SPREAD THE WORD TO END THE WORD

Just a reminder, today is "Spread the Word to End the Word Day." Cynthia Lord wrote a beautiful post about this day on her website.

Yesterday, I talked to my students about this very important day. We went to the website and signed the pledge. Today we will watch a video and make posters.

It's an important day.

TAKING CARE OF MOSES- Barbara O'Connor

Randall Mackey is walking home from his friend Jaybird's house one night when he sees Queenie Avery, an elderly neighbor, shuffling down the street in her nightgown and high heels, clutching her red purse to her chest. Queenie has always been a friend of Randall's, but lately she has begun to act a little strange, and folks in Randall's small southern town are starting to wonder whether she might need more care than her husband can provide. Randall follows Queenie, and in the process, he sees a mother leave her baby, in a cardboard box, on the steps of the Rock of Ages Baptist Church.

Over the next few weeks, the entire town begins to squabble about who will take care of Baby Moses. The pastor's wife, Mrs. Jennings, doesn't have her own children and believes Moses was left specifically for her. Miss Frieda is a licensed foster care mother and thinks she should take care of Moses. Soon everyone is taking sides. Randall could solve the problem, but he is afraid to tell anyone his secret, because he doesn't want people to know about Queenie's wanderings.

I loved O'Connor's portrayal of the Rock of Ages Baptist Church. Imperfect people leading imperfect lives, but doing the best that they can, despite their faults, to love and care for each other. In my mind, that's about as good as the church ever gets.

Real characters. Real problems. Real truths. Real goodness. Another terrific read by Barbara O'Connor.

SPREAD THE WORD TO END THE WORD

I think I was in kindergarten when my mom taught me the rhyme, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me." I don't remember why she taught it to me, but I remember chanting it over and over and over again. Now, forty some years later, I would never teach that rhyme to my kids or anyone else's, because I believe it is totally untrue. Words do hurt. They hurt a lot. Much, much worse than sticks or stones ever could. And the hurt inflicted by words lasts much longer than the pain of a physical beating.

Franki, at Year of Reading, made me aware that Tuesday, March 31st, is a really important day. Tuesday is "Spread the Word to End the Word." Sponsored by the Special Olympics, "Spread the Word" is "a National Awareness Day to raise awareness of the hurtful effects of the word “retard(ed)” and encourage people to pledge to stop using it."

Here is a link to the Spread the Word campaign. The website includes a fact sheet, several thirty second videos, and this pledge:

I pledge and support the elimination of the derogatory use of the r-word from everyday speech and promote the acceptance and inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities.

At "Year of Reading," Franki has posted a terrific list of children's literature that might open up some conversations about this topic.

Tomorrow is our first day back from Spring Break. We are going to explore this website. We're going to take the pledge and make posters to put up around our school. I want my kids to understand that words have the power to harm or to do good. We are going to use our words- reading, writing, and speaking- to help stop the use of that one very harmful word.

POETRY FRIDAY

I'm a long time Douglas Florian fan. Last fall, I reviewed AUTUMNBLINGS. I also love lots of his other books, e.g. LAUGHETERIA and BOW WOW MEOW MEOW. A couple of weeks ago, I entered a contest on Kelly Polark's blog (check out the fun end of winter poem she posted for Poetry Friday today) to win Florian's newest book, DINOTHESAURUS: PREHISTORIC POEMS AND PAINTINGS. And miracle of miracles, I won! The book came today and it's terrific- one of Florian's best, I think!

DINOTHESAURUS is twenty poems about dinosaurs. The first and last poems are about dinosaurs in general, each of the other eighteen is about a different kind of dinosaur. The poems are Florian clever- lots and lots of his usual clever word play, e.g. "Seisomaurus: tremendous in size; Seisomaurus: stupendous lengthwise" or the end lines from the poem about T Rex, "I find it terrific that it's T-rex-tinct." And then there's the poem about stegoceras, "Thick head. Brick head. Hard head too." Or micropachycephalosaurus, that 20-inch dinosaur with the extra-long name. And I can't leave out "The pterrifying pterosaurs" that "flew ptours the ptime of dinosaurs." Every single poem in this book is terrific- perfectly written, so they are fun to read, even for the kids who struggle, but also chockful of interesting facts and wonderful words that hand around and velcro into kids' mouths and brains and hearts.

Florian's illustrations are as quirky and fun as the poems. They're done in collage, with all different kinds of materials, and words, and surprises. The brachiosaurus, for example, is longer than a tennis court, bigger than a barge, and looks much like a crane. Guess what three objects are hidden in the illustration. Fun, fun, fun!

