I, personally, have never been discriminated against because of my race, gender, or sexual orientation. But for Sana Kiyohara, an Asian American girl living on the west coast, this does not even come close to a true statement. Early into the story It’s Not Like It’s a Secret by Misa Sugiura, she moves to California and starts life at a new school with new people. Sana ends up falling for a sales clerk at some big furniture store during the summer. When Sana recognizes this same girl going to her new school, she quickly joins the cross country team to be near her, and become friends. In the long run, Sana and Jamie fall in love with each other. But Jamie is Mexican. And, this isn’t the only thing on Sana’s mind. She starts to believe that her dad may be having an affair with another woman, and Sana thinks her mother doesn’t know about it. I think what surprised me most about this book is how much racism and stereotyping Sana actually encountered. Such as when she was at a party and just dancing, “‘Omigod, Sana, you look like a freak yelling for the Midwest now!’ … ‘I mean, you do not look like a Midwest farmer’s daughter!’” It was shocking how many characters in the book actually used stereotypes, even those of the race or background that they were stereotyping. Authoritative figures would unintentionally point these things out, or just notice them, and act upon that. When Sana first started going to her new school, the first person she talked to was a “goth” or “emo” boy named Caleb who sat behind her in her math class. Right away, Caleb noticed, not only was she new, but Asian, and automatically thought, even told her, that she was going to end up in the group of Asian girls, which was basically just a group of three Asian girls. Sure enough, the girls came over and snatched her up. All of the girls in that group would use stereotypes and racism, about and even against themselves. That really proved what I had been thinking, which was that people had been influenced so much by society that they were using racism and stereotypes against themselves, and thought that it was not only right to do so, but that the stereotypes were correct. After reading this book, I realized just how much society can impact people. How even authoritative figures can sometimes fall into the traps of stereotyping and racism. Because sometimes it’s easier to generalize people based on a obvious physical characteristic, instead of actually getting to know that single person for who they are. This book really has changed several aspects of my perspective. It causes me to look at some things differently, and some people, and think of what, maybe, they might have gone/been going through. It makes me wonder, if I was in their shoes, how I might react to stereotypes and racism towards me. As a caucasian girl, I haven’t had to deal with these, because I am an unintentionally “privileged” white girl. But if I were someone of a different background, race, ethnicity, social standing, or sexual orientation, I wonder, would I be treated the same? By Jordan S.
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Imagine growing up in a life filled with poverty and desperation. Everywhere you go, your economical situation follows you. This is the life of the hillbillies, a culture often related to the Appalachian region of the United States. J.D. Vance’s memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, talks about a culture in crisis, the white working-class Americans. This group has been on the decline for the past decades. Poverty and unemployment rates are both increasing, which is causing a lack of health and education. Vance's primary goal in his memoir is to explain to you how the white working-class has fallen into hard times. Many of them struggle to find well-paying jobs, and studies show that Appalachians are the least optimistic group in the United States when it comes to their futures. The Hillbilly’s economic situation makes Vance stress the importance of hard work, and how it can beneficially impact your life. I thought that J.D. Vance was able to raise a lot of hard-hitting and thought-provoking questions, and they kept me constantly thinking. Before reading Hillbilly Elegy, I thought the reasoning behind a culture’s poverty was because of a lack of jobs or jobs that provide little income. Vance’s memoir has guided me to a new way a thinking. His childhood experiences have helped me to believe that the culture itself is partly to blame for their shortcomings. Unwillingness to work or conform to society(like the hillbillies) will result in the culture’s downfall. Vance was also able to connect his own childhood with the points that strengthened his argument and kept me reading. His style of writing and use of analogies will make you feel immediately connected to his story, keeping you thinking as well as entertained throughout the entire book. Hillbilly Elegy has changed my train of thought in many ways. This book has taught me numerous life lessons that can help me in the future. First of all, I feel like I’ve gained a sense of appreciation for the amount of hard work it takes for success. The fact that J.D. grew up in terrible living environments and was able to make it to Yale is unbelievable. His unwillingness to settle for the life of a Hillbilly has inspired me to reach my goals. The other main lesson I felt like I grasped from Vance’s childhood was to have a sense of empathy for the others that surround you. Before reading this book, I’d never