Emerging Scholars

I believe the best book for Emerging Scholars is Black and White. I chose Black and White because it tackles serious issues, issues that these students have more than likely faced before. I have always believed that people enjoy reading books that they can relate to. Black and White deals with crime, betrayal, figuring out what you believe in and making right decisions. Black and White can prompt students to look at these characters (who had so much potential) and understand how small actions can make a big difference. This is something the Emerging Scholars will be dealing with: choosing schools, deciding to do homework, being honest, and standing firm in what you believe in. Decisions high school students consider to be small could possibly be viewed from a more mature perspective.

Hua Mulan

After watching Disney's Mulan, I definitely believe that it is westernized. Mulan's character looks American more so than Chinese, and then, when looking at the other characters of the movie, it's evident they have Chinese facial characteristics. Also, all of the men are made to be great oaf's in this movie. "A Girl Worth Fighting For" comes out sounding like the men cannot take care of themselves.
After reading the poem about Hua Mulan, I don't believe Disney would've needed to Westernized Mulan. The story is fine. I think it would have baffled young viewers if Mulan had acted the way that Ailin acted: Ailin was treated as a subordinate, and acted as such. Ailin knew her place, what she could say, and couldn't. Mulan doesn't portray that girl, and I think if Disney had explained that, it would have made for a more educational film. To see a girl be quieted after speaking up would possibly confuse young viewers, but by witnessing this, they could understand that it's a big world and not everyone has the same customs as we do in America. I think overall that Disney viewers are certainly more capable of a character more representative of the Chinese culture.

Black & White

Do I think that Black and White pays tribute to true life experiences, or exploits them? I believe that this book pays tribute to the consequences of crime and the reasoning behind why good kids do bad things. It's easier to swallow the idea of why Eddie and Marcus held up a man at gunpoint if we understand the motive. When we, as readers, can learn the background of a convict, we can then understand why they thought it was reasonable to commit a certain crime. This is not to say that we should accept their crime, or that we should justify it, but it should say that young people react certain ways, sometimes negatively, because something has been done to them to cause that reaction. A lot of young teens who dabble in crime do so for reasons such as nobody cares about them at home, they don't have enough money, they've been pressured into it and want to fit in, they want attention, etc. There are a lot of reasons behind why teens commit crimes; I believe this story pays tribute to it so that we can see what kids this young deal with, and how they decide to respond to it.

Thompson Article

Paul Thompson and Allison Sealey conducted an analysis of a small corpus of fiction that was written for children. The text used for these corpus' were taken from the British National Corpus. The first corpus was named 'CLLIP' which is an acronym for 'Corpus-based Learning about Language In the Primary-school'. CLLIP represents imaginative fiction written for children. The second group, or corpus, was called COMP which represented imaginative fiction written for adults. The third corpus was a collection of newspaper texts, used to "contrast the features of imaginative fiction writing in general with those of newspaper writing" (Thompson,3). The question being asked in this research was, "Does writing for children demonstrate different linguistic properties from writing for adults?" (Thompson, 2). Of course there are differences between adult/children fiction, but this study looked further in terms of counting frequencies of words, phrases, descriptions and the uses of these variables.

I will admit, that this article used a lot of jargon to simply say that it was counting words, phrases,adjectives etc to compare adult/children fiction. In this way, it came off rather confusing. However, after reading it over again I gained a better understanding. I enjoyed the comparison of the way the word neck was used in CLLIP and COMP. "Neck occured 90 times in the CLLIP corpus and 1897 times in the COMP corpus" (Thompson, 16). I thought it was interesting that the word neck was used to describe other things besides being associated with they body. CLLIP used the neck in a figurative sense as well. However, from other collected data in the article, using figures of speech doesn't happen as often in children literature. I thought that using expressions or figurative speech could be one of the factors that separates adult fiction from children fiction. This probably happens because children aren't at the level in which they can discern literal meanings from figurative meanings. I thought it was interesting that this could be pointed by showing the use of the word neck in two different corpus'.

