My Writing Goals for TDP4390

I have a tendency to write only when this massive snowball of an idea hits me square in the head. The idea sends me reeling with shock but I quickly find pen and paper so I have the chance to put the concept on paper before it melts away. The idea comes alive when I put the pen to paper and can usually become a decent piece of writing; however, if the perfect idea doesn't come, then neither does the writing. I want to be able to write freely without the concern with producing the perfect polished piece. I hope that through this semester of writing an hour a week outside of class, my writing will transform and grow into great ideas rather than me waiting around for those brilliant ideas to hit me in the head.
I also want to be more open to sharing my writing. I have a tendency to write something and not allow anyone to read it. I need to be more comfortable with what I put on paper and be less fearful of what others think of my writing.

The Jolly Mon by Jimmy and Savannah Buffett

I feel that the Caribbean is an overlooked culture in the classroom. I took a course on consuming Caribbean literature and was overwhelmed by the amount of information I had never encountered until this college course. The text that I read in this course were not exactly middle school appropriate in language or content; however, I fell that by starting out small with a text like The Jolly Mon, I may be able to spark an interest in students to learn more about the Caribbean history and culture.

Summary Courtesy of http://www.epinions.com/review/The_Jolly_Mon_by_Jimmy_Buffett_and_by_Savannah_Buffett_and_illustrated_by_Lambert_Davis_and_by_Savannah_Jane_Buffett/content_137721777796

The story is about a man who lives on an island and plays his magical guitar to woo fish up onto shore. The man is a very jolly and carefree fellow who is always friendly and helpful to everyone he meets. He is liked by all of the island people. Jolly Mon ends up travelling all around the Caribbean, singing his beautiful songs to all of the island people everywhere. Somewhere along his travels he gets attacked by pirates, who take his ship. He gets rescued by a dolphin, who takes him up into the sky. Now all of the island people everywhere look to the sky to find their way by the Jolly Mon.

Buffet, Jimmy and Savannah Jane Buffett. (1988). The Jolly Mon. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 29 pp. ISBN: 0-15-240530-5.

If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson

This novel gives students a chance to read a modern novel that deals with interracial relationships. Everyone wants to believe that the world is racism free and tolerant of interracial couples. This book shows that isn't the case. The author herself calls this novel a modern-day Romeo and Juliet. I think it would be a good book to pair with Shakespeare's classic. It could be offered as a supplementary read to help make the story of Romeo and Juliet more current and comprehensible to students.

Edited summary from http://www.jacquelinewoodson.com/ya.shtml

If You Come Softly is about Jeremiah who is fifteen and black and Ellie who is fifteen and white. They meet at a private school and fall in love and then have to deal with how society treats them because they’re an interracial couple. It was inspired by a poem by Audre Lorde that begins:

If you come softly
as the wind within the trees
you may hear what I hear
see what sorrow sees.

This story is a modern-day Romeo and Juliet. The enemies to Jeremiah and Ellie’s love are racism, police brutality and people’s general stupidity.

Woodson, Jacqueline. (1998). If You Come Softly. New York: Putnam’s. 192 pp. ISBN: 0-69-811862-6.

Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco

I think this book would be a good read-aloud to introduce racial inequality that continued to exist following the abolition of slavery. It is a strong representation of African American strength and heroism during the Civil War as well as the friendships that formed between whites and blacks. This wonderfully illustrated picture book can also show students that important themes and strong stories can be found outside of a novel genre.

Edited Summary Courtesy of http://www.epinions.com/review/Pink_and_Say_by_Patricia_Polacco/content_176087535236 

Paying tribute to an unheralded hero is what Patricia Polacco’s book Pink and Say is all about. It is a stark reminder that most heroes never make the limelight and their heroics may be seen by only one or two or none at all. Pink and Say is a heart-wrenching picture book that tells a difficult tale, a true story from the Civil War. It is a story that is part of Polacco’s family’s oral history. She is the great-great granddaughter of Sheldon Russell Curtis, known as Say in the book. The story opens with 15-year-old Say lying wounded on a Georgia battlefield. He is rescued by Pinkus Aylee, called Pink, who drags Say to Pink’s mother’s home where the two of them are able to recover from their wounds. Pink, also around 15 years old, fought with the Colored Division of the Union Army, fighting against what he called the “sickness” of slavery. In their respite from the war, Say is nurtured by the courage of Pink and the love of his mother, Moe Moe Bay. Say draws courage from Pink and Moe Moe—courage enough to admit that he had been deserting when he was shot—and agrees to return with Pink to his unit. Before they can get away, the story of friendship and hope turns violent and tragic.

