The Concluding Thought of Alexie's Book...

I overheard a conversation Daniel and Ash were having today before class, and the disappointment Daniel felt when he got to the end of the book. I smiled, because I felt the same way. After all that insight I was expecting the secret to life to be revealed. Then in class I realized in a way it was!

“We didn’t keep score.”(Alexie 230)

In Junior High I always “kept score”, I would come home and look at my calendar and mutter something like, “14 bad days, 13 good so far.” How often do we keep score? It seemed through the entire book a huge mistake Junior was making was one that we all made, he kept score. “Wow this many bad things have happened, compared to this many good.” There is a point in life where you will drive yourself insane keeping a tally. At the end he has found out how to just enjoy playing the game. In a metaphorical sense we are comparing basketball to life; doesn’t matter whether you win or lose, as long as you played the game. He dribbles down that court, just like he will for now on walk into life, with his head high and just living each day to the fullest and for the simple joy of being alive.

On the topic of The Great Gatsby, a big theme of that story was “The American Dream”. This is commonly defined with wealth, luxury, and a family (notice I noted family last). Fitzgerald though shows in this book, that even if you have that dream, life will not ever be perfect, or flawless. Some people keeping score can get too caught up with their own tally’s that they lose the sense of others, or even the sense of self. As long as they have that tweety bird yellow luxury car, and a mansion filled with parties, you still have to live and experience. It doesn’t stop when a dream is achieved.

Alexie, Sherman. (2007). The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. New York: Little Brown.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. (1925). The Great Gatsby. New York: Twayne Publishers.

Just a thought...

Our classroom seems to feel very closed to discussion. It's not the people, I know they all have it in them, I've worked with most of these great and insightful people before, but I think it maybe the way we are all laid out. Maybe next time we should sit in a circle of desks? Just to test it out. And Rene should sit in our circle. It's so hard when he is at the podium to not just sit and let him speak. It almost feels rude to interrupt him. What does everyone else think of this? I mean just to try it once and see if that helps. I think we would all get allot more out of it if we could look at one another's faces when we speak, and feel we have more of an opportunity to speak. Maybe it will help Saldana too, in not feeling so obligated to speak while he stands at the podium. Any other ideas or suggestions? Anyone?

From Part one to part two...

Beyond looking at the text as an aspect of a teacher, here is my post from beginning to middle as a reader. I will start with particular parts that I chose to highlight, and now quote.

"I draw because words are too limited." (Alexie 5)
This is such a great line, there are times when there is not enough you can say or do to describe something. So he draws the situation, thus why we have picture books. But there is a moral, story, meaning, and emotion that comes with writing that drawings and paintings will never capture. That is why I think that in this world we have both arts to capture all aspects of the many faces of life.

"My Sister is running away to to get lost, but I am running away because I want to find something." (Alexie 46)
This is a terrific look at perspective. I have a firm passion in perspective, you walk around the school everyday and see every individual and they are all living life from a different perspective then yourself. Some are living with the view of finance, some of future, some of family, some of popularity, everyone holds something that is important to them. These items of importance are then formed into contacts or glasses and those are the eyes they see the world through. A stereotypical sorority girl may have a different perspective then a full fledge honor student, they may look down on each other, but both can justify their behavior or attire, because they are living to meet separate goals.

The boys talk on how in primitive cultures, those that did not live up to the status of the rest of the tribe were banished and when it is pointed out we are not in primitive times anymore Gordy points out, "Oh, yes, we are. Weird people still get banished." (Alexie 132)
Wow this is really an eye opener. Life is one large revolution of generation after generation of repetition. I recently had a friend (very strong in religion) approach me and tell me that soon is the end of the world because we have illnesses like AIDS, we have conflict across nations, the world just seems more corrupt, and as according to Revelations, this about the part where the anti-christ is supposed to step in. But we know history, and if we really sit down, we have new technology but the storyline is the exact same. Hate, love, war, religion, murder, violence, happiness, it is all the same. I can go deeper into this, but I despise controversy and I'm not big on offending people. We all follow the foot steps of our ancestors.

The evidences of realism:

On his disability:
I actually have a friend with the same ailment that Junior has in this book, she looks very similar and acts very similar. Her step is stiff, her back is hunched, she is so skinny her cheek bones shoot out like blades, she is pale, she wears thick glasses, and at the age of 30 she is working towards her driver's license. I felt for junior in such a strong sense, and I believe Alexie focused too much on the fact that the children at the all white school only looked at him funny because he was Native American, considering his appearance otherwise. My good friend Shelley who I just spoke of, she has had difficulty with her self-consciousness about her weight and stance. She is sometimes difficult to understand vocally. Alexie could have delved so much deeper into these inner strifes beyond the one chapter I noticed it mentioned.

