Are we here to stay or simply passing along the way?: The House You Pass On the Way

I absolutely LOVED Jacqueline Woodson’s The House You Pass on the Way.  It is the first book I have ever read about an interracial family.  I also loved this book for all of the issues that it brings up such as:  family, race, love, sexuality, and the coming-of-age story.  That is all the more reason why I have greatly enjoyed the multicultural portion of this class.  I have the opportunity to read books that are new to me, challenge my thinking, and broaden my perspectives. 

I can relate to Stagerlee and her family because my immediate family also dealt with a similar situation.  When my sister, who is white, began to date a black boy when she was in high school, my mother’s family “disowned” my family.  Seven years passed between us before they would talk to us again.  Now my sister is married to a Bulgarian man, and they have a child.  Her interracial marriage and interracial child are approved by my mother’s family because the man is not black.  Even though there is communication now among my extended family, things have never returned to the way they used to be.  I can definitely relate to the isolation that Stagerlee’s family feels.

One of my favorite parts of the book is the very end when Stagerlee is thinking, “They were both waiting.  Waiting for this moment, this season, these years to pass.  Who would they become? She wondered.  Who would they become?” (Woodson, 1997, p. 99).  I think this is how most young adolescents feel.  It may even be how some adults still feel.  You live your life aspiring to be the person you are meant to be.  Who will that person be?  How do you know when you have arrived?  Are we at a place in our lives where we are just passing on the way?  I would like to think so!  On our journey to become future teachers, we are passing by many places that are making us stronger, wiser, and more understanding. 

The article Who Can Tell My Story? by Jacqueline Woodson addresses the importance of writers telling their stories.  For a story to be one of true cultural authenticity it must be a story that the author has experienced or lived in some form.  As Woodson (2003) points out maybe those “experiences and the memories have filtered through [them] to us and by extension become our own…But if I take the beauty of these works and filter my own experience through them, I can create something that is mine” (p. 42).  Woodson (2003) also states, "My belief is that there is room in the world for all stories, and that everyone has one.  My hope is that those who write about the tears and the laughter and the language in my grandmother’s house have first sat down at the table with us and dipped the bread of their own experiences in our stew" (p. 45).

I love the image that Woodson left in my mind!  This is what creating authentic stories are all about…learning to walk in someone else’s shoes or to dip your bread into their stew.   

The story about Ben was an intriguing one, and I appreciated David’s perspective on slavery.  The struggles, concerns, and fears have been present between blacks and whites for a long time.  Lester (1971) points out, “But that is how it is with people, isn’t it?  We spend our lives not really knowing what we think and feel, afraid that if we do, it may totally disrupt our lives” (p. 62).   This sentiment is true of people no matter what skin color they wear.  This is how Stagerlee felt in The House You Pass on the Way.  If you never process your thoughts and feelings, you never have to deal with those thoughts or feelings.  Is it easier or harder to live life that way?  That is something to ponder about on a later day.   

In the article Cultural Politics from a Writer’s Point of View by Katherine Paterson, she makes a statement that sums up my take on multicultural literature so far.  Peterson (1994) states, "So, no, my books will never be politically correct- that is, they will always run the risk of offending someone.  My characters will never be blameless role models for today’s children and youth.  They and their stories will invite disappointment or even disapproval   from left, right, and center-  In short, from any reader who looks to fiction to support a point of view rather than to mirror human experience" (p. 91).

Multicultural literature is about presenting different perspectives on life and telling the story from someone else’s shoes.  I have no doubt that there will be books that will offend me and books that I just will not like, but that does not mean that I will not take away something from every book that I read. 

 

*(I realize that the references are not in the correct font or indented correctly...I could not make blogger cooperate with me in the correct form)*

Lester, J. (1971).  Ben.  The long journey home: Stories from black history. (pp. 60-88).  New York, NY:  Dial. 

Paterson, K. (1994). Cultural politics for a writer's point of view.  New Advocate, 7(2), 85-91.

Woodson, J. (1997). The house you pass on the way. New York, NY: Delacorte Press.

Woodson, J. (2003). Who Can Tell My Story?  In D. L. Fox & K. G. Short (Eds.), Stories matter: the complexity of cultural authenticity in children's literature (pp. 41-45).         Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.

