TEXT SET

The website, http://www.halftheskymovement.org, suggests a theme that my students can begin exploring: free choice and empowerment for young women. Presented in this website, “Meet Srey” is a story of a 15-year-old Cambodian girl, a victim of sexual trafficking. Her story conveys the universal message of female empowerment. Also, Hilary Clinton celebrated the 30^th anniversary of the Women’s History Project with her remark: “I believe that women’s rights, roles, and responsibilities, is the last piece of unfinished business that we must confront together.” Thus, goal for the text set is to enhance the unit on gender issues, which helps to promote awareness among female adolescents who can learn more about exercising their free choice and empowering among themselves.

Criteria for selecting novels and other texts.

The novels are identified as based on two considerations: 1) a story that features a female protagonist, which embodies a female author’s point of view, 2) gender-based issues that challenge the lives of females.

NOVELS

Allison, D. (1993). Bastard Out of Carolina. New York, NY: Plume/Penguin Books.

Angelou, M. (1970). I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. New York, NY: Random House.

Beals, P. (1994). Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High. New York, NY: Washington Square Press.

Bolton, R. (1994). Gal: A True Life. New York, NY: Harcourt.

Brown, M. (1973). Rubyfruit Jungle. New York, NY: Bantam.

Campbell, M. (1989). Sweet Summer: Growing Up With & Without My Dad. New York, NY: Ballantine.

Chambers, V. (1996). Mama's Girl. New York, NY: Riverhead Books.

Chao, P. (1997). Monkey King. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

Chernin, K. (1983). In My Mother's House: A Daughter's Story. New York, NY: Harper & Row.

Cisneros, S. (1984). The House on Mango Street. New York, NY: Vintage Books.

Compestine, Y. (2007). Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Co.

Cushman, K. (1991). The Midwife’s Apprentice. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

Dressen, S. (2002) Dreamland. New York, NY: Penguin Group.

Ellis, Deborah. (2001). The Breadwinner, Parvanna’s Journey. Toronto, CA:

Erdrich, L. (1999). The Birchbark House. New York, NY: Hyperion Book CH.

Esquivel, L. (1989). Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments, With

Fitch, J. (1999). White Oleander. Boston, MA: Little Brown.

Frank, A. (1952). The Diary of a Young Girl. New York, NY: Bantam.

Gibbons, K. (1987). Ellen Foster. New York, NY: Vintage Press.

Halse, L. (1999) Speak. New York, NY: Penguin.

Hammad, S. (1996). Drops of This Story. New York, NY: Harlem River Press.

Heese, K. (1997). Out of the Dust. New York, NY: Scholastic Press.

hooks, b. (1996). Bone Black: Memories of Girlhood. New York, NY: Henry Holt.

House, P. (2009). Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Lee, H. (1960). To Kill a Mocking Bird. New York, NY: Harper.

Li, M. (2008) Snow Falling in Spring: Coming of Age in China During the Cultural Revolution. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Lorde, A. (1982). Zami: A New Spelling of My Name. Freedom, CA: The Crossing Press.

Lowry, L. (1998). Number the Stars. New York, Random House.

Morrison, T. (1970). The Bluest Eye. New York, NY: Pocket Books.

Oufkir, M. and Michelle, F. (2001). Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail. New York, NY: Hyperion Press, 2001.

McCormick, P. (2006). Sold.

Na, A. (2001). A Step From Heaven. Honesdale, PA: Front Street Imprint of Boyds Mill Press.

Palwick, S. (1992). Flying in Place. New York, NY: TOR.

Santiago, E. (1993). When I Was Puerto Rican. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Sapphire. (1996). Push. New York, NY: Vintage.

See, L. (2009). Shanghai Girls. New York, NY: Random House.

Sexton, L. (1994) Searching for Mercy Street: My Journey Back to My Mother Anne Sexton. Boston, MA: Little Brown, 1994.

Shange, N. (1985) Betsey Brown. New York: St. Martin's Press.

Smith, L. (1988). Fair and Tender Ladies. New York: Putnam.

Sone, M. (1953) Nisei Daughter. Boston, MA: Little Brown.

Spinelli, J. (2002). New York, NY: Knopf Books for Young Readers.

