Recent Reads

Totto-Chan, The Little Girl at the Window by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi

This is an account of a progressive small school in Japan just before and during World War II. The book was originally written in Japanese and has been translated to English. It is basically a series of vignettes about life at the school. The problem with holding it up as a model for modern schools is that the classes there were very small - up to around 15 pupils at most, I think. It is so much easier to teach responsively when the classes are that small. The writing is nice, but I am not an especially good judge of that. My main interest is in how the education works. It seems to work very well, for all abilities of learners, because it is so flexible. But I think just about any teacher could teach better with 9 to 15 students in his/her class.

The Fruit Bowl Project by Sarah Durkee

This is basically an account of a writing lesson. The students, 8th graders, were given a writing assignment by a famous actor: write something that contains the plot elements of school, sixth grade, a reading test, a dropped pencil, an angry girl, lunch, and milk out of the nose. It is more interesting than you might expect - to see how various kids attacked the problem and came up with such different results. Some are quite good, actually. Still, it isn't really a book that will grab kids and make them want to read it.

Linnets and Valerians by Elizabeth Goudge

For an old fashioned book, I suppose this is OK, but it seems too goody-goody for today's world. Still, I enjoyed it. It harkens back to a simpler time, where the bad things that happen are always solved and things turn out for the best.

Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm

This is an older SF classic that I re-read in preparation for a SF discussion group. It was interesting to see how such an old book attacked the phenomenon of cloning, both from a scientific point of view and from a sociological one. I liked the structure of the problem. At first it was simply a matter of survival of the human race, then it became a question of what the human race actually was. Powerful book and still relevant.

Hannah Divided by Adele Griffin

This is a story about a girl in 1934 who is an outstanding mathematician, but who can't read. She is given an opportunity to study away from home, but has to give up her rural family life and endure feeling different in big city. Plusses: she doesn't win the scholarship she needs in order to continue (or so she thinks), but she resolves to continue anyway. She learns some good lessons about working hard, getting to know others who are different, and standing up for herself. Negatives: it is not a terribly thrilling story. It wasn't meant to be, and that is, in fact, a good thing, but it makes it harder to recommend to kids.

This Place Has No Atmosphere by Paula Danziger

Yes, I seem to be on an older book kick. Paula Danziger is generally a very light weight writer, but sometimes that is exactly what I enjoy - and what I have seen kids enjoy. This book has plot elements that are just a bit too expected, too simplistic, but, for all that, it is enjoyable. It is nice to see a good kid with simple, everyday types of problems grow up a bit.

Why Gender Matters by Leonard Sax

From a post on GT-Talk: I just finished Why Gender Matters and, while I think he has some good ideas, I am not convinced about a number of things. The book starts out solidly with explanations of real scientific data, but gets more and more into extrapolation as it goes. The most solid difference he mentions, the fact that girls and women can hear better than boys and men, is cited far too often as the cause of many consequences that seem rather far fetched.

And the case of the "anomalous" boy was utterly unconvincing to me. Martin didn't seem fearful at all to me - he seemed sure of himself and determined to be his own person, regardless of what is parents thought. Nor was the "anomalous" girl very "anomalous" in my eyes. I guess I just don't get that chapter. I think he argues way too much on the basis of single examples rather than larger scale studies (perhaps because there are no relevant studies, but still - it isn't convincing to me). I could just as easily assert that a single sex high school didn't help my husband take an interest in music, art, or foreign language - all true - but irrelevant in the long run.

I attended a single sex college and disliked that aspect of it immensely. Perhaps I am anomalous in that regard, I don't know, but I certainly wouldn't choose it again. It did NOT lead me to be more confident in myself, as was the "promise" when I went there. In fact, in my opinion, it had the opposite effect, but that is another story for another time. Suffice it to say, I think at the college level, a single sex institution was not a good choice for me. That is certainly not to say that it wouldn't be a good choice for other women or other grade levels. I think, in particular, single sex middle schools, even starting as low as 5th grade and going through 8th grade could actually be helpful. I read of a private school that was co-ed K-4, single sex 5-8, and co-ed again for high school.

I read watched a video about an attempt at IMSA (Illinois Math and Science Academy) to segregate the physics classes by gender. It was very interesting to see the difference in approaches that the girls took from those of the boys. So maybe even at the high school level there could be some advantages.

I guess my initial take on the book is that it opens up for me a huge area of observation that is worthwhile to takes notes on, but there is so much that still isn't understood that I think his conclusions are often a bit too far reaching.

First Test by Tamora Pierce

I enjoyed this more than I expected. Again, back to the school theme - what we teach, what we learn, and how the whole experience is structured. I know that isn't what most people get out of these books. Most people focus on the young-girl-who-overcomes-obstacles-to-do-something-that-has-been-seen-as-boys'-territory plot elements, which are, of course, the main focus of the story.

Public Enemy #2 by Aaron McGruder

Although, since I am white, upper middle class, don't have TV, and don't follow news about black people or even about any race of entertainers, I don't get all of the references, I can't help but appreciate the Huey's attitude. It is scathingly honest, bitter, and brutal.

Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan

I liked this one better than Esperanza Rising. It isn't fantastic, but it is enjoyable and worthwhile.

More later.

Anne of Green Gables - Too Dated?

I have been re-reading (actually listening) to the Anne of Green Gables books - yearning for a simpler, kinder era? I started out buying one version of the audiobook, but I disliked the way the woman who read it did so. So I found another edition. This one wasn't quite as bad, but the reader STILL sounded bored with Anne's love of beautiful things and her imaginations. So I bought a third version. This one (Barbara Caruso's reading) isn't perfect, but it is better than the other two.

Some questions: Do today's children even read this book? I haven't heard any elementary or middle school girls talking about the book, nor have I seen them reading it. One class I subbed in had many of the books in the series, and they looked used, but I didn't see anyone reading them. Are they too dated? Would current students think her yearning to grow up to be a good person is completely anachronistic? Is it? I am reminded of the following quote:
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The things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self-interest are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first they love the produce of the second. -John Steinbeck, novelist, Nobel laureate (1902-1968)
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And a silly question: Why does it take so long for them to brew tea? Anne get into trouble for forgetting to put the tea to draw and Matthew has to wait for his supper. When I brew tea, it only takes a couple of minutes - and I don't even use the microwave to heat the water. Curious.

Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen, usw.

Ich höre gerade nochmal diese Bücher an. Ich bin jetzt bei Harry Potter und der Gefangene von Askaban. Es erstaunt mich, daß ich diese Audiobücher verstehen kann, ohne daß ich sie im Kopf zu übersetzen brauche.

And now I wonder: how can I listen to an audiobook in German without having to translate it in my mind. How does a brain get wired to understand another language? Does it devote an entire section to German or does it connect German words to sections of the brain that already have that concept established? How does the brain understand German idioms or words that have no direct translation into English (or whatever the mother tongue is)? Is there a limit to the number of words or languages that one person can learn? Does learning a bunch of languages crowd out learning other things?

And where in the world would I find answers to any of these questions? Google, I suppose. That seems to be my answer to many things these days. What did we do in the days before Google? Hmm. Maybe "think for ourselves" might be an appropriate answer.

Enough.

Becoming Naomi Leon

I just finished Becoming Naomi León by Pam Muñoz Ryan. It was a one day / two sitting read for me, meaning that it was good enough that I wanted to keep reading and not stop. I don't suppose I would consider it an all time classic, but it definitely has a good heart, good characters and a good, but realistic ending. And it introduces aspects of Mexican culture in positive, but again realistic ways. This is a good book to put into the hands of upper elementary kids.