A "Glossarysaurus" gives readers facts about each of the dinosaur museums and fossil sites. A bibliography gives ideas for further research about dinosaurs.

I can't wait to share this with kids on Monday!

NEW BOY- JULIAN HOUSTON

I vaguely remember reading CATCHER IN THE RYE when I was in high school, but I didn't remember much about it, so when Z had to read it for freshman English, I read along with him. As we plowed through CATCHER IN THE RYE BREAD (K's title), I could not help but wonder whether it is really necessary for every single high school student in America to read this "classic." What is my son, growing up in a middle class, single parent midwest home supposed to learn from Holden Caufield, a privileged white boy attending boarding school on the East Coast fifty years ago? Are there not other coming of age novels that might be more representative of the typical high school kids' experience? At the very least, would it not be worthwhile to read several different coming of age novels, or sections of novels, with the goal of comparing different parts of the country or world, different time periods, and different socioeconomic groups?

This week, I read a novel, that I think could replace, or at least complement CATCHER IN THE RYE. NEW BOY is the story of Rob Garrett, an African American teenager growing up in Virginia in the late 50's or early 1960's. As the book opens, Rob's parents, a dentist and school teacher, are dropping him off at Draper, an exclusive boarding school in Connecticut. Rob will be the first black student to attend Draper and his Aunt Gwen advises him that he would "do well to keep to himself until he sees what he is dealing with." Rob heeds her advice and has a successful, albeit lonely, year at Draper.

Predictably, issues of race do come up in this book. Over Thanksgiving vacation, Rob visits an elderly aunt in Harlem. He gets a ride from the train station with a classmate whose black chauffeur is visibly angry at Rob's more privileged status. He also visits an African American book store, and has a chance encounter with Malcolm X. Julian Houston embeds a great deal of history into these portions of the book, some reviewers have felt that there was "too much information," to coin my sons' favorite phrase. I enjoyed Houston's insights and didn't feel like the history was overwhelming at all.

The climax of the book deals directly with the Civil Rights movement. Throughout the book, Rob maintains contact with several high school friends from home. The friends are very involved in Civil Rights activities, and stage a sit-in at the Woolworth's lunch counter. These chapters, along with voting chapters from SECRET LIFE OF BEES would be terrific read alouds in any middle school or high school history class.

Unpredictably, Rob is not the main target of prejudice at the boarding school. At a meeting for new students, Rob meets Vinnie, an Italian-American student from New York. The boys at Draper tease Vinnie mercilessly- making fun of his Italian heritage and his acne-ridden face. Finally they ostracize him so totally that he is forced to move out of the dormitory. The headmaster and teachers at the school do nothing, mostly because Vinnie does not come from the old money families at the school. I can only imagine the rich discussions that might arise from closer examinations of this character.

NEW BOY is a great story. It offers much in the way of coming of age and historical fiction. I'm going to share it with my son's English teacher next week...

THE WRITING ON MY FOREHEAD-Nafisa Haji

My computer has been out of commission since last Tuesday, and in the shop since Thursday. I finally got it back this morning- PHEW! While I've totally missed being on line, and being able to post, check email, etc., I definitely have gotten some stuff done, e.g. housework and laundry (now if I would just get my act together and work on taxes). We are on spring break this week, so I've also gotten in some good reading time. Just finished THE WRITING ON MY FOREHEAD, a perfect escape for someone whose spring break is being spent far from the beach that she is longing for!

THE WRITING ON MY FOREHEAD is the story of Saira, a woman of Eastern Indian descent, whose parents emigrated to Los Angeles long before Saira was born. Her father is a doctor, and her mother, a stay-at-home mom who works hard to maintain the family's Indian/Pakistani heritage in a world far removed from where she was raised. Saira's older sister, Ameena, is comfortable with her mother's cultural expectations. Saira, however, is unwilling to live with her parents', and especially her mother's, rules from this faraway place.

THE WRITING ON MY FOREHEAD is a coming of age novel. When the book opens, Saira is an adult, caring for Ameena's six-year-old daughter, Sakina. The reader is quickly taken back to Saira's childhood and adolescent years, which include regular trips to the family's homeland, including one visit where Saira, travelling alone, learns new and surprising things about her family. Through these visits, the reader learns much about the history and traditions of India and Pakistan.

This was a perfect spring break read. A strong female character that I would like to have as a friend and want to know better. A story that allowed me to escape the noisy teenagers and bouncing basketballs in my own life. And lots and lots of information about a culture that is very different from my own. If you liked MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA or THE KITE RUNNER, you are sure to enjoy this book as well…

SICK COMPUTER

My computer is sick! I have to take it to the shop and may be off line for a few days! Or years, depending on how much it costs to repair it!