Staple, S. (1991). Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind. New York, NY: Laurel Leaf.

Taylor, M. (1997). Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry. New York, NY: Puffin.

Thisman, J. (1993). Molly Donnelly. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

Voigt, C. (1991). When She Hollers. New York, NY: Scholastic Paperbacks.

Walker, A. (1983). The Color Purple. New York: Washington Square Press.

Wolff, V. (2001). True Believer. New York, NY: Atheneum.

Short Stories

Alvarez, J. (1991) How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents. New York: Plume/Penguin Books.

Atkin, B. (1993). “Fitting In,” from Voices from the Fields: Children of Migrant Farmworkers Tell their Stories Interview, p 34-39. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.

Cahill, S., ed. (1993). Growing Up Female: Stories of Women Writers from the American Mosaic. New York, NY: Mentor.

Clair, M. (1994) Rattlebone. New York, NY: Penguin.

Coleman, S. (1998). “Lucy Lim: Utility Switch Operator,” from Hard-Hatted Women, p 45-51. Berkeley, CA: Seal Press.

Delany, S. (1993). “Around Brick Walls,” from Having Our Say, p 30-33. New York, NY: Kodansha American Inc.

Dhillon, K. (1989). “The Parrot’s Beak”, from Making Waves, p 6-9. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.

Guilbault, R. (1990). “Hispanic, USA: The Conveyor Belt Ladies,” from the San Francisco Chronicle, “This World,” April 15, 1990, p. 120-125.

Hazel, C. (1987). “I Feel Free,” from Cathedral, p 38-40. New York, NY: Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

Lanker, B. (1989) “Elizabeth Cotton,” from I Dream a World, p 4-6. New York, NY: Stewart, Tabori & Chang.

Longworth, P. “Me and the Guy Upstairs,” from No More Frogs, No More Princes, p 101-105. Freedom, CA: The Crossing Press.

Maddox, E. (1993). “Words in a Blue Notebook,” from Legacies p 92-94. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Peare, C. (1959). “Miracle at the Pump House,” from The Helen Keller Story, p 7-11. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

Shandler, S. (1999). Ophelia Speaks : Adolescent Girls Write About Their Search for Self. New York, NY: Harper.

Young, B. (1990). “Mama’s Legacy,” from Essence Magazine, p 27-30. New York, NY: Essence Communications, Inc.

Picture books

Alder, D. (1993). A Picture Book of Anne Frank. New York, NY: Holiday.

Bunting, E. (2006). One Green Apple. New York, NY: Clarion Books.

Bunting, E. (1998). So Far from the Sea. New York, NY: Clarion Books.

Coerr, E. (1997). Sadako. New York, NY: Putnam Juvenile.

Coleman, E. (1996). White Socks Only. Park Ridge, IL: Albert Whitman & Company.

Hazell, R. Heroines: Great Women Through the Ages.

Giovanni, N. (2005). Rosa. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Co.

Hoestlandt, J. (1996). Star of Fear, Star of Hope. New York, NY: Walker Books for Young Readers.

Innocenti, R. (1985). Rose Blanche. New York, NY: Stewart, Talbori, and Craig.

Kathleen, K. (1996). Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World’s Fastest woman. New York, NY: Harcourt Brace.

McKissack, P. (2001). Going Someplace Special. New York, NY: Atheneum/Anne S Schwartz Books.

Meltzer, M. (2003). Ten Queen: Portraits of Women of Power. New York, NY: Dutton Juvenile.

Metsellar, M. (2009). Anne Frank: Her Life in Words and Pictures. New York, NY: Flash Point.

Polacco, P. (2000). The Butterfly. New York, NY: Philomel.

Shange, N. (2009). Coretta Scott. New York, NY: Katherine Tegen Books.

Shore, D. & Alexander, J. (2005). This is Dream. New York, NY: Amistad.

Stotts, S. (2010). We Shall Overcome: A Song That Changed the World. New York, NY: Clarion Books.

Sullivan, G. (2007). Her Life In Pictures. New York, NY: Scholastic Nonfiction.

Volavkova, H. (1994). I Never Saw Another Butterfly. New York, NY: Schocken.

Weatherford, C. (2006). Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom. New York, NY: Hyperion Book.