Traitor or Warrior?: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

On March 17, 2012, Sherman Alexie posted on Twitter, “You realize that approximately 70% of Natives live in cities, right? We are not Amish-in-eagle-feathers.”  This statement is one that needs to be heard by everyone who has not read Alexie’s book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.  It is all too easy to imagine that the Indians either do not exist or are all happy living on perfectly rich reservations where the government takes excellent care of them.  I must ashamedly admit that I, from a Native bloodline, am not very educated on my heritage or Native Americans in general.   My great-great grandfather was Cherokee, but there is no one from my family who seems to know or discusses this aspect of our lives.  I may begin doing a bit of detective work this coming weekend to find out more about my family tree. 

On that note, after the initial shock of graphic language and content, I found Alexie’s book to be quite informative and engaging from the very start until the last page.  He took me on a realistic, emotional journey with a young adolescent named Junior Spirit as I attempted to figure out if Junior was a traitor or a warrior.  The astounding character development placed me right beside Junior in his many adventures.  I could almost feel Junior’s physical pain from being beaten, Rowdy’s anger when he was the one fighting people (and minivans!), and the swaying breeze from being nearly 100 feet high in the monster pine tree.  I loved the illustrations by Ellen Forney that captured the essence of Junior and his life.   

Alexie brought to life the typical reservation-style life along with a minority student attempting to fit in within a majority white school.  The poverty and drunkenness lingering throughout the reservation did come as a surprise to me.  I never truly realized the poverty and drunkenness that lingers in so many reservations.   I was one of the people who had a stereotypical image of a Native American in my mind when I heard the word Indian. 

As Reese (1997) points out, “250 elementary school students [were] asked how they would know if an Indian walked into the room… ‘They’d be wearing feathers,’ ‘They’d have war paint on,’ and ‘They’d be carrying a tomahawk’” (p. 160).  This was the exact imagine I held in my mind during school.  No one bothered to point out or explain that Native Americans did not all fit in this preconceived, stereotyped mold.  I was a child always exposed to the “good” stories as Reese (1997) states, “These good stories were about the Indian as a free child of nature, or the courageous and brave Indian.  The “bad Indian” stories were not well received…The focus…was the ‘disintegration of the traditions and values and the extreme poverty and destitution of reservation life’” (p. 158).

My earliest memories of Native American’s are ones of uncivilized savages always ready for war.  I found the quote included by Reese (1997) to be both profound and unsettling…

           

            He says we’re warlike when we’re peaceful. He calls us savages, but    

            he’s the savage. See. He calls this headdress a warbonnet. Sure we 

            used it in war, but most of the time it was for ceremony, not war. 

            Each feather stands for a good deed and I have thirty-six in mine. 

            It’s not about war; it’s about who we are. When we sing songs he 

            calls them war songs. But they’re not war songs, they’re prayers to 

            God. We have drums, so White Man calls them war drums; but 

            they’re not for war, they’re for talking to God. There’s no such thing 

            as a war drum. He sees how our warriors paint their faces, so he calls 

            it war paint.  But it’s not for war, it’s to make it so God can see 

            our faces clearly if we have to die. So how can we talk to the White 

            Man of peace when he only knows war?

From reading The Absolute True Diary of a Part-time Indian and the chapter from Reese, I am now more educated about using and presenting Native American literature in my future classroom.  I will make sure that the literature is authentic and without stereotypes.  This holds true of any type of multicultural literature that is used in the classroom.  It is important to make sure that it all is well researched before presenting it to the students. 

I do not envision teaching The Absolute True Diary of a Part-time Indian in my future classroom.  While some of the content may be true-to-life for some teenagers in America, I would not feel comfortable having middle school students read content that used graphic language and had sexual references throughout.  I think it is a book more appropriate for an older audience of perhaps upper high school to college level.  There are some portions that could be used as a mentor text or read aloud to middle school students.  One of my favorite quotes from the book is, “I wanted to live up to expectations.  I guess that’s what it comes down to.  The power of expectations” (Alexie, 2007, p. 180).  Isn’t that what life is all about, expectations from ourselves and those around us? 

