"Study as if you were to live forever, live as if you were to die tomorrow." (Maria Mitchell)

Comment on Ryan's site...

noreply@blogspirit.com (Kristi) — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 23:40:00 +0200

(For some reason my comment wouldn't show up so I posted it here....)

Ryan,

I am intrigued by the idea that you had to write back to Charlie from the perspective of the "dear reader."
First of all, I really like the fact that you discourage Charlie from using LSD, especially when his school friends aren't exactly positive role models in that aspect. Also, your entry seems very personal and attentive to what is going on in Charlie's life, which is exactly what he needed. I also like that fact that you give Charlie advice about what to do such as talking to his brother. Maybe it never occured to him, or maybe he needed to hear it from someone else that it would be okay.

I also agree that there may be something more to Charlie and Aunt Helen. Charlie does seem to drift in and out of his writing in a way that readers may sense that there is something deeper involved with what happened to Aunt Helen, and how Charlie feels about it. The issue with Aunt Helen is so apparent in his life that there must be more to the story than he lets on in his letters.

Also, it is great that you wrote back to Charlie in a perspective of someone who is around the same age as Charlie. Even though Charlie had friends, Charlie needed more of a mentor such as the character you created.

Moreover, it is interesting that you elude to the notion of "participating in life." Charlie seems to sit back a lot of times and observe others more than he participates. Great connection to the text.

Life is infinite

noreply@blogspirit.com (Kristi) — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 22:45:00 +0200

THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER by Stephen Chbosky.

I found this picture and immediately thought of Charlie. Charlie seems to be in this world of confusion and chaos, but yet order and stability. Throughout the book we get the sense that his parents love him, and his family, even though there are imperfections within the structure, is a supportive family. Yet, Charlie's entries are sort of chaotic and random at times.

For Christmas, Charlie desperately searches for the "right" presents for his family. He knows his brother has many posters in his room. What if Charlie were to buy his own Christmas present and decided he also wanted a poster? I think that his choice might be a poster with a similiar image as above--a picture that leaves room for his own interpretations. Even if others call him a freak.

Also, as Ryan Ryden eludes to in his entry, Charlie's thoughts in his letters are all over the place--like playing “hopscotch” (Chbosky, 98). Can this image be a suggestive image of Charlie's imaginations? There are different squares within it that seemingly have a pattern but haven't quite reached the point of realizing what they are there for....

I think if Charlie had encouragement to find support online, this site is one that may have helped him through his times of lonliness and confusion. Charlie loved to read, and perhaps reading texts online would have been a different and unique way for him to sort out his thoughts as well. The following points are included on the homepage of the site:

*you're alone and you don't feel you have a choice not to be;
*you feel that you're lacking attachments you had in the past;
*you are facing changes in your life--a new school, town, job, or other changes;
*you feel there's no one in your life with whom you can share your feelings and experiences;
*your self-perceptions are that you're unacceptable, unlovable, not worthwhile even if others don't share those perceptions.

These statements, I think, would really have really hit home with Charlie. Charlie should know that he is not the only one that had to deal with struggles. When Sam and Patrick left for college, Charlie especially felt a loss of attachment, even though he didn't lose them as friends. It would have been fortunate if Charlie could have had someone consistent in his life that told him that he was loved, even if his mom said it twice.

When Charlie was happy and riding with Sam and Patrick in the truck, he felt as if his life were infinite. At that moment, he wasn't thinking about being lonely or unaccepted. Perhaps a poster like the image above could have reminded him of this feeling every time he entered his room.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

noreply@blogspirit.com (Kristi) — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 20:40:00 +0200

September 13, 1992

Dear Friend,

I guess that last letter wasn't really going to be my last letter. I knew it wasn't, so I don't know why I wrote "if this does end up being my last letter."

So far this school year is lonely. I thought maybe the skinny kid that lockered next to me last year might say hi to me this year, but so far he has not. Sam and Patrick would say hi, I know they would. I really wish they were here this year. My sister, too--I miss her a lot. There aren't any new boyfriends around the house anymore to observe or wish that I could watch TV with. It is really cloudy today too, I think it might thunderstorm.