Woodson, J. (2005). Show Way. New York, NY: Putnam Juvenile.

Graphic books

Castellucci, C. (2007). The Plain Janes. New York, NY: Minx.

Picott, C. (2009). Raggedy Chan. San Francisco, CA: Camille Picott.

Satrapi, M. (2004). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. New York, NY: Pantheon.

Stassen, J. (2006). Deogratias: A Tale of Rwanda. 2006. New York, NY: Roaring Brook Press.

Watts, I. (2008). Good-bye Marianne: A Story of Growing Up in Nazi Germany. Plattsburg, NY: Tundra Books.

Two useful articles.

Posa, C. (1994), “The real future of feminism,” from The Baltimore Sun.

Phillips, K. (1993). “How Seventeen Undermines Young Women,” from Extra!

Useful websites.

http://www.teenink.com

http://www.teenvoices.com,

http://www.girlshealth.gov

http://www.girlsspeakout.org.

The use of visualization to read aloud poetry

One of the most challenging, yet rewarding, reading activities is visualizing poetic meanings that involve negotiating meanings between two languages. Gayle is an English poet and she recruited me an ASL poet because she knew I enjoyed ASL poetry as a hobby. She spearheaded her project for Oregon School for the Deaf (OSD) as the first school for the Deaf to participate in national-wide Poetry Out Loud contest.

Participating students worked with Galye to analyze the shades of meaning with their selected poems and they worked with me to visualize these poetic meanings in ASL. It was not a simple task for each student. First, a student must visualize and interpret meanings in English. Then, she/he must interpret these meanings in ASL. Gayle and I faced the tremendous challenge of helping students to visualize and interpret in both languages and these students often worked back forth between us at least four times before each student finally could retain the original poet's voice with the final ASL expression.

Usually, Gayle relied on my intuitive hunches to evaluate their uses of ASL to visualize the English meanings. Poems expressed in ASL may look nice in appearance for others, but I often coached these students to explore a range of nuanced meanings through subtle movements and facial expressions so they can create the appropriate moods for the speakers of the poems. When they experience the moods through signing, I ask them to re-read their poems again. At this point they discover the speakers’ voices coming alive through their own words. The speakers’ moods finally flow through their ASL expressions. Then, they were ready to express poetry out loud on the stage.

Tiffany Hill was one such student who worked constantly until she fully understood the poem she chose for the poetry contest. Her visualization in ASL perfectly matched the mood and the implied meanings of the poem in the English form. Gayle and I decided that she was ready but we didn’t expect her to win state championship for Oregon Poetry Out Loud. She was the first Deaf contestant to participate in national Poetry Out Loud contest and she has become an inspiration for other Deaf students.

Gayle and I were thrilled to see the positive experience for her and our school. Based on this experience, visualization turns out to be a natural, inherent reading process for any Deaf student, as long as there is a dedicated support to facilitate it.

A student's perspective on Twilight

Last year, my high school female senior wrote a term paper on Twilight. I often asked why is it so appealing to adolescents and she decided to share her perspective. She mentioned two things: use of gothic elements and realism. She claimed that the author created realistic scenarios of teenagers interacting in certain locations such as high school classroom, parking lot, etc., and she could relate to Bella as a teenager that shared similar longing to feel belonged. She enjoyed getting to know her more. Since she already has an impression that Twilight is a tale of vampires, she enjoyed the dramatic irony that Bella initially wasn’t aware that she was attracted to a vampire.

Actually, she didn’t really like any gory vampire tale, darkened with sinister atmosphere. She said that she enjoyed mild gothic elements in the beginning so she could be more drawn to Bella’s tale of romantic longings. She mentioned, ‘less blood and gore’ and she appreciated how the author modified traditional vampire characteristics. Instead of a vampire sleeping in coffin during the daytime and hunting for human blood nightly, she created Edward a vampire that can subsist on animal blood and interact peacefully with humans.

Based on her comments, I think the author succeeds creating internal consistency - new rules for my student to adopt and follow along throughout the novel. She enjoyed reading Bella's star-crossed romance with a high school vampire as if the Romeo & Juliet tale is retold within the fantasy genre.

