The Joy of Reading

READING

THE JOY OF READING

How CSW inspires and nurtures a lifelong practice of reading for pleasure.

BY JENNA WOLF ILLUSTRATION BY STUART HEINTZ ’22

Getting lost in the pages of a good book has the ability to transform a reader, allowing them access to other worlds, perspectives, and most importantly, the chance to see themselves reflected back. So much of the joy that comes with finding the right story at the right time has to do with the power of choice. At CSW, placing the student at the center of all learning experiences is a foundation of the progressive education provided. That choice includes options for students to create unique projects that best demonstrate their learning to finding and selecting a book they want to read.

“At CSW, the access to good books is one of the biggest things that changed my reading life in high school. The books I wanted to read were all around me.”

ALUM KATIE BAUM ’21, FIRST YEAR OBERLIN COLLEGE STUDENT

For CSW’s English Department, the intentional pivot to reading for pleasure was important to helping students get back in the habit of reading beyond the assigned texts, said English Chair Jeannette Lee-Parikh.

“We approach reading as joyful,” she said. “No one is going to start reading if we are miserable about it.”

For students, options and availability make all the difference.

“At CSW, the access to good books is one of the biggest things that changed my reading life in high school. The books I wanted to read were all around me,” says alum Katie Baum ’21, a first year Oberlin College student. “It made it just that much easier to pick one up and get started reading.”

Beyond those personal feelings of joy and the connections reading can provide, there are lifelong benefits to young people developing a habit of reading.

“The research on reading shows there are so many benefits from it: cognitive, educational, and social mobility,” says Jeannette. “I truly believe that we need to create the spaces and structures to support students returning to reading for pleasure.”

At CSW, the English Department, in collaboration with other departments and the library, has infused areas of the curriculum with choice reading. In addition to adjusting the homework policy to create more space for pleasure reading, CSW provides afternoon activities through the D Block program that allow students to explore genre specific books from science fiction and fantasy to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) and LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and/or Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual and/or Ally) writers.

“I think many people who don’t read regularly actually crave reading more than they realize,” says English faculty Ayako Tanaka, who facilitates the BIPOC/LGBTQIA+ writers D Block and said students often articulate an appreciation for intentional time to jumpstart their reading lives again.

For alums like Katie, a critical next step CSW can take is to provide students “more opportunities to define their reading experiences within their classes.”

“I remember having a great time in one of my ninth-grade writing classes on an assignment where each week we had to write a review of something we had read, whether it was a book, short story, or article,” Katie said. “Having a choice in subject and then getting to honestly share your opinion is so valuable.”

Beyond the classroom, spaces that bring together readers on campus are growing.

In the fall of 2016, library assistant Sharon Cuthbertson noticed the breadth of offerings in clubs and interest groups and wanted to contribute. With the help of CSW alums Yulin Holder ’17 and Addie Santello ’19, they started Read This!, a drop-in book recommendations group for students, faculty, and staff. Its purpose is to provide a lowstakes, low-commitment way to connect readers in the CSW community.

“Book clubs can be tricky,” Sharon says. “I wanted a group that would connect readers in the community without requiring people to read the same book on the same schedule.”

While the research supports the endless positive effects of reading for pleasure, when it comes to some of CSW’s campus initiatives, the ‘data of participation’ doesn’t lie.

“The joy that reading inspires isn’t something you can fake, so there’s a lot of wonderful

energy that is created when a bunch of people who love reading come together,” says Lucy Ward ’23, a current co-head of Read This!, who said the reading recommendations club is the one consistent space she’s attended throughout her time at CSW.

“One of the wonderful things about Read This! is that it doesn’t matter what your reading journey looks like,” she says. “It’s just a space for those who want to talk about books, whether you’re new to pleasure reading or you’ve cultivated a love of reading over many years.”

Read This!, which started as a small but committed group of a few, has blossomed in recent years.

