Brave New World?

Recently a parent started a campaign to have Aldous Huxley's Brave New World banned in Seattle Public Schools (high school).  According to the parent, the book's use of the word "savage" to describe a community that bears a striking resemblance to a Native American community is insulting and hurtful.  I thought it interesting because the whole point of the book is to ridicule/critique a contemporary society (in particular, according to Huxley, American society) in which individuals are consumed with their own pleasure and are removed from natural living processes.  The "savage" in the book is actually not a Native American but a man who was the product of a live birth between two lovers.  Ironically, the "contemporary" society has in fact banned books.  In any case, the word savage is used satirically.  I wasn't sure if this point was missed by the parent or not.  Certainly the word savage has a lot of historical baggage.  That said, can that not be used to stimulate a discussion rather than serve as a reason for banning a book?  I think if we avoid what is uncomfortable we cease to understand history and that, in my opinion, is a dangerous precedent.  Banning books is a slippery slope.  Who gets to decide which books should be banned?  Some people find Harry Potter offensive (and, indeed, have attempted to ban it in many places).  I know we have talked about books that are a product of their time, or, as in the case of the Skippy John Jones books, simply perpetuate stereotypes.  I think there is a time and place for certain books.  For others, as informed and thoughtful teachers, we can just substitute better choices.  

Celebrations and Expectations

In chapters 4 and 5 in Writing Essentials Routman discusses the importance of having high expectations of students.  I, for one, was happy that she was addressing expectations of neatness, spelling, grammar etc. as I believe those things are important.  At the same time, I wondered how it fit into the celebration of everything from making chicken scratches on paper to writing a novel that she describes as essential in the first few chapters.  Wasn't she contradicting herself?

Celebrating Writing

I am enjoying reading Routman.  The "12 Writing Essentials" are a helpful resource.  Looking at the 12 Essentials made me reflect on all of the different components of writing - only two of which have anything to do with conventions!  This is not to say (and I think Routman is not dismissing them) that conventions are not important but that they are only one piece of good writing. Therefore, focusing on conventions to the exclusion of everything else is short sighted at best.

Best Guess Spelling

My first real foray into public schools was last year when my daughter started Kindergarten.  I spent a great deal of time there and as a result had numerous opportunities to look at student work posted in the hallway.   Admittedly, I found myself appalled by the poor spelling of the intermediate elementary grade students.  I began to hear words phrases like "invented spelling" and my first reaction was WHAT?!  What has happened to conventions?  I was deeply skeptical (and fairly uninformed).  As I looked more into this inventive spelling, I discovered the following:

The Power of "He"

Several months ago my six year old daughter began asking me about the gender of characters in books.  Is baby bear a girl or a boy? she asked as I read her Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  I realized I had never thought about it that much.  To me, baby bear was always just baby bear.  I flipped through the pages.  There it was: the pronoun he.  "It's a boy", I said and continued to read.  The next night?  Same thing.  This time we were reading Jane Yolen's "How do Dinosaurs go to Bed?".  Is that dinosaur a girl or a boy?  she asked as we read through the book.  All boys I thought to myself as I flipped through the book.  Five dinosaurs, all boys.  Perhaps you can see where this is going.