Re: Helllllllllllllllllp please!

[Nancy Vait <vait3@yahoo.com>]

Hi Trisha -- I just returned from two days of writing
curriculum and saw your post.  A couple years ago I
remember finding a YA booklist with suggestions that
were "positive and uplifting" with classics geared
toward the parent you describe.  I can't find the
list, however, either online or in my own files.

Here are a whole bunch of questions.  Do you have a
district or school list of required 8th grade books? 
Are you held to teaching certain titles, like Night,
which IS a powerful book but, you're right, probably
will set this parent off again?  Who in your district
or building will back you or offer you some guidance? 
You mentioned in an earlier email that your staff is
forward thinking.  What do the other English teachers
do with this problem?  Have you talked to your
principal?  This doesn't seem like something that you
should take on by yourself.  

Clearly, this parent wants choices for her child. 
Okay . . .  But clearly, you cannot and should not
change your entire curriculum to meet her demands. 
You might put the question back to her and ask her
what books she would consider suitable and choose from
those as an alternative.  I've done that with a couple
parents in past years and it helped defuse the
situation.  As others have written, I've either had
these students work independently with a reading guide
which I found online, or I've run lit circles.  This
woman sounds like someone who finds power in
confrontation.  Definitely offer alternatives. 
Definitely have supportive arguments for books like
Night.  I think you can find them at the ALA or YALSA
sites.  Someone on this list will know.  

Good luck on this, Trisha.  

Nancy





--- Cari Spitz Ashford <minnashford@yahoo.com> wrote:

> Flipped
> 
> Debbie Parker <debracparker@sbcglobal.net> wrote:   
> CITY OF EMBER
>   THINGS NOT SEEN
>   
> 
> Marji Morris <mmorris@salemschools.com> wrote:
>   oh, boy, what fun you're having.i can only imagine
> the quality of the 
> fiction produced by the parent's company.
> 
> i went through something like that many moons ago
> with lord of the 
> flies in a 7th grade honors class. what i ended up
> doing was developing 
> alternate lessons on other books that the kids could
> read if their 
> parents objected to what the class was doing. i kind
> of put them on 
> independent study--except i gave them vocab lists
> and assignments. i 
> guess it was more like alternative study. they left
> the room to 
> read/work when the rest of the class was discussing
> the book. not ideal, 
> but one possibility. you could give this kid swiss
> family robinson or 
> some old (challenging) classic.
> other alternatives--
> stargirl
> walk two moons(whoops, grandma gets shot)
> Neither of these are as challenging as the books
> you've been reading. 
> any good literature deals with conflict. ya books
> (and adult books) have 
> a lot of REALISTIC action. right now i'm stumped.
> what about doing literature circles and pick a
> theme, such as wwii or 
> prejudice and offer choices. then the parent/kid/you
> could put your kid 
> in one that wasn't so objectionable to the family?
> m
> 
> 
> Trisha MacKenzie wrote:
> > I'm having a crisis of confidence after 16 years.
> I'm still standing, 
> > but I have been pummeled the last two weeks
> regarding reading 
> > selections in my 8th grade classes. I'm new this
> year at a very 
> > high-achieving school. Because I'm new, I'm
> expected to hold the line 
> > a 30 year veteran established until I've proven
> myself, I guess. A 
> > parent, who by the way owns/owned a company called
> Positive Books for 
> > Children, is unpleasantly challenging the
> established curriculum -- 
> > she's angry that the tone of the books and short
> stories so far are 
> > "violent" --
> > 
> > We're just coming out of a unit on Poe (Tell Tale
> Heart, Fall of the 
> > House of Usher, The Black Cat, Annabel Lee, The
> Raven) -- prior to 
> > that Seedfolks and a Depression era novel that I
> don't like called 
> > Nothing to Fear. Prior to that -- Marigolds by
> Eugenia Collier, 
> > Ransom of Red Chief, The Day I Got Lost, and lots
> of poetry.
> > 
> > So.
> > 
> > Can I please tap into this group's broad
> experience, and ask for 
> > titles of short stories and novels that YOU think
> have a positive, 
> > uplifting tone for that woman -- and for me that
> have depth, 
> > analytical possibilities, and a multitude of
> teaching opportunities. 
> > I'm not asking for much, am I?
> > 
> > Oh . . . and we start Elie Wiesel's Night in early
> February. That 
> > will thrill her.
> > 
> > Thanking you in advance.
> > 
> > Trisha
> >
> > .·´*
> 
> 
> ---------------------------------------------------
> Thanks to the folks who help keep Interversity
> (and Middle-Lit) going:
> http://interversity.org/benefactors.html
> 
> 
> 
>   Debbie Parker 
> debracparker@sbcglobal.net
>    
> 
> 
>  
> ---------------------------------
> Need a quick answer? Get one in minutes from people
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