It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date, and adapted by Kellee at Unleashing Readers and Jen at Teach Mentor Texts with a children’s/YA focus. The Sunday Post is hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer. These weekly roundups are a great way to discover new blogs and bloggers, share some of the titles you’ve been enjoying, and add to your ever-growing to-read list.
One of the highlights of our trip to Japan has been “couch surfing”, or staying in the homes of generous, welcoming Japanese locals. In the most northern of Japan’s four main islands, Hokkaido, we stayed with locals in two different cities, and explored this snowy, snowy, very snowy wonderland with enthusiastic, knowledgeable guides.
Both of our hosts in Hokkaido were college students, eager to converse with native English speakers and share/compare life experiences. While reminiscing about our school days, one of our hosts exclaimed, with uncharacteristic vehemence, “Our teachers don’t want us to think on our own. They tell us what to think, and they punish us if we do not agree.”
Historically, education systems around the world have heavily emphasized the recitation and regurgitation of facts and figures, which may hone the memory, but which does little to develop students’ abilities and confidence as independent, creative and critical thinkers (which may in fact be exactly the point).
Encouraging children to think for themselves, to assess and evaluate information critically, and to be open to new ideas and interpretations is such an important part of nurturing well-rounded and engaged future citizens.
This is all a rather roundabout way of introducing the one book I have to share this week, which is all about looking at something from different perspectives!
Is it a duck? Is it a rabbit? Well, that all depends on your point of view! “Duck! Rabbit!” is a great means of inspiring conversations about different perspectives, interpretations and points of view in a fun and friendly way. Important topics don’t always have to be explored with a heavy hand, after all!
In this witty picture book, Amy Krouse Rosenthal creates a child-pleasing take on “Duck/Rabbit”, an old “ambiguous image” that was made famous by German philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein when he used it as a means of describing different ways of seeing (thanks, Wikipedia!).
This would be a fantastic classroom resource for persuasive writing units -imagine trying to persuade a fellow classmate to see a rabbit instead of a duck, or vice versa!
However you end up sharing it, “Duck! Rabbit!” and others like it are great tools for encouraging the independent spirits in your classroom or library, and it’s a lot of fun to boot.
Have a great week, everyone!
Love that idea of needing to look at something from a different perspective (stand in someone else’s shoes etc…).
Also love that you’ve stayed with families / locals on your travels as it’s not something I’ve done much but I know people who have and they get all of the best local insights rather than the superficial tourist ones!
This is the first time we’ve stayed with locals, and it’s definitely been eye-opening, and sometimes hilarious, but always an experience to remember!
Wow they get a bit of snow too eh? I love that book and totally saw a rabbit- it was only after I read your whole post that I “saw” the duck. Very interesting- not sure what that says about my visual perception lol but you’re right about interpretation. and interesting too to see that Japanese hosts’ thoughts- can’t say I disagree!
I have a cousin who works in Dubai at the moment but he spends time in in different European countries and he’s taugh in Japan- he often stays at youth hostels or with hosts and he gets so much more out of the experience he says.
You really see an entirely different side of a place when you connect with locals, you can learn so much about a new culture and get the real ‘inside scoop’. The Japanese are notorious for being reserved and unemotional, but we’ve met the kindest, friendliest people, and have had a real blast! I will admit, though, that we are getting a bit old for this kind of travel – we slept on the floor a lot, and these old bones just aren’t as flexible as they used to be! ?
I love learning about different cultures by living or staying with the locals just like you did in Japan. What a great experience. Your new book Duck/Rabbit reminds me of the paradigm shifts that can help us see how we can see a situation in two very different ways. This would be a great book to share with kids!
Great to hear about your trip and love the book. I saw a rabbit, lol. Happy Reading!
Me too! I actually had to stare at it for a while to see the duck! ?
Oh that’s so cool that you’ve been couch surfing! That has to be interesting and a very cool way to meet people and learn about the culture. But WOW that is a lot of snow! Btw, I totally saw a rabbit at first 😛
It was our first experience couch surfing, and it was pretty crazy! The idea of staying with complete strangers actually had me pretty nervous, but it turned out to be an awesome experience. And all that snow fell in a single night. Brrrrrrr…
It sounds like your Japan trip is going well, and quite a learning experience – I love that you’re couch surfing and staying with locals as I imagine you’re seeing a much more authentic Japan. I also really like how your experience lead to the book you’re sharing this week. I see a rabbit, and it was only after a double take and your words that I saw the duck.
