{"id":2162,"date":"2014-09-04T17:34:13","date_gmt":"2014-09-04T17:34:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=2162"},"modified":"2014-09-04T17:41:59","modified_gmt":"2014-09-04T17:41:59","slug":"thoughts-on-bayard-and-rowntree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/thoughts-on-bayard-and-rowntree\/","title":{"rendered":"Thoughts on Bayard and Rowntree"},"content":{"rendered":"

I can\u2019t say that I have always enjoyed reading, especially those books outside of genres that most capture my interests and attention.\u00a0 Looking back, I must honestly admit that I haven\u2019t truly read any textbook or novel in its entirety. Despite this admission, I have been able to effectively gain the knowledge needed through my \u201cnon-reading\u201d process, and my learning objectives have always been met. \u00a0Bayard\u2019s book, How To Talk About Books You Haven\u2019t Read\u00a0[1]<\/strong><\/em>, provides examples of renown and scholarly people who engage with books but don\u2019t actually read them.\u00a0 His argument provides justification and a defense for not reading books. The thesis presented is that \u201cthe notion of the book that has been read is ambiguous.\u201d \u00a0Non-reading is still engaging with the book, just not getting so involved in the details that one becomes too distracted to take away meaningful knowledge nor to engage with multiple sources.<\/p>\n

I had expected Bayard\u2019s book to provide detailed techniques for quickly and easily digesting information without reading.\u00a0\u00a0 Instead, he outlined the concepts and theories that support non-reading.\u00a0 I found myself engaged by Bayard, and could easily relate to and connect with his stories.\u00a0 It was this connection that caused me to step back and evaluate my own process for acquiring knowledge.\u00a0 How did I gain the ability and knowledge for non-reading?\u00a0 Is this a learned trait, and why does it come more easily for some people versus others who struggle in the details?<\/p>\n

Professor Derek Rowntree\u2019s book, Learn How to Study\u00a0[2]<\/strong><\/em>, provides strategies and tactics that one can use to improve their organizational skills and study habits.\u00a0 Part of his approach uses SQ3R, which is a formula that teaches one to quickly glean the main ideas from a book.\u00a0 His is an actionable approach, as he provides strategies that have been learned and used by many successful scholars.\u00a0\u00a0 In today\u2019s learning environment, students must adapt their habits and study approaches in order to more effectively multitask and process the large amounts of information that they encounter.<\/p>\n

As I more deeply analyzed my own processes for reading and learning, I realized that many of the concepts and techniques discussed by Rowntree and Bayard have been taught to me through exposure and education over time.\u00a0 I also believe that my specific learning style contributes to my natural abilities in this area. My husband often teases me about the fact that I never fully read books, and he was a bit concerned when both of our children told him that they never read any of their books for school.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t figure out how they got good grades without reading.\u00a0 As an adult student, my husband struggled with the vast amount of reading he was required to complete in seminary.\u00a0 He signed up for a speed-reading course that taught the same techniques as presented by Rowntree.\u00a0 These techniques greatly improved his ability to complete his assignments, and also improved his comprehension of the concepts.\u00a0 He finally understood that one truly gains more knowledge by stepping back first, and understanding the broader picture.\u00a0 Bayard\u2019s claim is true that skimming books without reading them doesn\u2019t prevent one from commenting on them; rather it helps them to glean the important ideas and avoid getting lost in the details.\u00a0 Non-reading allows us to digest the information and to evaluate and consider the information presented.\u00a0 Who is the better reader\u2026the person who engages a book in depth and doesn\u2019t digest the author\u2019s meaning, or the one who skims and takes away the key concepts and points?\u00a0 Our knowledge should be gained across the totality of resources, and we shouldn\u2019t base our opinions and views on limited sources.\u00a0 Rather, we need to keep a broad perspective and guard against getting lost in the details.<\/p>\n

In Bayard\u2019s book, he also concluded that other people\u2019s views are often a prerequisite of forming your own views.\u00a0 I agree that hearing and exposing oneself to multiple views and a broader base of knowledge is a healthy approach to open our minds and to increase awareness.\u00a0 In reality, everyone bases their opinions and beliefs on their worldview and understanding.\u00a0 This comes from one\u2019s environment and exposure to people and situations.\u00a0 After reflecting on Bayard\u2019s comments, I began to consider how this impacts my study of the Bible and understanding of Christ.\u00a0 I am always cautious of blindly relying on other people\u2019s opinions, especially from a theological stance.\u00a0 I conclude that non-reading is certainly a valuable skill, and without it I would not be able to gain breadth and depth of knowledge. There is no doubt that it is a skill that contributes greatly to one\u2019s academic prowess and literacy level. However, I argue that there are times when one should slow down and engage with the details of a specific book, such as the Bible.\u00a0 In my own experience, despite caution, I have been influenced by other\u2019s theological opinions too easily because I wasn\u2019t familiar enough with the details.\u00a0 I now try to take a more balanced approach in my study of the Bible, which is to engage first through non-reading techniques\u2026but then to ensure that I am closely engaging with the details through prayer and time spent directly in the Word.\u00a0 My opinion is that Scripture is the one exception to Bayard\u2019s claims, and it should be studied in both the broad and detailed levels.<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s reading assignments are appropriate as we dive into the work necessary for completing a doctoral degree.\u00a0 It is helpful to step back and place focus on the intended outcome versus getting too entrenched in the details of each assignment.\u00a0 It is always better to look first at the larger picture and then to structure information into smaller, more meaningful pieces. \u00a0We should focus on the learning objectives, or \u201cthe spirit of the law versus the law itself\u201d. A key message that I took away from this week\u2019s reading is to \u201cavoid getting stuck in the weeds\u201d.<\/p>\n

[1] Pierre Bayard, How to Talk About Books You Haven\u2019t Read (<\/em>New York: Bloomsbury USA, 2009).
\n[2] Derek Rowntree, Learn How to Study<\/em> (London: Time Warner Paperbacks, 2002).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I can\u2019t say that I have always enjoyed reading, especially those books outside of genres that most capture my interests and attention.\u00a0 Looking back, I must honestly admit that I haven\u2019t truly read any textbook or novel in its entirety. Despite this admission, I have been able to effectively gain the knowledge needed through my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[479,484,2],"class_list":["post-2162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bayardrowntree","tag-dawnel-volzke","tag-dminlgp","cohort-lgp5"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2162"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2166,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2162\/revisions\/2166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}