Jodi Picoult Challenges Racism In Great Small Things

What constitutes racism? Jodi Picoult’s latest novel Great Small Things is perhaps her most controversial novel to date.  The characters pull us into the story with such force that I finished the novel in two days.

The novel is told from the point of view of Kennedy, Ruth, and and Turk, who represent vastly different segments of the nation.  Yet Jodi’s writing brings their voices to life and entrances the reader. Their lives become intertwined in unforgettable drama.

The twists and turns in the novel are typical Jodi Picoult, yet several of them surprised me.  I won’t add any spoilers here so you will discover them in your own reading journey.  Just when you think you have pigon-holed a character, something happens that proves you wrong.

I was horrified by the nights wilding that Brit and Turk, and other white supremacists, committed without any thought or conscience. I don’t think I have ever known a Neo-Nazi personally (I am white), so the notion that they have gone underground on the internet and set up silent cells ready to call into action at will scared me to death. The media is always talking about terrorist ISIS cells across the world and the idea that we also have racist based cells in our country inspires great fear in my soul. Who can I really trust?

High school students reading this novel will be able to examine their views about racism and compare/contrast their opinions.  Picoult has given them many examples of metaphors and situations to discuss. The resources listed at the end of the novel will be helpful to anyone studying or writing about this topic. I have used eye color to help discuss racism, with hypothetical scenarios in which the blue-eyed children are allowed to go to lunch first. The green-eyed students receive extra homework, and the brown-eyed youths receive a homework pass for the week. It’s easier to see life actions in metaphors, and random examples. Yet real life issues are described vividly in the word descriptions. In that respect, this may be her most important novel. (Seventeen Minutes is still my favorite and the one I recommend for all people involved in schools.)

I will explain that, in my opinion, color is not the only basis for racism. Yes, individuals may be judged because they are white, or people of color, but I believe that economics has a lot to do with opportunities in life regardless of color. There are rich and poor families in all sides of the segments of society. It is not all white people who have the most money and power; Afro-American, Chinese, Japanese, and Asian families all fit into the pie. There are plenty of poor white homeless children who would find the idea that all white people have money and power ludicrous. The stigma I see is how we treat the haves and the have nots, no matter what color they are.

You must read this novel and weigh in honestly on where you fall in the race spectrum. Great, small actions do make a difference and we can change the world one person at a time.

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The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett: A YA Novel That Encourages Teens To Take Positive Action

The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett

The cover of The Hundred Lies of  Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti called to me and I requested an advance reader copy. I immediately thought of Pretty Little Liars, Speak, and Ten Reasons Why which all relied on lies for the success of plot. Yet, as I was pulled into the YA Novel by the teenage misfit narrating the story, I eventually discovered that the title and cover really dealt with a far more emotional teen angst topic – depression. The main character was actually Hawthorn Creeley, not Lizzie Lovett, and the issue in the novel was the elephant in the room that we all know is there, but which we shy away from talking about.  Maybe reading this novel will help students take action and talk about depression and suicide?

Lizzie Lovett, who disappears mysteriously while camping with her boyfriend, becomes an obsession for Hawthorn Creely, the off-beat narrator who becomes immersed in Lizzie’s life. Lizzie, a magnetic popular girl who dated Hawthorn’s football star brother in high school, is someone Hawthorn never really knew. They were not friends and our narrator was jealous and hurt because Lizzie had snubbed her in the hall after school instead of stepping up to be her mentor freshman year. Hawthorn thought Lizzie could change her life and make her acceptable to the other students who make fun of her daily for being awkward and unique. So, why does Hawthorn even care and more importantly, why can’t I seem to put this book down?  I binge read it late into the early morning hours and am still thinking about the characters Sedoti created.

This story is not really about Lizzie Lovett as the title would make you believe, or even about the “lies” the title implies she told. As you trudge through the high school drama at the Mills, a small town where everyone knows everyone else, you eventually learn that Lizzie lead a double life.  Hawthorn remembers how beautiful and popular the cheerleader was and bemoans the fact that she feels she will never fit in anywhere, let alone have a group of popular teens following her every move. As a former guidance counselor, I know these stereotyped characters all too well, yet Sedoti has created them with such voice and dialogue that they become more than mere characters, they become real people dealing with real life problems just like you and me.

