The Common Experience                                                          

Marquette Catholic’s “Common Experience”

Creating Intellectual Conversation
      Connecting Experiences
            Conveying Core Values
                  Cultivating Culture & Community

Introduction:
Marquette Catholic is committed to developing a college-like atmosphere at our school that promotes high expectations, rigorous and relevant studies, and a faith community for all students. In our quest for excellence, we continue to search out best practices in secondary and post-secondary educational opportunities that will support this endeavor. The “Common Experience” is a current practice modeled after many college and university freshman programs. The intent of this “book talk” is to provide a shared reading experience for all incoming freshman students and their teachers. By embracing the opportunities of reading one common text, it is hoped students and staff will begin to connect and communicate personal experiences, discuss core values, and to cultivate a positive and nurturing school culture and community. In addition, the program is intended to promote sustained, multiple conversations, on a common theme, both in and out of the classroom.

Each year, the Marquette staff has an opportunity to recommend a text that might be utilized for the “Common Experience”. After a text is selected and approved, all incoming freshman are provided a copy of the text for summer reading. A team of teachers are then selected to facilitate a format for discussion which will be implemented at our freshman orientation. The text will then be used for study in our freshman English classes.

Program Goals:
We hope the “Common Experience” provides incoming freshman with…
• an introduction to academic expectations and intellectual engagement
• a common experience with peers and faculty
• opportunities for self-reflection and critical thinking
• a powerful, meaningful, and FUN experience

Marquette Catholic’s Common Experience: 2009-2010

Marquette Catholic selects Ernest J. Gaines’ book, A Lesson Before Dying, as the text for the 2009-2010 Common Experience. All incoming freshman students will be provided a copy of the text in June. Students are expected to read and research the text over their summer break. The text will be discussed in a “book talk” setting during our freshman orientation. Online discussions will also be created. All students will be expected to share ideas during our first week of school. Marquette Catholic Faculty, Staff, and Administrators will facilitate experiences.

Just a few Examples: (research online “The Common Reading Experience”)
San Diego State University 2009

The Common Experience is designed to cultivate a common conversation, to encourage student participation, and to foster a sense of community on campus. The Fall 2008 Common Experience will begin this intellectual engagement with the reading of the book, Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace – One School at a Time, by Greg Mortenson and David Relin, which incorporates the theme for this year’s Common Experience, “Mapping the Future, Sharing the World”.
This conversation will continue in classes, including RWS and University Seminar, in residence hall life, and give students, faculty, staff, and community members an opportunity to participate in lectures, exhibits, symposia, and other events at SDSU. The Common Experience is a collaborative venture supported by Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and the SDSU Bookstore. The link to the community is integral to the Common Experience, so we will be working in tandem with KPBS and the San Diego Public Library's One Book One San Diego initiative.
Buy your book today at the SDSU Bookstore and begin the Common Experience conversation.

Texas State University: 2008-2009
Summer Reading Program
2008-2009 Common Experience
Lyndon B. Johnson and the Transformation of American Politics
by John L. Bullion

Mission
Texas State University's new students are encouraged to read a critically acclaimed book during the summer and prepare to participate in campus-wide conversations on the book during the next academic year. Texas State's Reading Program joins similar programs at hundreds of universities and colleges in the effort to engage and prepare students for discussion both at the university and with members of the community.

The goals of University Seminar's Summer Reading Program are three-fold:
• to create a "Common Academic Experience" for all new students
• to enhance students' participation in the intellectual life of the campus through discussion and critical thinking on a current topic
• to enhance a sense of community among students, faculty and staff

The Summer Reading Program initiative has the strong support of the University Seminar office, US 1100 Group Leaders, and Dr. Ron Brown, dean of the University College. As many departments and offices of the university as possible are invited to participate in the Common Experience. Each year US 1100 purchases 5,000 copies of the chosen summer reading book to support the program.

2008-2009 University of North Carolina Wilmington
Common Reading
ANNOUNCING THE FALL 2008 SELECTION...
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Synergy, the UNCW Common Reading Experience, is a dynamic program for all UNCW students, particularly first-year students, that provides:

• an introduction to academic expectations and intellectual engagement
• a common experience with peers and faculty
• opportunities for self-reflection and critical thinking
• a powerful, meaningful, and FUN experience

2008-2009 Aquinas College
Join in on the READ… As the inaugural Common Reading Experience kicks off, we are pleased to invite incoming freshman, current students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni and all other members of the Aquinas Community to read “Mountains Beyond Mountains” by Tracey Kidder. The program aims to connect our AQ community on several levels: intellectually, socially, and philosophically. When we have all had a common experience, like reading the same book, we have more to talk about, debate and ponder… together. We look forward to discussing the book and important themes contained within the text as a community. Happy Reading!