On his dual lifestyle:
I can only imagine just how hard it must be to live two different identities. Although we all have our personal identity and our public identity, this is something far more advanced, because both of these were made public.

On Losing Friends:
Losing a friend because of a choice you made to help yourself can be very tiring. Rowdy made sure Junior understood just how much he hated him for finding a way for himself, but without wording it just that way. The same thing happened to me when I went to college. I had a best friend, and I tried to move her up here with me, and I helped her find an apartment, scholarships so that she could go to nursing school, etc. At the last minute she decided she did not know how she could move away from her mother, and so stayed behind. That was her prerogative, but for years I have heard how I deserted her, how I just up and bailed, leaving her alone and helpless. It's sad, it's tiring, and the guilt hurts for feeling as if you let down a friend. I really really felt for Junior. You try to reach out, make those attempts to kindle the friendship, but they would rather complain how it could never be.

On Older Siblings:
Since we were real young my brother and I have been peas in a pod as one might say. We are never apart, and always on the same wavelength. Although I do things that upset him, and he may do things that upset me, we will always be connected at the heart. He has always looked up to me, he writes, he reads, he is active in theatre and German in high school currently. He is my little clone, but yet different. I don't know what it feels like to be Junior but I do know how it feels to be Mary.

On the mentor:
Just this morning we were talking about Charlotte's Web in children's literature, and E.B. White makes Charlotte a kind, wise, selfless, humble individual. This is also found here in Alexie's book with the Grandmother, who helps to save Juniors life just as Charlotte saved Wilbur's. They fed them with confidence, insight, and strength. They had all the answers. They also both pass away in the stories, and this passing is a very strong turning point for both protagonist's. In Joseph Campbell's Hero of a Thousand Faces he describes the concept of The Monomyth, which is the outline of every story ever written and told, no matter the genre. Losing the mentor is one of the final steps of this circle, and is where the hero has to stand up for himself, without a helping hand, and this is where they prove their full potential. It is sometimes their underlying drive, in honor of a loved one's memory.

Bibliography:
<Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary

of a Part-Time Indian. New York: Little     
Brown and Company, 2006. pp. 1-66. >

White, E.B. (1952). Charlotte’s Web. New York:
Harper Collins Publishing.

Craft Lesson 2

Craft Lesson 2:

Gary Soto

Soto, Gary. Canto Familiar: A Poetry Collection. Harcourt.

Discussion:

The lyrical form of poetry is such a terrific way to celebrate any culture. America is so caught up with its own lifestyle that sometimes we forget our own traditions and heritage.

How to Teach It:

Have the students read the inspiring poems of tradition, family, and culture by Soto. Then ask them to make a list of at least five different unique things about their family, heritage, and/or culture. In group workshops of four or five students they will discuss how to order, or possibly re-word these lines so to make it poetry. This will also give them a chance to learn something personal about one another, and grow closer as a team. We will then decorate the pages surrounding their poems with images or colors of their culture. To celebrate the unique and differences we will hang these all around the classroom.

Supplies:

Paper

Construction Paper

Markers

Scissors

Glue

Gary Soto’s Canto Familiar: A Poetry Collection

Craft Lesson 1

Craft Lesson 1:

Janet Wong

Wong, Janet S. Behind the Wheel: Poems About Driving.

 New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 1999. 

Discussion:

So many people in this world despise poetry, because we all despise what we don’t understand. People don’t see the point in making such a simple concept such a complex statement. If only everyone could see how they could relate and grow through poetry.

How to Teach It:

Have the students start out with Wong’s “Stuff” and then explain that home is a concept that everyone relates to. Although we all have our own idea of home, we all have one. Then I will assign them to either, write or draw their idea of what home means to them. Then we will all share our ideas of home. This classroom discussion will show how a poem can touch everyone differently. Then I will allow the students to choose their own poem out of the book to react to, and tell me and the classroom how they relate to it.

Supplies:

Paper

Markers

Janet Wong’s Behind the Wheel: Poems About Driving

Response to: Freeman Article

The rubric presented in this article is something I would love to use with my own classes, not only for a single culture, but for all students alike! The questions are in depth, and they not only tell me if the reading choices were appropriate for my classroom, it will also help the students realize just how much they might have related to the story themselves. From there maybe they can learn something new about themselves.