A chat with a history teacher

We had an interesting chat about supporting our struggling readers in content classrooms. Last week I mentioned using picture books for older adolescents. This afternoon, she showed me some picture books she just bought. I was surprised how quickly she acted on the suggestion that she could use picture books for cross-curriculum reading, especially with text-to-text reading activities that can develop her students’ higher level thinking skills.

By the way, I shared my concern that Accelerated Reader program may have these titles listed and the quizzes, in this program, tend to evaluate on knowledge recall. These students cannot just read independently and take computer quizzes; they need modeling opportunities to practice their thinking skills. I described Pam Cole’s questioning techniques and the use of graphic organizers to help with clarifying meaning with text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections. Also, I mentioned some questioning techniques. When she appreciates that I teach literature as a content course, she shares a common perspective: We don’t just teach subjects but students with literacy needs.

Pam Cole’s integrated content/reading instruction model encourages me to get out of my box as a reading teacher and explore a history teacher’s vantage viewpoint on user-friendly instructional approaches. By working together, we will be able to model these approaches with other teachers. I believe Pam Cole is suggesting these constructive approaches for us to supplement the lack of teaching preparation for secondary teachers to deal with the struggling readers. She inspires us to move in this direction.

-RJ

Karen Cushman's "The Midwife's Apprentice"

Karen Cushman’s The Midwife’s Apprentice was on my classroom shelf for quite a time. Other books attracted my attention until I saw The Midwife’s Apprentice listed as a historical fiction in Pam Cole’s textbook. The book cover illustration of a young woman and a cat didn’t work well to pique my curiosity but I urged myself to consider its merit as a Newberry Medal literary work.

The young female character begins her life as a filthy, dirt-poor orphan in medieval England. An experienced midwife exploits her as an apprentice, rewarded only with meager meals and dismal accommodations. Someone mistakes her as Alyce and she adopts this name so she can overcome anonymity and build a reputation as a midwife. When she fails to deliver a baby, she runs away. However, she doesn’t want to relegate into a mere existence of a homeless beggar. She has an unexpected opportunity to deliver a baby at a local tavern and she triumphantly returns to work as a successful midwife.

At first, the plot seems simple, not as exciting as other novels. I think Karen intends her novel as a character study of a commoner. Typically, a medieval story features a prince charming, and commoners are just static characters that create a historical backdrop. The Midwife's Apprentice takes a reader into a different direction. Alyce is featured as a plain commoner, but with a human heart. Following Alyce through the novel becomes a journey into a past to appreciate a plain commoner as a human being seeking avenues for better living conditions. The reading ends with some respect for such a gentle character that represents an unsung heroine in the medieval world.

-RJ

My visit to the Border’s book store was an eye-opening experience. I have my new shopping list:

Wabi Sabi represents an age-old Japanese worldview. The intricate paper-cut artwork speaks for itself: the Japanese concept of beauty. In this picture book, Wabi Sabi is personified as a cat, seeking to discover the true meaning of her name. Along the way, a variety of surroundings reveals more about herself. While children may be delighted with a simple tale with an adorable cat character, themes of simplicity and beauty within the world of impermanence and imperfections are complex enough for older readers. The publisher’s web site comes with an educator’s guide.

This picture book illustrates a story of a boy who posed questions about his life. Through different situations, he discovers answers to: What is the best time to do things?…Who is the most important one?…What is the right thing to do? After reading the story, adolescents can start discussing these questions even if the character in this book may be just few years younger. These life questions are still significant for any ages. Also, the watercolor artwork is quite exquisite, not too childlike.

Leo Tolstoy is the original author of the short story, “The Three Questions,” and it makes a nice introduction to his other literary works.

DiTerlizzi created beautiful representations of Mary Howitt’s famous poem: “The Spider and the Fly.” The black-white artwork nicely complements with its dark tale. Although DiTerlizzi uses cinematic illustrations to achieve its childlike appeal, it is meaningful for older readers because they can interpret DiTerlizzi’s fly as a metaphor to their real life human experiences, especially vanity, flattery and the danger of date-rape.

