Boy Meets Boy

Today while in class I became very intrigued during discussion to find that many or most other people in class were pondering the same type of questions I had about the book. While not only in small discussion groups but also in large group discussion, questions arose about the community within which Paul resides. I was very interested to find out that once others in the class had done a little research on Levithan's website, he actually provided some sort of rationale for creating the community that he did. I found it very pondering that he possibly did this on purpose to show his readers what the world should and possibly one day will be like. I find this very hopeful for those who view the world as a prejudice place. It brought to mind a few other questions that I had been wondering throughout the novel. I began to wonder and anticipate the time when Levithan was going to have Paul explain that he was in a special school or community. I kept wondering if her was enrolled in a special high school that in some way protected the "atypical" teen. As we discussed in class, I came to find out that there actually are high schools in existence that hold special places for students with different prefrences. Valerie, you mentioned it a little in class but I was just wondering if you knew the type or criteria that was in order for such a high school. I mean I imagine that these are rare seeing as I have never heard of them before as well as somewhat complicated to get established. I also then begin to wonder if this type of seclusion or safe haven as some may call it, is really that in fact. In some ways I feel it is important that people with similar characteristics should be surrounded by one another, but then again I feel that it may actually end of sheltering them in the long run. I also wonder how other students that perhaps attend public schools near these alternative schools would react to those students once they came in contact with them.

These ideas actually bring me to another thought about the high schools in my hometown. They have just begun the process of seperating the middle school and high school grade levels. When I was in high school it went from 9th-12th grade and middle school consisted of 6th-8th. Well, recently a decision was made to build 9th grade wings or in this case entire seperate buildings for the 9th graders so their transition from 8th to 9th grade would be easier. The Boy Meets Boy discussion made me think about this idea and I offer my thoughts...I believe that seperating the new 9th graders really does not do much benefit. I think that the old 9th grade freshman will in some ways become the new 10th grade freshman and the transition will be the same regardless. Either way those sheltered 9th graders will need to face the real world of high school sooner than later. So going back to my discussion of the novel, I wonder if creating alternate schools in some areas serves this same purpose--to ease the transition out into the real world? Well enough of my ranting, these were just a couple of things that sparked my thought process while discussing Boy Meets Boy

Confessions of a Closet Catholic

Our group chose to meet outside of class at the library at 5:00. Our discussion was full of thoughtful conversation that could have easily fit together with what I assume other groups would have been talking about. We started our discussion talking about Justine’s relationships with other characters in the book. We began speaking about Justine’s relationship with her mother and how that affected her identity. We then moved to her special relationship she had with Bubbe. Lastly, we spoke about her relationship with the Rabbi and how each of these shaped her new found identity. They answered questions lingering in her mind and also steered her in new directions regarding her religion. I found that this actually led way to my question and Justine’s addictions to chocolate being a cover up for other emotional identity issues. The question I chose to raise was To what extent does Justine’s Jewish identity affect her views of herself? I felt that this fit in with what we were previously talking about because we were able to fit in Justine’s relationship with Helena and how that affects Justine’s view of herself. We then brought up the idea of chocolate fitting into Justine’s life. We all agreed that it seemed as though she almost always used it as a crutch to get through tough situations. We talked about certain foods that we found really gave us support while we were growing up but didn’t really make those foods connect to our religious identity…it more or less only fit in with our personal choice identity of what we enjoyed and where we found comfort. I discussed with the group how I was very impressed at Justine’s ability to independently research the different religions and how she even practiced the traditions before ever actually seeing them in action.



Our group brought up many different view points and it was interesting to listen to each persons individual story about the times when they questioned their own religion. I personally don’t ever remember wanting to switch over to something else, but I was curious about what the other religions practiced and how they were similar or different than my own. I think our discussion was a success and I look forward to sharing more of our groups ideas perhaps next week in class during discussion.

Charlie Question

The question I chose to use for the book From Charlie's Point of View was: What misconceptions are associated with how others around Charlie view him as an intellectual or "normal" person due to his disability? I chose this question because I feel as though Charlie's disability was something that was often times "walked around" throughout the book. I felt as though the school did a poor job of truly explaining the disability to the other students. The principal was a key example throughout my discussion. I am unsure if it was really the fault of the principal or the fault of the teachers for not taking time aside to ask other students about any questions they may have. I feel as though I can definately take this book as a learning experience in regards to teaching. If it were my classroom that Charlie were in, I would make sure that I took some time aside, no matter the age of the children, to talk about not only Charlie's disability, but also other common disabilities. I feel it is very important to talk about these such things so that peers are able to clear up any misconceptions they may have to prevent stereotyping. I feel as though there is too much stereotyping going on in today's society and I would make it my best effort to prevent that at all costs. Either way, through the use of my question, I was able to generate much discussion with my group about the different misconceptions characters had in the group and the different ways the characters could have gotten around or prevented those misconceptions from becoming serious issues.

Final Project Topic

The topic I chose to use for my final project is the diverse group of African American portrayl in literature. I feel as though this is a large population of the diversity found in classrooms, and this cultural group should be strongly represented. I found with my small amount of exposure of classroom experience, that I have not had much of a chance to explore African American literature to its fullest. I would like to focus most on children's literature and mainly picture trade books. I am strongly looking toward a career in working with young elementary children. I hope that in doing this final project and taking a close analysis of children's literature, I will be able to add to my classroom library at the same time. I would like to offer my children the best exposure possible and through doing this activity on African American literature, I feel as though I will be able to reach a ethnic group that is strongly underrepresented. I am also looking forward to seeing what other outsiders as well as insiders have to say about this ethnic group as a whole.

The Middle East Book Award

The Middle East Book Award was established in 1999 by the Middle East Outreach Council (MEOC). Its purpose is to recognize books for children and adolescents that contribute to a meaningful understanding of the Middle East.Books for this award are judged on the authenticity of their protrayal of a Middle Eastern subject, as well as on their characterization, plot, and appeal for the intended audience. Awards are announced in November for books published during the period from January of the previous year through September of the current year. Nominations from teachers and librarians, publishers, and the general public are welcome.

Link to the Middle East Book Award website:http://socialscience.tyler.cc.tx.us/mkho/MEOC/middle_east_book_award.htm

This link containes a list of books receiving the award. The list contains book genre and brief description.


Overall the book that we have looked at fit the criteria found on the Award's website. Within our group discussion we noticed a couple things:#1: Award recipients do not have the award seal on the front cover#2: "The Librian of Basra" and "Alia's Mission: Saving the Books of Iraq" - are the same story but by different authors; they both received the award. We are wondering why this would happen. Is it because of the different age levels that this books are focused towards? Is it because this is such a prominant topic in this culture?#3: Are any books that receive this award written in Arabic or only in English?**********************Books that we looked at:Habibi - Naomi Shihab Nye (2000 Winner of Middle East Award)The Librarian of Basra - Jeanette Winter (2005 winner)Alia's Mission: Saving the Books of Iraq - Mark Alan Stamaty (2005 Winner)The House of Wisdom - Florence Parry Heide and Judith Heide Gilliland (2000 Winner)