Speak

Hello fellow blog followers, this week I would like to talk about the book Speak by Laurie Hasle Anderson. As a teacher, I feel like I should evaluate these books on a different level rather than as an avid reader or a parent. This book is no exception to how I would evaluate other books. My main point of concern when I evaluate a book is if the book is educational, sends a message, and makes the students want to read. I really did enjoy this book and I think it is a great book to share with students. I would present this book to an advanced junior or senior English class.

Firstly, I believe that Speak by Laurie Hasle Anderson is a very educational book. I believe that this book gives us a non-sugar coated version of about what high school can be like for someone who is in the “non-popular” crowd. Even though I believe that this book is an educational book, I would not throw this kind of material at a group of freshmen who are already scared out of their mind about coming to high school. Rather, I would share it with my juniors and seniors and have them think about what high school was like for them when they first started. Then having them think about what high school would be like having a tragic event happen to them right before high school started. Not necessarily rape, but possibly something else tragic. This book is also a great example of some literary terms being used at their finest. Hasle really focuses on motifs of trees, mirrors, and mouths in the book. At one point in the novel, Melinda uses a piece of a broken mirror to ward off the boy who raped her.

I truly believe that Speak is a book that sends a message. The realism that Hasle uses is one that I feel students want when they are reading books. I also believe that this book really paints a picture of what some of the problems and struggles that kids their age can go through. It also gives some students things to relate to throughout the novel. I know I personally related to some of the “Top 10 Lies They Tell You at the Beginning of High School.” Hasle also does a great job of characterizing a lot of the characters. Which in turn, I feel allows the students to be able to relate to at least one character in the book.

Lastly, I feel that this book will make students want to read. I found myself very engaged in the book. I fully believe that the classics like Hamlet and Pride and Prejudice are valuable books for students to read. However, I also feel that students and adolescents should be reading books that they can relate to and that are about problems that they could possibly be going through. This book, and reading in general, could be a form of therapy for them. Thanks for listening and I’ll see you next week!

Best,

Ben

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Literacy History

Greetings everybody! Thanks for fallowing my blog. Now, lets talk about literacy history. Personally, from a very young age I always had a huge imagination. I would love when my mom or dad would read to me and I would get to imagine what the story was like when I wasn’t provided with pictures. To be honest, when I was younger I didn’t really like to read aloud because I wasn’t very good at it. From a young age, I struggled with a form of dyslexia, I didn’t see words backwards, some of the words just didn’t seem to make sense. I had an extreme support system and was determined not to let dyslexia set me back. I began reading aloud a lot and practicing and began to see major improvements. As I got older and progressed in my education, I found myself turning to books that had elements of fantasy to them. I would love sitting down with a book and being taken away to a far off kingdom that was full of kings, dragons, witches, and magic spells. In middle school and at the beginning of high school I was hooked on the Harry Potter series. I loved all the characters and the writing style of J. K. Rowling. When I read the series, I felt like I was studying myself at Hogwarts.

As I got older, I began to really enjoy books that talked about teenagers going through real life problems. Books like, The Outsiders and Stargirl were my favorites. Being a lover of theatre, I was often reading any script that I could get my hands on. This is where my biggest educational influence came into the picture: Ms. Cory. Ms. Cory was my tenth grade English teacher and junior year etymology teacher. She was also the head of the theatre department. In addition to giving me some great books to read, she would also often hand me a stack of plays for me to read. Ms.Cory helped me understand Shakespeare. We would often sit in her classroom during her prep period or after school talking about certain Shakespeare shows and what he means when he says certain things. This came extremely helpful when we would have to do a Shakespeare unit in an English class. I found that I was succeeding and able to understand everything that was being said.

As a future English, Theatre, and Speech teacher, I really hope to impact my students as Ms. Cory did I. I really want to show my students that there is a book for everyone. I believe that encouraging my students to just read anything that interests them and to read for fun, not just when its assigned and being graded on. It’s important to share with the students what some of the valuable lessons they can learn from reading some books. I want to be able to share some of my favorite stories and books with my students and be able to discuss the books with them. I think its important to share with them both the classics and the modern books.

Well, that’s all for now. I’ll see you soon!

Best,

Ben