I haven’t used these books with my students but I definitely will add them to my classroom library. J

Survey: "A Long Way Gone"

The survey revealed A Long Way Gone as the most popular book. Avid readers already mentioned Twilight and Harry Potter and few others. However, reluctant readers only mentioned just this one book. These are students who wouldn’t bother going to any library or bookstore. I knew them very well but I underestimated the effect of a ‘right’ book. I thought some of these students were not willing to view themselves as readers and some of them often already explicitly expressed, “I don’t like reading.”

My classroom is filled with books left behind by a former Language Arts teacher. I left Gallaudet University for a high school teaching position and I wasn’t really paying attention to the idea of ‘young adult literature.’ Too many of my classroom books have adult protagonists.

I bought Speak, written by Laurie Halse Anderson because I wanted to start a collection of young adult literature for my classroom. My older sister, also a reluctant reader, stopped by for a visit and saw this book on the kitchen table. I watched and waited for few minutes because she normally will quit reading after a page or two. However, she continued reading and made some positive comments. She asked if she could borrow and read it. I was so thrilled to see such a quality selection that has appealed her.

I am beginning to understand how my students would respond better with adolescent protagonists. I started exploring some similar selections that they would want to respond, There’s one interesting website Penguin dedicated for young adults: http://www.pointofviewbooks.com/.

I reviewed the questioning technique in the textbook and I decided to modify my questioning approach. Since these reluctant readers often struggle with comprehension breakdowns, I often posed questions to check comprehension. I decided to try using reader-response approach and they asked, “Are you asking me for my opinions?” I was a bit worried that they would take advantage writing their opinions without really clarifying what they read. So I decided to ask them to support their responses with some ideas from the book. They got busy thinking about their responses while they worked together to clarify what they read so they can write more meaningfully. Two students came to me and they said they liked with the way I adjusted my questioning approach.

The Bluest Eyes by Toni Morrison

The Bluest Eyes by Toni Morrison

I selected Toni Morrison’s 1970 novel, The Bluest Eye because I was curious why it has sparked the censorship debate. Toni Morrison’s novel is so rich with implied meanings that my first reading only glimpsed its depth. Moreover, my initial impressions naturally were based on sensorial impressions. The experiences of sight, sound, taste, feel and smell, which Morrison skillfully recreates through her characters in her novel, elicit strong emotional responses. Particularly with explicit details, a would-be censor can react as ‘too graphic.’ Actually, I felt self-conscious as if a would-be censor was looking over my shoulder when I could identify controversial passages. I decided to reread and explore thematic meanings, from a teacher’s point of view.

Morrison, through the eyes of her characters, explores the dark side of the Black experience during World War II era. Preteen African-American female protagonists bear witness to the devastating effects of racism and sexism. Peroca, a major character, adores the blue-eyed Barbie, which is the white culture’s ideal of beauty. She internalizes the society’s hatred of her dark color as ‘ugliness,’ and her self-rejection intensifies, as she ardently desires blue eyes. Her dehumanizing experience becomes more complicated when her father rapes and impregnates her. She ends up ostracized from her Black community.

According to Werrlein, Morrison creates distinctive female African-American voices through her characters. These characters encourage readers not to condemn the Black children but think critically how their families and the nation created their misery. Trapped within a Black character, Pecola’s preteen voice suggests an innocent desire to be a beautiful child but her family and the racist society have shaped her ugliness. Pecola still idolizes Shirley Temple, the Hollywood ideal of innocence and beauty, and she silently becomes victimized with her internalized racial hatred. A separate African-American voice is expressed through Claudia, a character that survives through resistance. The contrasting voices challenge readers’ preconceived notions of innocence. In effect, Morrison uses their voices to raise critical questions about the reality of innocence.

Elizabeth Becker believes that teaching The Bluest Eyes helps high school students connect literary characters to their lives. Powerful, emotional scenes can elicit their responses to racism and sexual abuse. Then, she guides these students to appreciate Morrison’s use of her literary work to raise awareness that hatred and sexual abuse are not inborn human tendencies. In The Bluest Eyes, Pauline and Cholly are Pecola’s parents and their behaviors are learned through harsh environments imposed by the racial society. They eventually commit child neglect and abuse. Through reading, the students understand that when no one cares enough to prevent them learning to hate and abuse their own people, the cycle of hatred and abuse continues.

