If you took the time to read the children's book series A Series of Unfortunate Events (which I recommend, by the way, if for anything else, it is a pleasantly humorous series), you would have come across the term "commonplace book". In the series, it is a collection of things that a certain individual had learned and when they had learned it. This practice harkens back to educational practices of the late 1700s, in which a student, while reading selected texts chosen by his mentor, would construct essays concerning themes they discovered or thought about while reading. This commonplace book would be read by the mentor, and the two would discuss the themes mentioned in the text and the commonplace book.
In schools today, teachers assign journals, which in part harkens back to this practice of a commonplace book. However, these journals are not spontaneous on the part of the student, like commonplace books were. Commonplace books were meant to be read, and meant to be discussed, and reflected what the student was learning during their reading.
This is where I come in. I have undertaken to begin reading several classic texts that I have always wanted to read, but never did. Of course, while reading such works, I will learn something and think about things. When this happens, the best thing is to write it down. So, as I muddle through these classics, I will use this blog as my commonplace book.
No comments:
Post a Comment