Polacco, Patricia. (1994). Pink and Say. New York: Philomel Books. 48 pp. ISBN: 0-399-22671-7.

Who Will Tell My Brother? by Marlene Carvell

This book will show students the prejudice and racism that still exists in today’s society, in this specific case against Native Americans. The fact that the book is written in free verse is a unique contribution to the book and how it can be used in the classroom. Aside from the story exposing racism and promoting racial tolerance, the book can also be used to help students in the realm of poetry. It can help students in comprehending poetry’s meaning, recognizing symbolism and poetic devices, or even writing their own poetry.     

Edited summary from http://blackteensread2.blogspot.com/2009/11/male-monday-who-will-tell-my-brother.html

Who Will Tell My Brother? is a novel written in free-verse that tells the story of Evan Hill, a teenager who decides to carry on his older brother’s fight to have his high school’s offensive Indian chief mascot changed. The free-verse narrative showcases the intense feelings and effects of alienation, determination, humiliation and ignorance. Poetry and free-verse are very deep and can help paint a picture as to what a person is like. The reader learns that Evan is an artist, half-Mohawk on his father’s side, intelligent, articulate, brave, persevering and honest. Despite the taunting and violence from his classmates and the resentment from the school board, Evan continues to push for the cause he believes in. This story remains a valuable lesson to today's society.

Carvell, Marlene. (2004). Who Will Tell My Brother? New York: Hyperion Paperbacks for Children. 160 pp. ISBN: 0-78-681657-0.

Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman

            This book is a representation of all races, ethnicities, and religions coming together for a common goal. It promotes equality among people of different background that I feel is an important trait to instill in middle school students. The novel is a quick read, a factor that appeals to most middle school students; however, it contains several important and impactful messages about family, tolerance, community and life. The novel’s structure in having each new chapter come from a different character’s perspective contributes to this theme of community but it also introduces and shows students to the different ways that a novel can be written.

Summary courtesy of  http://www.edb.utexas.edu/resources/booksR4teens/book_reviews/book_reviews.php?book_id=96

Fleischman, Paul. (1997). Seedfolks. New York: Joanna Cotler Books. 102 pp. ISBN: 0-06-447297-8.

Seedfolks is a carefully crafted, elegantly written novel about a community garden that springs up on a trash-laden, rat-infested vacant lot. Each of the thirteen chapters is devoted to a particular character and his/her situation. We learn about the changes in the garden as seen through their eyes. As the book progresses, each person weaves themselves into the garden's life-- making improvements, getting to know others, sharing their time. The volunteers interaction has a carry-over effect outside the garden; they begin to know other's names and become real people to one another. At the end they have a "Harvest Celebration". They are celebrating more than a bunch of plants--they have become part of each other's lives. Fleischman, in sixty nine pages, created a tightly-written novel.  Even though it's a quick read, the story stays with you long after you have put the book down.  Fleischman creates amazingly realistic characters that speak to universal audiences and make his novel a delight to read.

The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen

This is a wonderful book to have middle school students read when studying the Holocaust. I had the chance to watch the movie in eighth grade when my class studied the Holocaust. I also learned that a teacher at Oakland shows the movie following the class reading of Maus: A Survivor's Tale. The book provides a more in-depth look at Jewish customs, religious practices, and the Yiddish language than the movie. This story also integrates modern with the past by having the main character from the 20th century experience the horrors of the Holocaust in the 1940s. Essentially as teachers, we want the students to have that similar type of experience so they can understand the Holocaust and I feel that this text is able to provide that.

Summary Courtesy of http://www.shvoong.com/books/259906-devil-arithmetic/

The Devil's Arithmetic is a heartbreaking story about the Holocaust that really helps you relate to the horror that the Jewish people and many others went through at that awful time. It is about a Jewish girl named Hannah that cannot appreciate her religion and the life she has. She finds herself back in the 1940's after she opens a door to the past, her and her relatives enduring the torture of the Nazis. Aristotle once said, "Evil draws men together." In the Holocaust, as the Nazi's cruelty pulled the Germans and Jews apart, it drew the Jewish people together. The Devil's Arithmetic is factual and emotionally wrenching as it shows you how things worked in death camps. Hannah, the main character, is in denial in the beginning, but starts to get lost in her new self and lose her old memory as well. She is wise beyond her years, an old wisewoman trapped in a young girl's body. Hannah becomes selfless, and then makes the largest sacrifice possible for a young girl she hardly knows.

Yolen, Jane. (1990). Devil’s Arithmetic. New York: Puffin Books. 176 pp. ISBN: 0-14-034535-3.