Reading Ourselves Back to Life

The provided text is an excerpt from a lengthy article by Greg Twemlow titled "Reading Ourselves Back to Life: How Story Develops Agency," which argues that modern education fails students by prioritising compliance and mechanical skills over genuine listening and self-belief. Twemlow asserts that the crisis in literacy is fundamentally a confidence crisis, stemming from industrial-era schooling that neglected the child's first story and sense of belonging. The author advocates for educational reforms centred on storytelling and active reflection—such as the "Book of Presentations" ritual—to build cognitive sovereignty and agency in students, arguing that reading, writing, and listening are crucial acts of political and cognitive liberation against the attention economy. He connects his ideas to the work of writer Lydia Davis to illustrate that reading and writing must be taught as reciprocal acts of attention and intimacy. Read the article.

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