really attempted to understand Hillbilly culture. Growing up in a middle-class family has shadowed me from the truth behind poverty. This book has helped me understand what’s it's like to grow up in a bad economic situation. I have an understanding of what the author had to go through to reach his goals, and frankly, this book has humbled me. I feel like I don’t just have a better understanding of people living in poverty, but a better understanding of people in general. All in all, Hillbilly Elegy has taught me what it truly means to put in hard work. “Mamaw and Papaw believed that hard work mattered more. They knew that life was a struggle, and though the odds were a bit longer for people like them, that fact didn’t excuse failure.” -J.D. Vance By Sam R. “Poverty is like being punished for a crime you didn’t commit,”-Eli Khamarov. Hand to Mouth is about how the author Linda Tirado deals with being in poverty, and explaining to her audience how society is partially to blame. The story is told from the perspective of Linda Tirado, the author. What Linda wants us to know is that people in poverty are people too, we should treat them with respect, and that it isn’t totally her’s and other people’s fault that they are in poverty. I noticed in Hand to Mouth that Linda Tirado used a lot of flashbacks to get her point across. These flashbacks were often in the workplace, and sometimes just out in public. She also wrote a little bit about her life at home. There were several things that surprised me. I never knew before this book how had in a capitalist society like ours how hard it could be for people to rise. I never knew that people in poverty were treated with so little respect because at least I try to treat everybody with respect no matter who they are. Several of my beliefs were challenged. I believe capitalist societies are the best because they give people freedom and the ability to move up. The reason is that according to the IRS, four out of five people born in poverty move out of poverty. I didn’t think about where one year they are above the poverty line and the next they are below it. To be honest, before this book I also hardly thought of the one out of five as a person, I just thought of the statistics. I learned several things about myself after reading Hand to Mouth. Chief among these is that I always thought the people in poverty were there because it was there own fault. Now this comes with some experience, but I am not saying that I know every who is poor, I just know some in Cedar Rapids. The parents of these kids some were in drugs, most smoked and a good portion were in wannabe gangs, while being high school dropouts. The gangs aren’t as bad as the gangs of Chicago, or St. Louis, or even Waterloo but it was awfully close. We even called the area where several of them lived together The Ghetto. This book helped me to understand the people in poverty that I don’t know, because not all of them are in poverty because of stupid things they do or did. Some like Linda, are there because society and their bosses won’t let them get good hours and so they can’t rise. This book will help better me in so many ways. I will always try my best now to treat all I meet with the most absolute respect. When I grow up, and if I have a business I will do my best to give them good hours and a good, livable pay. Hand to Mouth has opened my eyes. I realize that there are people in poverty in our own country, real people. They need help to get out and we should stop holding some down so we can keep our money. By Dominic R. Two people who fall madly in love live polar opposite lives, yet still find a way to communicate with one another and see each other. The book, Like No Other, by Una LaMarche, is about two teenagers, Devorah and Jaxon, who’d seem to live similar lives to someone who doesn’t know them. They’re both 16, they go to the same school, and even live in the same neighborhood, even with all of that in common, they live more opposite lives than anyone could probably imagine. The author switches perspectives from each of the main characters, Devorah and Jaxon, every chapter throughout the whole book. The author wants readers to see that even with drastic differences and both internal and external conflicts in the way, two people can still come together. This could be applied to individuals, groups of people, or even whole nations. At the beginning of this book, I thought, “No way these two people can ever be friends.” On page 76 in the book, Jaxon says “My mother used to say that no one knows what's going on in a stew but the pot and the spoon” (LaMarche). Jaxon said it to Devorah because he never could never fully know what’s going on in her life, because she’s the only that would ever know the whole truth. The whole beginning of the story is almost set up to make you think that they are going to hate one another. As the story evolved along with Devorah and Jaxon’s relationship, I began to realize that they have much more in common than I thought; they get along very well, and they like and care about each other very much. Throughout the book, the author has chapters that seem like Devorah and Jaxon have completely changed their minds about one another, but then you realize this is just the author’s way of making readers realize how strong of a relationship the two individuals have. After reading this book, I realized that I could be much more open-minded about other people who are very different from me; whether that be that they are a different race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, or gender than me. The book made think I should try to expose myself to more people who are very different than me. Many of my friends are very similar to me: white, Christian, grew up in small-town Iowa, and mid to upper-mid class. There isn’t much diversity in my school or in Decorah in general. Fortunately, my parents have made it a point to teach and expose me to people who are drastically different than me. Usually, this has been through travel or the internet. I think this book will help me a lot in the future to make a point of exposing myself to very diverse communities, ones that are very different than me. By Justin R. Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina is about two latina girls’ battle over swishy butts, in which Piddy Sanchez, the character telling the story, seems to be losing. Yaqui Delgado doesn’t like that another latina has joined her school, and she definitely doesn’t like that Piddy catches the eye of her boyfriend. Piddy tells her story as she goes through life dealing with jealousy of her best friend, loneliness, and growing up. After being beat up and videotaped without a shirt on, Piddy realizes she can’t let a bully take over her life and finally takes a step up. This book tells a very realistic story, in which Meg Medina reveals what it’s like to be bullied. My favorite part about this book is that it’s not just about bullying. It’s not a stereotypical bullying story- in fact, it’s the most interesting bullying story I’ve ever read because the characters are Spanish. What I notice is that this book has a ton of conflict pouring through it. Piddy is being bullied, trying to find out who her father is, and also dealing with having her best friend move away. This really surprised me because the author captures so many emotions in such a beautiful way. Piddy is afraid of Yaqui, longing for her father, and also jealous of her best friend’s new amigos. Even though the title is completely aggressive, the text inside this book is extremely heartfelt. This has really challenged me because I’m usually judging books by their covers. In smalls ways, this books has changed me for the better. It’s easy to stereotype anyone or think that all people of one race live a certain way. Because I’ve only seen a certain race of people talk about bullying, this is eye opening. This book also helped me understand why bullies bully. A quote from this book hits me right in the heart: “You know where this Yaqui girl is going to be in a few years if she doesn't change? She'll still be there, same as always in her old neighborhood--a nobody with nothing. And guess what? That's her worst fear…” (Medina). This is an ultimate truth and my favorite quote from this book because it shows Yaqui as vulnerable. I’m starting to realize that bullies have an underlying reason for doing what they do. If only the world had more empathy. By Greta R. The Energy Bus, by Jon Gordon explains how to become a positive person, teammate, and worker. Through each chapter of the book, a new rule is taught to help teach and guide the main character. In the story, an enthusiastic women named Joy teaches these rules to a young, desperate man trying to save his job. This desperate man’s name is George. He is struggling to keep his family together, as well as save his job. When he wakes up one morning to a flat tire on his car, he assumes that there is no hope for him, until he meets Joy. Joy teaches him the 10 rules to fuel his positive energy. When the author tells the story through ten different chapters about ten different rules, the idea of the energy bus is created. Each rule will determine if George’s energy bus will succeed, or go tumbling down a cliff. This book isn’t only a story, it is a lesson to the reader. I learned something new in each chapter that showed me how to harness the power of positive energy. One rule made me think the most. The sixth rule states, “No energy vampires are allowed on your bus” (Gordon 74). In order to keep my bus going, I need to make sure everyone is on the same page, so the work that needs to be done, gets done. It only takes one person to create a bump in the road. This rule showed me that everything and everyone on my bus needs to be positive. I also thought it was ironic that Joy teaches George about an energy bus, when in fact she is a bus driver. It’s as if the real bus acts as her energy bus. She keeps everyone on her bus full with positive energy. It’s like her job is to show each passenger the key to a happy and positive life. After each chapter of the book, I would reflect on the rule stated and try to figure out how I could use that rule in my everyday life. This book is a constant reminder that I should try harder to make my life more positive. High school goes by fast, and you only get one shot at it. Why waste it on negative energy and thoughts that aren’t going to matter in a few years? This book has taught be to believe in myself and don’t take things for granted. Just like George, I have learned to harness the power of positive energy. Now, I just have to work on transferring that positive energy to others. By Ambria P. 6 in every 10 LGBT students report feeling unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation and that affects the main reason at school, which is to learn. In “Symptoms of Being Human” by Jeff Garvin, Riley, the main character, is one of those 6 students that feel unsafe in high school. Riley