As a college student, you should be
actively reading all primary texts for any given course. But, what is
active reading? How do I know that I am actively reading? What have I been doing all this time if I'm not actively reading? What is the opposite of active reading?
Being an active reader also translates into becoming a more attentive listener, an engaged conversationalist, and overall, GREAT company. Hence, the alternate title I added: how to get game. I promised you some pearls of wisdom, didn't I?
Read the points below carefully to make sure you know the difference between active reading and passive reading. It takes many students years to learn how to "actively" read texts when left on their own. The following lists are here to help you determine what kind of reader you are and to help you learn how to become active rather than passive. Your ability to read actively will determine your success as a student and as a working professional.
Active reading means:
-that you're thinking while reading
-you're having a conversation in your head with the ideas that are being presented to you
-that you're conscious of HOW the ideas are presented not just WHAT those ideas are
-you're taking notes, underlining, writing down questions, looking up words you don't understand or references you didn't get
-you are not just passively consuming the words but actively thinking about them, critically evaluating them, trying to better understand them, think of examples that might negate them or support them
-re-reading key passages that have major ideas or re-reading the entire text for clarity
-you can articulate the major points and identify the gaps in logic or lack of evidence to support the writer's claims
-based on your careful consideration of the text, you have formed your own opinion about the ideas presented to you
Passive reading means:
-you accept all ideas that the writer presents as truth
-you think you can discuss the reading assignment or write about it from memory
- you think about things while reading, but you rarely write them down
-your text, after you've read it, is generally unmarked
-you don't have any questions after you're done reading
-if you don't understand something, you gloss over it or forget about it
-you don't really care about the ideas so it's difficult to form an opinion about them
-every piece of writing feels like a story that is being told to you. reading feels like listening to another person give a monologue.
-it's hard for you to identify the main points of a piece of writing
-you don't really understand what rhetorical strategies are or how the writer uses them to persuade you
-you don't really think about how a story is being told, you tend to focus on the plot
-you mostly agree and believe everything the author/writer says
Be honest and ask yourself: what kind of reader am I? Once you figure out which list best reflects your reading habits, you can begin to conscientiously change.
As an example of the kind of notes you might take as an active reader, I am pasting some of my own notes below for the article we just read about "why 'do what you love' is pernicious advice." These notes include questions for discussion, things I didn't agree with or understand or wanted clarified, words I think students might not know, and finally, random thoughts that might be relevant to the discussion or illustrative of the points the article is addressing.
NOTES:
definition of pernicious: having a harmful effect, especially in a subtle or gradual way
the main point seems to be that “Do
what you love” is a corporate conspiracy to increase productivity and exploit
labor
begins
with a statistic 1970s-present moment (workers are more productive now than
ever but not valued more)
cultural
icons of super successful blissful workers: Steve Jobs, Gwyneth Paltrow, Oprah
Winfrey
Q:
What’s wrong with this list?
Instagram
and social media culture
Q:
In what ways does Tokumitsu suggest that new technology might affect “work
culture”? How has visual culture changed? Let’s think of examples of “work”
pictures that Tokumitsu vaguely mentions (photos of business trips, backstage
at a catalog photo shoot?) – can you think of images that you’ve seen of people
at work that make you want to buy something or consider that particular career?
Q:
Name some jobs that are not picturesque but highly respected.
Typical
Americans – selfish and greedy?
Q:
How did our grandmother’s/grandfather’s generation choose a career path?
Q:
What changed from then until now?
Q:
How does Tokumitsu explain this shift?
Q:
What are some of the things that Tokumitsu keeps referring to as “very American”? (pleasure-seeking and hedonistic - what else?)
define hedonistic: engaged in the pursuit of pleasure; sensually self-indulgent
Q:
Summarize what Tokumitsu says about the absurdity of requiring menial laborers
to be passionate about what they do.
Is
passion reserved for the upper middle class? Is doing what you love impacted by
your socioeconomic status?
“Authentic”
customer service
Q:
In your jobs, what have you been taught about customer service?
Q:
In the article, Tokumitsu discusses Pret A Manger and their demand that their
employees “project happiness” and authenticity – aren’t these at adds with one
another?
this reminds me of aziz ansari's standup bit about coldstone creamery and the tip song and dance the employees are required to do
Career
ladder and the reality of work
Q:
What are the politics behind internships? (unpaid – reserved for individuals
who have other means of financial support, a way to signal privilege, etc.)
Work/Life
Balance
define meritocracy: government or the holding of power by people selected on the basis of their ability
Q:
Worker surveillance – what do you think about employers encouraging their
employees to improve their lives? (For example, companies like Google who have volleyball courts, ping pong tables, three gourmet meals a day, childcare, car washes, haircuts, dry cleaning all on-site).
Q:
As Lam questions, why can’t we just go to work to make money?
(isn’t
this question making a lot of assumptions? Aren’t there a lot of us that already
do work just to make money? From what position are we standing that we can ask
this question? Isn’t this entire debate one of privilege?)