The story of Fransisco's growing fascination in english literature was very inspiring. I have been so afraid of teaching English to those who have difficulty, but to have all these examples I feel encouraged.

Freeman, Yvonne and David. "Connecting Students to Culturally Relevant Texts." Taking Points
   15.2 (April/May 2004): 7-11.

Reading Autobiograpy- To Make the Grade

Boy, did I hate reading as a tween and teen. I had unknowingly struggled with dyslexia through out my entire childhood, and so it was a mystery to me why I was so much slower than my classmates. I felt stupid compared to them, and I grew to hate reading of any kind. I struggled with my studies to make the grade. My mother used reading as a punishment, helped fuel my hatred for books. When I was in trouble, Mom sent me directly to my bedroom. I wasn’t allowed to watch television, play with toys, call friends, or step outside. I was only allowed to touch the books and stay in my bedroom. As a result, I hated characters like Ramona, who other peers my age seemed to enjoy. I saw her as my enemy.

In the classroom I never found any of the books that the teachers selected for us really that interesting; they all seemed to be the same, or based on a movie. If I know the story and how it ends, then why waste my efforts struggling my way through the book. By the time I was in sixth grade I considered myself an expert on the holocaust; really how many young adolescent books can they write about the concentration camps?! When my family moved from Lamesa to Midland, it may have only been fifty miles south, but it was like a whole different world where my peers were concerned. No one did their homework, no one took it school to heart, and considering my surroundings I turned from studious to slacker. I never read but maybe three books from seventh grade to graduation, because I learned how to cheat, how to copy, and how to guess without being caught, or losing my grades. Writing though, that was my passion. As a small girl, I researched and wrote essays just to fill in spare time. I loved writing stories, and I flirted a little with poetry. If a teacher assigned a writing project of any sort I was on top of it, and into it. I had a passion. It was the only thing I was honest about.

My teachers never seemed to ask us our opinion, or try to relate to us. Instead, they were like robots, teaching what they were trained to teach. I had one teacher in seventh grade who nearly completely ruined poetry for me. When we completed a five line poem, for example, she stated how much she disliked poetry, and how she didn’t believe in that that ‘deep inner-meaning stuff’.

In my class I hope that I can find a way to improve what I experienced growing up. My list of ideas is not a typical list of assignments and lesson plans I hope to use. When I picture what it will be like to be a teacher, and when I consider what I want to do to be sure my students get all that my class is worth, I start with ambiance. If the surroundings are dull, or feeling like a cell they are less likely to really be in tune with the classroom. If I do not show my interest in what I am teaching, then why should they be interested in learning it? These are questions that whiz through my mind. I have three guidelines I have made for myself:

· Use encouraging, excited language with everything. I want to use statements that will encourage them to think. I will use as few yes or no questions as possible. I will use as little negative vocabulary as possible. For example, of poetry I’ll say, “poetry is so intriguing, it is eye opening. Why do you feel the author wrote this? What could they have been trying to tell the world? There are no bad ideas. Every answer is better than no answer at all!”

· There’s no place like home to better reflect and delve into the imagination, so I will try my best to transform my classroom into home. I have a classroom design template that will feel like their favorite pad. I want to work cooperatively at all times so I want to sit in circles. I want comfy chairs around the room. I want bookshelves, not filled with my office work or my grading, but jam packed with great works of literature that they will find intriguing. I want a space for independent study. I want our room to be a safe, quiet place where students can feel comfortable visiting for reading and writing before, during, or after school. My classroom will always be open to my class.

· They are not students, in my eyes, they are writers, and hopefully by the time they leave my classroom for summer they will see the writers in themselves as well. I will point out all the great things they wrote, take interest in who they are. Then as the year goes on and we learn new levels of grammar, and vocabulary they will incorporate that into their writing. We will practice with very little pressure applied.

Alexie pp. 1-66

First off what an amazing book. I started it on a quiet Friday afternoon and could not put it down until I finished it! Even when company came over I read the entire time apologizing time after time for being so into this book!

The first part of the book:

I started out with the first chapter thinking, man this has a great voice, great insight, and the same thoughts most jr. high kids share! Also it covers so many basis for thing students can relate to. He struggles with loneliness, a neurological disorder (one that a friend of mine has, and she get all sorts of crap for hers), being trapped on a rez, parents are alcoholics, and he is of the way lower class; all of this in present day. Almost every Middle Level student feels alone at some point or another, others may be poor and try to hide it (I know I was one of those), some having learning disorders, or are cast out because of their "goofy" appearance, or even their knowledge, Alexie managed to fit all of this.

