Introduction
Before a child can read, a passion for stories begins with the delight of
hearing a tale from the lips. We learn the art of story telling from the
early experiences of having been read to as children. Together we share the
experience of fantasy, poetry, history, romance, nursery rhymes and other forms
of reading delight. Thus opening the door to "art" and its variant forms.
Single adults or youth may substitute friends for children, for this journey
will certainly prepare all of us for the joys of parenthood, grand parenting and
being a mentor.
Scope or Approach
The purpose of our journey toward becoming a bard is to develop, nurture and
promote reading and story telling in the family or an extended family. Our
journey begins with the Apprentice program, progresses to Journeyman and
culminates in the Bard achievement. Literature "majors" will immediately
recognize that our "journeys" are "short courses."
Apprentice
Course Description and purpose
Reading, writing and reciting when
combined produce a greater retention of comprehension of material than by using
only one method. Although the total size of the brain is already about 95% of
its adult size by the first grade, the new research shows that the gray matter
of the brain thickens as the brain cells grow extra connections. This
process peaks at about 11 years of age in girls and about 12 years of age in
boys, after which excess connections are "pruned," resulting in a thinning of
the gray matter. This exciting new finding implies that the early years of
adolescence are pivotal years for determining the make-up of the adult brain.
(National Institute of Mental Health).
Course Requirements
- Develop a page addition to your existing web site titled Bard, where the
completed requirements for the Apprentice, Journeyman and Bard may be
displayed. Upon completion of a required course of study, please inform
your mentor.
- Select 10 nursery rhymes originally published prior to 1950. Read a
different nursery rhyme to a child each day for a period of ten days.
Record the nursery rhymes selected on your Bard page as a diary entry.
As an entry below the nursery rhyme indicate the hidden significance if any.
An example: Old Mother Hubbard leaves a kindly feeling toward...both.
- Select a Zane Grey novel to read. The purpose in selecting a
"western" novel is four fold: first they are usually not lengthy novels,
averaging less then 200 pages; second most of you have probably never read a
Zane Grey novel and we wish to broaden your reading enjoyment; third-the style
of writing lends itself to reading rapidly, while retaining much of the story
line; and last you should time your reading non stop on the first reading.
Then on a second reading which will also be timed, determine whether your
"speed" has increased. This exercise is the first step in self
improvement. Calculate your average reading in words per minute for both
readings and make a diary entry.
- Display on your Bard page the following pictures with comment. You
and a child at your side with you reading a book to them. A second
picture of you "perched" on or with one of your children's toys such as a
bike, wagon or doll house. A third picture of your favorite "material"
thing or object. These pictures will serve as a commitment and a
reminder that you have made a pledge to develop yourself and your family to
their fullest through the joy of regular daily reading. And that you
realize that to communicate with a toddler through teenager, we must first
become as one of them, at least for while. The material object picture?
Think about it!
- Pledge to participate in a rapid reading or reading improvement course.
Now you may begin the Journeyman program with this pledge and satisfactory
completion of 1-4.
Journeyman course next page..
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