“We read to know we are not alone.” – C. S. Lewis

“In a very real sense, people who have read good literature have lived more than people who cannot or will not read.” – S. I. Hawakawa

“What we become depends on what we read after all of the professors have finished with us” – Thomas Carlyle

“You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” – Ray Bradbury

The most important thing you can learn and do in your life is read – well enough to understand the words but also the perspectives and those things that are not said. Reading is power – Dr. Martin Luther King knew it, Malcolm X knew it, Cesar Chavez knew it, Betty Friedan knew it. Margaret Cho knows it. So does President Bush, Jack Black, Ani DiFranco, Mary J. Blige. Once you read as a part of your daily life, you know more and see more in the world than you did before. The purpose of this course is to make reading easier and more effective for you – not just for your classes, but for your life.

This is also a class we do together – I read and write with you and what we create, we each do. That means that you must be here and present, not just in a physical sense but willing to talk, agree and disagree, think and argue – with me, with yourself, with each other. The most important thing you can do to pass this class is read and talk. It’s just that simple.

Here’s the factual information you’re looking for:

READ053-15 Basic Skills: Reading for college and beyond

Tuesday and Thursday, 11:30-12:45

University Hall

Dr. Dana Wilber Cammack (Dr. C)

Office: University Hall 3200

Phone: 973-655-7486

Email: cammackd@mail.montclair.edu (this is the best way to reach me)

Office hours: Mondays 1-3, by appointment, or electronically via IM

Required assignments:

Personal blog – 25%

You will write and post a response to your own, personal blog for this course. You will each create this blog using Blogger (we will do this together during the second class), name it yourself, decide on layout, and post your thoughts and positions to it as required. Sometimes I will come up with the topic, sometimes you will. Your blog is absolutely yours – but remember that this is a publication open to the world (as in public) and read regularly by your professor and your classmates. : ) I also keep a blog, you can check it out at www.flaneuse.org

Participation in class discussions – 25%

Throughout the course of the semester, I keep track of who participates in class and who doesn’t. If you’re nervous about talking in class, this is a great place to work on that. You don’t have to have the right answer; in fact, much of what we will be talking about won’t have a single right answer at all. You can agree or disagree, challenge your classmates and yourself. The thing you can’t do is be rude or negative to anyone else in the course. We’re reading and thinking together, and you need to have respect and consideration for that fact. Through that consideration, though, feel free to push the boundaries of what you used to think and what might even be true – about college, why you are here, and what you want to get out of your education.

Self profile and study – 25%

A large part of this class is about examining yourself – who you are as a student and a person in the world. What do you believe is important? Why? Moreover – what do you think about reading and learning? Are you a good student or not? What do you think is important to learn about, and what do you want to get from your college education? What have you read and thought that we all need to think and talk about? What have you learned in this class, and why is it important?

In case this sounds vague, here’s what the project will look like. It will have a written component and a visual or multimedia one. In other words, you will turn in a five-page paper analysis and a piece that represents you and your thinking and reading. This could be a video, webpage (including a MySpace, Facebook, or Live Journal page), PowerPoint, podcast, or wiki. The possibilities are vast, and we will talk about this project throughout the course of the semester, so don’t worry that this is the last time you will hear about it.

Your self profile is due the last day of class.

Reading comprehension test – 25%

At the end of the semester, you will take a reading comprehension test. Your grade is simply based on passing the exam. The test takes 50 minutes and will be given in the last week of class.

Dr. C’s rules and regs

1. Email: You are expected to check your Montclair State University email account regularly as part of participating in this class. Announcements will be sent only via your Montclair address and via Blackboard. If you want to use a different email address, simply change it on the Blackboard preferences.

2. Participation: This course includes an essential discussion component. You are expected to complete the set readings for each week and to participate actively in class discussions. In other words, your participation in each class is a significant portion of your grade. You do not need to know all the answers – but you do need to ask questions and contribute to the learning in this class.

3. Cell phones: I don’t want to see it. No texting, no leaving it out or on during class even to check the time, please. If it rings, I reserve the right to answer it. If mine rings, you may answer it as well. Emergencies are the only exception and you need to let me know ahead of time you have a potential emergency and need to have your phone on VIBRATE ONLY. No phones on during exam situations for any reason.

4. We’re in this together. You can ask me questions, and I can call on you. We’re all accountable for what we learn and teach each other for a part of this class. Feel free to email me, come see me during office hours, and call my office phone to make appointments.

5. Plastering yourself to the back wall or hiding out in the back row isn’t going to hide you. I want to hear what you have to say, and I want you to ask me things you want to know.