Why Middle School?

I've made a realization recently. Although I thought that I didn't remember much of middle school, I began to realize how much of my current self was molded during that time- specifically 1994. I'll be honest, I don't remember most of my teacher's names* or many of my friends** or boyfriends***, but it obviously left an impact on me. I decided to write this post after a student asked me if everything happened in middle school because all of my stories start with, "When I was in middle school..." At first I told them it was just because I teach middle school, but after thinking I began to realize that it was more than that. 

First, let's see who we are talking about: 

My friend Joanie, Allison and myself on the first day of school

Halloween dance!

First Piece of Evidence- My Favorite Word

In Ms. Paulsen's 7th grade language arts class, we were assigned to learn vocabulary through Norman Lewis's Instant Word Power and suddenly in Session 6 we were introduced to words I will never forget- SESQUIPEDALIAN and SESQUIPEDALIANISM. I thought that they were awesome and hilarious words! If you don't know what they mean, sesquipedalian actually means 1 and 1/2 feet long. Starting in the 17th century it was changed to mean "a long word" or "a person who is known for using long words".  This word keeps on popping into my life and I love it every time (including when I used Tom Chapin's song Great Big Words to practice context clues with my students). Today, while prepping for this post, I found my Instant Word Power book and actually laughed out loud when I saw the practice sentence in my 7th grade textbook: "Attitudinal readjustment is a sesquipedalian term for the cocktail hour. (You can never say it after three drinks.)" Ha! Maybe that sentence is why I never forgot it. 

Second Piece of Evidence- My Favorite Book

I. Love. This. Book. It is almost hard for me to write about it because it is hard to vocalize how it impacted me when I read it. I think 11 years of age is such an influential age and that is when I read The Giver for the first time. I remember being shocked by the injustices within the book, specifically the lack of books, color, artwork and choices. As a middle schooler, I was so disgusted by Jonas's society and so impressed by the choices that Jonas makes within the book. It is because of this impression that it has always stuck with me. I frequently forget characters and books and plots, but this one has never left me and I have reread it many times now (which is a rare thing for me). On top of it all, I liked that Lois Lowry made the reader part of her story. The ending, though controversial, is what made me love it even more. It was my decision what happened to Jonas (though it has now been answered in the companions) and as a pre-teen that meant a lot to me. 

Third Piece of Evidence- My Favorite Type of Music

I remember April 9, 1994. It was a big day in the world of music and if you were in my middle school you would think that the messiah himself had passed away which to us was exactly how it felt. Sixth grade was about the time where I switched from listening to my parent's music and pop music to alternative music such as Silverchair, Nirvana, Pearl Jam and later Green Day and Nine Inch Nails. I think that although April 9, 1994 was definitely a tragedy, music lost a brilliant musician in Kurt Cobain that week, it was also one of the reasons why I immersed myself in that type of music. It was definitely an ingredient of who I've become. 

Fourth Piece of Evidence- Cello

When I lived in Iowa and in 3rd grade we were allowed to pick an instrument to begin playing in 4th grade. The middle school came to the elementary school and the band and orchestra played. I remember looking over the balcony and seeing the cello and I knew that it was the instrument that I was going to choose. Then we moved and it wasn't until 6th grade that I was able to get my hands on one and this choice changed the trajectory of my life sending me to a music school of choice which led me to playing cello for over 10 years. 

Fifth+ Piece of Evidence- Baseball, Girl Scouts, Working With Kids

 

 

You may be asking: "Why did Kellee put this reflection on the blog? It is supposed to be about books and teaching." Though this post may just seem like a way for me to reminisce about middle school, it is actually for a way for me to share how important these such touchy years are in the maturing of our students. I have often questioned why I love teaching middle school and I think that this post shows many of the reasons why. These years are molding years and although our students may not visit us often or thank us when they are adults, but we are a major part of their growth and have a larger impact than we even realize. 

*Except Ms. Spalding who was my 6th grade language arts teacher. I really disliked her class when I had her, but afterwards I found myself visiting her and helping her all of the time. I think she was the first teacher to show me tough love and I ended up appreciating it. I'll never forget reading A Wrinkle in Time in her class and detesting it as well as researching Nefertiti and doing a gallery walk presentation about her. Though I don't remember the name of all of the teachers, there are aspects of many classes I remember and I think that the amazing middle school I gave to
**I feel the worst about this. I had wonderful friends during middle school. I do remember Allison Gandy, my best friend who I will never forget spending time with who has since gotten married and contacted me once and now I can't find her :(, a boy named Trey because he tragically passed away, and a couple of other girls, but I know that I had a good amount of friends and I wish I could get in contact with them and see what they are up to.
***I will never forget my first real boyfriend, David Haney, and to be honest I thought he was my only boyfriend from middle school until I found a book from 7th grade that says "I <3 Justin" and "J.J. + K.S." so who knows how my memories have been changed.

