What is Education… I Mean a Book Review?


I’m still finding the voice of my channel and how to use youtube for education, my own and sharing it with others.  This is a bit more poetic than essay or response.  And it may come across as a teacher’s style of asking questions.      



My reading is at an exciting junction.  It’s far more personal than it ever has been before.  The dichotomy of it being so personal and yet shared so publicly just highlights the potentials that contemplative reading can have.  It brings me to 5 main topics which may not appear to be connected, but with a reflective glance, could be. 



The first one I’ll call “Reading Inadequacy.”  In our life, just under the surface is always a dark place of doubt.  I don’t think it ever goes away, nor should it.  Part of learning is setting something a bit higher than your own ability.  The courage to stand up to that task is monumental.  If you get knocked down, remember it’s only paper and ink.        



The  2nd one is “Can knowledge be simply enjoyed for it’s aesthetics?”  Yes. Yes, as in representing every moment that yes became a powerful word within literature.  If knowledge has the freedom to dance, it becomes a connection.  A connection in our memory, each other and during the creation of knowledge.  What’s easier for you to remember, being moved by a dance or the data of the equations that made it possible? 



The 3rd one is “What does it mean to be educated?”  I think the equation to this one is very similar to: Trust is Confidence in Your Own Strength.  Education’s Latin roots are to lead out, as in from darkness.  I think the part of the key is to trust your guide, perhaps grant yourself the freedom to be a guide.  A guide of who? Or whom?      



The 4th one is “What are the ethics of sharing what we’ve learned?”  After a moving discovery or experiencing that dance, don’t you just want to shout it loudly?  Or are you already able to calmly reflect on the nuances that brought it to fruition?  When sharing it, what is guiding your decisions?  What guides us to choose the books we do?  What are the ethics of the book reviewer?  I think these can become an interesting topic to explore further.            




The final point is “Compiling all of this into a mere book review.”  Crafting a book review that can serve justice to the work could be impossible.  Yes, impossible.  How can an author’s lifework or countless hours be boxed into 500 words or even 50,000: text or speech.  

To grant any freedom for the work to breath, the review itself has to be relatable.  By relatable, it can emulate the dancer or the equations that it contains.  I think a well written review can feature the charm of the work, in all of it’s angels & imps.  An academic one gives us the run down of the muscles ’n bones.  

A review can serve as a guide when sorting through all the books.  Sometimes the reviews themselves are more entertaining than the actual work!!  There should be a code of ethics when reviewing works.  We must consider for ourselves, whose ethics are important and why?

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