 

Alexie, S. (2007). The absolute true diary of a part-time Indian. New York, 

          NY: Little, Brown and Company.

Alexie, S. (2012). Twitter status. Retrieved from: 

          http://twitter.com/#/!/Sherman_Alexie.

Reese, D. (1997).  “Native Americans in Children’s Literature.”  Using 

          multicultural literature in the K-8 classroom. Norwood, MA: 

          Christopher-Gordon. 154-185.  

The Misfits and Totally Joe

Stewig (1994) states, “Do we really want to encourage children to wonder about their world?  Do we value children asking questions about topics that interest them, or do we only want inquiry with which we as adults are comfortable?” (p. 190).  These questions truly resonated with me as I read the article Self-censorship of Picture Books About Gay and Lesbian Families.  The extent of my knowledge of the LGBT culture is limited to knowing a gay high school friend and a current gay classmate in one of my classes.   I wholeheartedly believe that children should be presented with information about their world and be able to make well-informed decisions about their world, but do I only hold this belief with information that I am comfortable presenting to the children?  These questions are causing me to pause and reflect on what I need to do in order to be prepared for my future students.

I could present my students with great young adult literature such as The Misfits and Totally Joe.  I greatly enjoyed both of these books because of their content and quick read.  I read both of them in one day.  The Misfits identified several key struggles that middle school students face on a daily basis.  It was easy for me to relate to both Addie and Kelsey because in middle school, I was a mixture of these two girls:  tall and incredibly shy.  Nearly every student should be able to relate to someone from this book.  Whether it is someone from the popular crowd such as Colin, a trouble maker such as Kevin, or one of the misfits, there is a character in this book for every student.  What a wonderful opportunity this book provides for class discussions, small group discussions, creative, and written assignments. 

           

I was pleased to learn that the No Name-Calling Week is actually in practice around the country during the week of January 23-27.  What an astounding idea generated from The Misfits in which students can become involved.  I would love to have my students read The Misfits a few weeks before the No Name-Calling Week and then become active participants in the week.  This book is definitely going on my list of all time favorites!

As Blackburn and Smith (2010) point out, “Nearly every school in the United States is heteronormative; that is, they are based upon the concept that heterosexuality is normal and homosexuality is not” (p. 626).  I do realize that the topic of covering LGBT is still highly controversial in schools, but that does not mean that students should be deprived the opportunity to become educated and informed of LGBT culture.  In the article From Queer to Gay and Back Again: Young Adult Novels with Gay/Lesbian/Queer Content, 1969-1997, Jenkins (1998) states, “…in the course of nearly thirty years of young adult ‘problem novels,’ fictional gay and lesbian characters have been beaten, shot, gay-bashed, drowned, sexually molested, kidnapped, framed on drug charges, or killed in car accidents” (p. 309).  If students were educated and informed, perhaps there would be less violent harassment and more genuine acceptance of all students.  Perhaps using a book such as Totally Joe in the classroom could help promote acceptance while encouraging students to end violence and hate crimes. 

Totally Joe would be great for the classroom because the journal-style writing is both refreshing and captivating.  It gave an open view into the private thoughts and life of Joe.  It is basic human curiosity at some point in time to want to know what another person is thinking and feeling.  Well, in Totally Joe you get just that, a personal glimpse into the life of seventh-grade Joe who openly admits his homosexuality to his family, school, and friends.  It was a book that I did not want to see end because I wanted to know more about Joe’s life, but I was left with a smile as the last life lesson by Howe (2005) points out, “Alphabiographies should be full of italics, CAPTIAL LETTERS, and exclamation points! (Just like life!) And they should never end with the words ‘The End.’  They should always end with:  TO BE CONTINUED!” (p. 189).  I LOVE THIS!  After all, we are all living, changing, learning, and growing each new day with lives that are to be continued with the next new day.  I thought that the alphabiography assignment was a creative twist on the traditional journal-writing assignment, and it is one that I would consider using in my future classroom.  

Blackburn, M. V., & Smith, J. M. (2010). Moving beyond the inclusion of lgbt-themed literature

            in english language arts classrooms: Interrogating heteronormativity and exploring

            intersectionality. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53(8), 625-634.