Amy Garret, a high school teacher, also believes that this novel is an important literary work worth exposing to her students even though a parent can find it too graphic. She suggests that a teacher can plan carefully for insightful classroom discussion, which leads to positive results. Students may experience disgust, anger, or sadness when they read about a particular group of Americans, however, the novel can initiate discussion about child abuse affecting all not just African-American females.

Both teachers share the similar purpose of teaching the novel: they want their high school readers exposed to the hatred and abuse so they can prevent them in their own lives. They can make connections to Pauline and Cholly as human beings whose learned behaviors make Pecola a victim. They can understand why some human beings commit abuses and how these actions can be prevented from happening again. If these issues are not addressed, then who will? Like those teachers have accomplished, a classroom can be a place where adolescents think critically about these issues through reading a literary work, even including Morrison’s The Bluest Eyes.

Movie assignment: "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress"

I have taught international students for 10 years in Gallaudet University. Young adults, from various cultures, shared their selections of foreign films. They could build bridges with their universal human experience. Based on this experience, I decided to explore an alternative movie selection for adolescents.

“Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress” is a foreign movie based on Dai Sijie’s experience in Maoist China during the early 70’s. Two teenage best friends, victimized by China’s cultural revolution, were sent to a remote village for their re-education. They were captivated with a local female beauty. Although these Chinese characters may appear exotic compared to typical American characters in other films, the movie’s aesthetic appeal of their youth and sublime beauty still can impress any adolescents, regardless of their cultural backgrounds.

Practically almost all adult movies have, at least, a brief romantic moment because everyone needs some love. In an adolescent movie, love is a more alluring emotion due to its innocence. The serene, natural and mountainous backdrop in “Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress” enhances the romantic mood of adolescents falling in love. Adolescents can relate to these characters’ mysterious pangs of emotions, in which they wonder whether these feelings consist of true love.

Little Seamstress, the daughter of the tailor, has enjoyed her childlike bliss in the mountains since her birth. The city boys decided to cure her ignorance by teaching her how to read literary selections, which were forbidden in China. Her newfound joy of reading created a dynamic mix of boys’ love for her and their shared love of literature. Little Seamstress matured as a promising lady who sought to broaden her horizons. The boys were surprised when she wanted leave them behind, traveling on her own.

Adolescents who enjoy reading can reflect on Nabokov’s perspective that “readers were born free and ought to remain free.” Little Seamstress freed herself from the communist ideology after she unfolded herself a reader, discovering her inherent nature of intellectual freedom.

Many adolescents would probably prefer more exciting movies, such as “New Moon”, to suit their movie-going pleasure. However, some of them can try watching “Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress” and enjoy their meaningful connections with the youthful characters.

Assignment 4: Newbery Book

One student pointed Crispin: The Cross of Lead and she said it was a good book. I had a collection of Newbery Medal books and I haven’t read this one. I decided to read it so I could share my reading experience with her.

The novel begins with the protagonist identified as Asta’s son. Abandoned by his mother’s death, he flees when Aycliffe, the servant Lord Furnival decides to have him killed. During his escape, he bumps into Bear, the mysterious juggler who helps him to investigate his true identity. Asia’s son finds himself called Crispin and he begins exploring new ideas of freedom and his God-given destiny. Crispin eventually identifies himself as a son of Lord Furnival, who has died, leaving his servant in charge of his estate. He ultimately confronts Aycliffe. The novel ends with Crispin’s new life as a free man.

Why is that character acting like that?

With a loss of family history, he has so many questions centering his life. He wants to know who he is and why he feels trapped with his own history. Bear tells him that it is better to live by questions than by answers.

Where is the author going with this?

The author uses the character to illustrate historical truths. People, like Crispin, were forced to accept their fates as serfs. They must serve powerful lords who owned the land and abused their rights. Bear doesn’t just encourage Crispin to know his blood lineage but to question whether his people should lower themselves as servants.

Has something similar happened to me? (T-S)

My conflict with educational decision-makers is similar to Crispin’s rejection of his fate as a serf. I lived during the era that Deaf or hard of hearing children must conform to the ideal of normalcy in the society. By questioning their educational goals, I exercised my rights for self-determination to live the way I want.

