Sway by Katarina Spears ... Realistic High School Fiction?

The characters in this novel, especially high school senior Jesse Alderman, definitely kept my attention.  Despite some poor decisions and involvement with illegal and/or immoral activities involving drugs and planting evidence to frame someone, I was rooting for Jesse to find himself and to feel safe enough to begin truly caring about others again.  The push for his transformation was Bridget Smalley, a kind, beautiful and almost too good girl.  In order to impress her, Jesse befriends an elderly man and also starts spending time with physically disabled students. Along the way, he shares frank opinions about high school, his alcoholic father and his mother’s death.

 

In many ways, Sway is sad and cynical, but I read it in two days and believe that debut author Kat Spears has created characters with whom students – both boys and girls – will relate. Fans of Hate List, Dooley Takes the Fall, The Spectacular Now, and other realistic high school fiction will like Sway.  

A gentler read, Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson is another new YA title that I will definitely be recommending.  In this novel, Emily also learns much about herself and grows more adventuresome as she is challenged to complete a list left behind by her best friend, Sloane, who suddenly disappears.  Will Emily finish the list? Ever find out what happened to her friend? Read the book to find out. From the author of Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour, Since You’ve Been Gone will appeal to fans of Blink and Caution, We Were Liars, and If I Stay.

Blue Mind by Wallace J. Nichols

If your dentist has an aquarium in your waiting room to help you relax….you may be interested in reading Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do by Wallace J. Nichols. 

Nichols begins by explaining some neuroscience background about water and its impact on humans.  About halfway through the book, he notes “modern day humans are drowning in a sea of overstimulation that exhausts us physically, mentally, and emotionally.” A marine biologist, Nichols continues discussing how being around water improves mental health, providing examples of numerous organizations that use water and water activities like surfing or fishing to help heal. He concludes the book by telling the “blue marble story” about sharing blue marbles in gratitude.

This book will make you think and hopefully help you to relax and lower stress.  Even better if you can read it in the quiet atmosphere suggested in the today’s Wall Street Journal article called "Read Slowly to Benefit Your Brain and Cut Stress."

Zac and Mia by A. J. Betts

Read this story of Zac and Mia – it will challenge your perspective on what is important.  From an  

Australian writer who works in a children’s hospital, the novel focuses on two 17-year-old cancer patients who find each other in the adult ward. Zac has leukemia which requires a bone marrow treatment and a lengthy isolation period and Mia has osteosarcoma, a malignant bone tumor. Over the course of several months, they experience both joy and desperation as they battle cancer, drift apart and reunite.

Betts begins the novel by writing from Zac’s perspective; then alternates viewpoints and ends with Mia telling the story. I felt as though the reader could almost see these teens mature, especially Mia as she learns to accept her situation and deal with understandable anger.  

Both Zac and Mia use humor and evasion (“it’s just a sports injury”) to limit emotionally painful discussions of their situation, yet readers are able to see inside their heads.  My favorite quote? Mia’s thoughts as she gazes at the evening skyline in Perth: “People and birds turn to silhouettes. The sky is changing, throbbing with dusk.  I know these colors well. Puckered pinks and flaming reds, hot and soft to touch.  Scarlet smearing the horizon.  A symphony of infection and pain.  Then slowly, heavily, a violet descends like a giant bruise until it’s all the same.  There’s a peace that comes with the dark. I exhale with relief.  Without the rage of the day, there’s nothing left to feel.”

I wish I already had a hard copy (it’s on order!) so that I could immediately begin to hand it to students, including the many fans of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars. Zac and Mia confronts the fear and isolation associated with cancer while exploring the value of friendship and inner resilience. Don’t miss it.

Teacher Wars by Dana Goldstein

My high school students need to read, research and comment upon personal connections to a work of non-fiction. As I prepare by updating the booktalk, I had hoped that the newly published Teacher Wars by Dana Goldstein might intrigue them.  After all, they certainly have views on this topic and Goldstein has been called “Slate’s sharpest writer on education.” Plus, her new book received a starred review from Booklist and praise from Larry Cuban, Professor Emeritus of Education at Stanford University.

In the Epilogue, she says, “throughout this book I have tried to be more analytical than sharply opinionated.”  However, I think that her biases definitely come through and I am not sure that this book is objective enough to add constructively to the much needed discussion on teaching and school management. In a recent review, an NPR correspondent referred to the intensely polarized education reform debate and the Atlantic recently published “Why do Americans Love to Blame Teachers?”

Teacher Wars is most engaging when Goldstein provides examples of teachers and students who are experiencing real change and learning.  But, again and again, the complex and giant bureaucracy seems unable to effectively share best practices. Goldstein comments on how “developing new curricula is one of the most interesting, intellectually engaging aspects of schooling, and … could potentially help convince many well-educated, ambitious people to remain in the classroom.” She quotes a teacher who asks, “let me use what I know to create an experience for my students that reflects my expertise.”  That certainly seems like a place to start a meaningful conversation, but Goldstein is simultaneously maligning business and philanthropists who are also advocating for change. Instead, we need to be developing trust, more meaningful dialogue AND shared experiences between teachers and partners who are potential sources of funding and enthusiasm.  Goldstein was just published in The Wall Street Journal (a newspaper read regularly by our faculty who teach Econ, but not read by many other teaching colleagues). There, she described great teachers:

• Have active intellectual lives outside their classrooms;
• Believe intelligence is achievable, not inborn;
• Are data-driven; and
• Ask great questions.

Still, Goldstein seems disconnected; perhaps her argument would be stronger if she had more personal teaching experience?

I agree with other reviewers that this book is well-researched – in fact, almost 20% of the book is notes and bibliography. In roughly 10 chapters, Goldstein chronologically describes the history of teaching (from “Missionary Teachers: Common Schools Movement and the Feminization of American Teaching” through world wars, the Great Society to “Let Me Use What I know: Improving Education by Empowering Teachers”).  Overall, I found that Teacher Wars read too much like a textbook and will probably not include it in my upcoming booktalk.

Other titles related to education which we may consider for our high school project: Inside Mrs. B’s Classroom; Educating Esme; One World Schoolhouse (by Sal Khan); The Element (Sir Ken Robinson) and perhaps One Size Does Not Fit All, a student-written critique. A new title I will definitely be adding is How We Learn by Bernard Carey (review to be posted here soon).

Added Sept. 8: PBS NewsHour has also been exploring this issue.  Here is a short video from them: