"This is me freaking out!"
To quote B1, who when once we were in a bad situation said, "I'm freaking out, this is me freaking out!" Yep, that sums up yesterday.
Got online finally and read my syllabus for my Young Adult Lit class. Holy shit. I have so much homework, so quickly that I was freaking out at my desk, just reading the syllabus! I had to deep breathe and think of sunshine and sparkles to keep myself from an aneurism. Think happy thoughts for me.
My first assignment is to check out 5 web pages that have aids to help me in my search to find appropriate reading material for Adolescents, (they actually are helpful), read The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier, and begin to work on making a note card sheet with info about the book, prepare a graphic organizer for the book (still trying to figure out what that is), and work on a group panel discussion that we will conduct via Blackboard (our online server).
Things will look better tomorrow morning when I get to sleep in a little, read over the syllabus again, while sipping coffee by the pool. I am actually excited for some of the books that we get to read, just anxious for that time when I feel like things are running smoothly. Can't it be December?
Got online finally and read my syllabus for my Young Adult Lit class. Holy shit. I have so much homework, so quickly that I was freaking out at my desk, just reading the syllabus! I had to deep breathe and think of sunshine and sparkles to keep myself from an aneurism. Think happy thoughts for me.
My first assignment is to check out 5 web pages that have aids to help me in my search to find appropriate reading material for Adolescents, (they actually are helpful), read The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier, and begin to work on making a note card sheet with info about the book, prepare a graphic organizer for the book (still trying to figure out what that is), and work on a group panel discussion that we will conduct via Blackboard (our online server).
Things will look better tomorrow morning when I get to sleep in a little, read over the syllabus again, while sipping coffee by the pool. I am actually excited for some of the books that we get to read, just anxious for that time when I feel like things are running smoothly. Can't it be December?
Comments
Yes, though some (apparently you) do not agree with the books sexual thoughts, violence, and possibly anti-Catholic thought, this book spoke to many. The book is an honest portrayl of a boys struggle of coming of age, struggling with what that means and being an outsider. Take a poll and I think you would be surprised as to how many people enjoyed reading this book.
Can't be too bad if it recieved all these awards, and the critiques had the below to say about it:
An ALA Best Books for Young Adults
A School Library Journal Best Books of the Year
A Kirkus Reviews Choice
A New York Times Outstanding Books of the Year
“Masterfully structured and rich in theme; the action is well crafted, well timed, suspenseful.”—The New York Times Book Review
“The characterizations of all the boys are superb.”—School Library Journal, Starred
“Compellingly immediate. . . . Readers will respect the uncompromising ending.”—Kirkus Reviews, Starred
"The Chocolate War is masterfully structured and rich in theme; the action is well crafted, well timed, suspenseful; complex ideas develop and unfold with clarity."-The New York Times Book Review
"The characterizations of all the boys are superb... This novel [is] unique in its uncompromising portrait of human cruelty and conformity."-School Library Journal, starred review
"The novel is cleverly written with a good sense of the realistic and a good ear for dialouge, qualities which will attract any reader."-Bestsellers
"Robert Cormier has written a brilliant novel."-Children's Book Revie Service
Also re: swp's horror at The Chocolate War being read by teens.... are children supposed to be coddled until they reach the age of majority and THEN be exposed to ideas that may differ from their parents'? God forbid that teenagers be recognized as beings capable of free thought and opinion. Or maybe my mind was irreversibly altered by reading such scandalous material as Dostoyevsky, Vonnegut and Shakespeare as a teen.
I outgrew "children's lit" when I was about 11 and devoured (at an early age) so many authors that I am sure would horrify many conservatives.
I was never coddled, rather, encouraged instead to a routine of questioning and trying to understand that there are very different opinions out there, and being taught that they don't all have to influence me negatively, rather that I can appreciate that God blessed us all with free thought.