My Reading Life

I rolled over in bed this morning around 4:00 when I heard the baby crying through the monitor.  Dragging myself out of bed, I shuffled into his room, changed his diaper, and laid him back down in his crib.  I checked on his older brother and then made my way back to my own snuggly bed.  Once there I remembered I was so close to finishing My Reading Life by Pat Conroy and reached down to unplug my Nook.  My eyes quickly adjusted and I was quickly engaged again in the book without even a peep from my husband.

I love my reading own reading life.  I cherish it even.  I can't imagine my own life without books or all the friends I share books with (especially all my Twitter friends, a special shout-out to my tweeps!).  Reading is just part of who I am and extends into every part of my life.
Last night, on my way home from literacy night at one of my schools where I taught a poem and a song in sign language to students, I chatted with my mom about how she was doing while babysitting my kids.  She reported that the baby was a sleep and Peanut and her had just read Sam and the Tigers: A Retelling of 'Little Black Sambo by Julius Lester.  She commented that Jordan knew all about the tigers and all the characters who are all named Sam.  She was marveling at his understanding of the book when she asked him how he knew all about it and I heard his little voice in the background say, "My mommy taught me that."  Talk about a proud mom moment.
I can seriously go on and on and on and on about how important reading is and how much I love reading but really my point in writing this post is to share how much I enjoyed reading My Reading Life and how worthwhile it is to read.  This isn't a professional book but it is the story of a lifelong reader and writer and that's what I hope to encourage my students to be.  I believe as professionals we owe it to our students to be as knowledgeable about readers and writers in general to be able to share, model, and provide experiences that help them realize the greatness of a reading life.
I tweeted some of my favorite parts of the book and would love to hear what stood out to you if you read this book or about what shaped your own reading life.  (And, can you bear to even imagine your life without books? *shudder*)

 

Why I Read - 12/10/10

This week on Twitter the hashtag #whyiread was popping up all over the place.  I hope my students love to read because they love the stories, the characters, the emotions, and the information in books.  After recently reading Reading Reasons by Kelly Gallagher though, I understand we may have to explicitly help them realize why we read to motivate them to read.

I have told my students countless times that it is important to read, but in the last two years I have worked towards showing my students why I read.  I truly believe in being an exhibit of a real-life reader or a “reader in the wild” as Donalyn Miller recently said.  A real-life reader wants to expand his or her world – books give a reader access to fiction or non-fiction, stories he or she can relate to or unfamiliar stories to let us gain perspective in our lives, places on a map or places from an author’s imagination.

Expanding my world as a reader means stretching my brain as I share in injustices and triumphs, learn about myself, and annotate my beliefs.  I’d like to illustate specifically how my life has been directly impacted by what I have read this year as an example of how what we read shapes who we are.

In March, I listened to Fat Cat by Robin Brande.  It’s the story of a girl named Cat who is an unhealthy eater and overweight because of it until she picks a photograph of a caveman that she has to use as the catalyst for her science project.  Not sure what kind of science project she can work on that centers around a caveman, but determined to do something that will outshine her classmate and former-best-friend-turned-adversary, Matt McKinney, she decides to adopt the lifestyle of a caveperson to study the changes her body will undergo.  She vows to eat whole foods versus the highly processed foods she was eating like candy bars and pop and she won’t allow herself to use modern technology like cars, phones, or computers.

As I read this book, it made me realize how true it is that we eat so many foods that do not resemble real food any more.  I loved reading about her transformation.  Not only did she eat more nutritious foods but she realized she had more energy and started working out more.  What struck me most was that by changing her habits she felt better about herself in a multitude of ways.  After the book ended, there was a discussion with the author and Colleen Patrick Goudreau, a vegan activist and cookbook author.  This was a classic example of connecting fiction with non-fiction.  I had to explore Colleen Patrick Goudreau’s website and cookbooks, where I have found my favorite vegan recipes.