Happy reading!
Connecting with locals is such a fantastic way to really explore and experience a new place, especially one as different and unique as Japan! Travel in general is such a great experience, I really feel inspired and motivated, so prepare for a few more Japan-themed posts in the weeks to come! ?
I’ve loved hearing about your trip, Jane. “Couch-surfing” is a new term to me, but it makes sense, and would be an awesome way to really get to know a country and its people. Thanks for reminding about this book. It is a terrific one to examine POV.
Couch-surfing was new to us, too! We mixed things up with some couch-surfing, some Airbnb rentals and some hotel stays. A bit of everything! Japan is such a unique country that we really needed some local help to get a better understanding of its culture. They also introduced us to the tastiest local food! ?
I love that book! Your Japan trip sounds really interesting. I’m sorry to hear that some of the students you met have teachers who aren’t fostering creativity and critical-thinking skills. That definitely makes me feel good about the school where I work.
Education styles and systems can really vary, which as an educator is really fascinating! When working with international students or newcomers it can be really helpful to have an idea of what your students are used to, to help make the transition smoother.
As for Japan – it’s a crazy, wonderful, weird and welcoming country!
Thanks for including how this book is connecting to your real life! It’s interesting to hear about your travels!
How wonderful to have that time in Japan and compare and think about educational systems. And thinking for yourself.
Wow your trip sounds amazing. The duck, rabbit book looks really interesting and clever.
HOLY COW Jane! That’s looks like my backyard. Snow. Snow everywhere. SMH!
“Encouraging children to think for themselves” Love it. I work in Education and always SMH at our educational system.
Sorry WHAT DUCK?? there is no duck there! This is going to drive me crazy a while LOL
First, thank you for sharing about your travels – living with locals is just the best way to get to know another country. Second, thanks for sharing this book – I can just hear all the discussions it will inspire in my sixth grade classroom.
I know we have that book in the Elementary Media Center. I’ll have to take a look at it. I don’t know that I could feel comfortable staying with strangers. I’m glad you found the experience good. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
I love to see that this book is published in Japanese! It really is an interesting book filled with so many possibilities. In these days of post truth, it would be a good starting place for a conversation about this with even older readers.
Ahh! I love that illustration. Thanks for sharing it!
And that is a LOT of snow!
Your trips sounds like fun! Couch Surfing sounds pretty interesting. I haven’t pulled out Duck! Rabbit! in a while. It is a great book.
Great experience, learning to keep an open mind and look at things from different perspectives. We should all be educating our young in this way.
Thanks for sharing…and here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES
Duck, Rabbit has been a favorite in my classroom for several years. Thanks for sharing the Japanese version. Looks like you had a fascinating trip, although I think I would prefer to go in warmer weather! ?
Couch surfing sounds fun. I have friends who travel and rent rooms in folks homes all over the world. I love the concept of Duck Rabbit!
I love the pictures, couch surfing sounds like a lot of fun.
Duck Rabbit is a very cool tool. While I see the Rabbit first, it is cool to see the duck, too!
Loving the look of that duck/rabbit – and such fascinating conversations you’ve had with your Japanese hosts. Was that through AirBnb or some other couch-surfing websites? Haven’t gone to Japan yet, looks like a really interesting place to visit.
We did our couchsurfing through couchsurfing.com! I’m thinking of writing a post about our experience – overall it was really positive, but staying with strangers in a foreign country isn’t without its surprising moments!
I agree that Duck/Rabbit could inspire great discussions. It’s funny because we often see a kids’ book like this and think it couldn’t have much to offer us adults, but how wrong we can be!
Wow! I had no idea Duck! Rabbit! had such a distinguished philosophical pedigree.
No, me neither! All thanks to Wikipedia! ?
Duck Rabbit is such a great book for discussion. Funny too. 🙂