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TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD –Harper
Lee
In Harper Lee’s Pulitzer prize winning novel, To
Kill A Mockingbird, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch,
her older brother, Jem and their friend, Dill, are changed
forever one summer when Atticus Finch, Scout and Jem’s
father and a defense attorney, agrees to defend a local
black man unjustly accused of rape by a poor white woman
from a family of ill-repute.
Because Atticus passionately believed that the man was
innocent, he took on the unpopular case. During that time,
Scout, Jem and Dill also faced the prejudice and intolerance
that their small-town Southern Alabama hometown held not
only for the man but also for others who were less fortunate.
Scout, in particular, grows and changes as she explores
her beliefs, her father’s moral obligations, and
the dynamics of her community.
This powerful book focuses upon being brave enough to
go against the odds, to stand up for what is fair and just
and to support the powerless.
Inherent to our lives and mission as Sisters of St. Joseph,
is to stand with the marginalized, the oppressed, those
who have no voice. A consistent dominant thread in the
fabric of our mission is to take a stand for justice whatever
the risks. This is what Atticus Finch did in the novel, To
Kill A Mockingbird. This trait should also be a hallmark
of a Sister of St. Joseph and discussion of this novel
would be a fine place to make some correlations.
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THREE
CLAMS AND AN OYSTER – RandyPowell
N.Y., Farrar, Straus, & Giroux: 2003
Fiction 224 pp.
It’s a four-man flag-football
team: the three Clams – Flint, Beterson, and Deshutsis–and
the Oyster, odd-man-out Cade Savage. They’ve been
friends since first grade, but now Cade is messing up
big time, and they’re going to have to dump him
and find a replacement right away, before the season
starts. And the best candidate–and maybe the only
real candidate–is Rachael Summerfield–a girl!
The Clams desperate search for an alternative to facing
the gender issue is real, touching–and very funny.
Because accepting a girl to be part of
the team includes many general nuances and ramifications
around boys/men’s feelings and attitudes toward girls/women’s
place in what they often consider to be their world. Randy
Powell’s novel also opens the gates to some great
discussion, debate and writing activities on this issue
which students at this level will love to engage in.
In order to be true to the integrity
of our mission–“To live and work that all
people may be united with God and with one another” we
have pledged ourselves as Sisters of St. Joseph to promote
mutuality wherever we are. The discussion and activities
that will happen in connection with this novel are an ideal
place to incorporate some understanding of this particular
characteristic of the Sisters of Saint Joseph. |
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BUDDAH BOY – Kathe
Koja
N.Y., Farrar, Straus, & Giroux: 2003
Fiction
117 pp.
In this new highly acclaimed young adult novel, Buddah
Boy, by Kathe Koja, the themes of acceptance of
others’ differences and of not judging a book
by its cover predominate.
When “Jinsen” arrives as a new student to
Rucher High School, wearing tiger tee shirts, and bearing
a shaved head and a beggar bowl, he is perceived by his
peers to be more of a monk than a teenager. Consequently,
he is quickly named “Buddah Boy” and
labeled the biggest weirdo in the school. Although ostracized,
mocked, tormented, and tortured, Jinsen remains at all
times calm and peaceful which intrigues his tormentors.
Jason, one of the “regular” guys at Ruchers,
while having lunch one day with his friends, Megan and
Jacob, decides to give Jinsen some money when he came up
to their table with his beggar bowl, a move Megan was not
happy about. Ten minutes later, Jason found himself paired
with Michael Martin, alias, “Jinsen” in Ms.
Keller’s class. Now, through no fault of his own,
he would have to work on a project with “Buddah
Boy,” go to his house and be seen with him.
His life was all but over! What Jason learns, however,
is that “Jinsen” is Michael’s spiritual
name in Buddhism and that Jinsen is the most talented artist
in the whole school. Most importantly, Jason learns that
his karma is to make and lose a friend.
Buddah Boy has the ability to break down biases
and prejudicial barriers that often prevent the acceptance,
understanding and real friendship that can happen when
we allow others to be who they are. Through this novel,
teachers can help students learn, as Jason did, that if
one takes the time to know and appreciate those who seem
different, that they will find that others are really not
so different after all. In taking that time, one usually
finds that those thought to be odd or weird are really
just people very much like themselves. Inside, we are all
very much the same.
Kathe Koja’s book provides a very workable medium
through which to drive home this very important life lesson
and truth which can be further extended through a connection
with our mission of unity–“That all may
be one . . .” |
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OUT OF BOUNDS – Beverly
Naidoo
N.Y., Harper Collins: 2003
Short Stories: True Accounts
160 pp.
For almost fifty years apartheid forced
the young people of South Africa to live apart as Blacks,
Whites, Indians, and ‘Coloureds.’ This unique
collection of stories, one for each decade, is about
young people’s choices in a beautiful country made
ugly by injustice. But shining through the conflict and
drama are acts of bravery that offer hope for a new rainbow
country. This collection has been cited in the reviews
as “excellent literature that humanizes the history
of apartheid in South Africa.” Each story in Out
of Bounds represents a decade of that history, dramatizing
a crucial political act in the step-by-step, decade-by-decade
suppression of the rights of Africans.
The many accolades and awards that have
already been pinned on this book can most certainly be
attributed to the human solidarity and depth of emotion
and empathy that the reading of these stories evokes.
Through her writing, Beverly Naidoo offers
us some extraordinary “teachable moments” certainly
to present the history and injustice of apartheid in South
Africa but much more importantly, I think, to point out
the racism and injustice of our own time, day, country,
city, neighborhood, school, classroom, friends, family,
self, etc. Apartheid, as such, may be over but racism and
injustice are surely not!
“As Sisters of Saint Joseph,
we live and work that all people may be united with God
and with one another.” –SSJ Mission Statement
“With the Church, we affirm
that justice is a constitutive element of the Gospel
message. Since our mission of unity rests on reconciliation,
we proceed by way of mutual consultation and collaboration
with bishops to change the conditions which cause poverty,
suffering and oppression.” |
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THE REVEALERS – Doug
Wilhelm
N.Y., Farrar, Straus, & Giroux: 2003
Fiction 207 pp.
In this novel, Parkland Middle School is described “as
an obstacle course of kids alert for someone they can
pounce on or ridicule.” Tired of the bullying they
are experiencing on a daily basis, Russell and two of
his seventh grade classmates, Elliot and Catalina, start
an unofficial e-mail forum in which they publicize their
experience. When other students begin to write in with
similar stories, it becomes clear that the problem is
bigger than anyone knew. The Revealers (as the
forum is known) sparks awareness and begins to make a
difference in the school atmosphere.
Bullying and exclusion are ever growing
problems at the Junior High School level and the book provides
a perfect opportunity for discussion on the topic.
Because Russell, Elliot and Catalina
desire to have everyone included and work together collaboratively
to solve their problem peacefully, without retaliation,
they clearly embody the mission and charism of the Sisters
of Saint Joseph. They are young people who approach their
dilemma in a spirit of “unity and reconciliation” that,
hopefully, students will come to both appreciate and emulate.
The novel holds many possibilities for discussion, writing,
and the promotion of our mission. |
Grades
1-3
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Grades
4-6 |
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