The Invention

My group and I really enjoyed the book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret and therefore our discussion last week went very well and sparked up interesting conversation. One of my group members brought up Hugo's mother and her absence in the novel...this is something that didn't even cross my mind when reading, but now that the question was brought to my attention, I am eager to know why the author didn't speak of her at all. Another small detail that was interesting was the shoe heels. I noticed that when Hugo was being yelled at by the toy booth owner to LEAVE! because he was caught stealing all he hears are his shoe heels as he runs down the hallway...this doesn't spark curiosity at all right here, but at the end of the book you find out that all of the toy booth owner's videos were melted down into shoe heels...why do you suppose the author mentioned shoe heels like he did in the beginning of the story?
I also like what another group did... the group's artistic response consisted of illustrations from the book that were colored in. I thought this was a great idea. You wouldn't think that color would change a story so much, but it really does! This particular story is better in black and white, partially because of the time and place of the story, but do you think that if we saw it in color first, our opinion would be different? Does it look "weird" because we saw it one way already? interesting to think about...
very great story! I truly enjoyed it.

"A Lot of Fat Kids Who Don't Like to Read"

I found myself agreeing with most of what Alfie Kohn stated in this article, however I think that this article is one sided and I do not agree strongly one way or the other. I agree with Kohn that "rewards actively displace the motives and values that matter." Some children stop doing things because they know inside that it is the right thing to do and start to only do things to receive something in return. Their intrinsic motivators are completely replaced by extrinsic motivators. I have witnessed this on an almost day to day basis at my work (At a Latch-Key/Daycare). Children will tell me exactly what they did that was and if I do not give them something right away and instead just say good job they will ask me, "well don't I get a treat for doing that?" This just makes me mad and I tell them no, that they should have done it because they knew it was a good thing to do and that it would help somebody else in some way. The schools in my hometown all have this program where if you are a "bucket filler" (you do good things and help people without being asked) you will receive a "Ribbit Award". On the other hand, you do not get any award and you are scorned for being a "bucket dipper" (you do bad things and are mean to other people). This program has worked for our schools and I will even hear the children saying to one another "stop dipping in my bucket!" I know it sounds funny, but it seems to work. The children are receiving a reward for being good, but it is not a reward that I believe will stop them from doing things because they know it is right and instead do things only to get a "Ribbit Award." Overall, I believe that it really depends on the child, the reward, and the circumstance to decide whether or not giving a reward is a good thing.

P.S.

By the way, this is completely irrelevant, and is not intended to be one of my posts, but I just researched "opossums" versus "possums," and they are different animals, but in a sense, as most people see it, they are the same.  Opossums, as I said in class, are what we see as the disgusting rodents.  The term "opossum" is only for the rodents; they are native to North America, and only here.  The other animal, which Mr. Waters showed us today in class when we were discussing Australia, is called the "possum."  The reason why it looks completely different is because it is completely different; the two (obviously) look different, different habitats (obviously, yet again), different preferred living environments, and basically, live a completely different life.  The term "possum" is strictly for Australia.  So, in a sense, I guess they are the same animal, but technically, they are different; each has a different name for its origin.

Intrigued.

Apparently, some found it blatantly obvious that Hugo was the machine that created the novel, but I was one of those that didn't.  I suppose the ending paragraph/words did in fact suggest it, but I guess I didn't put two-and-two together until book discussion today.  In fact, I was focused on Hugo's "secret" project the entire time, the automaton, and his affect on the story; I just assumed that the ending was referring to Hugo's finished project and the automaton's portrayal of the story.  I suppose I was taking the story, its plot, and setting a little too literally.

Also, throughout the entire class, I was thinking about the title and its meaning, but also thought that because I had taken the entire novel a little too literally, maybe I did the same for this; or maybe this is the same amount of obvious as the first.  Does anyone think its possible that the title meant the same as the last paragraph of the story?  I took the title to mean, again, the "invention" of Hugo as the automaton (although I suppose it wasn't exactly an "invention" persay, especially because he was only repairing it).  The "invention" of Hugo could mean the "invention" of Hugo as the machine that was addressed in the end of the novel as him being, not necessarily his adventures throughout the novel like I previously thought the title to mean.

Hugo Cabret Book Discussion LIVE Team 2

I know you all are wondering what the smart and interesting ladies and gent from Team 2 think about the book Hugo Cabret...this blog post is coming to you LIVE from the Hugo Cabret discussion:

1) Why do you think the author placed the text and pictures the way he did?

