal goals and others too. But who would be part of the group? Was anyone even interested? I would need to make some investigations . . . Shortly after the odyssey, another important conversation shaped my thinking. During a meeting about my professional learning plan, Marissa Thompson, the school psychologist, made an insightful comment. I really like everything in your plan, Marissa said, but Im also thinking about whats not here. I dont see much about parent communication and I wonder if you have any goals in this area. She was right. I hadnt thought deeply about developing relationships with parents, but this is an incredibly important aspect of teaching practice. Marissas wondering prompted one of my own: would family members be interested in joining the book club? To find out, I attended the next family collaborative meeting. At the end of the meeting, I explained my vision for the club and invited parents to sign up for more information. This litmus test was encouraging. The meeting drew approximately 15 parents, and 10 signed up for more information. Parents were interested. Next, my attention turned to teachers. Given the many tasks that teachers juggle, I wondered whether they would even consider squeezing a book club into their busy schedules. To find out, I approached every teacher in the school with a brief question: If HTe had a book club, would

you be interested in attending? The results were overwhelmingly positive, a reflection, I might add, of the staffs attitudes in general. All but one teacher said yes, they were interested. One teacher explained how he wanted to read more professional books and that this structure could help him get back in the habit. Others were eager to sign on and suggest titles they wished to read. Teachers were interested too. In talking with people about the book club, my thinking began change. Book club had grown out of my own individual desire to read but it would push other peoples thinking too. A community was emerging, and it was bigger than myself. Parents and teachers had their own ideas for titles, norms, logistics and I needed to hear their voices. I was struck by the comments of one teacher, who approached me after a staff meeting. She was hesitant about meeting with parents, she explained, because she felt she might not be able to speak so freely. Although it was too late to limit the club to just one of these groups, her point was valid. If enough people attended, I thought, perhaps we could split into three groups: teachers, parents, and both. To solicit more input, I shared google spreadsheets where teachers and parents could describe what the book club might look like. Based on this information, I put together a short survey where people could vote for the first book, the meeting time, and offer other comments. The survey received twenty-five responses and clearly indicated the groups preferences. We would meet on Thursday afternoons, and our first book would be the parenting classic: How to Talk So Kids Will Listen, and Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish. Book Club was ready to roll! Now that the details were confirmed, I could advertise the book club to the school community. In addition to electronic channels (emails, e-newsletters), I attended HTes ice cream social, the first community event of the year, where I handed out flyers and displayed copies of the book. I didnt sell any copies that evening, but I was determined to to make the book easily accessible. With Annes assistance, we ordered twenty used copies, including Spanish-language editions, which we would make available for purchase at the front office. (Most parents/guardians speak English, but some feel more comfortable reading and conversing in Spanish.) When the books finally arrived, the scope of my equity lens expanded; I realized that used books (at just $5 each) would be more affordable than newly minted copies at Barnes and Noble. Beyond access to the reading material, Anne suggested that we offer food and drinks as an incentive to attend. After letting me know about her authentic silver tea set, the idea soon evolved into British-style tea time. Yum! Artifact 1: Book Club Flyer

On the morning of Thursday, October 17th, I awoke early to make cucumber sandwiches and wash strawberries. I must admit, I was a little nervous. I had sent a reminder email the day before, but what if people hadnt seen it? What if nobody showed up? What if I had made too many cucumber sandwiches? Overall, the first book club meeting was a great success. Although I had made too many cucumber sandwiches, the size of the group felt just right: four parents, four teachers (three of whom are also parents), and myself. After people trickled in and mingled for a few minutes, I introduced myself and outlined the general structure of our meetings. To spark conversation, I distributed photocopies of the comic strips in the first chapter, which focus on recognizing childrens feelings. People shared their experience what strategies have and havent worked and reflected on broader themes, such as the role of technology in their childrens lives. The discussion was lively and personal and, with gentle encouragement, everyone spoke at least once. One teacher even called it therapeutic. In keeping with our put-it-to-practice model, everyone identified one strategy that they would like to practice before the next meeting. To kick off our next meeting, we would reflect on how it went. Before people left, I asked them to offer some warm feedback and suggestions for improvement on exit cards. Heres what they had to say: Artifact 2: Book Club Exit Card Responses

Reflecting on the data, people seemed to enjoy connecting with one another and sharing personal experiences. Authentic learning is dialogical, and book clubs are a wonderful vehicle for meaningful interactions. Turning to the cool feedback, I sympathize with the person who desired more structured responses. Occasionally, the conversation meandered off topic, and I wasnt sure who to bring the group back to the text, or if that was even necessary. I had tried to craft questions that would hone in on experience, but people inevitably took the conversation in unexpected (and often interesting) directions. I wonder if setting some more norms would have helped to keep the conversation on track. Still, I imagine the group will change every week with new people attending and others dropping off, diminishing the legitimacy of this initial exercise. In truth, I felt somewhat schizophrenic in trying to participate and lead the discussion; I needed to be in the moment to take part yet removed to see the bigger picture. As I move forward, I will try to guide the group while listening as intently as possible to individual responses. Facilitation is a delicate art, but book club offers a wonderful opportunity to improve my skills in this area. Since this WALO recurs every two weeks, I have plenty of chances to get better.