I finished reading "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" this afternoon. Probably not supposed to have read the whole thing at once, but I couldn't help myself. It was so dang entertaining and heartbreaking and I wanted to feel like I had already finished a project before the semester really got started.
So, will we have chapter discussion questions posted here every week? Let me at 'em! I'm ready! The sooner the better.
Did I mention I'm student teaching this semester - and worried that I'll get swamped by mid-semester?
I'll save my comments about the book for a little while longer, in case there are chapter-based discussion questions coming, and so I don't risk ruining such a great book for those who haven't read it yet.
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Hi Nicole... I also couldn't put the book down, but decided to check the blog and post a comment. Guess I'm kind of new at blogging - my comment is posted as the third comment under Jenni's original post. I was also hoping to find the question(s) today on the blog as I am also very busy during the week teaching my classes. See you Wednesday!
ReplyDeleteHi Judy and Nicole,
ReplyDeleteI finished the book too and eager to discuss this great read. I actually hope we could have a chance for some face-to-face input from classmates on this book-blogging is alright but I don't have the same feedback from comments in this forum.
Yes, Blogging is tough because it is NOT a forum, so it is not set up to be read as such. It's good if you are a teacher and want to read what students have to say, but for students, blogs are not as fun as it is a lot more difficult to follow, especially when everyone is doing something else. Personally, they irritate me as a student, but as a teacher I thinking being able to see what everyone has to say (esp quite students) it's kind of a good idea. I am a forum kinda girl, personally. Yes...I AM a nerd.
ReplyDeleteHello again! Just checking back Wed. before school to see if there are any questions posted. I guess not so I look forward to discussing the novel in class tonight! (I hope I didn't miss a post from Jenni).
ReplyDeleteGreat thoughts. I tend to agree that we may want to discuss the novel together in class at times. Having heard Sherman Alexie speak on campus last semester, it would seem a shame not to give this book more attention. That said, maybe we'll start with a reader-response based question:
ReplyDeleteTHINK ABOUT YOUR MIDDLE SCHOOL EXPERIENCES. TO WHAT EXTENT DID YOU FIND YOURSELF BEING PUT DOWN FOR: YOUR RACE, GENDER, OR SOCIOECONOMIC SITUATION? AND, HOW DID YOU HANDLE IT? (MY OWN EXPERIENCES COME FROM BEING A HAOLE, ALBEIT UPPER MIDDLE CLASS).....
I actually went to Orr Middle school over by the mall. Back then it wasn't as rough as a school as it is now. I really wasn't made fun of in school. I hang out with many different people and got along with many different people. However, I did have other problems. I was a litter fighter and talked a lot of crap to other students. I got good grades but was in trouble a lot for my mouth. So, maybe I was one picking on others and being mean. Weird to think of that now as an adult and having my own child.
ReplyDeleteI went to O'Callaghan MS on Sunrise Mountain when it was a blue ribbon school. My sixth and seventh grade year it was predominately white students. We rarely had fights, no weapons, it was a upper-middle class school. My eighth grade year they bussed (sp?) in a lot of African-American, Hispanic, and low-income students. We had race riots on weekly basis. I learned to just stay away from it all. I remember one time when I accidently hit a girl in PE with the kickball. Within 30 second I had 15-20 black girls surrounding me cursing and spitting on me. The teacher did nothing, and that's when I realized that she didn't even know how to respond to the changes our school encountered in the past year.
ReplyDeleteI went to a tiny middle school in Michigan. My school consisted of all white, middle class students except one adopted, African American girl. I am in the same boat as Melissa in the sense that I did not get made fun of in middle school. Some students were picked on for being "weird" or "dorky" (because of their hair cut, the way they walked, etc.) but since most students were from the same class and race that area didn't seem to be a problem for students. Looking back I have realized that living in such a small town and going to a small school, I was very sheltered from the world of discrimination based upon race and SES.
ReplyDeleteI went to a private school 1-8th grade in California. It also was predominantly white, and there wasn't much bullying. I do teach at Canarelli Middle School in the Southwest Valley currently and although there isn't much bullying, there is surprisingly a lot of racial segregation which I think will ultimately lead to bullying in HS for these kids. I taught a unit on emotions and bullying recently. It seems that the kids are aware of bullying but it doesn't seem to be a big problem at our school. However, it's their emotions that they don't know how to handle. They don't yet see the correlation between how they act and how that affects their relationships. So I guess this could explain somewhat why this age group can be so cruel to their peers. What I tried to teach them was PERSPECTIVE. What would it feel like if they were the person being picked on?
ReplyDeleteI went to middle school (actually junior high) in the mid-70's in a city of about 50,000 in Wisconsin. The school was predominantly white, middle class and I fit right in with that category so I wasn't picked on. The town was still pretty segregated as far as where ethnic groups lived. Even in high school I encountered very few students of different ethnic backgrounds, the school was mostly white. So I led a pretty sheltered life while living in that town.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Green Valley and didn't experience bullying or racsim at all. I remember junior high as a fun time. I had a falling out with some of my friends and from that discovered that there were a lot of other people who I could be friends with. Middle school is such a weird time for kids. I am glad I had fun.
ReplyDeleteWow, highschool! That seems like a lifetime ago. I went to a highschool that was seperated by North Oak Park and River Forest (rich side)and South Oak Park ( my side wich is not so rich). I remember you could clearly see the difference in the student population. This included the dress, cars, hair, etc. Friends were typically based on status as well. If you were friends with those of higher status you often tried to dress the same way. SO, money was always the issue. Fo me, I guess it didn't bother me too much. I was a cheerleader so often spent time with those of a higher SES but, outside of school I had my close group of friends that I hung out with. It might have been different for me since I was active in school activities...not sure..... But, there was always groups of people hanging out together. You would have the "jocks" out by the gym, burn-outs outside on the parking lot/bike racks, blacks would assemble by the stairways,the nerdy group in the lunchroom. So, you were labeled based on where and who you hung out with.
ReplyDelete