Left or Right?

On my way to school each morning I drive down the same motorway stretch. There is a point in the road where the centre lane splits and one half goes left and one half goes right. This is the lane that I drive in and it turns out to be a pretty good metaphor for what is going on in my life at the moment.

I am driving down that centre lane, and my lane is splitting into two, and I have to choose which way I will go. Coincidently, to go right would take you to the airport, and to go left would take you further down the southern motorway. Unlike those in the far left lane and the far right lane, who know exactly where they are going and are on the way to getting there, I am driving in the centre lane that is splitting beneath my feet. I have a choice to make, and I have to make it soon. Will I drive left or right?

All of this is to basically say that I am probably moving to London next year. I'm 85% sure that this is the choice I will make, but there is still that 15% that is tugging at my skirt trying to get attention. It is a big decision to make. To leave the only suburb, city, country I have ever called home and move to the other side of the world. To be over 24 hours and two thousand dollars away from my family for who knows how long. To face the reality that friends may have their children and loved ones could die while I'm not there.

But that 85% has a loud voice, and it has my attention. To move to a new, exciting place. A place I have learned about all my love and have been desperate to see for just about as long. To be a stone's throw away from countless other countries and cities I have dreamed of for many years. To have the chance to teach next year, guaranteed (which is more than what I can ask for in New Zealand). To find my own feet, my own voice, more certainly than I could in the safety of my home.

Will I drive left or right?

Why it is so important to read to children and make sure children are reading

Reading is important to help our children learn and develop. Reading helps children build their vocabulary. Reading improves children's spelling and grammar... and so on and so forth.

These are message I hear regularly as I move through my days at Teacher College and at the bookshop. They are messages I completely and whole heartedly agree with, and the evidence is clear when you're in a classroom as well. The children who read vigorously are achieving higher across the academic subjects than those who don't.

So academic achievement, cognitive development and literacy are all extremely important reasons to encourage children to read. However, I believe that there is another extremely important reason why we should read to our children, which is often overlooked.

A few weeks ago, in our 'teaching and learning' lecture, we were discussing Jean Piaget's cognitive theory, specifically his ideas around schemas. Schemas are like a the tools we use to make sense of the world around us, we see the world through our schemas, our understanding, and depending on experience we will either make sense of what we see or not understand it. We build schemas for everything, for what a dog is, what a cat is, what a beach is. If you want a great website to give a more detailed, but still simple, overview this is a great one.

Recently I got into a big fight with a friend. I didn't understand what he was feeling or how he was acting because it wasn't something I have ever successfully build a schema for. It caused us both a lot of hurt until I was able to see that just because I didn't understand, that didn't make it wrong. 

Now I know what you're probably thinking, 'Taylor, you told us this was going to be a blog about reading, what does Piaget have to do with that?', well I'm glad you asked!

I believe that the most important reason that we need to be reading to our children is because it helps them build schemas for things they would not otherwise experience. Reading can not only help our children to become literate, but also to become culturally and socially literate as well. But this means that we need to not only be reading 'normal' books to our children, but also books about different places, different cultures, different anything! Our life experiences are never going to be the same as someone else's, like my experience with my friend showed me, this can sometimes cause problems when we don't have a means to understand where the other person is coming from. Especially in the modern world we live in, the culture we belong to is not going to be the only culture we are exposed to or experience. The world is becoming a lot smaller thanks to technological development. This means that our ability to understand and successfully interact with all corners of the world needs to get bigger and better, I believe that reading is a fantastic starting point.

Lets help our kids build those schemas through words and pictures, so when they experience things in the real world they have a better chance at understanding and succeeding!

5 YA books from the last five years you maybe haven't read and should

For the last 6 years I have been paid to live among books. I 'work' at Time Out Bookstore on Mt Eden Road. I say work in air quotations not because I sit around doing nothing but because the work I do is enjoyable and satisfying.

One of my jobs here is helping people find the right book. I'm privileged to work with some amazing people, and the best thing about our cohort of bookstore workers is that we all have our own taste and niche when it comes to recommending books to customers. 