Then I thought to myself, this would be a great book for a read aloud...that is until I got to the chapter about the romance novels. I love how Sherman Alexie is so honest about a 14 year olds life, he covers all the basis, but yet parents don't want their kids to know how they think for some reason. Topics like sex, masturbation, porn, struggles with religion, these would all be banned from the school. It makes me so furious to think that because of conservative, selfish parents , rather than letting their children read about it and know they are not the only ones, they force their children to hide the things they are already self-conscious about. I think on the back cover Neil Gaiman described the forseen outcome of this book best: "...I have no doubt that in a year or so it'll both be winning awards and being banned."

I would love to at least suggest this book to my students, but even that I am afraid would force me to lose my job.

Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary     
of a Part-Time Indian. New York: Little     
  Brown and Company, 2006. pp. 1-66. 

Poetry Packet

Wong, Janet. "Stuff." Behind the Wheel: Poems About Driving. New York: McElderry, 1999. 38.

This poem is not only perfect for a young adolescent learner, but for all ages. Everyone can relate to throwing home in the glove box of life just to know it is there in the back of your mind. We live busy, fast paced lifestyles and don’t always have the time to call home. We as college students leave it in the back of our minds under a pile of paperwork, reading, studies, friends, pets, kids, spouses, projects, grades, and so on. But when a sea of trouble comes our way, we manage to sift through the chaos of this lifestyle, and escape home, rather through a phone call, or hopping in the car and driving away. I think this poem would be perfect for my classroom for an open interpretation from my students. Everyone has their own emotions about their idea of home, so everyone will have their own belief of this poem.

Soto, Gary. "Spanish." Cantos Familiar. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1994. 4-6.

I go back and forth with this poem, it really is a love/hate relationship. The first time I struggled through this poem was so difficult for me as a person who has never learned a word of Spanish. But I think it is a terrific poem for the classroom, although I would not assign it without first handing out a translation for the Spanish parts for my students. I think it would be really great for my Mexican-American students to read the entire book and grab hold of their heritage, to find passion in this book. All students, no matter what culture can understand the idea of how Spanish is used in the Mexican-American culture, and it explains the differences between the situations that use Spanish and/or English.

Ginsberg, Allen. "Sunflower Sutra." Poems Poets Poetry: An Introduction and anthology. New York: Bedford, 2002. 302.

The Beat Generation has been a huge passion of mine since I first really delved into poetry; Kerouac, Snyder, Ginsberg, Cassady, Burroughs, and so on. There passions, their beliefs, and their messages all derived from the corruption and filth of the world we had made for ourselves and all that we could do to replace it. Sunflower Sutra in itself paints a significant picture of what the industrial world has done to our green earth, describing, the filth, litter, and pollution. Ginsberg then takes nature as his defense as he picks a decaying sunflower as his sword. I’ve written paper after paper obsessing over the symbolism and messages in this single poem, so to really describe my entire thoughts on this poetry I have page after page of reviews here on my computer.

Noyes, Alfred. "The Highwayman." The Highwayman. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 1999.

I always wanted to take interest in poetry when I was a child because I didn’t like reading allot, but I still liked stories. Poetry seemed perfect because it was short, and sweet or at least I felt that would be ideal yet I never found a poem I could follow. Finally in eighth grade I had a teacher who recognized my morbid and twisted personality I had from a childhood of much chaos. She also realized what I was searching for in my poetry, it was the same thing my fellow peers searched for, the story. She introduced The Highwayman to us, and from that single moment I found that poetry could reach out and capture my interest, as did the rest of my class. From then on she would introduce poems to us, and instead of grunting we actively participated in trying to unravel all those lines and poems had to store.

Strand, Mark. "Keeping Things Whole." Poems Poets Poetry: An Introduction and anthology. New York: Bedford, 2002. 614.

This poem has a bone chilling zing to it as you move through the empty field with the poet. Mark takes you into his invisible existence, a feeling we all can relate to. He continues to move though, not for himself though, but so not to part his surroundings by his presence. This poem is so open to interpretation, and that I love. It changes it’s meaning to you as the years move on, and you experience new struggles, and face new obstacles in life. You read the poem for the first time lost as to what this guy is trying to say until the end. All the sudden that final line you find yourself holding back your own emotions, realizing what he has captured but unable to exactly put it in words.

