It's the End of the Year as We Know It!

It's time for your final blog post of the school year!  I encourage you to keep these blogs, to add to them, to consider them evidence of your high school efforts.  You never know when something you read or wrote about will come in handy for AP next year or for a college class, and though that seems miles away right now, trust me when I tell you that senior year will go by quickly!

For this blog, I'd like you to comment on the semester as a whole by answering the questions below. (I responded to each item myself too):

1. How many books did you end up starting this year, and how many did you finish?  How does that compare with previous years in high school? What was your favorite?

I read 20 books this semester, which is surprisingly more than I read last semester (18), but a couple were pretty short.  Last spring I read 18 as well, so I guess I'm pretty consistent.  For my favorite, I'm torn between Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys, a novel told from the shifting perspectives of four people trying to escape the approaching Russian army toward the end of WWII and Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson, a post WWII book centered around a Japanese-American on trial for killing another fisherman on a small island off the coast of Washington state.  I highly recommend this one for your summer reading for AP IV. It has slow moments, but as the author develops the back-story of each character, he builds suspense about what actually happened.  At the same time, Guterson makes you care about each character and reveals the plight of Japanese-Americans who lost their homes, their property, and their status in the fear that inevitably followed Pearl Harbor.

2. What nonfiction book did you read this year?  Would you recommend it to other people?  Why or why not?

I read several nonfiction books, but the one I enjoyed most was Between the World and Me by Ta-Nahesi Coates; it made me reexamine my own ideas about race and helped me recognize race as a manmade concept, not a naturally occurring divide.  Since the book is written from the perspective of a dad trying to prepare his son for the challenges of the world, I related on a parenting level (though I realize that my daughters will not face the same challenges that Coates' son will face), but I recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand our country's continued attempts to resolve issues relating to "race." Even if the author's ideas about how the U.S. has created racial divides may create discomfort, they are ideas we must consider if we hope to move closer to authentic respect for one another.

3. How did IRT work out for you overall?  What worked or didn't work for you?  Consider time we spent reading, blogging, weekly wrap ups, book availability, etc. Please make any suggestions that will help me encourage future students to get the most out of their reading.

Obviously, I like IRT or I wouldn't do it, and it gives me chances three times per day to quiet my mind and get lost in a book - at least for a little while before someone asks to go to the bathroom or an office aide brings a pass or I get an admonishing email reminding me to do attendance... I worry that I don't make enough requirements, but I feel like making those requirements compels some people to pretend to read, and that's exactly what I hope to avoid. I am curious to hear your thoughts. Did my library of books help?  Do you wish we'd gone to the school library more? Do I need more of a certain type of book?    Was the balance of time about right between reading and doing stuff necessary for AP test? Do you need more book clubs instead of reading on your own?  Really, I love suggestions about what I can try in the years ahead.

4. How are book clubs going?  Is discussing in groups making those classics more understandable/relatable? What meaningful connections has your group made between the book and yourselves or history or other texts? (No link needed this time)

I miss reading whole class texts sometimes, but I'm enjoying talking to each group and hearing your thoughts.  As I discussed Slaughterhouse Five with several groups, I realized a tremendous connection between the men in Snow Falling on Cedars, all of whom are dealing with the emotional trauma inflicted by WWII, and Billy Pilgrim with his unstable mental state.  (And I could also connect to Unbroken and Thank You for Your Service and The Sun Also Rises and The Things They Carried - so many tragic war stories!) With The Great Gatsby, one group pointed out that Nick's fascination with Gatsby could parallel modern interest in people like the Kardashians. Holden and Esther (from Catcher in the Rye and The Bell Jar) always make me think of certain students who don't seem to have a clear path but are so full of potential (no names here of course!)

5. Choose a meaningful line from what you're currently reading or a meaningful moment/memory from something you read earlier this year and tell me about it (page citation not necessary unless available this time).

This line from Snow Falling on Cedars stopped my heart for a moment: "She sat across from him at the kitchen table at three o'clock in the morning, while he stared in silence or talked or wept, and she took when she could a piece of his sorrow and stored it for him in her own heart"(360).  I could analyze the syntax (oh, that polysyndeton, that inversion), but what made me pause on that sentence was the sentiment - the idea that we can take someone's sorrow and hold it for them - that's a better expression of love than any cliche romantic movie or Hallmark card you can find.  You don't even need to know the context to feel the power of that love.  (Wife sitting with her husband, who has recently returned from WWII). I have been lucky to share very few sorrows in my life, but I am grateful for the people who store them away for me.

I am equally grateful for the people who share daily smiles and joys.  Yep. That's you.  It's end of semester...I get to do this now.

I've loved spending this semester talking to you about books and reading your blogs.  Feel free to come borrow books next year...or to just stop by and tell me about what you're reading.  I'm a book nerd, so I never have enough conversations about books!  I'll miss you all, and I appreciate how much you committed your time and efforts to this class.  Here's the song that inspired my title:

Take care of yourselves.  Enjoy your summer.  Love every free moment you have with friends and family. Be excited about the future.  It's not the end of the world...just the end of another year of stresses and successes.