My sister read "Project Mulberry"!

I asked my 14 year old sister Lexey to read "Project Mulberry" for me because our class was discussing if the conversations between the author and main character between each chapter was distracting for a younger reader. I wondered if it would take away from the greater message in the text or if a younger reader would really enjoy the conversations. So my sister read it for me and I asked her a few questions about the style and if she did or did not like the conversations. Lexey said that "It was weird how she wrote it. It took me a minute to realize that she was talking to the main character. The author said that you didn't have to read them, but I did and I really like it." She said "I have never read a book before where the main character gets to help the author write the book and I thought that was pretty cool."
So overall, my sister enjoyed the book as a whole and didn't seem too phased by having those conversations in between each chapter.
Thanks Lex! You proved me wrong!

Reading Out Loud

There has been an ongoing discussion in our class about reading texts out loud to your students and whether or not you should try and portray the character or not. Well, I was in my 5th grade field placement last Friday and they have been reading the book "Hotel for Dogs" and my Coordinating Teacher asked me if I would read a chapter out loud to them while she got some other stuff done. I said sure but as I got reading I was almost paralyzed because I was so overly conscious of the characters and whether or not I was portraying them right. The Aunt in the story is from New Jersey so as soon as I found this out I got stuck on this "new jersey accent" and could not stop doing it. I asked my CT afterward if I sounded funny and she said "No, but you do a very good New Jersey accent!" I couldn't help but laugh because it is so funny how this class has affected almost every aspect of what I do and what I see now!!

Comment in Class

After class last Wednesday I couldn't keep myself from being hyper-aware of everything everyone was saying around me.
I was sitting in English class on Thursday and there was this girl talking on the phone before class started. I wasn't really listening to her but she was talking so loud it was hard to not pay attention. All of a sudden she yelled out "She's a dike??" and I almost fell out of my seat. All I could think of was how offensive she could be right now to someone else in the class.
People should think before they speak, especially if they are in a public place and could easily offend someone!

While I was in Schuler's

I was in Schuler's Books Store yesterday and I was standing in the magazine section and behind me I overheard this little girl (probably around 6 or 7) ask her dad to take her to the book section because she wanted to look at books. Her dad responds to her "Why do you want to look at books? Books are stupid and I know you won't read them."
I was absolutely appalled and it took everything I had to contain myself and not lash out at him. I still cannot believe that any parent would deter their child away from reading a book! I just cannot believe it. This little girl is at the most impressionable time in her life and by her dad having such a negative attitude about books is horrifying because it is going to shape her view of reading and literature for the rest of her life.
Wow...

Response to Today's Reading

For class today we had to read an article titled "Common Assumptions about Childhood." I found this article fascinating because while reading through the listed assumptions about children I couldn't believe how many of those I have heard before. It's amazing how many misconceptions people have, even in the education department, regarding children and what they are capable of. On pages 8 and 9 of the article the author lists out common assumptions people make regarding children and literature. I found most of these assumption appalling because as soon as people start making these assumptions children suffer the consequences. For example, the one assumption I found most disturbing was "Although all children are childlike, boys are different from girls. Children are inherently gendered- boys are boyish and girls girlish from birth. A child's gender determines his or her activities, interests and tastes." Although it is hard to belief that at this day and age people actually believe things like this it is a common assumption. If children were all inherently gendered a specific way then how come every child is uniquely different and desires different things? Why must we box children into these certain stereotypes and force them to conform to our ideologies?

I feel as though in our TE class we are combating common stereotypes and generalizations like this one. As soon as a person starts making generalizations about another person it sort of limits that persons ability to move beyond the assumptions. As a future educator, I never want to limit my students and/or place them in categories where they do not belong. I desire for my children and my students to achieve to their fullest potential and by not making assumptions and generalizations about their abilities, interests or personality then I will be allowing them to achieve greatness.

Class Connection

I am currently taking English 379: American Women Writers and I am often finding myself being able to make connections between this English class and TE 448. I just finished reading "Desert Blood: The Juarez Murders" by Alicia Gaspar De Alba and I not only was it a great book, I was able to make so many connections between it and what we have discussed in TE 448.
This book takes place in El Paso, Texas and La Cuidad Juarez, Mexico. Throughout the entire text the author used Spanish phrases and words to convey messages and feelings. When we discussed in class what we thought of this technique I was pretty much okay with it because I know a little Spanish from taking four years of it in high school. However, I realize I was only basing my judgment off of Spanish used in adolescent literature like "Esperanza Rising" and "Becoming Naomi Leon." After reading "Desert Blood" which is at my reading level, I know have a more concrete opinion of the use of Spanish in a text.
I often found myself tripping over the words and trying really hard to figure out what the author was trying to say because often times she didn't give an English translation. I really got to feel the confusion that might overwhelm children when reading books that have a different language in them. After finishing the text, I find that the Spanish was affective because the author consistently used it the same throughout the novel. Our course pack article stated that as long as the Spanish was used consistently in the same manner then it was considered appropriate and affective. The author of "Desert Blood" also used Spanish to name all the food in the novel which I found very appropriate because like I read in the course pack, there often times isn't an English translation for that word.
Overall, after experiencing the use of Spanish in a novel that I was reading, I have to say that as long as the Spanish is used effectively and consistently and doesn't provide for too much confusion, I can appreciate the bilingualism.