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The Maine Humanities Council Newsletter ~ Summer '02 ~ p. 4 & 5
1
It's Never Too Late
(cover page)

2
A Letter from the Executive Director and Donors: Thank You

3
Teachers for a New Century
and Views of the East

4 and 5
The Humanities Interview —
David Richards

6
The Long Life of a Monster

7
Letters About Literature

8
Faust: The Myth, The Memory, The Music
(back cover)

Historian David Richards works as assistant director of the Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan. One evening each month, however, he dons another hat - as scholar-facilitator for the Maine Humanities Council's New Books, New Readers, a statewide program to encourage adults to read by engaging them in thoughtful (and enjoyable) discussions about high-quality children's literature.

At first meeting a rather quiet, soft-spoken person, Richards is a master teacher who seems to transform himself as soon as the class begins. His kineticism as he acts out the stories, playfully teases the students he knows, and generally fills the room with energy almost disguises the fact that he is very well prepared. A glance at his typed notes reveals that he has analyzed each of the 20 stories in Arnold Lobel's Fables and has insightful things to say about each of them…if his students don't get there first.

Just before the group's March meeting, Richards discussed his work with Maine Humanities.

The Humanities Interview

The Little Engine That Could
The Little Engine That Could
Q: What's your strategy for dealing with a group whose reading skills may vary from moderate to almost non-existent?
A: I'm always trying to raise the bar. If people can't read, they can still follow the stories. In the four years I've been doing this in Skowhegan, I've seen lots of progress. Some of them have become very good readers. Some of them have accumulated a personal library of close to 60 books from the program. Some have even progressed to the point where they take courses at Kennebec Valley Technical College in Fairfield. It's a matter of building up their confidence and making them aware that they can express their own ideas. David Richards

Q: Do you see more or less the same people every month?
A: The first three years, we tried to have a stable population - you'd have a core of perhaps a dozen regulars each time. This year, our partner Somerset County Adult Basic Skills - which is part of SAD 54's Adult Education Program - is trying something different. They encourage their clients to come here whenever they can. So there's a constant flux, with as many as 24 people present. The agency is focused on serving people coming back to get their GEDs who need to improve their reading skills. Some of them in fact have a wide range of needs, including life skills. Their ages range from high school up to the 50s, but mostly 20s and 30s. Some come for personal enrichment, some just can't take the traditional high school curriculum. And there are those with special needs.

Q: What's the gender balance?
A: It started out 50-50, but the group is mostly female now. There's a stigma for men to be doing something like this that's difficult to overcome. Some start out but don't come back. It's hard for men to admit they have learning problems.

Q: What surprises you the most about your students?
A: It's a shock to realize how transient a population this is. For example, we had one student of Hispanic descent who had trouble even communicating in English. All of a sudden he just disappeared. Then I saw him on TV a few months later at a homeless shelter in Waterville. There are a lot of people moving in and out of the state in search of work. The men in particular seem even more transient.

Q: You have a Ph.D. in history. What led you into this kind of teaching?
A: The program has been here in Skowhegan for six years now. When they started to use the Library, I was invited by the facilitator, Jeff Aronson, to watch. I think surreptitiously he was trying to train me!

Q: What will you do tonight?
A: I'll start by asking them what they liked about the readings. But invariably it doesn't work out as planned. Sometimes they take over. Other nights, I keep having to push. Their reading teachers attend and participate in the discussion. It breaks down the barrier between "student" and "teacher." Part of my role is to suggest some value judgment in the story or to bring in my historical knowledge. I try to reinforce the idea that even in fiction there are moral applications to be studied.

Q: For example...
A: For example, courage. At some point I'll take them to see Margaret Chase Smith's house [which adjoins the Libraryl. In the first room there's one book she prominently displayed - a fable, The Little Engine That Could. It's good to show them that a powerful woman found a lot of meaning in a children's story.
Devil's Advocate

David Richards says that on occasion it helps the New Books, New Readers program scholar to play the role of devil's advocate, especially when dealing with a topic like justice, "where points of view can be so set in stone.

For example, one of the most spirited discussions this spring arose over the meaning of a children's book, Margot Zemach's The Little Red Hen. It is a reworking of Aesop's fable of the grasshopper and the ant, this time with a hen who patiently grows wheat, grinds flour, and bakes bread, with no help from her lazy neighbors. Yet when they eagerly volunteer to eat the bread, she takes satisfaction in telling them it's just for herself and her family.

As well she should, said David's students. "Everyone thought the hen's withholding of the fruits of her labor from her neighbors was justified, given the lack of help offered by the other animals.

'At first I reinforced this perspective by having the group read a pro-business, anti-labor, anti-government, Reagan-era update of the tale. Then I offered a Marxist interpretation, arguing that the 'Red' hen was a greedy capitalist. This proved neither popular nor persuasive, but it certainly got people excited.

"People were so adamant that the Little Red Hen was right. It's moments like that when you want to play devil's advocate and push them a bit."

The Little Red Hen is part of the New Books, New Readers series called "Justice." Fables is part of one entitled "The Call of Ancient Stories." (There are eight other series available.) Participants in each series meet four times to discuss three books each time, beginning at a basic reading level and progressing to fifth or sixth-grade level. Sessions are led by a trained scholar, working with literacy volunteers, adult education tutors, and community libraries to engage even the newest readers in thought-provoking discussions.

New Books, New Readers programs are offered free of charge by the Council's Maine Center for the Book through a grant from the Nellie Mae Foundation. The 17 locales this winter and spring included Camden, Madawaska, Ellsworth, Portland, Waterville, Caribou, Fort Kent, Fairfield, Farmington, Bucksport, Skowhegan, Belfast, Eliot, Paris, North Berwick, Washburn, and the Bolduc Correctional Facility at Warren.
Bringing Books to Life: The Maine Center for the Book

The Center for the Book was established in the Library of Congress in 1977 to promote books, reading, libraries, and literacy. In 1997 the Maine Humanities Council established the Maine Center for the Book as one of the state affiliates of the national program. It is one of only eight state humanities councils to be awarded this responsibility. Today, the Maine Center for the Book is the programming arm of the Council. One of its programs, Letters About Literature (see page 7), is directly linked to the national center. Others, such as New Books, New Readers, are locally produced efforts drawing support from a variety of funders. For a complete list of the Maine Center for the Book's activities, see our website, www.mainehumanities.org.

4. and 5.    

© Maine Humanities Council, 2002–2008

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