The author wanted the book to have a cinema feel...like you are watching a movie. It also served as a way to convey emotions, and to keep the story moving when pictures would be more effective than text

2) Why do you think he drew the pictures the way he did (pencil drawings/black and white)?

The black and white conveys the silent 1930s movie style and pencil drawings can focus on details.

3) What age group would use this in the class?

4th, 5th

4) What do you think the picture on pg. 505?

NO IDEA

5) How do you think Hugo's Uncle died?

Got drunk and fell into the river and drowned; got into a bumfight

6) What do you think happened to Hugo's Mom?

Died during childbirth, ran away, was institutionalized early on

7) Can you relate to the book?

Can relate to the fighting spirit, could relate to the way Hugo blocks out painful memories, Matt can relate to doing projects with his dad.

Post: Corporate Giants Expectations and Publisher's Responses

I read "Storytelling: Are Publishers Changing the Way Children Read," by Hade. This article was written in 2002 and I found it to be very interesting. Basically, the article's main point was that commercialization has brought popular culture texts and products into children's book publishing, possibly compromising the potential for books that reflectively engage children. The author's biggest worry is that since the mass marketplace selects which books will survive, the children's books will continue to become less a "cultural and intellectual object and more an entertainment looking for mass appeal." After our class discussion, there were many opinions, which I expected. Some people agreed that toys, so to speak, were too much and they were steering the kids away from reading and towards becoming collectors of a certain figure, but others stated that the toys encourage children to read. To each is own...
The author was very convincing when he stated that recent mergers have left children's publishing in the control of large media conglomerates who expect profits between 12 and 15 percent, which is leading publishers to be more likely to turn to celebrity authored books, series books and books with television or movie tie ins. This statement is believable and leads me to believe that it is not the publishers that are changing the way children read, but someone else...the corporate GIANTS!

Though i didnt read the article about how giant publishing companies are taking over, i thought it quite interesting from the class discussion. All in all, i disagree with the writer...from what iv gathered. I think its a good thing that these publishing companies are marketing everything they can think of off of books. I mean, whos going to buy all that crap if they have never read the book? Meaning, people will also buy, and therefor most likely, read the book.

"A Lot of Fat Kids Who Don't Like to Read"

After reading this article, I really tried to understand where the author was coming from. However, I still think that many of his arguments seem unrealistic. In this world, we will always have to do things that we are not intrisically motivated to do; and reading is definitely one of them. So, how can one motivate someone to do everything? To me, it seems like wishful thinking. As we know, this world is based on rewards and consequences. Therefore, it's better for kids to learn the results after good or bad behavior so that it prepares them for the future. From my own experiences, I have seen results from rewards and consequences. In my Sunday school elementary class, I have a reward system where they earn stickers for good behavior. The students earn stickers every week and can use them like money to purchase prizes. Yes, it does manipualte their behavior at first. But, after they take that prize home, they are happy, proud of themselves, and intrinsically motivated to have good behavior in my class room. Likewise, if a student misbehaves in class, they do not receive a sticker for the day. Most of the time, they are disappointed but eager to try again. So either way, they are motivated to do better. I agree with one of my classmates who mentioned that kids can be forced into reading at first but sometimes find out that they really like to read; so they become motivated on their own. My point is that I think kids and adults will always need a little push with the help of incentives. It keeps us on our toes and reminds us that this is just the way the world is. There are plenty of rewards in this world for the people who do good. And there are plenty of consequences for the ones who do bad. So why can't we just stick to that?

"A Lot of Fat Kids Who Don't Like to Read"

When reading the article assigned for class, at first I thought it would just be about kids being bribed with food, such as Pizza Hut, in order to get them to read. However, when I was finished reading the article I thought it was extremely interesting and in a way disturbing at how many kids are being bribed and in a way tricked into reading and doing other things while in school. However, the point that I read that was extremely disturbing was the fact that a program based in Minneapolis was handing out ID cards according to a student's GPA, and their GPA dictated that amount of the discount that received from local merchants. All in all, the article was very eye opening and I do think students should be encouraged to read and do school based activities, however they should not have incentives which are the only things that are keeping them doing those activities.

Class Discussion

Even though this post may be a bit mature, I still think about the class discussion we had in which we choose different sides signifying how we felt about issues that could potentially arise in a classroom. It was very interesting to see how passionate we all seemed to be with issues that may or may not directly affect us. As it seems, our class typically deals with issues of a somewhat lighter nature. However, when we were asked to take a stand on issues that weighed heavy, I though it was great to see us take a stand and try to understand both sides, and even in-between. I personally took the side of keeping the issue of gay, lesbian, relationships, etc. out of the classroom. As both sides spoke their mind, I gained an understanding of why some would be for educating elementary students on this issue. As my own opinion didn’t change, I at the very least gained an understanding, which has allowed me to be more sympathetic. All in all, I thought it was great that we had a discussion such as this one!