One of my niches here is down the very back of the shop, through a 'Where The Wild Things Are' painted door frame, in a little room full of colour, adventure and magic.. and often children. The Kids Room is what we call it, but trust me when I tell you it holds many wonders for those of us who have outgrown our Single-Digit and teenage years. This is actually where I was found and adopted by Wendy, the owner of the shop, when I was fifteen. I spent so much time lurking and reading in that room that Wendy asked if I'd like to be paid to do it. I told you this room was full of magic.

As I said, one of my jobs is recommending books to people, particularly in that back room. As I was opening up the shop this morning one of my favourite books in the Young Adult section caught my eye, and I realised that there are some amazing books out there that can sometimes be lost in the excitement of The Hunger Games and The Fault in our Stars (both of which are fantastic books by the way). But there are some unsung heroes out there who I believe deserve some of the spotlight, even if they haven't been made into major motion pictures (yet). The other thing that can sometimes cast some of these great books into the shadows are the list of fantastic books which have been out for a long time, such as the Inkheart series which is always one of my go-to recommendation for young book-lovers.
So my thought was to compile a short list of my favourite Young Adult books that have come out in the last five years that maybe you haven't heard about, but that you should listen for.

(I should say, these are books of my taste in Young Adult so most have some kind of magical or sci-fi element.) 

1. The Delirium Series by Lauren Oliver (2010)

• Set in a future where the source of all the worlds problems has been identified and cured. Love. Love is a disease that causes irrationality and destruction where ever it goes, so when you turn 16 you are given the cure. Lena is a strong believer in the cure and all that it stands for. But then she meets Alex, a boy who is part of the rebellion, who shows her there is so much more to the world beyond the fence.   
• Now this may sound like just another teen clique love story... and yes in some ways that is exactly what it is.But Oliver also spins a challenging and thought-provoking world and a page-turning adventure around this love story. The other thing I loved about this series was the reality of it. So often these dystopian books skip over the harsh realities that come with being on the run, but this story embraces and describes them. All three books in the trilogy are out now, and trust me, you will want to jump right into the next one.

2. All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrll (2013)

• In the future the invention of a time machine has caused nothing but pain and destruction for everyone, and Em and Finn must use the machine to go back and ensure it is never created. The only thing is, other versions of themselves have already tried 14 times, and this time there is only one option.
• A great book with a new twist on Time Travel. Apparently this is only book one in the series and I'm excited to see where Terrll takes the story next. The books asks how far you would be willing go for the greater good. I can't say too much without giving the story away, you might just have to pick it up and go through all the twists and turns yourself.

3. Forgotten by Cat Patrick (2011)

• London remembers forward. She has no memories of yesterdays, she relies on reminder notes, diary entries and her knowledge of what is coming to make it through the day appearing to be an ordinary girl. 
• This is hard book to try and explain, for obvious reasons! But what a fantastic concept. I started reading this book in bed one night and didn't sleep until I finished it. I literally couldn't put it down. Another love story takes center stage, but who cares. That's most YA fiction for you, embrace it or move on. 

4. Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler (2013)

• This is the story of Min and Ed. They were in love, or so Min thought, and then they broke up. Now Min is writing Ed a letter to let him know exactly why. Each chapter is a piece of the letter and is accompanied by an beautiful illustration of a trinket or ticket stub or some physical part of Min and Ed's relationship, all of which are going in a box to be delivered to Ed's front door.
• For anyone who has ever gone through a break up, your heart will identify with this fantastically tragic story. It will make you smile, make you cry and might even help you learn some things about love.Written by Daniel Handler, more well known as Lemony Snicket the author of the Series of Unfortunate Events.

5. Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher (2012)

• Zoe has a secret, one so awful she can't confide in anyone. Not until she starts writing letters to Stuart Harris, a murderer locked up on death row in Texas. Though he never replies Zoe sends letters with pieces of her story as a way to come to grips with what she's done and find a way forward.
• This is a great read from the author of 'My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece.' Because you don't know quite what happened until further down the track I'll avoid giving the 'AHA' moment away. I loved how this was a story about a normal teenager and her life... until it wasn't. 

That is it from me for now. I hope that something I said has inspired you to run off and dive into another world, whether it be one of those I've recommended or not! Happy reading dear friends, and remember to appreciate those slightly dustier books. 

