TWEM - Keeping a Commonplace Journal

[Rhea]

I've just read Ch. 3, Keeping the Journal in The Well Educated Mind.

 

I'm curious how others have implemented this, specifically when you have more than one book going at a time. Have you kept entries for books separated by book, or just had them intermixed?

 

It seems like it would be easiest to implement if I just let them be intermixed, but I'm wondering if I'd regret that later when I want to find an entry for a specific book.

 

Please share your wisdom and hindsight with me. What has worked for you? For your students?

 

Rhea

[Nicole M]

I've been wondering about this, too, and, frankly, giving myself a headache. I love the Japanese bound notebooks, and have been using one for my notes about our Bible as Literature readings, and thought about having separate notebooks for different categories. (They're small.) But today, for instance, I read an essay in a book about the history of the Royal Society, which would be a book in the "science" category. But it was an essay about balloon flight, and we read it because of references to Benjamin Franklin, whose autobiography we're reading, and all my other Ben F. notes would go in the "literature" notebook. And then at the same time, I'm reading a biography of Beatrix Potter, which would also go in the science notebook, but I'm nowhere close to being done with the book of essays on the Royal Society.

 

See? One could drive oneself mad.

 

Which is to say, I hope there are more sensible people out there who can make helpful comments. :D

[Kareni]

Here's a past thread with some suggestions:

 

Diogenes and Commonplace Book?

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Nicole M]

Here's a past thread with some suggestions:

 

Diogenes and Commonplace Book?

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

There's a fun link in that thread. Thanks!

 

I wonder if people are afraid of the word "commonplace," and if that might be why there aren't more replies. I have a hard time imagining that the brilliant women and men on this board don't keep some kind of reading journal.

[swimmermom3]

I've been wondering about this, too, and, frankly, giving myself a headache. I love the Japanese bound notebooks, and have been using one for my notes about our Bible as Literature readings, and thought about having separate notebooks for different categories. (They're small.) But today, for instance, I read an essay in a book about the history of the Royal Society, which would be a book in the "science" category. But it was an essay about balloon flight, and we read it because of references to Benjamin Franklin, whose autobiography we're reading, and all my other Ben F. notes would go in the "literature" notebook. And then at the same time, I'm reading a biography of Beatrix Potter, which would also go in the science notebook, but I'm nowhere close to being done with the book of essays on the Royal Society.

 

See? One could drive oneself mad.

 

Which is to say, I hope there are more sensible people out there who can make helpful comments. :D

 

I lost track in your second sentence, but commiserate on this issue.:D It's the same problem I have with notes for each of the kids' subjects. Between my personal studies and their subjects, there are too many notebooks.:tongue_smilie:

[Melissa B]

Both my older girls are starting them this year, but they are keeping them on the computer. That way it is easy to sort the information into the proper file and even put the same information in more than one file. It isn't beautiful like a commonplace book, but it is more useful. I've never gotten used to using the computer the way they have. I keep all of my notes in a standard file cabinet. But I will photocopy some of my notes in order to place them in more than one file folder. I thought about having them also keep a written commonplace book, maybe of quotes or something. That way they could continue to work on their handwriting and also have something concrete and beautiful - but they really aren't interested, so I won't likely pursue it. :glare:

[KAR120C]

I just put them in a notebook (plain spiral notebook from Staples... nothing pretty), as I go. No particular order or grouping, just the bits that I want to keep.

 

On the other hand, if I want to find something, I get to go through all my notebooks and re-read some lovely passages while I'm looking. It's inefficient, but I do like a little stroll through my favorites. :)

[Kfamily]

My older dd keeps a commonplace journal. I admit that I am very relaxed about our approach to this. I really let her have a lot of free rein with regard to what she chooses as an entry. I require that she choose from the books we are at present reading for school, but I would never have any problem with any special requests she might have. I want the journal to be her personal collection of quotes, passages and poetry that moves or inspires her. I know she really appreciates the freedom I give her in this. I do sometimes ask her to choose something different if I want her to include some variety with her journal, but my goal here is just to help her keep her options open and to find inspiration or beauty in something in which she might not always look for it. She has no particular order she follows either. I do ask her to date her entry and I did, just this year, ask her to sometimes include her own personal explanations or thoughts to her entry.

[Rhea]

See? One could drive oneself mad.

 

Yes! :iagree:

I love bound books and hand writing (for some things) so that's what I'm leaning towards for my commonplace book.

 

Here's a past thread with some suggestions:

 

Diogenes and Commonplace Book?

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

Thank you, Kareni!

 

Both my older girls are starting them this year, but they are keeping them on the computer. That way it is easy to sort the information into the proper file and even put the same information in more than one file.

 

Melissa, I'm attracted to being able to organize them, but I think I might be less likely to do it if I were keeping it on the computer. I certainly see the attraction though! That's wonderful that your girls are each keeping one. I'm hoping my daughter takes to it.

 

I just put them in a notebook (plain spiral notebook from Staples... nothing pretty), as I go. No particular order or grouping, just the bits that I want to keep.

 

On the other hand, if I want to find something, I get to go through all my notebooks and re-read some lovely passages while I'm looking. It's inefficient, but I do like a little stroll through my favorites. :)

 

I can see being the same way, enjoying that stroll. Thank you for sharing how you keep you journal.

 

My older dd keeps a commonplace journal. I admit that I am very relaxed about our approach to this. I really let her have a lot of free rein with regard to what she chooses as an entry.

 

This makes a lot of sense, especially if you want the student to own it.

