YALIT/Crit

Teen Book Festival

Hello everybody, I am writing to talk about the second annual Greater Rochester Teen Book Festival, which Andrew and I (perhaps Amanda et al) are planning to attend on March 31st.  We have been researching the authors a little bit and are starting to get excited.  It looks like its going to be a great day.   Here is a link to the website if anyone wants to check out the list of guest speakers/authors.  We are planning to bring some recording equipment and get some interviews if at all possible, in order to record our experience as part of a Final Project.  Ideally we will be able to talk to students, parents and even authors, like Nancy Werlin.   

I was thinking it would be cool if anyone had particular questions they wanted to ask Nancy Werlin (or any of the authors).  So just let us know, as part of the comments, if anyone has a Question For Nancy Werlin, and we'll make sure to ask her if we can!!!

Teachers' "Guide" to RULES

Some of you may have already seen this site but if not it's worth a look. What do you think about this teachers' guide to questions one might ask about RULES with students in relationship to the discussion we had last night?

Take a look.

Also I have added two categories--one on A NORTHERN LIGHT and the other for discussions of the "problem" novel for teens. Do use them for posts about Donnelly's novel and articles that focus in on the latter topic. Posts re: J/F chapters go under critical literacies. Posts on the variety of readings go under another new category, Who is a reader anyway? For example, posts on the JAAL article on what motivates adolescents to read would come under that category. Thanks!

Unverbalized Closing Thoughts on Rules

One thing I wanted to address in our discussion of Rules of Survival that we didn't get back around to was the issue of heroism, and specifically, our prior mentioning of how all the heroes in the novel are compromised.  I think we failed to recognize that Matt, himself, as a narrator/letter writer/survivalist/protector will likely be seen as heroic by many adolescent readers who have experienced abuse or are at odds with themselves or their guardians.  We spent ample time talking about how Matt does not really live up to our expectations of a good narrator in "good literature," but if we look at the novel as outsiders, as Johnson and Freedman suggest, and recognize that we cannot identify with this novel, and therefore, I think, aren't in the best position to judge it, especially to judge its worth to adolescent readers.  But, if we step back from our biases, it's possible to see that the simple fact that Matt as narrator, involved in the act of self-exploration and wrestling with his past by sitting down and writing (no matter how real and lacking in universal insight it may be) is a heroic act in itself.  As we've said, literature on discomforting subjects such as abuse isn't as frequently undertaken as some other plot-lines, but in this respect the novel could be a positive influence on our students for the simple fact that it could encourage them to take their personal issues on in their own writing.  This book could not only make certain critical theory, such as the issues of feminism and the definitions of masculinity (such as the very unsubtle career distinctions of male nurse and contractor assigned to the Father and Murdoch) approachable to students, but it could also make the act of self-exploration in writing seem attainable to students. 

Rules of Survival

I want to talk again about pedagogy and YA lit.  I've noticed from the limited discussion we've had that all of the responses have been very emotionally charged.  And how could they not be, considering the subject matter.  And that makes me think about how we want students to respond to this book if we were to teach it.

I think there are some real dangers here.  Awareness of domestic violence can certainly fulfill our hope to engage our students in critical literacies, but only if they can access it.  The violence is so overwhelming that it sometimes creates a greater distance between the reader and the narrator as a personal defense.  I think this is where I locate my dislike for the book: for a novel pronounced as a nuanced and deft psychological study, the overwhelming nature of the abuse forced me to dissasociate (much as the narrator found coping mechanisms).  But that didn't draw me into the character.  I could only feel the general outrage that a thing like this continues to occur.  Revulsion, not sympathy.

As I said, we tend to react emotionally to a story like this.  This may be the author's intention, but it doesn't make for a very critical reading, like you would expect if you were using this book with high school readers.  I worry that perhaps we want to use it as catharsis.  There's nothing wrong with catharsis, but it is not always conducive to a critical state of mind, and the classroom is not always a safe and supportive environment in which a cathartic response would be appropriate.  I also wonder if this could marginalize the experiences of students who don't suffer from abuse, or even those who do, but not to this extent.  I especially worry about the second group, who may not see the validity in their feelings because they've already been conditioned to believe that the abuse they face is not really abuse.  I'm not sure I agree with that, but it is something we might discuss.

The litmus test for me at the end of any work of literature that I read is to ask: how did this book change me?  I dont' feel any broad understanding of an abused child that is different from the understanding I began with.  There was no deep truth revealed here.  So what response are we looking for other than catharsis?

"Rules" ala Johnson/Freedman

In reading J/F's description of Rhetorical Criticism questions (Chapter 3) I'd like to discuss Werlin's purpose for writing "Rules."  All of Matt's graphic descriptions of Nikki's manipulative mind games and power plays against her children have to be written for reasons other than entertainment.  What are the reasons? What is Werlin trying to say to us through this text?