Have I read a book that deals with some of the same issues? (T-T)

The Awakening. The female protagonist questions herself as a woman within a male-dominated society that attempts to define her womanhood.

Is there something on a more global scale happening like this? (T-W)

Sexual trafficking. Young people were duped into thinking that they would have better lives when they were offered career opportunities in America or in other prosperous nations. There are some stories of sex slaves who questioned their fates and exercised their self-determination rights.

Perhaps there is language in the book that is particularly descriptive or interesting.

“But this cross—“ I began.

He cut me off. “I know what it is. It’s made of lead. Made in countless numbers during the Great Death. Never blessed, they were given to the dying as false comfort. They’re as common as leaves and just as sacred.

“Crispin, as Jesus is my witness, churches, priests—they’re all unneeded. The only cross you need is the one in your heart.”

I like the way Avi uses leaves for his simile. It helps to illustrate how widespread the dying was. Also, it suggests the pervasive mood of the ‘Great Death.’ He contrasts his simile with a metaphor: the cross in Crispin’s heart. By using a simile and a metaphor, Avi contrasts hopelessness with hope. I find this an interesting passage.

Assignment 2: What is an adolescent anyway?

I raised three adolescents as a single father during the 80’s. Now I am raising two more adolescents. The two chapters didn’t change my mind due to my experience in raising adolescents. However, these chapters made me reflect more of what an adolescent really is.

I have observed adolescents for few years in high school and some of them have struggled with their personality traits they have no control over. Self-acceptance seemed to be one of the primary issues with adolescents. For others, they seemed so happy with their own personalities but with the prospect of making wrong choices, their happiness appeared so fragile. Sometimes, I feel that they need more than learning academic or career-related content. They needed opportunities to explore their potential in character making that can define who they are and how they want to live. Literature provides avenues for them to explore how characters, like themselves, make choices and create circumstances that they may have to live with. Adolescent literature, to me, is not just another academic course, but a safe place for adolescents to appreciate their incredible power in shaping their own lives.

Assignment 2: Definition

Adolescent is an exciting, dynamic chapter of life, in part prewritten and in part unwritten, a mix of fixed personality traits and freedom in character making.

YAL Autobiography

YAL Autobiography

I was like a mouse in The Tale of Despereaux. In this story, Despereaux had unusually large ears that attracted attention and his brother tried to teach him how to behave like a mouse by nibbling a page of an open book. But Despereaux stood on the top of the book and he discovered how sweet the words sounded. He could read. Similarly, I attracted attention as an Easter Seal poster child with the hearing aids protruding from my ears. I looked at the newspaper clippings and I knew what Easter Seal represented: my bionic ears. Educators had a mission to use technology to normalize my life. Little did they appreciate that I already was a fluent reader.

My mother didn’t say much about my emergent literacy because she didn’t know what to do with me. Since she didn’t know any sign language, she didn’t understand how she could read me books. All I could remember was the books scattered on the living room floor and my mother could only observe me picking up one of them. I could sit quietly and focus on the string of words, patiently waiting for a silent voice to start reciting a fairy tale. I had a glimmering awareness that I could read. I felt as if I was a kernel within and the books were the nurturing water, provided by my mother. I just sprouted an avid reader. I was grateful that my intuitive mother decided to provide me a print-rich environment.

My outside world of 60’s was the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness for the normal citizens. There were no wheelchair parking lots, no closed-captioned T.V. shows, nor guide dogs for the blind in restaurants. Stokoe already published a groundbreaking study of American Sign Language (ASL) that meets all linguistic parameters that qualify as equally developed language as English; yet, my status as a speaker of sign language was regarded inferior as much as the color of African-American citizens was in the southern states. Fortunately, I empowered my inner life by reading some books before I was enrolled to a residential school. I remembered my ears muffled by the cold, stiff rubber headphones and the emitting voice intruded my private space. I turned my attention to the teacher with her lips close to the microphone and I realized that the silent voices from the books were preferable if I wanted to continue learning English.

