April 15, 2020

College of Education book club meets virtually to discuss children’s literature

They might not be able to meet in person, but members of the College of Education’s book club will still get together on April 16 for their monthly meeting — via Zoom, of course, due to the need for social distancing.

It is a fairly standard book club, with one unique twist: They read and analyze children’s books, even though the club is aimed at adults. Originally thought up by a group of student ambassadors from the College of Education, the idea was formulated last fall and came to life during winter semester as an extension of the Education Scholars Alliance learning community at Wayne State.

While the College of Education has degree programs for majors outside of education, including health sciences, kinesiology, administration and more, many of the college’s students are studying to be teachers.

“The introduction of the book club was designed to give students the opportunity to think critically about the books they will someday use in their classrooms,” said Shawntae Harris Mintline, who serves as an undergraduate academic advisor for the College of Education and is the coordinator for the student ambassador program.

Abriana White, a peer mentor for the College of Education, said that a benefit of using children's literature is that members will be able to take away ideas for books that they can read with their future students.

“I think it is great that we have this book club because there are so many readers on campus, and now they have a place to discuss different books and make book recommendations,” said White, who helps plan and lead the meetings.

With the changes the university has undertaken to transition to remote learning, Mintline and White have worked hard together to shift the book club online, too.

Mintline said the online meetings have opened the book club up to a larger audience of students who were unable to come to the in-person meetings. One student was even able to share the month’s books with her own children, and it became an opportunity for family involvement.

“We have the technology to easily set up video chats, and the changes sparked a really good implication for our outreach programs moving forward,” said Mintline.

Each month, the leaders of the book club designate a theme that serves as the foundation for the books they study and the topics of their conversations. So far, February focused on books by African American authors in conjunction with Black History month. At March’s meeting, they discussed books that were awarded the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award to celebrate “March is Reading Month.” April’s theme is more personal, tasking participants to come ready to talk about their own favorite books.

The book club is set up to extend discussions past the storylines of the designated reading. Conversations range from fonts, bindings and illustrations, to historical correctness and underlying messages.

“We have much more robust conversations than I ever could have predicted,” said Mintline. “There is a lot more you can talk about before you even get to the story. It is important for students to be able to recognize which books are appropriate to share with young minds.”

Participants do not have to worry about having physical access to the books, either, because the club’s leaders have found alternative ways to ensure the materials are accessible. Because Mintline didn’t want accessibility to be an obstacle for any interested member, she has shared digital copies of some books and has provided audio recordings of herself reading the books for registered members.

The book club is scheduled to continue through the remainder of winter semester and into the spring and summer months. All Wayne State students are invited to join. Interested students can register using the children’s literature RSVP form.

April’s meeting details: