The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Before I started the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, I’m not going to lie, I was hesitant. I didn’t think that I would be able to relate to a main character who was high school freshman, living on a reservation, and who was a guy. And I’m not really sure if I could per say, relate to Junior, but I did almost immediately want him to succeed. As soon as Mr. P came to his house after he was in out of school suspension, and he warned him that his only hope was to get of the rez, I was hooked. I was unsure of how I was going to think about the rest of his journey, but as soon as he got to Rearden High School, I was rooting for him. I wanted him to make friends, get the girl (Penelope), and kill his old school in that basketball game. I wanted him to show his “friends” back home that you CAN succeed and do well if you decide to leave the reservation. I wanted him to know that he had made the right decision.

So much about the Native American culture shocked me in this book. I have never really learned a great deal about this culture before now, and the only things I really did understand seemed to be so far from what was represented in the book. This became especially true when I realized that Alexie was Native American. I was shocked to learn that most of the Native American literature in the past has been written by non-Native Americans (Reece 1997). I’m not really sure if I loved this book or not, but I’m thankful for it. Granted, I know that this is only one perspective on this giant culture that is vastly different for everyone that lives on a reservation, but I’m glad that this was presented to me.

I’m not totally sure if I would use this in a classroom or not. As a middle school teacher, there are some points in the book that I would be uncomfortable discussing in a classroom setting. I think as a high school teacher, this book would be great though. I liked how it kind of pushed the envelope a little (vulgarity in some parts) and basically survives because it portrays stereotypes. I think that for teaching irony, idea of friendships, going against the grain, standing up for what you believe in or culture I would take parts of this book and use it in class. I think that this could also be beneficial for students to see the use of stereotypes in literature. Thus, some of the issues of racism and stereotypes that Reece discussed in the article could be seen in this book and I think that students would appreciate seeing a different side of racism.

Alexie, S. (2007). The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York: Hachette Book Group USA.

Reese, D. (1997). Native Americans in Children's Literature . Using Multiethnic Literature in a K-8 Classroom, 156-184.

LGBTQ post

The novels The Misfits and Totally Joe were incredible! They were quick reads, entertaining, and the characters were very relatable. Even as a college graduate, I felt myself being taken back in time to South Forsyth Middle School. Joe, Bobby, Addie, Skeezie, Colin, Aunt Pam and even the notorious bully, Kevin, suddenly became members of my own language arts class. I think that this was the beauty of these books. I almost immediately connected with the characters. I was quickly reminded of how I was embarrassed by silly things, how important my friends were to me, how some teachers really did impact my self-esteem, and how fellow students had potential to make or break an entire year in middle school. Image was everything, and the need to belong somewhere was real.

One of the most impactful moments in these books for me was how Joe’s parents handled the news of him coming out. Granted, it wasn’t a shock, but still, they were supportive, respectful, and made sure that he knew that their love for him did not change. So often, the press, media, etc. tell stories of parents badly reacting to news like this, so it was refreshing to see a positive example of supportive parents. I also loved the relationship that Joe shared with his Aunt Pam. I hope that every student, regardless of sexual orientation, can have a caring understanding adult like that in his or her life. Of course, I am definitely not naive enough to think that this is a reality for even half of the population. But, I think that this is a reason why Joe was so sure of who he was.

Bullying was another big theme that I noticed again and again. I recently had a conversation with one of my best guy friends and he revealed how the bullying he had experienced as a seventh grader continues to affect him and the way that he sees himself. I love that in Totally Joe, bullying was combated so fiercely. I also appreciated that the book was not a “fairy-tale” ending so that their party won in the election. I think that this was more true to real life. It is not easy to fight for what you believe most of the time. But, that shouldn’t stop you from fighting. I think that a lot of middle schoolers would benefit from learning that.

As for the articles that we were supposed to read, I couldn’t help but get upset with some of the accusations that the authors were making. I hate that students have succumbed to society’s view of “heteronormativity” and that there are practices, which promote thinking like this, but I found some of the examples that were listed as a little much. The rock painting incident for example: the students SHOULD be punished for using language like that, but to say that this was “metaphorical rape” was a little much. And, to be honest, I was frustrated that they would insinuate something like this from school rivalries. As a future teacher, I know that I will definitely have a strict rule about using terminology such as “that’s so gay” just like I will not tolerate “that’s retarded” being mentioned in my classroom. I think that as teachers, we cannot combat all of the negativity that is in society, but of course, I will definitely fight for the freedom of ALL students to express themselves, LGBTQ students, and straight students. I also think that our culture has become MUCH more accepting in general. There will always be people who are “stuck in their ways” and who will disagree with everything, but there are also LOTS of students, teachers, and administrators who are fighting for equality. So, don’t assume that just because I am not LGBTQ myself, I don’t want to help end bullying, or inequalities within the school system and beyond.

Sorry, that was totally a rant.

I did however love the article about self-censorship. I think that it brought up a lot of interesting points. And I appreciated that it provided more literature opportunities for school libraries. Even if I personally won’t be teaching students about the different lifestyle choices that are around all the time, I want to be able to have resources for students who do have questions. And I’m glad that I have a place to start reading for myself (I wouldn’t ever refer a student to a book that I haven’t read myself). Students will have questions, and I want to do my best to provide them with a place to ask them. And I’m sure that I won’t have the answers that they are looking for, but I’d like to be able to point them in the right direction.

References:

Blackburn, M. V., & Smith, J. M. (2010). Moving Beyond the Inclusion of LGBT Themed Literature in English Language Arts Classrooms: Interrogating Heteronormativity and Exploring Intersectionality. Journal Of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53(8), 625-634.

Howe, J. (2001). The misfits. New York, New York: Atheneum Books For Young Readers.

Howe, J. (2005). Totally Joe. New York, New York: Atheneum Books For Young Readers.

Stewing, J. (1994). Self-Censorship of Picture Books about Gay and Lesbian Families. New Advocate, 7(3), 184-92.

I'm taking the challenge.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma was incredible! I loved reading it, and it has honestly challenged the way that I have previously thought about food, purchasing food, and what is happening in American culture in general. I would be lying if I said that I haven’t been presented with this information before, and I’m not sure why I was so impacted by Michael Pollan’s words. My younger sister is a vegetarian, and has been for the past 6 years. I have always admired her ability to fight for something that she believed in, but I have written excuses off in the past. Now, I’m not planning on giving up meat entirely, or even going cold turkey on fast food (hello, I am a college student with very little money!) but I will definitely reconsider some purchases in the future.

One of the reasons that I loved this book so much was all of the extra side bars in it. For whatever reason, I never felt like this book was too long or difficult to get through, even though it is a longer book. The sidebars presented a lot of information that was important to the overall thought processes behind the book, and they challenged me to think deeper about my own life, how I was raised, and eventually how I want to present the idea of food to my children and students. I never felt condemned by any means while reading it; I just really believed that Pollan wanted us to become more aware of what is happening in America. And I think that it is for this reason that I will make my students read this, or at least part of it. Awareness. Had I been aware of the information that was presented in this book, then I think my lifestyle would look a little differently now.

Another part of this book that I loved was presented at the very end. The afterword will DEFINITELY become a part of my curriculum. It was empowering. Even as a middle school student, I think that every single person that read this would feel as if they had could make a difference. And I really do believe that middle school students are searching for places to make a difference, to matter, and to fight for something that is important to them. So, this book lends itself very well to letting students become passionate for a good cause. If anything, I feel like it was a call-to-action to make better decisions with the new awareness that he presented.

I was interested by the chapter that discussed childhood obesity, and calorie intake. I would love to present this information to my students in a way that is non-confrontational, and for the most part I think that Pollan did an excellent job. I also feel like I would be a little uncomfortable tackling this issue when it could so directly be affecting the students who are sitting in my classroom. I would never want to alienate students, but I do think that this topic is one that they should know about—whether or not they are dealing with childhood obesity.

After reading this, I had a discussion with one of my roommates about the high fructose corn syrup commercials that have been on television during the past couple of years, both the anti and pro usage of the media. I found myself becoming frustrated with people who are fighting to tell people that the corn syrup isn’t bad. I understand that your body does treat it similarly to sugar, but I feel like the underlying message behind some of those commercials was that people need to continue to eat food with corn syrup in it. There was one commercial that I remember coming to mind with a woman walking in a corn field. Ha!

Simply to make my students aware of what they are actually eating, the significance of what they are eating and where all of it comes from, I am definitely going to use this in my classroom someday. And in the meantime, I’m planning on taking advantage of the resources that are available to me while I’m living in Athens. What a great place to start making healthy, local, and organic decisions. Thanks Pollan, for challenging the way that I think about food.