George Eliot's Middlemarch is a lengthy read of significant depth. Dorothea is one of the most admirable characters I have yet to encounter in literature. The last section of the novel "Sunset and Sunrise" also happens to tie in thematically with some of my recent zen Buddhism readings in compelling parallel ways. The final paragraph leaves us with the sentiment below, which imbues even the most minuscule seeming life with a certain grandeur:
Her finely-touched spirit had still its fine issues, though they were
not widely visible. Her full nature, like that river of which Cyrus broke
the strength, spent itself in channels which had no great name on the
earth. But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably
diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on
unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they
might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a
hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.
We all know that teenagers are the fastest text messengers amongst us, and that they possess the highest levels of cell phone literacy. So, let's use that skill to make library (or museum, or gallery) activities more appealing to teens. Why not give our youth some fun educational activities wherein they use their cellphone cameras and their text messaging speed to get them excited about finding and using information. Students (of any age actually) can start with a cellphone and their first clue. Then when they find the information they were sent after they can take a photo of themselves with it, text that image to a central number, and then receive a reply text containing the next clue. There needs to be multiple search patterns for students to follow so they cannot just chase each other around, and to avoid overcrowding in any one area of the library. Rather than punishing teens for using the phones they so love, let's harness that interest and redirect and expand it! It would also be fun to have them text certain responses to a Twitter account, or a blog, or... and then the participants could visit that site individually or as a group and see what the other's are doing.
