Read for: Leisure/Quiet Time
Rating: 4
C.S. Lewis is the master of simple explanation. His way of presenting complex issues in a simple yet poignant and truthful manner is helpful in explainingto readers a religion that is very complicated. His language is thoughtful and precise, which I appreciated. Lewis sets out to explain Christianity--mere Christianity. None of the denominational differences or huge theological problems facing religion today. Rather, he tells readers what Christians believe and why they believe it.
"Ever since I became a Christian I have thought that the best, perhaps only, service I could do for my unbelieving neighbours was to explain and defend the belief that has been common to nearly all Christians at all times." (Preface, p. viii)
"I am not writing to expound something I could call 'my religion,' but to expound 'mere' Christianity, which is what it is and what it was long before I was born and whether I like it or not." (Preface, p. ix)
In my opinion, Lewis succeeds in his mission of explaining what he calls "mere Christianity." What makes his explanation so effective, I believe, is the fact that he writes from the perspective of someone who used to be an Atheist, but saw what Christianity had to offer and became a believer. Therefore he is able to explain why he came to hold his beliefs. Where Lewis falters in his mission of expounding on "mere Christianity" and strays into the land of convoluted theology is in Part 4, which addresses the doctrine of the Trinity. He of course explains the doctrine well, but it is a bit more than "mere," in my opinion. I would advise the reader who only wants the "mere" to simply stop reading after Part 3.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Nightjohn by Gary Paulsen
Read for: Student teaching
Rating: 4
Gary Paulsen is such a diverse writer. Everything by him that I have read has been vastly different--different styles, story lines, characters, etc. Nightjohn is no exception. The story takes place during the height of slavery, right before the Civil War. Sarny, a slave on a southern plantation, is the narrator of the story. Nightjohn comes to the plantation and teaches Sarny how to read. Nightjohn's story is compelling: He escaped from slavery, but returned in order to teach other slaves how to read.
My cooperating teacher uses this story for two reasons: A) it coincides with the history teacher's unit on the Civil War, and B) she claims that it gets students talking about literacy and excited to be reading. I think that Nightjohn is the proof that a story can be written for young adults that is well written, has relateable characters, and can apply to the lives of young adults without being cliche or lacking in literary merit.
Rating: 4
Gary Paulsen is such a diverse writer. Everything by him that I have read has been vastly different--different styles, story lines, characters, etc. Nightjohn is no exception. The story takes place during the height of slavery, right before the Civil War. Sarny, a slave on a southern plantation, is the narrator of the story. Nightjohn comes to the plantation and teaches Sarny how to read. Nightjohn's story is compelling: He escaped from slavery, but returned in order to teach other slaves how to read.
My cooperating teacher uses this story for two reasons: A) it coincides with the history teacher's unit on the Civil War, and B) she claims that it gets students talking about literacy and excited to be reading. I think that Nightjohn is the proof that a story can be written for young adults that is well written, has relateable characters, and can apply to the lives of young adults without being cliche or lacking in literary merit.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Romiette and Julio by Sharon M. Draper
Read for: Student teaching in the fall
Rating: 3
Romiette and Julio is a modern retelling of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, only in Draper's version Romiette is the girl and Julio is the boy. The story takes place in a Cincinnati high school that has a gang problem. Romiette is African American and Julio is Hispanic, and the "gang bangers" don't like their romance.
The plot is obviously predictable and I wouldn't say that this is particularly well-written, but I think that the junior high students I will be teaching this to in the fall will enjoy the characters. Ben, Julio's friend and the Mercutio counterpart, is the most entertaining character in the book. Draper's foreshadowing, particularly concerning a side-plot concerning Ben, I found to be painfully obvious. However, I think that the junior-high students who may not be as used to picking up on the subtleties of character development will enjoy how Ben's story unfolds.
My one concern is that students will brush this off as stupid and patronizing because of how the characters speak. The book was published in 1999, but I can't remember a time when teenagers ever truly spoke the way that Draper portrays, besides in cliche teen movies and magazines. For example, when did anyone ever use "phat" in a sentence besides in Teen Magazine? Well, the characters in Romiette and Julio do!
I am definitely of the more classical line of thought when it comes to teaching, but for the 7th and 8th graders that I will be teaching who may not be ready for Shakespeare, I think that this will be a good lead-in to Shakespeare's classic. There is definitely plenty of material for discussion from Romiette and Julio that is on the students' level, such as race, relationships, poverty, gangs, school, fate, etc. It should be interesting to teach this book!
Rating: 3
Romiette and Julio is a modern retelling of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, only in Draper's version Romiette is the girl and Julio is the boy. The story takes place in a Cincinnati high school that has a gang problem. Romiette is African American and Julio is Hispanic, and the "gang bangers" don't like their romance.
The plot is obviously predictable and I wouldn't say that this is particularly well-written, but I think that the junior high students I will be teaching this to in the fall will enjoy the characters. Ben, Julio's friend and the Mercutio counterpart, is the most entertaining character in the book. Draper's foreshadowing, particularly concerning a side-plot concerning Ben, I found to be painfully obvious. However, I think that the junior-high students who may not be as used to picking up on the subtleties of character development will enjoy how Ben's story unfolds.
My one concern is that students will brush this off as stupid and patronizing because of how the characters speak. The book was published in 1999, but I can't remember a time when teenagers ever truly spoke the way that Draper portrays, besides in cliche teen movies and magazines. For example, when did anyone ever use "phat" in a sentence besides in Teen Magazine? Well, the characters in Romiette and Julio do!
I am definitely of the more classical line of thought when it comes to teaching, but for the 7th and 8th graders that I will be teaching who may not be ready for Shakespeare, I think that this will be a good lead-in to Shakespeare's classic. There is definitely plenty of material for discussion from Romiette and Julio that is on the students' level, such as race, relationships, poverty, gangs, school, fate, etc. It should be interesting to teach this book!
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