(So How Does Electricity Work??)

     The Ember books are ones I certainly enjoyed reading. Like with any other book I really enjoyed, I found out as much as I could about the author, how she got the idea, and additional books as soon as I turned the last digital page. I found out there are two more books (much to my delight) and added them to my never-ending summer reading list. 

 

      I must admit that I had attempted to read City of Ember before but quickly lost interest for some reason. 

 

      Boy, was I missing out. 

 

      These books are a great read and are great for the classroom as well. The plot is certainly unique and exciting. These books are perfect for inciting discussions about the state of our planet and how we mistreat it. Or about the global community's failure to get along and the possible consequences of that. Or the “right thing to do” in difficult and life-threatening situations. These books, like The Hunger Games trilogy, forces readers to think about our world and what will soon happen if we don't change. 

 

      I believe these books are also well-suited for the science classroom, especially because of Doon's love for bugs and finding out how things work. Students could find ways to create electricity themselves as Doon did. They could mimic his device. Heck, these books are perfect for simply arousing curiosity on how electricity works. I'm itching to Google it right now. 

 

      But I mustn't. At least not yet. 

 

      Because I do want to address one issue I did have with the books.

      In my humble opinion, they were a bit slow in the middle. I feel like these books could have been shorter. 

 

      On the other hand, the author makes up for that by creating pretty unique and believable characters, such as Poppy and Torren. More kudos for thinking up such a complex and interesting tale. These books have made my list of absolute favorites.

Expanding Students' Horizons Through Multicultural Literature

     When the professor exclaimed that The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian was the funniest book ever, I was a little skeptical. After all, I had just finished reading Totally Joe. So was it the funniest book ever?

     

     Yes it was.

     

      I almost choked on the cookie I was eating while reading this novel. I was laughing out loud at various scenes in the book, especially when the main character's “kind of” girlfriend was violently throwing up in the bathroom.

This book has many emotional ups and downs. That's what I loved about it. At certain times, especially when he finds out that his sister was burned alive while drunk, I almost wanted to cry. Or when his father gave him five dollars for Christmas (and late) yet he was grateful.

     I also found out why this book is on the banned list of many schools. Yet I would still keep this in my classroom. I don't think I would use it as a read aloud because it does contain many sexual references which many parents and administrators might not like. However, I would keep it on my shelf or use excerpts. This is the kind of book just about any student would enjoy: boy, girl, White, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, African American, multiracial, reader, non-reader, etc. I loved the illustrations and the brutal honesty of this book. It wouldn't have been nearly as good without those things.

     The one thing is that I would make this book appropriate for 8^th grade and higher. I would recommend this book to my younger brother in high school. I kept thinking Oh, Junior would think this part was hilarious, or Man, and Junior thought our Christmases sucked. I also have twin brothers in middle school and a nephew in fifth grade. I would maybe give this to the twins to read because there are some things in this book that they are still not fully aware about (I hope). I would never give it to my nephew (not to mention my sister would FREAK). Now that I think about it, I would give this book to the twins. That's how bad I want them to read. Then again, my mom and older brother would FREAK.

     Anyway. Now moving on to the slightly less engaging articles about Native American literature. As far as the sports debate, I say that as long as they are not offended, I don't think it's a big deal. Except for the term “Redskin.” I feel like that term a lot more people see as offensive. I think it's the same as “wetback” for Hispanics. I can see how that should be rid of. If “wetback” was used today, it would cause an uproar. If it was used in a few hundred years, most people might have forgotten how offensive it was so they might be okay with it. However, it still has a very negative history as a word.

     Moving on to the longer article, I think it is important to make children aware of these stereotypes as young as possible. They should know that, yes, Native Americans are still around, and Thanksgiving did not happen exactly as they think they did. That also goes for the Pocahontas movie. I also appreciate the questions for guidance on selecting Native American literature. I think many times we used stereotypical materials in the classroom that we are not aware about. 

 

Alexie, S. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. New York: Little, Brown.

Harris, V. J., & Reese, D. (1997). Native Americans in Children's Literature. Using multiethnic literature in the K-8 classroom (pp. 155-185). Norwood, Mass.: Christopher-Gordon.

Price, S. (2002, March 4). The Indian Wars. Sports Illustrated, 96, 66-72.

 

A Good Way To Address (and Resolve) LGBT Questions, Bullying, and Discomfort

     I was pretty curious about this week's readings since I have never read any LGBT literature before. I am happy to say that I was pleased with both novels as a teacher and a reader. Both books were funny, engaging, and addressed important issues occurring in our schools.