 

After Fat Cat, I saw an interview with Jonathan Safran Foer on Ellen.  He talked about his quest to find out where his food was coming from after his son was born.  This idea so closely tied in with the ideas from Fat Cat that I immediately wanted to read Foer’s book, Eating Animals.  I wasn’t sure I could handle the gross descriptions I expected to find in his book, but I did.  He describes factory farming.  While reading, I had a profound revelation that there was no way I could ever allow my son to eat chicken nuggets again.  I remember hearing my husband and son playing upstairs while I read until I had to go upstairs and explain how horrified I was to learn of how animals are treated and how food is handled.  My husband had heard of such practices before when it came to animals and the meat we eat and responded by turning away and telling me he didn’t want to hear what I had to tell him.  He said we wouldn’t eat fast food as much, but begged me to not tell him the details of what I was reading.  It struck me that he could disconnect himself from the truth and that I had done the same for so long…but no more.  I made the decision to not be a meat-eater any more and made the switch to vegetarianism.

Determined to be a healthy vegetarian, like Cat, I started reading as much as I could about vegetarianism.  I found Alicia Silverstone’s book The Kind Diet.  This book shared similar information that I found in Eating Animals and other books, but Alicia has an interesting perspective on eating.  She explains the importance of veganism (no animals or animal by-products) versus only not eating meat.  She proclaims that if everyone tried to at least stop eating as much meat as they are, it would be a good thing.  She encourages flirting with veganism, being a vegan, and being a super-hero, who eats a macrobiotic diet.  The idea of flirting was one my husband could be on board with; he has since been more conscious of choosing meatless food options.  I told myself I would try to be vegan and see how I did.  I have been able to eliminate eggs and dairy products from my diet now since August.

Then, in October I read Hurt Go Happy by Ginny Rorby.  I picked this book up because the protagonist is a deaf girl.  I am always on the lookout for books with deaf or hard-of-hearing main characters because my students are deaf or hard-of-hearing.  I thought it would be a heart-warming story about a girl who never knew sign language until she meets this sweet chimpanzee who signs…until the adorable chimpanzee finds herself sent to a compound where they conduct animal testing.  I started questioning household and personal products we use until my husband was asking me to stop reading books already!

Last weekend I watched Food, Inc., the documentary on factory farming.  The film did a good job of sharing information about factory farming and the tremendous power the industry has.  It complemented what I had read about in Eating Animals and The Kind Diet.  What struck me again was how disconnected our society is from what goes on in factory farming.  The slaughtering of animals bothers me, but even more than that, the exploitation of the animals and the complete backwardness of how factory farming works simply to make money crushes my heart.  I was so disheartened after watching that movie.  I felt betrayed by the society I live in.  Watching TV now is hard because ads keep popping up that just have my blood boiling. 

On Monday night, I finished the third book in the Hunger Games series, Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins.  I (like so many other people) eagerly awaited its release while at the same time I dreaded that the series would end.  Katniss Everdeen, the main character, is subjected to the unthinkable as she participates in the Hunger Games.  It was intense to read how horribly used she was by the leaders of the capitol and the rebels alike.  That’s when it hit me: the realization of the parallel between Katniss’ world and the attempts to manipulate and brainwash consumers in my own world.  The serene, slow-chugging-tractor farms depicted in ads, on labels, and in restaurants don’t even begin to represent the inhumane factory farms that exist and monopolize the meat industry. 

 

Looking back, I'm proud of the changes in my lifestyle.  My eating and shopping habits are clearly different than they were a year ago.  Sometimes my husband complains that it would be nice if we could order one pizza versus a pizza for him and our 3-year-old (the baby just barely started on baby food) and a cheeseless pizza with veggies for me but we have learned to adjust.  Without these books, I seriously doubt I would be who I am today as a consumer.  It is very common now for me to have to talk about the choices I have made in what I eat and buy because people are curious and sometime skeptical.  I know I still have a lot to learn and I don’t claim to be an expert or a poster-child for veganism BUT I do feel that I understand and can justify my choices and articulate my reasoning thanks to the books I have read.

One reason #whyiread is to be a more educated member of society.  I don’t want to be in the dark when it comes to the decisions I make.  I don’t want to live my life not knowing the consequences of my choices.  I don’t want others manipulating me or taking advantage of my naivete.

My sole purpose in sharing this is to reflect on how reading has shaped my life recently.  I, obviously, am proud of my decision to embrace a vegan lifestyle as much as I can and I welcome any questions or comments (although positive comments make me much happier than any others...).  I don’t aim to convince anyone to change their ways, but I do recommend all the books I have mentioned in this post.