This I Believe: Guest Blogger Steve Langendorfer
September 10, 2009
I guess you would have to call me a “common reading junkie.” Every spring when the BGSU common reading for the next academic year is announced, I make a bee line to the bookstore and purchase a copy. I always put the common reading book at the head of my summer reading list. I have found each of them to be fascinating and challenging in their own ways.
I have to say I was rooting for This I Believe to be chosen as the common reading for this year when I heard it was one of the candidates. As an avid National Public Radio (NPR) listener, I always looked forward to hearing the This I Believe essays read by their authors on one of the NPR shows such as Morning Edition or All Things Considered. As good as the essays were when I listened to them on the radio, I think I enjoy reading and re-reading many of these essays even more. They have been well chosen and edited. I am fascinated to ponder the underlying themes authors have described as their personal values and beliefs.
In fact, I have enjoyed and valued the This I Believe essays so much that in addition to reading and rereading the text myself, I have purchased a number of additional copies throughout the summer. I presented the first three copies as a Father’s Day present to each of my three grown children. I have made presents of several others to colleagues who expressed an interest in them.
This fall I decided to begin each of my class sessions in KNS 3400, motor development across the lifespan, by reading one of the selected essays. The learning outcomes for the motor development course focus on students understanding how human movement changes over the lifespan and how practitioners should intervene differently in clients’ learning than is traditionally done. The This I Believe essays provide a remarkable cross section of values and beliefs that actually have many implications for the students in KNS 3400. For example, Gloria Steinem’s essay, “A balance between nature and nurture,” while focused on her own life experiences, addresses one of the central questions raised in the motor development course – why do we change. In several weeks when we study infancy and early childhood we will be reading the essay, “There is no job more important than parenting.” As I investigated how well the essays might relate to general topics as well as course-specific topics, I was indeed surprised to discover all the many obvious and subtle connections.
I do have to admit that I was originally intimidated at the prospect of composing my own “This I Believe” essay as proposed in the appendix for the book. Every time I heard one read on the radio, while I marveled at the author’s well expressed convictions, I had a sense that I didn’t really feel that strongly about anything enough to write a similar essay. Then, this summer, I tried my hand at composing several essays. I surprised myself. It turns out that I just had to start with something not particularly life shattering, but something to which I related, such as humor, and writing, and morning glory flowers. I encourage readers to consider writing your own essay.
Steve Langendorfer
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