classifies himself as gender-fluid, but only he and his psychologist knows that. Gender-fluid means not feeling like you’re one gender for the rest of your life, instead meaning that some days you feel like one, and some days the other. Riley finally makes some friends when he moves to another school due to bullying. One friend he makes is named Bec, a rebellious girl with a great sense of humor and caring heart like no other. Another friend he makes is named Solo, one of the biggest nerds Riley has ever known, and he loves it. As he moves to a new school, he starts a blog to talk about his feelings, experiences, and struggles he has had as a gender-fluid teen; that’s where the book begins. From reading this book, I realized that a book can be great, maybe even better than other books, when the author uses no pronouns for the main character. It adds such great suspense throughout the book as you’re reading it because you’re trying to figure out what gender this character is with the author’s subtle hints, but in a way, it’s better when you don’t find out. I think the author also purposely did this so readers wouldn’t be biased to either gender. This book opened up my eyes that I never truly expected. From the beginning I knew I would be learning about the LGBT+ community, and more importantly what gender-fluid is and how they get treated. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve always respected the LGBT+ community and even defended it at times, but this book really gave me, the reader, a close connection to understand what they go through. Another thing I learned, and wasn’t expecting, was about how people-Riley- handle mental struggles like anxiety, and it has helped me a lot with my own. This book has definitely changed my perspective of how people write and what about; I’ll be reading one like this very soon. “We’re all taught from a young age that there are only two choices: pink or blue, Bratz or Power Rangers, cheerleading or football. We see gender in two dimensions because that’s what society has taught us from birth. But, are you ready for a shocking revelation? SOCIETY NEEDS TO CHANGE.” - Jeff Garvin By Angel P. "There are moments in life when you are faced with an impossible decision; a choice must be made when you no longer live for yourself." writes the author Bryan Reardon. In the novel Finding Jake, by Bryan Reardon, Jake’s dad is forced to ask himself how much he really knows about someone he loves, his son Jake. The tragic events in Finding Jake are told by Jake’s dad, Simon. Bryan Reardon wants us to feel all the emotions that come from school shootings. According to Simon, Jake is a perfect little boy that could do no harm. Simon will be faced with an impossible decision, does he stop searching and believe all the community members, or does he search until he finds the truth. Jake is one of two students that the police can’t find in the school. Unfortunately, the police and parents are treating Jake like a suspect instead of a victim since they have not discovered his body. Sadly, even though there is no evidence to support that Jake had anything to do with the shooting, parents have jumped to the conclusion that he was involved. Jake’s dad can’t honestly admit that he knows everything about his son. We end up realizing that Jake is still a sweet and shy boy, but has a big story to tell. Finding Jake met multiple challenges, which is one reason why I chose it. This fictional novel was written about a horrible situation that I thankfully have never had to go through, a school shooting. I picked this because intense books about tragic events always lure me in. I also selected this book because I wanted to feel all the emotions that come with school shootings. This book was definitely an emotional challenge for me knowing that a school shooting could happen any day at school. I was apprehensive in believing that Jake could have done something so terrible when his dad told us he was a perfect little boy, who was shy and always hid away in his books. I found it very intriguing to read because it was an authentic school shooting like we have in our world today. Reading about a person in a different position and view was very eye opening and engrossing. Looking through the eyes of a dad with two children forced me to see new perspectives. It made me appreciate how much my parents protect me, how much they push me, and how controlling they are sometimes. Simon’s tragedy has also forced me to be conscious of how adults regard situations. From reading this book, I want to do my best to view and consider different circumstances that may arise in my future. This book also truly shows us that our society doesn’t dig deep enough to find the real solution to many problems. In addition, the book shows us we don’t always know what others are dealing with, and we don’t always know a person’s true story. Even when no one believes you, if you believe in something enough, you just might be able to prove your point. You can make it through that impossible decision that you had to make when you no longer lived for yourself. At the end of this novel, Simon proves his point that Jake is a perfect and sometimes shy little boy and that everyone should be thankful for the courageous act that Jake accomplished. Simon addresses how wonderful a son, brother, and friend Jake was. Jake can be a lesson to everyone, after all, he saved us. By Kalea O. Drug addicts are often misunderstood, or rather given a single story that people can