Freedom Writers Part II: Junior and Senior Year

This is an amazing book. I've learned so much from their experiences and got some great ideas for when I teach. There were a few things that stuck out to me the most in this last half. The first was that we need to make sure we have multicultural literature in our units. I know when I went to high school, rarely did I ever have to read a book written from someone from a different culture. Most were from white, American, or European authors. Only in college did this expand for me. Students miss out on a lot and from what I got from the book, it marginalizes students and invites racism and prejudice.

Something that I thought was horrible was also from Diary 54 where the teacher always called on the student for an "African American opinion." I haven't had this happen to me, but I have seen it happen to others. It was embarrassing and fustrating. When teachers do this, they are stereotyping people, and isn't part of the point of an education is to try to erase this type of behavior? And if you label students a certain way for too long, they start to believe it themselves. Such as the "bad" student, the "dumb" student, the "smart" student, etc... That is a lot of pressure to put on a person and usually ends up negatively.

One of the last things I loved about this book is how Ms. Gruwell publish this book. She took the students' work and made a finish product for them, and on top of that, they helped with the publicity, did they interviews, and they got the credit and awards. How easy it would have been for Ms. Gruwell to take all the credit for what happened, but she didn't. It makes me think what I might do for my classes. Instead of just writing a paper, make a class magazine or book with all the students' work bound in it and include it in the class's library or even plan an event or something based off of what they learned.

I love this book and I will probably read it a few more times. This is definitely going into my text set because it fits the unit I'm focusing on, which is "The American Dream." What a great representation on what students can do in order to rise above where they are at?

Freedom Writers II

So, I'm almost done with the last half, but I can't post about it until Saturday since I'm out of town helping a friend move. Sorry for the late post, but I will get it up as soon as possible!

Visualizing

Do you already do this in your class and if so how?

This is something I need to utilize more when I teach. Students that I have taught seem to have difficulty picturing what is happening in the book in their mind while they read. One activity in the book I was shocked to see, but thought was wonderful, is teaching morphemic analysis. My supervising teacher had these as a bell ringer exercise when students first came to class. Very useful. I've also done movie versus the book activities, but it was wonderful how the author of the text created the journal entry. This reading definitely made me reconsider how I do this and what more I can do for my students.

How can we help YA's return to using their imaginations? And why is that important?

I think one way to help with this is by not giving our viewpoint so often in class. Has anyone experienced students asking or waiting for you to tell your point of view or your interpretation? And if you do, how they stop thinking about differently possibilities and just take your own? This may sound sadistic, but I find it hilarious to choose times where I don't help with this at all (with a few exceptions depending on students' needs) and see what students come up with. This is when I've seen them more creative/imaginative, frustrated, but thinking outside the box. During these times, I also help them "step into" the situation. How would they see the events if it happened to them? How would it play out? For high schoolers, it is also nice to let them do more creative activities. They might be older, but crayons are still cool. For reading and writing. . . have options where they can do the same. It seems as if students' metaphoric field of vision is becoming very narrow and it can cause many missed opportunities both local and global.

Week 8: Sci-Fi and Fantasy Fiction

I believe that there are many different reasons why Science Fiction and Fantasy are such popular genres among young adults. The first is escapism. I know in the textbook it says that this is false assumption and not a reason, but I still disagree. Students have to face so much in their own lives that sometimes this genre offers an escape from reality. With that said, I think that this form of escapism also offers a less confrontational way for young adults to face similar issues that they are facing, but be able to see that there is a way out, fantastical, but there. Many students have told me that sometimes they'd rather live in these fantasy worlds than our own because it seems simpler, more fun, they can be someone else, play with cooler toys, or even have something that makes them special.

Another reason is it allows them to let their imagination run wild with things that fascinated them when they were younger, or even now that their peers may think is "dumb." Who wouldn't like to have supernatural powers or have technology that makes our lives simpler or out there. With the whole Twilight series, I think it satisfies this need, but like it says above, it also allows young adults to see how complicated life can be, but over come, with obstacles.