My annual standardized test scores, posted on the 5^th grade classroom wall, clearly revealed that I was doing so well. I was still an obedient school kid with my bulky hearing aid strapped like a bra on the front of my shirt and whenever I needed to go to the restroom, I was expected to pronounce clearly but painstakingly, “May I go to the bathroom, please?” I delighted my teachers when my voice sounded so lovingly human; yet, I pleased myself more by reading some more good books. They never realized that I kept track of a limited number of words they wanted me to pronounce while I knew I have absorbed a much larger number of words through reading. Eventually, I found myself less receptive to my teachers’ praises for my oral proficiency.

One day at a designated camp, I was excited to meet other middle-school campers who could share ASL jokes, storytelling, and poetry, which were part of our ASL literature. To adult campers, I was only there for special education. A volunteer college student was trying to show me how to pronounce specific sounds. I was intrigued with her enthusiastic interest with my tongue, as if I was her preferred circus performer. She struggled teaching me the difference between the “g” and “k” by modeling her slow-moving tongue. After few failed attempts, I misinterpreted her exasperated look because I thought she was walking away, but she returned more determined. She was carrying a bulky textbook, bookmarked with a specific page. She opened and pointed to a passage where I could read technical descriptions on how the “g” sound is produced. I looked at her and pronounced the sound she wanted. She looked surprised and she started talking to everyone around. I thought she was impressed how well I could read. However, she brought along her audience and when she asked me to pronounce the same sound, I turned out to be her tame lion performer, demonstrating the same stunt she felt proud of.

My adolescence was like a soft piece of modeling clay soon to be baked into a permanent self-image. I wrestled my life to break free from the society’s molding hands. Particularly, my father, annoyed with my rebellious ears, once demanded, “Where are your hearing aids?” I proudly showed off my straight A’s report card, asking him why should I bother wearing them. My mother chuckled quietly. I owned myself, including my ears. I chose to wear soft-padded headphones only to listen the 70’s rock music. Whenever I yearned for some meaningful English, I read. My mother could only buy phonographic records as well as books because she wanted to be a mother that I could come to.

My diminished interest in reading was a temporary phase during the last two years of High School. I grew more silent, asserting my self-image that I was different, but not deficient. My speech therapist found me pleasantly rebellious and she left me alone. The only thing that kept reminding me of English was my strict grammarian. I had the same English teacher for four straight years and his classroom instruction primarily consisted of grammar drills. I felt as if he tried to overcompensate my loss of spoken English. At home, my father was disconcerted when I expressed sign language to his guests. I wanted them to know me as myself, not as his son that sounded normal. While he kept demanding me to practice using my voice, my mother maintained her compassionate silence. She decided to loan me her favorite book, Shogun. This was one great book I will never forget.

During my final year in High School, I had a new reading teacher who inspired my greater love for literature. She had the unforgettable color of hair. I did not exactly look at her reddish shade but it was the way her hair shook enthusiastically when she read aloud her literary selections. She breathed life into characters and I kept coming back sharing my reading experiences. She had a tremendous impact on my career as a reading teacher.

During my college days in California State University, Northridge (CSUN), I had a professor’s assistant working with me. She was a retired High School English instructor and her elderly image gave me a false impression that she was an old-fashioned grammarian. I dreaded slightly to follow her to a trailer, an isolated writing lab with just one table and a wide blackboard. However, I didn’t see any workbooks, drill sheets, or anything that suggested tedious coursework. She just nudged me to start revising my paper and she laughed heartily at the way I kept on revising. I was a bit worried with her attitude. Then, she brought a book and showed me her favorite passage. She looked at me for a moment and asked, “Isn’t English beautiful?” I smiled. I realized she only wanted me to encourage my positive attitude toward writing.

Only recently, I stopped by my mother’s place. I walked into her room with the Barnes Noble paper bag. She got excited before she knew what titles I bought for her. Her joy of reading was an antidote to her fear of encroaching multiple sclerosis that can lead her to a bedridden life. I showed pictures of her great-grandchild holding a book and we chatted about the books I saw scattered on her shelf. Before I left, I saw her pulling out The Kite Runner from the paper sack. When I returned for another visit, she had The Kite Runner close by. She told me that it was a good book and held it out to me. It was hers but I understood her gesture: she wanted me to share the joy of reading with others. She has been reading all books I taught in my classes and she appreciated my life as a reading teacher, beyond being her well-read son.