Fairytales

Fairy tales meant a lot to me as a child. I remember watching Cinderella on VHS until the tape was broken and my parents bought me another one. I remember owning a Cinderella comforter, and dressing up as Cinderella for Halloween. Along with Cinderella were The Wizard of Oz, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. The tales I remember the most were Cinderella and The Wizard of Oz. I believe the reason that Cinderella made such an impact on me is because I also had a stepmother. Of course, she wasn't evil, and she didn't make me perform backbreaking chores either. I believe I identified with Cinderella the most because she had a stepmother. I don't know of many other fairy tales with step-parents playing an important role.
I also loved watching The Wizard of Oz. Dorothy was so wonderful to me because of her kindness. I always thought their journey to Oz was so great because of what they encountered along the way. I thought it was really special that Dorothy would travel all that way just to reach her needs and the needs of the Tin man, Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion. I suppose her shoes helped too! I remember Dorothy and Cinderella the most because they were simple girls who experienced a magical journey that changed their lives and I wanted something like that for myself!

Linda Sue Park

The article written by Linda Sue Park is basically a rant and rave about celebrities writing children's literature. If celebrities are going to be given the opportunity to write children's books, then they at least need to be good. If children are given books that aren't as good as they could be, but are only read because they're written by a celebrity, then the child could be limited in furthering their education. This article simply asks writers to do their work and take the time to give their children audience the best book they can.

beach article

This article mainly discusses how to introduce multicultural literature to adolescents in the classroom.

"While high school students may have difficulty understanding how individuals' identities and social practices are constituted by their participation in institutional systems or social worlds, they can vicariously gain experience of institutional forces through responding to literature portraying the effects of race, class, and gender systems on characters' lives (Beach, 3)."

The idea of subtly getting students to look at the bigger picture of why cultures behave the way they do is a huge task to overcome. I feel that A Single Shard is one of the better examples of a book that crosses the gender, class and racial gap that many teachers are hesitant to approach. A Single Shard tells of an orphaned, homeless, lower class boy who overcomes adversity and proves himself to be of value and who is worthy to be considered a human being. Students have the ability here to research and understand the customs of 12th century Korea. By doing research, and having class discussions, students can relate to the character for what the character is experiencing, rather than what the student has experienced. By challenging the student to think outside of their religion, class, race and family upbringing, the student can make proper evaluations of characters in A Single Shard, instead of saying that Tree-ear was a thief and Craneman was lazy. This article gives a teacher methods to prompt the student to have reach a revelation about other cultures. Students can have class discussions, quick writes, research papers, and activities that place themselves in the character's shoes. A student could understand the idea of Tree-ear and Craneman gleaning fields, of why Craneman was afraid of a fox, or why Tree-ear never talks back to Ajima or Min through the reinforcement of there social customs in Korea; all of these situations are directly influenced by what society expects of them. For a student to understand different concepts of living, and to see the bigger picture, they can then put together the reasons behind why Tree-ear has to scavenge for food, and why Craneman can't work. By using this book, we can potentially see students grasping the idea of learning about a culture, before making a judgment on them.

Research Proposal

My research proposal is a comparative study of the magical worlds in adolescent literature and the influence they have on main characters. I will be pulling from many different types of books. So far I have read A Wrinkle in Time, The Borrowers, Twilight, Harry Potter and Peter Pan. I want to make it a point to use chapter books as well as picture books that young children could use too. I also want to focus on using the books I write reviews for as a part of my research collection for comparing magical worlds. I will argue that magical worlds are a means of escaping from some form of problem in the main character/character(s) living world. There has been a growing trend in fighting conflict through a separate world. In some genres the conflict is heavy, such as saving a life. In other magical worlds we see the need for order to be restored, and it seems to only happen through average humans from an otherwise mundane world.

I selected this topic because I enjoy reading the creativity of the author. In Harry Potter there is an entire monetary system, as well as a separate government from the non-magical world. This is a single example. Some authors describe new means of travel, and the climate and environment of the world around them. Other authors describe the emotions felt more so than the separate world their characters are engaged in. I will be seeking out different ways of communicating, traveling, eating, and virtually all means of living that are different to what we as readers are accustomed to. I specifically want to focus on what the main character is fighting or escaping from, and in this process, what they are experiencing in their alternate world. I am really looking forward to seeing the differences.