Howe, J. (2001). The misfits. New York, NY: Aladdin Paperbacks.

Howe, J. (2005). Totally Joe. New York, NY: Anthem Books for Young Readers.

Jenkins, C. (1998).  From queer to gay and back again:  Young adult novels with gay/lesbian/  

            queer content, 1969-1997. Library Quarterly, 68(3), 298-334.

Stewig, J. W. (1994). Self-censorship of picture books about gay and lesbian families. New

            Advocate, 7(3), 184-192.

“What music do you hear when you sleep?”: Musings on The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing

There were numerous things that I found unfamiliar and quite disturbing while reading The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing.  One of the first things I do before reading a book is to look at the Table of Contents.  I was surprised to discover that the Table of Contents was divided by sections.  It was difficult to get past the fact that there were no chapters in this book.  Also, Mr. Gitney’s, or 03-01’s, numerical system of naming took some time to become familiar with reading.  There were strange experiments that took place in the Novanglian College of Lucidity including Octavian as one of the major experiments.  The diction and vocabulary used in this book is quite advanced for a middle school reader.  There were several words that I had to pause for reference while reading.  For these reasons, this book proved difficult and tedious for me, and at the same time it was an emotional journey. 

           

I found myself saddened that Octavian had to fight for his own mother’s attention.  “Increasingly, I was in awe of her majesty, and did not know what I might say to please her…I reached my seventh, and then my eighth, year, I became aware of how dull my wit was when confronted with her beauty…I vied for her attention only as one man of many” (p. 35).  Cassiopeia being 13 years of age was but a child herself when Octavian was born.  There was one instance when she “laid her head down upon my lap, burying her face in my chest…I felt that I was become her mother, and she my son” (p. 36).  This shows the inner child and insecurity Cassiopeia felt.  She was ripped away from her kingdom and everything she knew at such a young age.  It was with sorrow that I read about the life of Octavian and Cassiopeia.

When I arrived at page 222 and found the words blotted and scratched out, I pondered it with mixed emotions.  I longed to know what Octavian was thinking during his mother’s death, but I was also relieved that we were not exposed to his heartache and mourning.      

           

I found that I did not truly enjoy reading the book until after Octavian’s escape.  Observing Octavian through the letter writing of Evidence Goring was intriguing.  I found it refreshing to see Octavian through a third party lens.  There were no more experiments, detachment, or silent observations.  Despite his deep depression and heartache, Octavian was more real in the moments he was in the militia.  “I went to him & put my Hand on his Shoulder. Said he to me, ‘God forgive me.  Her name – I never knew her Name’” (p. 260-261).  It was in that moment that Octavian realized he had never known his mother’s real name. 

During the interview after Octavian was captured and returned to Mr. Sharpe and Mr. Gitney, I desperately wanted Mr. Gitney to stand up to Mr. Sharpe and rescue Octavian.  It was he who had loved his mother, Cassiopeia.  I was not surprised that Dr. Trefusis was the one to rescue Octavian from Mr. Sharpe and Mr. Gitney.  I felt all along that Dr. Trefusis was the one who admired Octavian the most.  I would even venture to say that he felt a fatherly love for Octavian. 

The quote that lingered with me throughout the reading was “what music do you hear when you sleep?” (p. 155).  When the world disappears and we are all alone within ourselves and our dreams, what is the music that drives us forward?  What is the longing of our hearts and our innermost desires?  Are they the same as Octavian’s?  “…that we should have final proof that the human was made in love for the operations of magnanimity and fairness, reason and excellence, and that we all, unfettered by passions, could work together for the perfection of man” (p. 73).

Even though I grew to appreciate the book the more that I read, I would be hesitant to use this book in a middle school classroom.  When I looked up the reading level of the book online, it was for a ninth grade level.  Perhaps using this book in a high school American Literature or American History class would be more beneficial to the students.  I could definitely envision doing read alouds from the text for middle schoolers.  There are many issues (race, slavery, class divisions, war, family, friendships…) the book addresses that would beneficial for middle school students to discuss.                  

Anderston, M.T. (2006). The astonishing life of Octavian Nothing: Traitor to the nation.     

          Cambridge, MA: G.P. Candlewick Press.