Welcome to Holden School D.E.A.R.
"Drop Everything And Get Awesome!"
"I don't like to read." "I'm not a good reader." "Why read a book when I can just watch the movie?" "I don't have the time to read." These are comments we hear all too often in today's academic arena. Are they merely the idle musings of a reluctant student body? Or are they harbingers of a veritable reading apocalypse? Whatever the case may be, we can all agree that reading is a vital part of any academic experience. We as teachers and students... nay, we as a nation... NAY, we as a planet cannot afford to let reading fade into obscurity.
Something must be done! When? Now! Who? Us! Why? Have you read none of this website so far?! Where? At Holden School! How? D.E.A.R. CLASS!
Indeed, like a confident beacon of literary light, shining proudly and piercing through the turbulent storm of TV, movies, Internet, and text messages, guiding many a reader to the safe portage of reading, D.E.A.R. class welcomes all students at Holden School to the "table of literature." (Julia Alvarez)
It is at this table that students are invited to eat heartily off the platter of paragraphs. To drink deeply from the chalice of chapters. Perhaps even enjoy a feast of fiction... Or read a newspaper article. Whatever the case may be, not a soul emerges after twenty minutes of D.E.A.R. class unchanged, student and teacher alike.
But to fully appreciate D.E.A.R. class, one must fully understand it. This is itself an absurd notion, for it is impossible to capture the essence of such a class within the confines of a website. D.E.A.R. class cannot be packaged and tied up with a pretty little bow; it would be insulting to try. However, it might be beneficial to hear some first-hand reactions from actual Holden School teachers and students, taken just seconds after actual D.E.A.R. class sessions:
We have managed to drag ourselves into the classroom, perhaps even sitting at a desk. We are not morally opposed to the idea of doing some reading. We're almost there! But what to read? Here is a list of suggested titles, many of which are currently being utilized in actual D.E.A.R. classes:
Friends! Comrades! Readers! Lend me your ears! Today is truly a fine day. For it is today that we all stand equally blessed before D.E.A.R. class, ready to enjoy all the advantages that it see fit to bestow on us. However, nothing so valuable is ever merely given away. Such benefit requires work and dedication. It requires us all to put forth an effort. It demands that each one of us, both students and teachers, come to D.E.A.R. class prepared to, truly, Drop Everything And Read.
My cool new cell phone with unlimited texting? Drop it and READ!
My preoccupation with getting my students' grades done? Drop it and READ!
My low energy from not getting enough sleep last night? Drop it and READ!
My abhorrence of anything to do with reading? Drop it and READ!
My priceless, antique Grecian urn? Place it down gently somewhere... and READ!
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