Common reading brings focus to Houston

By Jaclyn Youngblood     4/22/10 7:00pm

For next year's incoming class, summer nights might be less about strolling through an arcade and more about turning the pages of a book. This year's common reading, Work Hard. Be Nice.: How Two Inspired Teachers Created the Most Promising Schools in America, by Jay Mathews, will be sent to new students over the summer. The book follows the story of two college graduates as they participate in the Teach for America program and ultimately create the Knowledge is Power Program in Houston.On March 4, Dean of Undergraduates Robin Forman and Associate Dean of Undergraduates Matt Taylor selected Work Hard. Be Nice. from two suggestions made by the Common Reading Program Selection Committee. The other suggestion was Six Months in Sudan: A Young Doctor in a War-torn Village by Dr. James Maskalyk. Taylor said Work Hard. Be Nice. fit the general criteria the committee aims to meet - it is under 400 pages, has paperback availability and relevant subject matter - but had the added benefit of featuring the city of Houston.

"[It is a way] to welcome students who come from around the world and across the country to Rice, to show them there are very interesting things about this city," he said.

Alayne Potter, one of three undergraduate members on the committee, said the book told a unique story about taking initiative for a cause one is passionate about, something first-year students might find inspirational.

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"Even though they're coming in as freshmen, it's always good to ask, 'What can you start? What can you create? What resources do you have to start something new?'" Potter, a Jones College junior, said.

The service aspect of the book was appealing to the committee as well, Taylor said.

"We know Rice students are interested in service and we could easily see all sorts of interactions between Rice and [the Knowledge is Power Program]," he said.

Taylor said students will find it easier to relate to authors Levin and Feinberg.

"You could take just about any matriculant to Rice and say, 'This could be you,'" Taylor said. "[The authors] have backgrounds like you; they have intellects like you; their worldview is not unlike yours. Let's pay attention to what they were able to do and maybe learn something from it."

Potter said the continued inclusion of undergraduates on the selection committee guaranteed student interest would be represented, to ensure the subject matter of the common reading book would be accessible and relevant to all students.

Other books considered were This I Believe, a collection of essays from various authors; Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder; and Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.

Taylor said the committee was also interested in The Blind Side by Michael Lewis, until they found out it was a feature film.

"We'd love to trust our new students to be readers, but the temptation to see the movie was probably too strong," he said.

This year, the committee also considered selecting something in addition to a book for the Common Reading Program. Taylor said they considered an event at The Menil Collection or a musical performance at the Shepherd School of Music. However, he said the logistics for such large-scale events could not be organized for this year. In the future, Taylor said he would like to see the program expand to include media beyond print.

The Common Reading Program, now in its fifth year, has become an integral part of Orientation Week. Incoming students receive a copy of the selected book to read during the summer as a means of facilitating discussion when they arrive at Rice in the fall. The main feature during the week has typically been the student-led discussions held by the advisers at each of the residential colleges. Taylor the student leadership aspect of the program makes it unique.

"More than any other campus around the country, we really entrust our students to lead on important programs like this," he said. "It's good for our advisers to take responsibility and see themselves in the role of gatekeepers to the intellectual culture at Rice."

CRP committee member Alex Wyatt said the common reading fills an important academic niche during O-Week.

"One of the things the common reading does for us is that is brings us all together on an intellectual level across the university," Wyatt, a Lovett College junior, said. "The way the discussions are facilitated, it serves as an academic icebreaker. We really don't have anything else that anchors itself in academics so much."

Forman added that the investment made by the advisers has increased each year, a trend he said he is confident will continue.

"[The advisers] have been the real leaders of the program ... and they have become, every year, better equipped to lead conversations about the subject in ways that enhance not just our orientation, but the overall student experience," he said.

Taylor said the Common Reading Program also aims to offer the new students a shared intellectual experience as a way to orient themselves to the scholarly community at Rice. The program also aims to stimulate conversation among first-year students, upperclassmen and faculty beyond the context of O-Week.

Forman, who considers himself a cheerleader for the Common Reading program, echoed Taylor's sentiments. He said the book offers substantive subject material for students to discuss, besides the typical O-Week questions like "Which residential college are you from?"

The local topic of the book will lend itself to a host of opportunities during O-Week, Taylor said. Because the first KIPP academies were founded in Houston, Taylor said he is working on incorporating a KIPP school as an Outreach Day site. This would enable first-year students to interact with KIPP students and experience the book's message, he said.

Other programming possibilities include bringing KIPP students and teachers to Rice and hosting Rice alumni who became involved with Teach For America after graduation to speak to students.

Communication is the key for making the common reading program a success, Wyatt, a Lovett O-Week coordinator, said.

"People should not be afraid to suggest things to their coordinators about how the common reading could be done differently or better," Wyatt said.

Wyatt said he encourages even those not involved in O-Week to read the book.

"The book is so well-written you can fall right into it," he said.

Forman said bringing students' attention to a public policy issue such as education reform will enable the students to engage in the national conversation on the subject, heightened by the focus the Obama administration has placed on education.

Beyond O-Week, associated events aim to continue the intellectual discussion prompted by the common reading. In the past two years, the authors of the Common Reading book - Greg Mortenson in 2008 and Helene Cooper last year - came to speak on campus. Taylor said this year, the plan is to bring the two men about whom the book is written to campus.

Martel College O-Week Coordinator Rhae Adams said he hoped the book's message would encourage new students to get involved in something that interests them.

"These guys were really passionate about [education]," Adams, a Martel sophomore, said. "Now, it's time to find your thing at Rice that you're just as

passionate about.

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