At the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year, Westminster made a change that shocked literary fanatics across the campus: the removal of the school library. Because the students here at Westminster did not use the books in our library they decided to use our space differently, having a space called the hub where students can study and also have Pawprint coffee. Mr. Wolfe states that, “The truth is, our library was filled with books students simply were not interested in. Texts that would have been helpful before we had iPads to help with our research.”
Ken Wolfe, a Boys Bible teacher and English teacher for middle school, has started a library in our 8th grade commons called TAKHOMABOOK. He encourages his scholars to read the books in the library and find out what stories and genres they enjoy. The library has fiction, nonfiction, and even Christian literature that helps the middle school students grow their faith.
Mr. Wolfe thoughtfully stated that, “Reading is a process that, you know, you take it at your own pace, you can go back and think critically about it, you can compare one page to the next, one book to the next, and different speakers to each other. It’s a larger, more thinking culture, and I think that not having a centralized source, it negates that culture of an academy.” He hopes that his library becomes a place where students can go and research a topic, find a fun book to read in their free time, and quietly study for an upcoming test. He is making a community in the middle school a place where they love learning and enjoy reading. Cultivating our middle schoolers to become curious and interested in literature.
Josh Yergler, an upper school English teacher, speaks how he loves books, “They’re my best friends. They’re all over there. They teach me things, they teach me how to be humble. They teach me how to listen. because I can’t talk back, so I have to sit there and listen to somebody speak to me.”
He wants his students to feel the same way about books. He loves books and he hopes that this new library will inspire upper school students and middle school students to pick a book up and read, and experience the love of reading.
In reading books, you expand your understanding of the world. You begin to gain empathy for others, because reading allows for a person to see exactly how another person sees the world differently. You begin to notice things and understand others when you read the literature offered.
In trying to have students read more there is a problem when it comes to the amount of time they spend on the internet each day. Mr. Yergler says: “If we’re going to read a whole novel, it’s hard to do that when you’re always on your phone. So it’s trying to kind of reprogram their brains slightly. It also gives them humility and critical thinking in these things, which I don’t think you can get from other places as easily.”
Sometimes reading outside of English or History class may feel like an impossible chore, but when you find a book you truly enjoy you can spend hours at a time with it, not being able to put it down to go to bed or do homework. That’s what educators at Westminster hope for students, loving learning. Grabbing a book from TAKHOMABOOK is very quick and simple, and they have books for middle school, and upper school reading levels. TAKHOMABOOK is open before school and after school, so be sure to stop by!