Dong Article

Dong's article is relative to our reading of Copper Sun and Esperanza Rising because it provides examples of teachers implementing multiculteral literature in the classroom. This article gave strong examples of teachers learning and growing from their students; it seemed to be effective in the classroom for the students and the teacher to switch roles. When teachers give their students time to research, collaborate with other students, and use creativity, everyone involved comes out with greater understanding. Esperanza Rising is a great choice for this because it provides insight from a young girl in Mexico, who in order to survive, had to come to America. We learn about her culture, family, language, economic status, etc. This is a big opportunity to encourage students to learn more about Mexico. As a side note, I believe a lot of teens can get a lot out of this story simply because there is a lot of debate about border affairs between America and Mexico. Hopefully students could understand that some Mexican families do not always have a choice; that they are individuals who deserve freedom as well. The classroom is a great arena to influence students about this issue.

Dong shows us that a lot can be gained in the classroom if teachers aren't afraid to bridge the "multicultural gap." Students won't always be able to place themselves in the position of Esperanza. But if students are challenged to research, and to identify with the characters on a personal level, then the class can break some ground. Esperanza Rising opens up avenues to learn about language, culture, religion, society, economy and family experiences within the Mexican community. Copper Sun has the ability to do this as well. I feel that Copper Sun and Esperanza Rising are historical eye-opening novels that students will find interest in. Esperanza Rising and Copper Sun speak about minorities and where they are coming from. Twilight and Harry Potter are more fictional novels that aren't exactly intellectually stirring. Both are great reads and do engage the imagination (which is always good), but do not give room to break into discussion about a different culture if taught in an American classroom.

Twilight/Harry Potter/Copper Sun Comparison

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-tPoi0Yvmw

I just really like that video.

All three of these books are great reads. Should they be taught in the classroom? In my opinion Twilight should not be and Harry Potter, and Copper Sun should. I really enjoyed Harry Potter the most out of the three reads. Twilight wasn't intellectual enough. I understand why the media enjoys it; it's very appealing to a huge array of audiences. However, I don't think it will supplement a teen in any educational way. I realize that Harry Potter has no educational value either. But I think that Harry Potter should be allowed simply because it stimulates the imagination. Teens having facebook, twitter, myspace, text messaging, television, magazines, to focus their time on. A student doesn't have to use their imagination with any of these things. Harry Potter allows this. Copper Sun allows this. Copper Sun should definitely be taught in classrooms because it opens up an area of History that students can empathize with. Copper Sun isn't terribly deep but it opens up the reality of the world being harsh to students. I think this is something that they need to expound on before they go to college. Depending on the high school though, they probably have their own experiences. If the students do have experience then they can relate to the way Amari dealt with her circumstances.

Copper Sun Review

My personal reaction to Copper Sun is that it was appropriate for an adolescent to read. Copper Sun was realistic enough for a student to envision what happened to a slave. This novel was also subtle enough to hint at the cruelties slaves endured. I enjoyed the read. It was easy, quick and not difficult to comprehend. I didn't notice the nurturing undertones of Amari's character. Instead I identified her as a detached young woman. She could have been detached or "playing dumb" to protect herself from the horror she had already witnessed; or, she could have been pretending so as to secretly develop strengths (understanding the english language, learning about the land) she would need later. One thing I did learn was that slave children were used for alligator bait. The chapter in which Tidbit was subjected to being alligator bait was the most influential for me. At this point in the novel I became emotionally involved and feared for his life. I think I honestly believed that slave owners would wait until the slaves were a certain age until they tortured them. I didn't expect a slave owner to consciously hurt a child. As I am a history major, I am seriously interested in the Civil Rights movement. However, I cannot say that I am entirely knowledgeable about slave treatment. This book only further increased my interest to further pursue studying the Civil Rights movement. I suppose it does create a further appreciation for MLK day, tomorrow. I wouldn't say this book had a huge impact on me, but it did open my awareness for not taking slavery lightly; this includes anyone (not just blacks) who experienced slavery. I think Copper Sun is a great choice for a teenager to read. I know that if I had read it when I was around 14, I would have thoroughly enjoyed it.