I just finished the book The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. Guess how I picked the book? My new advanced English teacher (whom I call Mr. Talsted, not by his first name like Bill) suggested it to me. Seems that Bill and Mr. Talsted had a talk about me, and that I'll probably be doing a lot of essays and stuff like last year. That's okay though. I'll still visit Bill.

The Sun Also Rises has made think of some things that I don't know what to do about. Maybe nothing. But I often wonder whether I hide my own emotions instead of dealing with them. Like missing Sam and Patrick. I try to forget that they're gone and just pretend that they'll be in school tomorrow. They're just playing hooky today.

But since I wonder if I'm burying my emotions away, what do I do if I have no place left to bury them? Maybe the place that I bury them will get too full and I won't be allowed to ever even think that I have emotions. Or maybe I should just face my emotions?

My mind is running too fast right now. I'm not sure if I'm going to like all the books Mr. Talsted wants me to read. It's thundering out now. What a gloomy day.

Love always,
Charlie

Interview with Stephen Chbosky

noreply@blogspirit.com (Kristi) — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 20:20:00 +0200

In an interview with the author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky answers questions in an online chat forum. A specific question asked by BJ LovEng raises the question whether Charlie had an ephiphany or not. This is an interesting issue to explore, especially since Chbosky affirms the question and says Charlie had a sort of "moment of realization."

What brings me to this is my confusion with the epilogue when Charlie spent two months in the hospital. At first, I thought perhaps that Charlie did something severe to himself knowing that his friends were leaving for college which parallels to when Charlie was in the hospital when Aunt Helen died.

The interview with Chbosky doesn't make it clear as to what Charlie's ephiphany was, but it may be accurate to assume that Charlie's friends meant so much to him and were such in intricate part of his life that their leaving left Charlie not only emotionally hurt, but physically hurt as well.
Remember when Charlie kissed Sam at the party instead of his own girlfriend, and that Patrick basically told him to lay low for a while until things smoothed over? After a while, Charlie could hardly stand the isolation. He was lonely and craved the interaction with his friends again. Having personal relationships was an important thing for Charlie.

On the other hand, as much as I argue the importance of his friends, I want to also say that this was not apparent to Charlie. When Patrick told him to lay low for a while, Charlie took it with a grain of salt. He didn't seem overly emotional or upset that he wasn't able to talk to his friends. He basically felt as if he deserved it as punishment.

The tone of Charlie's journal entries are so melancholy and mellow that I often wondered about Charlie's alertness. Was he constantly numb? I never got a clear sense of his anger, his happiness, even though at times he used words to express his feelings, the choice of words still left an air of dullness.

However after reading the interview with Chbosky, I learned that Chbosky's intent was perhaps, in a way, for the book was to be a collection of observations from the viewpoint of a teenage boy, where Charlie and the characters ran from their emotions rather than facing them.

How will I run my literature classroom?

noreply@blogspirit.com (Kristi) — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 00:40:00 +0200

"How will I run my literature classroom?" is definitely an open ended question and I can forsee my answer ever-changing as I learn new research about the way students learn, explore different literature genres, and actually get to know my students from year to year.
However, there are a few fundamental things that I can say will probably remain constant. One of the most engaging ways to get kids to become interested in reading is to not only presenting literature in an exciting way (i.e with podcasts, movie trailers, author interviews....) but offering multiple choices of readings. Every student is different, so it is important to have several options for them to choose from. While the class may be studying a specific theme together, there are still many many peices of literature from varying authors that would fit the particular subject being studied.
Also, I might design a sort of group workshop at times so students don't get bored. I would split the classroom up into perhaps 4 or 5 groups and each group would pick the same literature together. As a brief explanation of this, they would discuss it as a group, offer different perspectives, and design their own project as a way of introducing what they read to the rest of the class.
In addition, I believe it is important to research how other professionals run their literature classrooms. In an article by Leola Phillips, she explains how she uses peer-led discussions to expose students to issues that they may be encountering themselves. While she uses literature in her classroom of young single mothers, I see a parallel. It is difficult sometimes to get students interested in school, just as hard as it is to keep them motivated. Students often struggle with issues in their lives that distract their concentration. Leola Phillips argues that literture can be a catalyst for discussion of sensitive subjects in class, which I also agree with. This is why it is key to expose students to meaningful literature that can relate to their own lives.

