Your WVU experience is not just learning content; it's also about developing the
tools to think — reflectively, logically and strategically. At the Honors
College, we're invested in having you arrive on campus having begun that process.
The captivating and startling memoir
Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover is the
2019-20 Campus Read at WVU. Many people will be reading this book this year,
and we are asking you as an Honors student to delve into the material a little
deeper and reflect on the book before starting your classes this fall.
Through the Honors College Summer Reading Assignment, we are asking you to do
three things:
- Come prepared to join a campus conversation upon your arrival,
- Take some time to reflect on your transition into a new environment and
- Think critically about a subject that is meaningful no matter what your chosen
field.
For this reading assignment, we encourage you to consider the many perspectives of the individual characters and the pivotal role in the author's story.
Consider how Westover came to understand and process her developmental years
as a child living in rural Idaho. Against all odds, she persevered and
went on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University. How do you think she
was able to do that? What parts of her experience can you take as lessons for
your own experience to come? Through this memoir, we will explore self-reliance,
mentorship, determination, mental health and what it means to become educated.
Each of the following prompts will ask you to address three elements:
- Consider and define the concept of the prompt.
- Illustrate how that concept functions in Westover's narrative.
- Reflect on how that concept has functioned in your life and might function in your college career.
Choose One
PROMPT 1: BELONGING
At each stage of her life - at home, at BYU, at Cambridge, etc. — Westover feels
at some point like she might not fit in, and in several moments needs to be
reminded of her right to be where she is. How is belonging a key concept in
a person's life path? How does Westover struggle with belonging? How do you
anticipate your sense of belonging in the Honors community at WVU?
PROMPT 2: MENTORSHIP
Growing up, Westover has little guidance from her immediate family, though her
brother Tyler encourages her to go to college. There, she meets mentors like
her bishop, Dr. Kerry and Dr. Steinberg, all who help her along, and offer
her just enough support and guidance to ultimately make a huge impact on her
life. What does effective mentorship look like to you? How did it function
in Westover's life? Who are some of your unsung heroes and how have they impacted
your life? What kind of mentors do you hope for at WVU?
PROMPT 3: UNCONVENTIONAL PATHS
While Westover is not traditionally educated for the first 17 years of her life,
she certainly has access to skills and expertise that most people her age never
learn. She knows how to operate heavy machinery, how to prepare many natural
remedies for illnesses, etc. What are the boundaries of the "conventional"
path to college? Do any of these skills help Westover in her quest to become
traditionally educated? Are there other aspects to her unconventional education
that are valuable to her? Like what? And what about you: what unique or nontraditional
skills or expertise do you bring to college? How can you use these to
help you succeed in your traditional education?
PROMPT 4: PATIENCE AND PERSISTENCE
In chapter 6, after her older brother Tyler leaves for college, Tara and her
brother Richard both find ways to pursue knowledge. At the end of the section,
Westover writes, "The skill I was learning was a crucial one, the patience
to read things I could not yet understand." Patience is an under-discussed
part of learning. What do you think are the key features of patience and persistence?
How does Westover demonstrate these characteristics throughout her story? In
what subjects will you need to exercise the most patience with ideas you do
not yet understand? What tactics will you use to incentivize and reward patient
learning?
What is a Campus Read?
WVU's Campus Read engages the campuses and community in a common reading experience,
which fosters dialog, critical thinking and community participation.If you
have questions about the summer reading assignment, please contact Ashley Watts
at 304-293-1808 or via email at
ashley.watts@mail.wvu.edu. For more information about the book, visit
campusread.wvu.edu.