Response to: Gary Soto's poetry

This book of poetry is definitely one I will keep in my classroom, but not so much use in more than one lesson. The author himself really pulls me into his poetry as he invites me into his life, his heritage, and his family. The bond you feel when reading Gary's work is an intimate one. It is very educational on specific parts of the Hispanic culture, so will be a great way to bring in social studies into the English classroom. Gary is a master with words, and description. To paint such vivid pictures is a very hard task to achieve as a poet.

Outside of that, I personally have never learned Spanish, so although the Spanish was minimal, I was completely lost. Each poem was a struggle for me. At the same time I was having to grasp everything this poet was trying to reveal, I was having to research a foreign language as well.

Although I will not use this book much in my lesson plans, I will always have it available and strongly suggest it for the Hispanic cultured students of my classroom. I will have a copy or two available in my personal classroom library for easy access.

Soto, Gary. Canto Familiar: A Poetry Collection. Harcourt.

Janet S. Wong Response

When choosing the poetry you want to expose your student's to, you must proceed cautiously. You want to first assign a poem that is not too intimidating, that doesn't have language that exceeds their understanding; poetry is a scary enough concept to these students in the first place! Janet S. Wong's Behind The Wheel is a great starter book of poetry, although I personally would assign the poem's one by one as I saw fit.

The poem Stuff holds metaphors, comparison, and simple symbols that are easy for all students to understand. It holds the idea of parents and the idea of "home", which is a common discussion area for all students. What do they consider home? How would they describe it? A teacher can so easily show students how much a poem can stir anyone's own emotions.

Wong, Janet S. Behind the Wheel: Poems About Driving.
 New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 1999. 

Response to: What is your experience with poetry?

Today I am striving to become a poet, but years ago I had no idea what the big deal was with poetry. I had teachers in middle level education that blew off poetry, mocked it even. I recall my teacher having us read a five line poem, and then she stated "that is our required poetry for the year. I don't believe in all that 'deep inner-meaning' crap." That was how I was introduced to poetry, and that was my attitude until an amazing college professor my freshman year who showed us just how eye opening poetry can be! Poetry is a passion of mine now, and I feel 'jipped' for losing all those teenage years to experience it!

The Chris Crowe Articles

I'm still unsure exactly what needs to be done before Monday...so I'm going to wing it.

I found these articles very intriguing. I was able to agree and relate, as well as grow. I felt myself becoming excited about becoming a teacher. I highlighted a favorite line from each of the three articles:

1. "...YAL might serve as warm-ups or bridges to classic works."

I could not agree more! Myself being a child of loving the pen but dreading the pages, it was always very difficult to get into reading. I grew accustomed to reading, but avoided it whenever it was not necessary. Just recently though I fell upon a book that was absolutely terrific, and then another, and then another. Rather than my typical read a book, found it terrific, then couldn't ever find another just as great. I think it is a good idea to appeal to their interests to bridge them, but you can also consider ways to show them how their book about baseball or fairies relates to classics. Give them that missing piece, build that bridge!

2. "...but I'll wish he could have a broader, more liberal education, on balanced by the reading of literature."

There is a wave of a sublime emotion of enlightenment when you have truly been touched by a piece of literature. It grows with intensity when someone is there to discuss with you just why you feel this way, and then to dig deeper between the lines. I have always hoped to have close classes with collaboration. In the same I will "read aloud to your students but keep it short". I have observed classes that spent every day reading the entire class period. Student's attention span will only last so long, sitting still in a desk, following along. But I do believe that ten minutes of reading at the beginning of the class period (something suggested the first day of class) is the best idea I have heard yet! I also liked the idea Crowe had with keeping the books read in the classroom with no more than a thirty year gap from the present time. Realities change, students need to feel like they can relate with the characters and the dialog, it's difficult to do this when you are fighting your way through Shakespeare.

3. " ...give my children opportunities in class to discuss informally what they've read."
Allow them to share their excitement! Don't discourage them by not giving them the opportunity to shine! The Reader's Bill of Rights is amazing as well, and will be used often in my classroom, that I can assure anyone!

Bibliographic Information:

Crowe, Chris. "Young Adult Literature: What Is  
    Young Adult Literature." The English Journal
    88.1 (Sept. 1998): 120-122.

Crowe, Chris. "Young Adult Literature: Rescuing
    Reluctant Readers." The English Journal 88.5
   (May 1999): 113-116.

Crowe, Chris. "Young Adult Literature: Dear
    Teachers: Pleas Help My Kids Become
    Readers." The English Journal 89.1
   (Sept. 1999): 139-142.