Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Skim and Scan

"Those who read fast reap no more advantage than a bee would by only skimming over the surface of the flower, instead of waiting to penetrate into it, and extract its sweets."

~ Madame Jeanne Guyon ~

I love to read. I would rather read a good book than watch a movie, because I can savor the words, read them over, decide what the characters look like, give their words the tone and inflection I want, and make the story my own. My current favorite author is Francine Rivers. I have been reading her books for months and have come close to reading everything she has on the market, so I find myself slowing down and savoring every word. I always have a grieving period after a good book; I reflect on the story, I miss the characters, then I begin the waiting period before I can start another book.

In contrast, if I am reading a book that is not as well written, or that I have to read something that I am not particularly interested in, I tend to skim, looking for the good parts. Skimming is not actually reading, it is more like searching for specific words or thoughts. A good skimmer can find information quickly, then slow down and dig deep into the information.

The problem is that skimming is a skill. Before I became a high school principal, I worked with students with learning differences. My favorite students to work with were students with ADD. One of the struggles that they tend to have is the inability to skim. That presents unique problems. When assigned a chapter to read with questions at the end to answer, few high school students understand the importance of actually reading the chapter. Most will skim the chapter, looking for key words and phrases that will help to answer the assigned questions. However, most students with ADD are terrible skimmers. To complicate matters, they also struggle to focus when reading material that is of little interest to them, in spite of their reading ability. Nevertheless, strong student or weak, skimming is not reading for understanding; it is searching.

Skimming is like scanning. Ever enter the church auditorium, looking for your husband? You scan the faces until you find the familiar one, but if questioned, will probably not be able to recall many of the faces you scanned. However, if you pick a row and study it, you can look at the faces over and over until you commit them to memory.

I scan the Bible when looking for a particular word, phrase, or verse, but to read for understanding, I have to slow down and read each word. I will then read a concordance on that scripture to understand the context and find associated scriptures. I keep a highlighter and a pen in my Bible to highlight scriptures and write in the margins. I also write on the blank pages provided at the back, having learned to do that in college with textbooks that I purchased; it is an important study tool for me. God‘s word is amazing. It is timeless, the only book I know that you can read over and over and learn something new every time.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet

and a light for my path.”

Psalm 119:105


14 comments:

Denise said...

Bless you for your wonderful thoughts.

Becky said...

Thanks, Denise. I always enjoy your blog.

Anonymous said...

I so agree with you on reading the Bible. At first I was a little hesitant to mark my Bible, but no longer...it is good to make comments what a Scripture passage means to you...I don't have blank pages in my Bible at the end though...

Also, I liked the series by Francine Rivers about the Bible characters...She made them come to life.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this week's IOW quote.

Blessings on your day and always...

Cindy Swanson said...

Great take on the quote, Becky!

By the way, Francine Rivers is one of my very favorite authors. I've read all of her full-length novels and one or two of her novellas. I'm excited, because another author (Robin Lee Hatcher) told me that Francine is going to be coming out with another full-length novel in the not-too-distant future. It's been a while since she's written a full-length, and I can't wait! Whatever it is about, it will be good.

Miriam Pauline said...

I really enjoyed your post. Thank you for sharing!

Delete said...

Becky-

I loved the analogy of looking for your husband's face in church. It really underscored how we can't recall what we haven't taken the time to truly examine.

Blessings-
Jennifer

Camy Tang said...

I loved your discussion of skimming versus reading, especially in regard to your students. That's so interesting!

I love reading, too. Give me a Jane Austen novel any day.
Camy

Becky said...

Eph2810,
Thanks for writing. You are exactly right about F.R. She made them come to life.

Becky said...

Cindy,
Now I have to find someone else to read!

Becky said...

Mipa,
Thanks for stopping by. I enjoyed your blog as well.

Becky said...

Jennifer,
You are so right!

Becky said...

Camy,
Glad to meet a fellow reader!

Darlene Schacht said...

I wrote a big comment on ADD, and then deleted to rewrite. Actually this is about my third rewrite. I must be getting tired. :)

I guess if we are skimming we have to ask ourselves why we're doing it right? I know that there have been nights where I was exausted, so I'd read two pages just to tell myself I did.

Wow, this really caught my eye, "I always have a grieving period after a good book; I reflect on the story, I miss the characters"

I've done that too!

Becky said...

Thanks, Darlene. I've done the skimming thing too, just to say I did it.