Yet the truth is that high school is never really as teens perceive it. Haunted and lonely, Hawthorn longs to live Lindsey Lovett’s life, which she thinks is perfection. Hawthorn comes up with a theory about what has happened to Lizzie and in order to prove it takes over Lizzie’s former job as a waitress, starts searching for Lizzie with her former boyfriend, Enzo, and eventually has to face the truth of what actually killed Lizzie. Under the surface of dances, parties, and football games when students are supposed to be living the “best days of their lives”, comes the realization that those dreams don’t always work out the way one expects. Rush, Hawthorn’s football star brother, has lived his glory days and lost out on being chosen to the big league college team of his choice, so he has settled for the local community college and coaching a team of fourth grade football hopefuls.  He is secretly dating the mother of one of his football proteges and is afraid to share this truth with his parents.  Lizzie, the Homecoming Queen cheerleader, who held center stage in high school, is living in a tiny, crummy apartment in a neighboring town, where she has a dead-end job as a waitress at a diner. No one there even knows she was ever a Homecoming Queen cheerleader.

The community comes together for searches and prayer vigils for Lizzie while suspicion falls upon Enzo, the last person to see her alive.  When no evidence or leads are found in the searches, they slowly stop and Lizzie’s mother continues to make pleas for information via the local newscasts.  Finally, months later two hikers find her body hanging from a tree in the woods near where the searches were held.  Hawthorn is devastated by the discovery.  How could the popular girl who appeared to have everything going for her in high school purposefully end her own life?  How could she leave everyone behind?  Now it is time for the important conversation about the elephant in the room to begin. What “lies” or deceits did people miss? How could people have reached out to help her with her depression?  What could her friends have done to help her see that death was not the answer? 

So, as a result of  the brilliant writing and beautiful characters the subject of depression and teenage suicide has engaged YA readers.  They have laughed and cried with them and identified in the wonderful narrative descriptions? But, like Hawthorn, no one really wanted to believe that Lizzie left this world of her own free will.

What can teens do to help each other with depression?  Would people come out to hear professionals offer advice about warning signs and questions to ask like they do for athletic bonfires? Why is everyone so afraid to talk about the elephant that takes away too many teen and adult lives each and every year?  Thank you, Chelsea Sedoti, for this awesome YA novel that can change lives if we only take time to reach out to others.

*I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

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The Art of Comparing and Contrasting

Comparing and contrasting has moved far past the Venn diagram in the digital classroom. Authentic compare and contrast skills are important not only in the academic classroom, but will serve students well as life-long skills. The better they are in this art, the more they will thrive not only on assessment tests but in real-world choices. This standard is addressed at every grade level curriculum from kindergarten through 12th grade.

One way to really engage students in compare and contrast is to use current song lyrics that students can identify with. Love vs. Broken Heart, Terrorism vs. Peace in Nature, Optimism vs. Despair are three classroom products that work well for me in tenth grade English.

Poetry terms become more interesting when students are trying to figure out how Gwen Stefani, Christina Aguilera, or Kate Perry have used them in their song lyrics. Students can record examples of the metaphors, alliteration, or figurative language in their interactive notebooks and will remember the terms when they are singing along with their i-phones.
                                              
Poetry has gotten a bad rap among teenagers for too many years, but when tweens or teens compare song lyrics with poetry and see the similarities they may decide that poetry is more interesting than they originally thought. Gasp! Maybe they will even find they like it?

Using consistency while teaching techniques will also allow students to become very familiar with how to compare and contrast. In these units,
students follow the same format and the more
they practice the skills, the better they become.

They learn the poetry terms which help them
identify words to compare and contrast between
the two selections. They complete worksheets
that ask them specific questions about the
song lyrics and the poetry.

They answer an eight question quiz which fits the specific content of the song lyrics and poem and which will prepare them for doing so on upcoming state assessment tests.

After the students have compared and contrasted the song lyrics and poetry lines, they make a choice about how they will show the knowledge they have gained to the class. They submit a presentation paragraph explaining how a slideshow, a video, or a traditional essay will best meet the needs of how the student wants to communicate.

This is a simple way for me to differentiate
and to provide for the students' individual
learning skills while teaching the tech tools'
applications to learning. Traditional essays
are usually submitted, not presented.
Slideshows benefit oral presentations.
Videos allow students to use their oral
presentation skills as well as show off
their technical savvy.  I teach in "chunks"
and the variety of student products adds
to the engagement of the students.

Dr. Robert Marzano's research in “The Art and Science of Teaching” (2007) found that asking students to identify similarities and differences through comparative analysis improves student achievement. Teaching your class the art of comparing and contrasting will help prepare them for important decisions they make in their future. Better yet, they will have fun while they are engaged in learning.

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