      I am really glad that I read these books. They have greatly expanded my mind and perspectives on the LGBT community. I feel like I can at least understand a little bit more what this group of people goes through. I feel this is especially important for teachers. Teenagers struggle enough to figure out who they are without stressing about not being accepted because they might be gay. From reading the articles, especially “From Queer to Gay,” I learned also that young adult literature that has gay characters has not really been published but is now on the rise. I think this will help gay students feel better about who they are. Also, other students will hopefully understand and not mistreat their gay peers. I think that with these kind of books, ones that have characters from all walks of life, students will be more comfortable discussing and learning about the LGBT community

      Although this week is all about learning about LGBT young adult literature, The Misfits and Totally Joe also bring up another hot issue in our schools .I am talking about bullying. Bullying is a horrible thing that often goes unnoticed in our classrooms. These books can help students find a role model on how to deal with these issues and perhaps make them think twice before bullying others.

As a teacher, I would honestly recommend these books to any student, whether gay, straight, or if I had no idea of their sexual identity. These books are important for all students to read because all students deserve fair treatment. These books are a great way for students to learn about the LGBT community. Honestly, students would definitely be able to handle these books, even if parents and teachers are uncomfortable with the topics brought up in the book.

I would also like to mention that I loved how Totally Joe was written. The alphabiography is a project I would love to do with my own students.

       It was also interesting to read about the picture books that discuss having gay parents. I think these are good for teaching even really young students about diversity. They should be in our school libraries even if a lot of people have problems with it. It is important to teach tolerance at a young age, and banning these books would send a horrible message about the kind of society we live in. It doesn't matter what kind of personal beliefs an individual may hold about being gay. Everyone deserves to be treated fairly and equally. A good way to reach that is through YA literature in the classroom.

Howe, J. (2001). The misfits. New York, NY: Aladdin Paperbacks.

Howe, J. (2005). Totally Joe. New York, NY: Anthem Books for Young Readers.

Jenkins, C. (1998).  From queer to gay and back again:  Young adult novels with  gay/lesbian/queer content, 1969-1997. Library Quarterly, 68(3), 298-334.

Stewig, J. W. (1994). Self-censorship of picture books about gay and lesbian families. New Advocate, 7(3), 184-192.

Blog 8: Octavian Nothing

    To be honest, it took me over a hundred pages to like this book. Once I got past those hundred pages, however, I found the book exciting and a pleasure to read. M.T. Anderson does a great job of creating an engaging story and a character the reader truly cares about. The topic of this story are also unlike any other you would encounter in your typical novel. I’ve read plenty of historical fiction, but never one about the American Revolution told from the perspective of an extremely intelligent Black boy who is used for experimentation.
    What I didn’t initially like about this book was the written style. I had no idea it would be written in style of the 18th century so I was caught off guard. The unfamiliar style alienated me a bit from the story and even annoyed me. However, I quickly got used to it and came to appreciate the aim for authenticity. I also felt like it wasn’t really going anywhere. I kind of knew that Octavian and his mother were experiments for Mr. Gitney, but I didn’t see enough conflict to keep me interested. I have to admit I would have stopped reading had this not been required reading.
    I’m really glad I did keep reading, though. I learned that Octavian and his mother were Black; that his mother had been brought for the slave trade, and they were both part of an experiment to see if African Americans had the same intellectual capacities as their White counterparts. Then, the conflict increases greatly as Octavian is used to prove that Africans are inferior. Octavian changes so much, and his story captivated me. The rest of the novel was awesome, and I rooted for him all the way, hoping he would be able to escape or at least prove that he was even smarter than those around hims. Bono was also another favorite character. Towards the end of the novel, though, the perspective changes from Octavian’s first person to a variety of letters from a person who comes across Octavian. These were filled with many details I skipped over. I just wanted to know about Octavian. I was glad when the story came back to his perspective in Part III. I also was intrigued by the scribbled out pages after Octavian’s mother’s death. I think these spoke more than words.
    Although I thought Octavian Nothing was a stupendous read (and I look forward to reading the rest of the series to find out what happens to him), I don’t think this novel is completely appropriate for a middle school audience. I was reading reviews about the novel online to see what other readers had to say about the book, and one reviewer wrote that it shouldn’t even be a young adult novel. I completely agree. This novel is more appropriate for adults based on the subject matter. For example, there are sexual references throughout, such as when Octavian is pressured to read very adult stories to Bono. Much of the vocabulary is also not suitable for the typical middle schooler. I found some words that were challenging for me. I think that, along with the 18th century style, would turn off most middle schoolers.
    However, I think many passages from this book could be used in the classroom. Students could see what people wrote like back then or hear a perspective from a Revolutionary soldier. They could learn about the real experiments that happened on Africans to try to prove or disprove their capacities. I think that the story as a whole would be interesting to students, and maybe passages could be real aloud. The whole novel might be a problem, though, because of its length and occasional inappropriate scenes.