Particles of Literature

Here I am stuck in the middle,
Can’t decide between women’s and children’s.
Wandering beyond my sweet age of ten,
Robbed of my youth by fatherly men.
Being “womanish” just won’t do -
Finding retreat right out of the blue.
Suddenly entering what must be a friend.
The need to decide is put to an end.
Coming from the lonely place of silence,
Finally having served my penance.
A new friend who’ll help me rejoice,
And stumble around and find my new voice.

Adolescents should read what interests them. They should read what sparks their desire to read. They should read controversial topics to help them understand the world around them. Being a adolescent can be a difficult time, so they should read literature that helps them define themselves.

I have a problem with the antiquated teaching methods that put a wedge in an adolescents desire to read. I’ve been trying for years to get my fourteen year old to love to read like I do, only to be road-blocked by language arts assignments that make her hate reading. I don’t have any problem with vocabulary words and their meanings, but what’s the point of making them dig through to story to find the word? Or, giving tests loaded with hard to remember items, characters, or ideas. I’m terrible at remembering names so I shouldn’t expect my students to automatically remember the names of all the characters. I also believe teachers should avoid the ever embarraing practive of making teens read aloud in class.


I found an interesting article that pinpoints diffculites of expanding the world of middle school readers. It lists some ideas for making these kids better, more involved, readers such as: reading instruction designed individually rather than assuming the whole class will learn with the same instruction, or plenty of oppotunity tro discuss the material with others.

On ninth graders reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou:

Ninth graders should absolutely read this book. The arguments like "the kids are not mature enough," "The content is too strong," are too weak to let this memoir be set aside so quickly. Taking something away and hiding it doesn't change the facts of the story, it's still reality.

Like in the 1930's movie version of Of Mice and Men throwing a hanky over the gun, or not showing a dead Lennie, doesn't change the fact there is a gun under the hanky and that gun killed Lennie. Guns and death are reality, so is child molestation and rape.

We would be doing a disservice to teenagers to not allow then to learn the truth. Also, if there happens to be a kid in the class that has had the same experience they will know they are not alone, or that's o.k. to share it with someone. Not talking about sensitive topics is sending the wrong message.


After some argument about teaching a book like Speak in middle school, I asked my daughter what she thought. She said she wouldn't have a problem reading about rape as long as she didn't have to read it outloud. She also said if the teacher had an experience with rape she wouldn't mind if the teacher shared it with the class. She also said it may change with way she feels about the teacher she would feel bad for her and relate more to her as person rather than just a teacher who pretends to care.

Spending some time on Jerry Spinelli's website I gained some insight into the man as a writer and a person.

He is married and has six kids. Along with his own experience six kids can give him pleanty of material. I can also understand is need to explore individuality. He was a child who chose to be different. He would wear a cowboy outfit to school because, that day, he wanted to be a cowboy when he grew up. I don't see kids today attempting to be so individual. Wearing a cowboy outfit might just be asking to get beat up on the play ground.

Spinelli's wife Eileen is also a writer of childrens books. It took hom four novels and fifteen years to get his first book Space Station Seventh Grader published. Since then he has won numerous awards, including a Charlotte Award for Stargirl .

I really like how Spinelli employs the chalk board and the cartoon images of school children on his website. I think it would make it much more interesting to kids. He is also brief with his biography which shows some humility.

I will surely be reading more of his books.