Keynote speaker: Anne King (You are not going crazy, this really is normal!)

noreply@blogspirit.com (Kristi) — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 16:10:00 +0100

"BECAUSE I KNEW YOU,

I HAVE BEEN CHANGED,

FOR GOOD."

Anne King was my favorite speaker at the conference. She was humorous, but I could really sense her passion and caring for Middle Schoolers. She began the session with reciting the poem "Children as Kites."

Anne based her presentation on several cartoons that help explain Middle Schoolers. The following cartoon is not an exact one that she used, but one that portrays Anne's sense of humor about trying to understand the middle years. (if you can't see the cartoon very clearly, you can also see it here just scroll down to the second cartoon)

A few key points that Anne made were:

* "Focus on the positive instead of the negative"

* "Students need to feel part of a group, and it's OKAY to make mistakes."

Anne really emphasized the fact that students at this age still need to feel cared for. They may not show it, and more than likely they'll show resentment for even having to have an adult in control over them. However, teachers should understand that despite their mixed emotions and roller-coaster attitudes, students need to feel like they belong. Everyone is different, but each and every person is unique in their own way. It's normal to go through changes during the Middle School years that are unexplainable, but that doesn't mean that they're weird.

It was refreshing to hear Anne speak about how to understand kids at this age rather than only giving methods on how to teach. First and foremost, teachers should be able to understand their students before they can effectively implement anything into the classroom.

For example, Anne pointed out that when you ask students to do something, at first they might not respond. On the second or third time asking students the same thing, they might just sigh or grunt. That's okay! Don't get upset, because the fact that they grunted means that they actually heard you!

Overall, I was pleased that I attended the conference. I gained a lot of insight about Middle Schoolers and also received tons of great ideas that perhaps one day I will get a chance to use in my own classroom.

Second breakout session: Nancy Patterson & Kari Scheidel

noreply@blogspirit.com (Kristi) — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 15:40:00 +0100

WRITING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM

Nancy Patterson (in photo)

Kari Scheidel was the first to speak during this session and she shared some of the different ways she integrates reading and writing into her fifth grade classroom. It was neat to hear perspectives from a teacher who currently was teaching because she has first-hand experiences with students. She talked about how she included writing in all subjects, not just reading or language arts. For example, she has her students keep a personal notebook that is kept in a certain area of the classroom.

After teaching a lesson, say a geography lesson, she asks her students to write a few sentences in their journals about what they learned that day. There aren't any right or wrong answers, but it's a way to get students writing and encourage them to record what they learned without a worksheet.

Kari Scheidel is also the co-director of the Lake Michigan Writing Project.. She created a brochure of several samples of activities that were created by the LMWP and also used in her own classroom. Also, she included samples of student work during literature circles and current events response forms in the brochure to give us an idea how students respond to the activities.

Nancy Patterson was the second speaker during this session and although she had to move very quickly through her presentation, I came out with a few key points that I thought were important to keep in mind when teaching students how to write. They are as follows:

*Writing should NOT be based around FORMULAS (i.e. attention grabber, introduction, body, conclusion)

*Writing begins with meaning, so consider the audience and the purpose (and the audience doesn't necessarily have to be the teacher)

*Have students analyze their own writing processes instead of grading "right" and "wrong"

*Encourage students to think of their writing as one continously evolving paper instead of in draft segments

*Make sure students know that making mistakes are part of the learning process, and it's okay if their writing isn't perfect

Again, I came out of this session with several great ideas and advice that I will keep in mind for my future career.