 

I was planning to do it as SWB suggests, summarizing my reading at the end of a chapter or what have you, along with favorite quotes, etc. This will be good for me as I don't tend to remember as much as I'd like later on. I'm currently slogging through the Iliad and enjoyably reading Microbe Hunters. I guess I'll just intermix them and whatever else I read or choose to note, and hopefully will find in the future that I enjoy those trips down memory lane when looking for something specific. :D

[Nicole M]

I lost track in your second sentence, but commiserate on this issue.:D It's the same problem I have with notes for each of the kids' subjects. Between my personal studies and their subjects, there are too many notebooks.:tongue_smilie:

 

Well. At least I didn't make you spit coffee on your keyboard this time.... ;)

[Karenciavo]

I keep commonplace journals. I use the method that I've always heard attributed to John Locke, an index system with each letter of the alphabet followed by a vowel. Then you list words according to the first consonant and the first vowel, so "coffee" would be indexed on the C-O page and "spit", if you had a pretty verse about that, would be indexed on the S-I page.

 

Levenger used to sell cute little commonplace journals with the index already printed in the front. I'm on my last one :( I have my main commonplace book which has around 300 pages (8.5x11) and I have a 1/2 dozen of the 124 page Levenger journals that have 124 pages (5x6?) that I carry around with me.

 

I started my book back in 2005 or so. It's great fun.

[Nicole M]

I keep commonplace journals. I use the method that I've always heard attributed to John Locke, an index system with each letter of the alphabet followed by a vowel. Then you list words according to the first consonant and the first vowel, so "coffee" would be indexed on the C-O page and "spit", if you had a pretty verse about that, would be indexed on the S-I page.

 

Levenger used to sell cute little commonplace journals with the index already printed in the front. I'm on my last one :( I have my main commonplace book which has around 300 pages (8.5x11) and I have a 1/2 dozen of the 124 page Levenger journals that have 124 pages (5x6?) that I carry around with me.

 

I started my book back in 2005 or so. It's great fun.

 

Oh, no! Betrayed by Levenger? Say it isn't so! :( I recently went looking for the planner I use every year as a sort of diary / memory book, and it is no longer being sold or, apparently made, and I'm a bit out of sorts about it. So I feel your pain.

 

I was curious about this John Locke business, and found this:

 

http://mnemosynosis.livejournal.com/26982.html

 

This is very curious, because just yesterday I read an essay in a new book about the Royal Society (edited by Bill Bryson), "Archives of Life: Science and Collections," by Richard Fortey. The essay is mostly about how the history of collections, what motivated the collectors, etc., but also touches on the shifting ideas about how, and the new imperative to, categorize information.

 

I also found this interesting image of a "library key," number 8 if you scroll down the page:

 

http://www.americanantiquarian.org/adoptabook09.htm

 

I love old books, the fonts, the lovely handwriting.

 

This, of course, adds nothing to the original question, but it was fun exploring. So I'm glad the question was asked!

[Rhea]

About a third of the way down this page, under the heading Using a Commonplace Journal, there is an explanation of how to keep an Index for a bound commonplace journal.

 

http://www.diyplanner.com/docs/commonplace2

 

This might be helpful to those of us who are using a bound commonplace journal for more than just quotes, and for more than one book at a time.

 

Rhea

Edited September 18, 2010 by Rhea
spelling, grammar, you name it

[Rhea]

I keep commonplace journals. I use the method that I've always heard attributed to John Locke, an index system with each letter of the alphabet followed by a vowel. Then you list words according to the first consonant and the first vowel, so "coffee" would be indexed on the C-O page and "spit", if you had a pretty verse about that, would be indexed on the S-I page.

 

This method is explained here with visuals if anyone is interested:

http://www.mostly-victorian.com/GOP1881/Commonplace.pdf

 

What I like about that method is that at a later date one could reference all of ones entries labeled under "music" or "freedom" in one section. (Until the first book is full, that is.)

 

This would all be much easier if I were willing to keep it on the computer. :glare:

[Karenciavo]

Oh, no! Betrayed by Levenger? Say it isn't so!

Did I happen to mention it was 124 pages :tongue_smilie:

 

I was curious about this John Locke business, and found this:

 

 

Locke... criticized the habit to collect and memorize arguments on the grounds that it misguided the understanding, made an individual "a retainer to others" and did not grant any solid foundation to knowledge. He acknowledged that the accumulation of sentences that was "very familiar among bookish men" could bring them "to furnish themselves with the arguments they meet with pro and con in the questions they study." But he maintained that although such "arguments gathered from other men's thoughts, floating only in the memory," could supply "copious talk with some appearance of reason," they did not help scholars "to judge right nor argue strongly, but only to talk copiously on either side, without being steady and settled in their own judgments." Moreover, "the multiplying variety of arguments" cumbered the memory to no purpose. [2]

 

Here Locke speaks scathingly of peers who simply parrot back information that they have read.

 

Or heard. I don't think this has gotten any better, people forever in the grammar stage.

 

I love old books, the fonts, the lovely handwriting.

 

This, of course, adds nothing to the original question, but it was fun exploring. So I'm glad the question was asked!

I share this love with you, thank you for posting the links.

Edited September 18, 2010 by Karenciavo

[stephanier.1765]

You all have encouraged me to start one for myself. I make my son keep one for school but he isn't interested enough to do any more than that. But I find myself often wanting to jot things down and have bits and pieces of things all over my desk. This would be the perfect way to keep everything together. Thank you!

[jenadina]

I use a circa notebook for all of my self-study things, including the commonplace book. Eventually I will buy a leather cover for it and keep my current book in leather for aesthetic appeal :) I also use fountain pens.