Young Book Lovers

I did something fun today. Sacred Heart Academy is an old (and very $$$) local girls school. As part of a recent assignment, everyone in their freshman class picked a local writer to research, read one of their books, and wrote a paper. A girl named Katie picked me, and then she invited me to come speak to her class. Since I’m a big believer in encouraging young peoples’ interest in books, I said yes.

I don’t think I’ve ever had such an enthusiastic, interested, and just plain fun audience. The experience left me with a pleasant buzz that has lasted all day. The girls were articulate, knowledgeable, mature, and amazingly lucky to go to such a wonderful school and have such an intelligent, enthusiastic teacher. I’m not normally a fan of all girls schools (my own two girls went to Seymour College in Adelaide, a very $$$ elite girls boarding school in the eastern suburbs, and were miserable). But what I saw working in that class today was education at its best, inquisitive minds coming together with an adult who respects them and guides them toward knowledge and a love of learning.

If only that wasn’t so rare.