not look past. In Jacqueline Woodson’s Beneath a Meth Moon, Laurel Daneau is living a normal life that she enjoys very much. Her normal life changes when Hurricane Katrina comes to the coast of Louisiana; where Laurel lives. Her mother and grandmother died due to Hurricane Katrina’s harsh conditions. She now has some PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) to water and rain. Because of her house being ripped apart, Laurel moves to a small town, Galilee, and is the lead cheerleader. She falls in love with the basketball team’s co-captain: T-Boom. He offers her a strange substance she has never seen before, and her life will change forever. The story is being told from Laurel’s point of view, so as readers we get a chance to see what she is feeling and what she thinks. The author wants us to know how hard it can be for young addicts after they have already started drugs, and how anyone can fall into the trap of drugs. In Beneath a Meth Moon it is very evident what Woodson wants her readers to see. Through having the story be told through the point of view of Laurel, Woodson is trying to create empathy for the character. She is trying to show the struggles kids have when peer pressure is upon them to try things that are extremely unhealthy. Also, Woodson wants her readers to see how hard it is for kids to get back off drugs after they have started. I was personally surprised in seeing how an innocent girl with a great family background gets caught on drugs. After her mother and grandmother die, she feels as if nothing can get her to feel good like T-Boom and drugs do. I noticed that the author, Jacqueline Woodson, is very passionate about what she is writing, and that only makes the characters more alive, the situations feel so much more real, the pain feel real, and every word she puts down meaningful and purposeful. In reading this beautiful piece of literature I become much more thoughtful not only toward drug addicts themselves, but all people with a rough background. Those people are not gifted as to get guidance and help along in life. They are sometimes on their own, but they can not always be blamed for that. This book will help me to become a better person through many, many ways. Obviously, however, something that has definitely changed me for the better is now being more understanding of kids with rough backgrounds, especially drug addicts. Anyone can truly get caught into those very bad habits, no matter if your parents are very strict or if you do not even have any parents. I also now understand how tough it is to get out of drugs now, too. I am now different because of this book. The book has changed my compassion toward others, especially those from rough backgrounds. I used to sort of wave these people off, but now I can understand the struggle, especially because it is told through Laurel’s point of view. “I felt like I was holding up the whole world and there was no water anywhere, no roads in front and behind me filled with empty land and tore-up houses.” -Laurel in Beneath a Meth Moon by Jacqueline Woods By Elijah M. “We have serious problems and important work that must be done in this state” (Stevenson). Within the book, Bryan Stevenson describes the stories of people who have received excessive and unfair punishments for crimes that they either did not commit or didn’t deserve such severe punishments. Throughout all of these stories, Stevenson wants the reader to know just how broken our justice system is and how we need to put some effort to eliminate this problem. Stevenson really surprised me right off the bat in Just Mercy because he described these innocent people like Walter McMillian, receiving life imprisonment or worse, capital punishment. In most of the cases the prosecution had very little to no evidence to prove them guilty. Now why would the jury or judge convict them as guilty in these cases? Well most of the time the jury or judge was paid off or they were very biased against the defendant. This also just challenged my original thoughts and feelings because I always thought our justice system was the best in the world, but that just made me notice how naive people are in the twenty first century. Just Mercy really opened my eyes at how little I know about the justice system or anything relating to court cases. I had taken Mock Trial in 7th and 8th grade, but Stevenson showed me of how I’ve only scratched the surface of how the justice system works. In that class I learned the basics of how the justice system works, but the class never prepared me for having discrimination and bias within the system. After reading about this bias and discrimination it helped me change how I perceive stereotypes. Everyone just assumes that the justice system will be as fair as it can be, but nobody notices how it’s broken until you’re the one being treated unfairly or you’re attempting to help the unfortunate like Stevenson. Overall this will all help me to be more aware of how things work in today's society and not to just assume it is the best of the best. Finally, within the book Stevenson says, “The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, the incarcerated, and the condemned.” I believe that everyone should read this book to really see how their character truly measures. By Landon M. |
AuthorSTenth grade students at Decorah High School share how they're reading outside of their own experiences and how it has changed them. Categories
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