Freedom Writers: Part I

Forgive me for this late posting...again. I got the stomach flu over the weekend and have been stuck in the fetal position.

In the past, I have read parts of "The Freedom Writers" and have watched the movie, but in never ceases to amaze me what these, and many more students have to endure everyday to survive. And that is exactly what they are doing. No wonder it is so hard to teach some students when they are constantly wondering what is going to happen to them next once they get out of school. It's such a wonderful thing that these particular students were able to have Erin Gruwell as teacher. As one student said, "I walk in the room and i feel as though all the problems in my life are not important anymore. I am home" (54). What neat is that she doesn't create this type of environment by ignoring their problems, but by facing and confronting them. Gruwell create a curricula that the students can relate to and make connections. On top of that, she was able to have the students meet the authors, go on field trips to make the literature more real, and created opportunities for them to act.

One particular line that hit me hard as I was reading was where a student transferred mid term into Gruwell's class and was amazed by the class discussions occurring. He/she said, "Society just doesn't care about young people anymore, even if we are the future" (76). It made me stop and think, what are we doing as educators to make students feel this way? What is our government, both local and nationally, doing to portray this? And this line of questions and thought continue on. I had to stop for a little while because this line of thought became very depressing, but what can we do as educators to counter this line of thought amongst the youth when everything around them tells them differently?

A group

Is there a particular era/time period that anyone is interested in? That might help narrow down our choices.

Think Alouds

Unfortunately, I do not have my own classroom of students to do this with, but I have done similar things in the past. Whenever I am reading a text that I will be teaching, I always record my thoughts, reactions, feelings, questions, etc... in the book. When I am then reading to the class, I will often stop and tell them what I had been thinking at that time and get some of their reactions and see if they can answer my questions. They seem to respond well to that, and it is also a way to show them how to do it themselves and demonstrate how to do dialogue journals, which is an activity I like for harder texts that mimics Think Alouds. I love it when I get students who become comfortable enough to share their own thoughts during the reading because it often leads to further discussions and connections.

Historical Fiction

Have you ever had those days when you have to get something done, but each time you go and do it, something gets in the way? That's my week. Now that everyone is in bed, I finally get to use the computer!

I love historical fiction. It is one of my favorite genres to read and teach because you can get so much from it. When trying to decide what novel to read, I talked with some of the high schoolers I work with and one book they recommended was "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. Now, some might say this isn't a YA historical fiction book, but I think I would disagree. It begins in Afghanistan in a city called Kabul. Amir, the main character, tells of his experiences living there when it had a monarchy. He describes a beautiful and (mostly) friendly country. It then leads you through the time that Russia over through the government to eventually the Taliban's reign. Amir and his father live in a posh home with two Hazara servants. One is a boy near Amir's age named Hassan. Because the Hazaras are a minority group, they are treated horribly by others and to some extent by Amir and his father. Amir tells of his jealousy and how he copes with it by the cruel things he does. All Amir wants is the approval of his father. Hassan is so devoted to Amir, that he'll do almost anything, which eventually leads to Hassan being raped by other boys. Amir is so ashamed he did nothing to stop it, he lies and gets Hassan and his father dismissed. For the rest of the novel he is torn by his guilt.

Amir and his father eventually flee to America away from a Russia occupied Afghanistan. They both have difficulties adjusting to a new land and culture, but eventually they begin to settle in. Unfortunately, Amir's father is diagnosed with cancer and dies. Amir, fulfills his dreams, but an opportunity comes that will help him atone for his wrong doings and he goes back to Afghanistan.

This book has so many themes that can be used with in a classroom. First off, there is racism. It is a strong theme throughout the book and can be used as a comparison to what has happened in America. There is also the idea of upper and lower class and moving from one extreme of it to the other suddenly. It begins with a boy who is wrestling with his own personal identity and living with the consequences of choices he has made. It also shows a glimpse of a war we hear little about in Afghanistan and helps us see into a culture that is often misunderstood, stereotyped, and thought of in a negative light. It is also relatable in the sense that Amir struggles with emotions and ideas that we also confront in our own lives: guilt, fear, love, hate, grief, shame, jealousy, etc... I could use this book in many ways within a classroom as a comparison to other novels. If teaching about civil rights or slavery in America, this book can be used as a comparison to what happens in other countries and how they handle it. If teaching about wartime and suppression by leaders (WWII, holocaust, etc...), this book deals with similar issues. It can also be used to help students look into our own society and see where our own shortcomings are and help students see into other cultures and learn more about tolerance. I loved this book and I can't wait to read its sequel.

Week 5: Children's Picture Books

So this has been the hardest assignment for me so far. I don't know if it's because of the topic I chose for me project or if this is just a bad week. Last year i had to teach The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald for a temporary teaching job that I had. I wasn't given much for it so I thought this would be a great unit to expand on. I found some picture books that could compliment this unit, but I'm still looking for something better. Suggestions?

One theme that plays out in this book is the fall of the American Dream. This can be related to the American Dream in general or the start of the Great Depression or even post WWI. There is a theme about lying and what happens when you get too caught up in all the stories you've weaved. There is also the theme of social classes, poverty, and physical/mental abuse. Pretty heavy topics.

So this is how my journey for this assignment went. I first thought it would be great to find books that have to do with the culture of that time. Students typically love music and parties which America is known for in the time period the unit takes place. With this in mind, I found the book, Jazz On a Saturday Night by Leo and Diane Dillon. This book is immerses the readers into the jazz culture and what it was like to sit and listen to some of the greatest jazz artists in history. Though I'm still waiting for it to arrive on hold, the sample I was able to look at makes it seem like a great book to get a taste of the music and culture that was popular post WWI. It also comes with a CD with samples of the songs in the book and more information about the various artists.

After this came the idea of what is the American Dream and does it change depending on who you are and where you came from? Is it different from new immigrants compared to families that have been established in the United States for many generations? One book that a school librarian recommended is The Dream Jar by Bonnie Pyror. It is about a Russian family that came to America in pursuit of their own dreams, in particularly in opening their own store. Valentina makes comparisons on how her father used to laugh as he worked in the fields, but is now tired quite now that he lays bricks here in America. The rest of her family works very hard to make ends meet and all she can do is go to school and look after the children. She eventually finds a way to help everyone succeed. This books shows the good and the bad side of pursuing dreams and what hard work can do. It also shows the importance of having an education the the doors it can open for you.

Another book along the same lines is Uncle Jed's Barbershop by Margaree King Mitchell. This has the same theme of the American Dream, but from an African American perspective. Uncle Jed has always wanted his own barbershop, but meets with many hardships including losing his money to the bank (stock market crash), surgery, and also loving in the south where segregation and racism is prevalent. He eventually does get his own shop, but not until he's in his seventies.

One other topic that comes up in the unit a lot is how Gatsby is always trying to impress everyone to make himself appear to be a great person and to impress a girl he likes, but can never have. His lies are based on truth, but get blown up into these huge stories to the point that he believes them himself. Most students can relate to this in some way and makes it a great way to connect with the text. One book I found that had a similar theme as this is Sam Tells Stories by Thierry Robberecht and Philippe Goossens. Sam wants to make friends at school so he makes up stories. He thought nothing was wrong with this because he made up bedtime stories for his brother all the time, but he soon realizes that telling stories and lying are two different things. I would like to find more books along this line. Does anyone have suggestions?

I believe these books will help my unit in various ways. They can help introduce students to the culture of the time. They will also introduce concepts/beliefs people held and help to relate to how it is now. It also introduces the themes and sets up opportunities for discussions between texts. The Great Gatsby is also a more difficult text with not only vocabulary, but with it's format. These texts are the opposite and gives students at all reading levels a chance to come together on something that they are familiar with.

This has nothing to do with picture books, but another thing that came to mind as an option is having the students listen to stories from the time period. My grandmother grew up during the depression and she would tell me stories of her adventures. One summer I recorded a bunch of these stories on tape and students might find it interesting to hear non-fiction perspective of it.