One Book, One Harper

The Ballad of Trenchmouth TaggartbyGlenn Taylor

What is One Book, One Harper? a collaborative effort to encourage students, faculty and other college staff to read a common book and participate in a variety of academic, cultural, and social activities related to the book.

will explore one book per academic year, with related events and activities spanning the fall and spring semesters

Books are chosen by a committee of faculty and administrators from all areas of the college. Selections are based on the books’ readability and the presence of multi-disciplinary themes.

Objectives:Emphasize reading as an important element of the college experience

Encourage and enhance student participation in the intellectual life of the campus by encouraging open discussion, and critical thinking about a common theme;

Provide an introduction to the expectations of higher education;

Create a sense of community by increasing student-to-student interaction and student-to-faculty interaction;

Integrate an academic and social experience into the campus community;

Help students make connections between classroom and out-of-classroom experiences.

National Endowment for the Arts“To Read or Not to Read”

2007 Findings of this study:

Younger Americans read less and they read less well. Because they read less well, they have lower levels of academic achievementPoor reading skills correlate heavily with lack of employment, lower wages, and fewer opportunities for advancement. Significantly worse reading skills are found among prisoners than in the general adult population. Deficient readers are less likely to become active in civic and cultural life, most notably in volunteerism and voting.

Our Response?A commitment to student success!

The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart by Glenn Taylor

This is the story of Trenchmouth Taggart, the oldest living man in West Virginia, born in 1903. This book follows his life as the adopted son of a mountain woman, his life-long dental affliction, his stint as a coal mine war sniper, as a musician and as a prize-winning reporter.

Themes: Physical deformities/disabilities Medical conditions Religion Appalachian culture Parenting Nontraditional families Child development

Sexuality Race relations Coal mine wars Music Education Union/Labor relations Language/dialect/linguistics

Bookstorepermanent display. Book will be available all year at cost ($10)Hullaballoo—books raffled off to studentsBook on reserve in library for faculty useSpeech club—Sept 20 noon reading to promote book and event

Harper Cafeteria –Appalachian themed menu during event weeks (September/October/February/April)

Read-A-Thon during National Library Week. Participants will "buy" an opportunity to read for 5 minutes out of the book during the noon hour throughout the week. Proceeds go to Literacy West Virginia

Theme related events and activities:

To Appalachia! Readings from The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart  

Finding your Muse: Harper Authors  and the Creative Writing Process 

Striking a (Coal) Nerve: A discussion of strikes, unions and the coal mining community

Appalachia Meets Chicago: Banjos and Blues

Faculty in all disciplines are encouraged to integrate/infuse the book or one of its themes into their curriculum by:

Having the book as required reading in your courses

Classroom discussion/projects/assignments/learning activities based on a theme included in the book

Have students attend or participate in One Book, One Harper events as they relate to themes contained in the book

Take part in various One Book, One Harper activities

Curriculum infusion support:

Curriculum infusion workshopsOne Book, One Harper Blackboard siteOne Book, One Harper curriculum infusion subcommittee members

One Book, One Harper website

Animoto move?

One Book, One Harper committee:

Michele Ukleja (Co-coordinator)

Amy Kammerman (Co-coordinator)

Shante Bishop

Tonya Dixon

Jim Edstrom

Cathy Ender

Linda Frank

Njambi Kamoche

Norma Grassini-Komara

Judy Marwick

Richard Middleton-Kaplan

Pardess Mitchell

Diana Sharp

Linda Smith

Joe Wachter