Comments on Rules of Survival

Hey gang, just finished reading Rules and I'm not entirely sure whether we'll be able to have class tomorrow, so I thought I'd share some immediate post-read reactions.  First of all, I find that I'm sharing in the uncertainty concerning Rules that Professor Stearns and our wonderful facilitators, Amanda and Tamara, expressed in class.  Rules of Survival is easily one of the most intense, cathartic, and unsettling novels I've ever read.  And, as with most of the award-winning YA Lit we've been exposed to so far, it's expertly executed and so real and palpable that Matthew's account makes your heart thud and your pores percolate, and you probably cry.  But, as deeply unsettling as the book is, I am really having trouble sorting out my thoughts on it.  And I also can't figure out why.  I find it difficult to place this book under a critical lens and look at it as anything other than a psychologist or an empathetic reader. 

Is this novel so sad and heart-wrenching that critics don't know to respond in any way other than nominating it for awards?  I mean, she is broaching a very uncomfortable subject, and as she says on the comments section of the amazon listing for the book, it's a thriller, which is conventionally considered a "low-brow" genre.  But, as Amanda posted about, Rules is chiefly concerned with issues of strength and survival.  The novel isn't just aping off sad stories pulled from the newspapers.  There is a lot of hope in Matt's letters, and they express so many awing things about the human condition, through children, and the ways they are hardened and, finally, allowed to soften. 

I'm still not entirely sure where I stand on this book, but I certainly can't stop thinking about it, even though I'd like to think about cheerier things, especially on the first glorious snow day I've had since I was a teenager.  But, I'm still questioning myself.  How much could I take?  How would I react if I noticed glints of a similar, maybe even non-extreme case of abuse from a future student?  These are very uncomfortable thoughts, and I know that sometimes as English teachers who receive written personal responses from students constantly, situations arise, even if they aren't extreme cases of abuse.  In my observation last semester I witnessed a ninth-grade student, when it came his turn to share his horrific story that the entire class had individually written about for five minutes at the beginning of class, share a brief story about the terrors of his alcoholic father scaring him as a kid, and how he hasn't seen him in a few years.  I was sitting in the back expecting more goofy stories of broken bones, as all the other kids had shared, but this brave boy shared something personal and affecting, and very, very real to him.  I was choked up and at a loss, but my host teacher handled it well.  He made some remarks about how sometimes the ones you love hurt you emotionally more than any physical pain could ever hurt, and really created an environment where that student felt safe sharing something personal like that.  It wasn't an abusive situation needing to be reported, but I'm still not sure how I would've handled that as the teacher if it had been me. 

Thank You Amanda and Tamara

Dear Amanda and Tamara, thank you for getting us off to such a good start with your insightful responses to and questions about RULES last night. I'm really looking forward to our discussion of this book, perhaps because I'm ambivalent about it myself. For those of you who may not have checked out her website yet, I recommend it to you. Here is the National Book Award Finalist recognition announcement. You will also find a list of other kudos the novel has received at Werlin's website.

I'd like to get back to that SLJ Anita Silvey article (handout from last week) alongside RULES. So I do hope bloggers post on it! School Library Journal is another excellent source of information about books/authors for ELA teachers.

Strength.

The issue of strength seems to pervade much of The Rules of Survival. In the second chapter of the novel, Matt defines strength and courage in what he sees and Murdoch and clings to the strength he finds in Murdoch for dear life. This book seems to question and challenge what it means to be strong. Nikki, for instance, fights bitterly to assert her strength and command over the children through her emotional manipulation and abuse, but Matt and Callie develop their own ways to stay as strong as they can to survive until the next day. How else do Matt and Callie define and find strength? In what other ways does strength play a part in this novel?

Student concerns

After commenting on Amanda's post about approaching issues of abuse in our classrooms, I couldn't help but wonder what a day at school would be like for Matt and Callie. Further in the book Matt tries to study for a test, but cannot because he is trying to figure out a solution to his current predicament. As teachers, these books can be very telling for us. We must constantly be aware of the fact that our students come to us from a wide range of places/backgrounds, some similar to Matt's. This also makes me think of the O'Donnell reading and the "zone of proximal development." How can YA lit. bring us closer to that zone?

Mental Abuse

I believe that Matthew has suffered a mental abuse more than a physical abuse from his mother Nikki. He has mastered the various skills to cope with her anger, so that he can always avoid such physical abuse. However, the mental fear is the very thing that has been instilled into his mind. Such fear is with you no matter the abuser is around or not. For example, when Nikki is absent for days, Matthew is still in fear. Matthew’s survival skills develop as Nikki’s abuse varies, thus this young boy’s survival story especially touches my heart because he cannot use one-for-all rule to deal with the changing problems. The mental abuse leaves much deeper marks on an individual than that of a physical one because you can change a place to live, or you may cut a relationship, but you cannot easily break away from the fear inside of you. I will be interested in Matthew’s adulthood, especially his mental health if the writer just adds …