“When we started the group, it was very small—just a few students and a few faculty and staff. There weren’t many students who came to the library for pleasure reading then and I’d heard more than one student proudly proclaim that they didn’t read ever, so I counted on the student leaders and new students to help to shift the culture,” Sharon said.

In the first mod of the 2021-2022 school year, Read This! had 21 attendees—mostly students—squeezed into the library classroom during lunch to discuss titles recently read and loved.

“By sharing their enthusiasm for reading, each student leader has helped to shape Read This! into the welcoming, non-judgmental space that it is,” Sharon adds. “We get to know each other through what we like to read and, as a side effect, sometimes we stretch each other’s idea of a ‘good’ book.”

For Katie—who was a leader of Read This! for two years—the energy and enthusiasm for being in spaces that featured books was infectious, helped to solidify friendships, and is a lasting takeaway of her time at CSW.

“So much of my life at CSW was tied to the library. It’s where I met my friends before school, where I ate lunch, had advisory… all while literally surrounded by books,” she says. “College libraries are so quiet. For better or for worse, the CSW library was rarely quiet, sometimes maybe thanks to me and my friends.”

As students look ahead to what lies next in their academic and life journeys, one thing rings true.

“Books can teach you so many things that you keep with you throughout your life,” says Zane Lerwill ’23, an avid reader. “They can give you insight on other perspectives and change the way you view the world.”

COURSE FEATURE: WRITING ABOUT READING

By Rachel Amster ’22

“Writing About Reading” is a two-course series offered by the English Department. Each student is required to take “Writing About Reading I” in the tenth grade and “Writing About Reading II” in the eleventh grade. Each course is one mod (six weeks) in duration.

The goal of the tenth-grade course is to practice intensive literary analysis through focused writing and discussion. In particular, students practice active and close reading, developing thoughtful and specific questions about a text, the use of theoretical lenses, the incorporation of contextual material, and the production of a sustained piece of analytical writing. Students use the writing and revision process to compose a five-page literary-analytical essay on The Great Gatsby. The course is designed to prepare students to tackle CSW’s required 11th-grade course sequence in English, “Advanced Writing Portfolio” and “Writing About Reading II,” as well as the department’s wide variety of upper-level literature electives.

In “Writing About Reading II,” the goal is to demonstrate development and mastery of literary analysis, research, and critical writing skills in preparation for advanced work in English. Students spend the first part of the mod reading a novella together and completing associated assignments, as well as beginning work with theory and criticism. From there, students undertake a sustained research and writing process in order to complete a ten-page, original, compelling, and well-sourced critical literary analysis.

Focus Skills

Close Reading Note Taking & Annotation Literary Analysis Developing a Research Question and Working Thesis Gathering and Evaluating Sources Applying Theory and Criticism The Writing and Revision Processes

Q&A with English Teacher Eli Keehn

What is the overall goal of the “Writing About Reading” Series?

The goal of “Writing About Reading” is to teach the foundational close reading and analytical writing skills that we expect eleventh and twelfth graders to have for upper-level electives.

What is your favorite part of teaching “Writing About Reading?”

My favorite part of this course is practicing close reading work with students. Particularly relevant to this course, I always say restrictions breed creativity. I push my students to ask targeted questions in class. For example: why did the writer choose this word? I also love the books that we read. They follow different storylines, so it’s interesting to do a close reading through different lenses.

What are three words you would use to describe this course?

Rigorous, student-driven, and exciting.

What is your favorite assignment that students take on?

The end-of-mod papers have the reputation as being the biggest, most important assignments, but I also like the smaller scale close reading assignments we do in “Writing About Reading I,” and I always enjoy the literary criticism conversations we have in “Writing About Reading II.”

If you had to give one piece of advice to students taking “Writing About Reading,” what would it be?

You will use the skills you learn in these classes a lot. The practices and techniques you develop through this coursework will help you not only in upper-level English classes, but with all of your learning moving forward. I know that the idea of writing a ten-page paper can feel overwhelming, but you can do it! The time and energy that you will be able to put into the project through the course will help you get through it.