Biography and Non-Fiction

I think that as a future teacher I would use Biographies to teach certain topics to my students. I think that it is important that they learn about the different scientists, heroes, explorers, etc. It helps students learn about the people from our history and present times that shaped how our world operates. I also think that I would use Biographies of the "bad" people in our history, like Hitler. Children need to learn about the horrible events that have happened in our history and be able to see who did them. This will help them see how far we have come. I also would use Non-Fiction books in my future classroom. They are able to be used in any subject. They help the students effectively learn the subject matter. I believe that Non-Fiction books are more interesting than textbooks. They keep the children engaged. I personally would think that children would prefer Fiction over Non-Fiction, but I guess I am wrong! I guess it may depend on their age.

Uglies

Upon my completion of Uglies, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the book. I even found myself seeking the sequel. As shown in class, I chose to do my artistic response comparing the book to the movie, Stepford Wives. Even before deciding to do this comparison, I found myself thinking about other ways in which this story runs parallel to different aspects of our society. Dealing more specifically with pop culture and television, I thought of the endless number of shows we can watch each and everyday which deal with issues relating to beauty. Shows like Ugly Betty, Dr. 90210, Extreme Makeover, What Not to Wear, etc. all either directly or indirectly feed society perceptions of what we should consider as beautiful. Choosing to watch these shows or not, a person can be consciously or unconsciously affected by the messages of these shows. There is no doubt their image of what should be considered beautiful is skewed.

"A Lot of Fat Kids Who Don't Like to Read"

I completely agree with the article written by Alfie Kohn. I think it is ridiculous that people would even consider paying children to learn. I think that it would teach kids to take short-cuts and that hard-work is no longer a way of our society. With our nation in as much debt as it is, doesn't it seem silly to give each $2 for every book they read! Come on congress, use your brains!

Uglies

When I started off reading Uglies, I didn't think I was going to like it. It just seemed like such a strange story, but I ended up really enjoying it. I'm very interested to know what happens in the sequel, Pretties. My role for the book discussion was textual, and I decided that the genre was science fiction. New Pretty Town and Uglyville were futuristic cities. They could talk to their rooms and the rooms would talk back and ride around on hoverboards. I believe that the point of being "pretty" was to make everyone equal, but when someone was "ugly" they were looked down upon, made fun of, had no social life, etc. This seems very discriminating, and on top of it when the surgery was done there were lesions in the brain. This book brought out many different issues, and although it is appropriate for middle schoolers, I think the main issues throughout the story are more beneficial for high school students.

Uglies

I was really intrigued with Uglies. I never expected to pick up the book and actually enjoy reading it. I just wanted to mention that the points brought up in class today were ideas that didn't really stand out in my thought process of the book. I suppose if I was to write my paper from a critical perspective those specific issues would have come into play. I compared Uglies to the movie V for Vendetta. For those of you who have not seen it, it's a very captivating movie. You should consider checking it out. I found some similarities between the two medias that I thought were unreal! I mainly focused on the government and the control of society, which is something we did not specifically touch on during class. Watch the movie. I would be interested to see what you guys thought about my comparison of the book and the movie.

Biographies

When we discussed biographies last class, I immediately thought that I would use them in the classroom.  However, when the question was posed after discussing a figure such as Hitler in the classroom, I had to think about my answer.  Although I would still use biographies, I would definitely have to think about the age appropriateness of the person and their story.  As I said in class, I do think that no matter if the figure (such as Hitler) is viewed as good or bad by society, their story should still be addressed; it is still history and it still did occur.  However, the violence and hatred in a story such as Hitler's should definitely not be discussed until late middle school or early high school.  I'm not sure if this is true for all, but I do know that there are some age appropriate biographies depending on the grade the teacher is trying to address.  Meaning, I'm sure that there are biographies concerning Hitler's life somewhere that address less violent issues in order to help discuss his history, but like we also discussed in class, I'm sure those same stories leave out the horrible actions that occurred.  If a biography is used in the classroom, though, I do think that everything about their life should be addressed, and if negative instances occurred throughout their life, it's still history and helped frame their life.  Answering the original question that was posed in Mr. Waters' powerpoint...I do think that biographies can help address social studies topics in the classroom, and quite frankly, I feel that they should be used more often.  I actually can't remember many times in which a teacher used a biography in any sense past the librarians showing where the biographies were located in the reference section or a literature teacher explaining what a biography is.