Commonplace Books--My re-introduction to journaling

If it makes any sense to you, and maybe it doesn't, I think I had a lot more to say in my journal when I was in late middle school/early high school than I do now. I look back, and, man, was I a deep, though ridiculously idealistic, kid. Now? Psht. I have this habit of saying everything I would write in the traditional journal out loud. I know. Those of you who do not know me are probably scoffing. "No one says EVERYTHING they're thinking out loud." No. Honestly. Ask anyone who truly knows me. I do. Moving along. That said, I abandoned the traditional journal a long time ago. There were always so many wasted pages, and, very frequently, my ramblings had more to do than the boy over whom I was swooning than anything transcendent or life-altering. #Letsbereal They made for nice little love timelines, though.

After some encouragement from AND a workshop led by my department chair about Commonplace Books, I've decided to give one a try. For the uninformed (aka: me before Mrs. L told me about them), Commonplace Books are, according to Harvard University Library,

In the most general sense, a commonplace book contains a collection of significant or well-known passages that have been copied and organized in some way, often under topical or thematic headings, in order to serve as a memory aid or reference for the compiler. Commonplace books serve as a means of storing information, so that it may be retrieved and used by the compiler, often in his or her own work.

The commonplace book has its origins in antiquity in the idea of loci communes, or "common places," under which ideas or arguments could be located in order to be used in different situations. The florilegium, or "gathering of flowers," of the Middle Ages and early modern era, collected excerpts primarily on religious and theological themes. Commonplace books flourished during the Renaissance and early modern period: students and scholars were encouraged to keep commonplace books for study, and printed commonplace books offered models for organizing and arranging excerpts.

 

 

     According to Mrs. L's professional development presentation, a LOT of famous people kept Commonplace Books, including: Twain, Emerson, and Thoreau, to name a few. Many people whose Commonplace Books serve as modern examples were considered the great creative minds of their times--for good reason, I suppose. Commonplace Books are terrific ways to dump everything you're learning onto a page. In fact, we are *hopefully* going to require every student in the rhetoric (high) school to keep one throughout their four years. Imagine having pages and pages of the things that inspired your heart and mind throughout high school. Now, I would argue that's better than an enumeration of your heartthrobs. Yeah?

 

So, I've started my uber-simple Commonplace Book. It's just quotes now, maybe some reflections on quotes/ideas later? Who knows. I'm really enjoying it and encourage you to start. Every couple days, I'm looking back over it and actually RUMINATING on what I read days ago, something that, as a teacher who is required to read for work all the time, does not happen as easily as you'd think. Instead of just skimming over those little gems of knowledge or wisdom, I'm looking at them, writing them down, and then looking at them again! Glory be! I'll keep you updated. For now, I'll leave you with one of my Commonplace quotes.

 

 



Information washes over us like a sea and recedes without leaving its traces behind. Wrestling with truth, as the story of Jacob warns us, is a time-consuming process that marks us forever.

-Susan Wise Bauer, The Well-Educated Mind, p. 25