Feed yourself

One of the most common reasons people give for leaving their church for another is that they are not being spiritually fed. I myself have used this phrase many times as would have most Christians at some stage in their journey. I'm currently in hospital recovering from an operation which has given me a lot of time to think and this morning I've been thinking about that phrase 'being fed.'

What does it mean to be 'fed'? Our bodies need food to give us energy and eating is a vital part of being alive, and aside from sleep it is the only thing we do on a regular basis that puts in to our bodies to sustain us rather than comes from our bodies. Moving, thinking, talking. It all requires energy. Therefore being fed is hugely important. But I think it is the wrong metaphor for what to expect from our churches. I'm 20 years old and I've been expected to be able to fed myself for around 18-19 years. Sure in the early days it wouldn't have been all that successful but most days now I get the food in my mouth rather than all over me. People would find it very strange if they came across a 20 year old who was unable to feed themself. So why do we expect others to fed us at church? We should all be in charge of looking after our own spiritual well-being and we shouldn't be relying on external forces to sustain our faith and relationship with Jesus. 

Now this isn't me saying that the church doesn't play an important supportive role in your spiritual life. However I think the metaphor of being fed represents the unhealthy way that we rely on others to maintain our faith for us. If we're not getting fed we see it as their fault. How are we meant to spiritually mature when we are acting like children who need their superiors to put the food on a spoon, make sure it's the right temperature and choo-choo train it into our mouth?

I propose we need to change our way of viewing the church and the pastor's roles from one of a guardian and caregiver to that of a teacher and educator. I have recently finished a three year degree in sociology and education and am planning on going to teachers college next year. I'm 20 years old but I still need to learn from people who have more knowledge and wisdom than I do. I've been learning since the day I was born and I will never stop. Even better, I have taught will teach others throughout my life. A teacher is there to give you their wisdom, they can be founts of knowledge and understanding but it is up to us to choose to actively engage with our own learning. A teacher can't MAKE you learn, but they can attempt to provide you with the tools and expertise to learn. 

This is the way we need to think about faith. We are responsible for growing our faith, for deepening our understanding of, and relationship with, God. Along the way there will be many people who can teach us. The church should be a place with good teachers who challenge you. A good teacher knows you never lean anything new from staying in one place. But the church is not their to hold your faith for you. Your leaders and pastors can not grow your faith for you. 

Fed yourselves. Read books. Listen to podcasts. Engage people in conversations. It's just like when you're a kid, you will find it hard to start with but practice makes perfect and before you know it will be second nature. 

Mothers Day: Another Capitalist Plot?

Being a student of sociology, and learning from some of the more cynical minds at the university, I really should hold the view that Mother's Day is simply a way for capitalists to further their vie for world domination.

For years I never really bought into mother’s day. I think when you are a child it is hard to really see all that your parents do and put up with for you. The love, thoughtfulness and money which goes into so many areas of your life happen without your child-eyes taking in the depth of it all. But as I've grown up and my eyes have matured I have formed a new kind of relationship with my parent that goes beyond love and ventures into the beautiful world of respect and appreciation. As a rather maternally minded individual myself this leads into a love for watching good parents with their kids as well.

I work in a bookshop with a very well stocked and well-loved children's room. This room has become like my own little child. I like to take responsibility for cleaning her up and feeding her more books when she looks hungry. Because of this I spend a lot of time around children and their parents and have seen some beautiful moments and some horrible ones.

Today the shop has been full of parents and children. Fathers and sons out to give mum some rare and valuable "I" time, fathers and daughters picking cards with arms full of goodies from the City Cake Company next door. Mothers and daughters walking in arm in arm, laughing and book-buying, mothers telling their sons they have to "ask the lady if you can have a biscuit" from which tears, then cuddles, ensue.

And it has all brought a lot of joy and smiles to me.

I know there will also be families out there ignoring this day, or fighting with each other, or grieving over the loss this represents. But I think that this day is a fantastic excuse to shine the spotlight on Mum and thank her. So think about something she's done for you, past or present, and write in a cheesy card or in an email and let her know! My parents have kept a lot of my old cards to them and love to look back and have that physical reminder. Or if your mum is not around, honour her by holding those thoughts in your heart, today especially.