Literacy Luminator - Section 5

“Anthony told me, ‘One day you’re going to hit someone. And get hit yourself. Then you’ll see. Maybe. Maybe you’ll understand life better. To understand people better. So the next day, I walked over and hit Sal. And I stood there like an idiot and waited for him to hit me back. But he just bent over and cried, and I didn’t know what to do, so I walked away. And Anthony yelled: ‘What the hell was that?’ And later at home, he said, ‘What are you hitting short kids for? Don’t you know nothing?’ He said I was hopeless. "

This passage is important because it sheds light on why Sal got hit. In the beginning of the book, the reader is left wondering why Marcus would just walk up and hit Sal for no reason. At that time the reader sees Marcus as a big bully who would hit smaller kids for no reason. Now the reader understands what happened between Marcus and his brother influenced Marcus’ actions toward Sal.

“Trying to forget really doesn’t work. In fact, it’s pretty much the same as remembering. But I tried to forget anyway, and to ignore the fact that I was remembering you all the time.” “And now I’m wondering if I should just write the letter even though you’re dead and most likely buried on that island. I wonder if I should write it anyway, if maybe then I’ll be able to stop thinking about you, once and for all.”

Miranda couldn’t forget the fact that she still needed to write her letter. As much as she may have been trying to forget, it could not slip her mind. Her journey wound not be completed until she sat down to write the letter. These quotes illuminate the fact that Miranda still had the task of writing the letter ahead of her.

Investigator: Section 5

For this section I decided to investigate the use of dental or doctor offices in the public school setting. I found it very interesting that in Miranda’s school there was a whole dentist’s office set up. I’ve heard many times of doctors or dentists visiting schools to have one day when they perform checkups on students who need them, but I was surprised to know there was an entire office devoted to this at Miranda’s school. While looking at the New York City schools website, I learned that many schools in the city do host dental clinics with services ranging from cleanings to orthodontics. What I found myself more intrigued by, however, was the creation of School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs) at 123 NYC public schools. The SBHC is essentially a complete doctor’s office on school property. These centers can serve as the student’s primary doctor or can simply serve as a first-responder to an illness when the child is at school. Depending on the SBHC, services provided may extend to include optometry, mental health, reproductive health services (high school only), and dental care. As long as a student is enrolled in NYC public schools and a parent has signed permission for him/her to participate in the SBHC, he/she will receive treatment regardless of insurance or immigration status. Assistance is offered, however, to help SBHC patients obtain low-cost public insurance. The benefits of SBHCs in public schools are decreased absenteeism and students who are healthy and better able to learn.

Discussion Director: Last Section

So what were your overall impressions of the book? Did everything end up being wrapped up?

I enjoyed it, but everything happened in the end. I wanted to know Marcus's reaction to Miranda's letter, and more about how things turned out with her and Sal.

Miranda was awfully brave to hide Marcus from the police. Do you think you could have done such a good thing as a 12 year old?

What did you think of Sal's justifications for not wanting to hang out with Miranda? I'm glad they found a happy medium of hanging out together but not hanging out too much. Do you think they are typical kids that our students could relate too?

There are so many things to discuss in this last section! What did you think of Miranda and Richard's plan to send her mom to law school? To me that was as almost as good as them getting engaged!

Connector: Section 5

The job of connector has been the most difficult for me and what I write may be a stretch but try and follow along:

As I was reading the section about the police coming to school and wanted to talk to Marcus, my mind automatically went to my sister, who is in law school, and some of the stories she has told me. If you remember, Miranda's mom came to school and basically took the place of Marcus' lawyer, she talked to the officers and found out why the wanted to talk with Marcus. Belle had called the police and reported that Marcus had pushed Sal into the street, as we know, Marcus didn't push Sal into the street. So, what I'm trying to get at, is how important point of view is. My sister told me about a case she has on her plate. A young boy in tenth grade was reported to the school resource officer because his teacher felt threatened by him. The teacher reported the boy because he has discussed guns at school, keep in mind that the boy lives in a rural county and frequently participates in recreational hunting. The teacher only reported her fear to the resource officer after the recent shootings in Arizona.

Where am I going with this? It's important for all of us, lawyers, teachers, parents, students etc. to keep in mind point of view when dealing with any situation.

Discussion Director - Section 4

In the section, we learned the significance of the words books, bag, pocket, and shoe. These were all of the places where Miranda found the letters. Why are the words etched into the blue mailbox? What is the purpose of this? Why would the laughing man leave this evidence behind?

Miranda’s favorite book is A Wrinkle in Time. I have never read this book but have heard that it too is about time travel. I am now very interested to know how it relates to this novel. If you have read that book, how does it compare to When You Reach Me?

We also see Miranda become friends with Alice and Julia in this section. How is Miranda able to help Alice, do you think that this will affect how other students treat Alice? How are Miranda and Julia able to overcome the issues between then? Do you think that the girls will develop an authentic friendship?

Why do you think that the author choose to write the chapter “The Last Note” in a numbered format? What did you find to be the most meaningful bit of information revealed in this chapter?

Artist Section 4

Thoughts on this scene?

Literary Luminator: Section 4

This section was so critical and the turning point of the plot. I chose three passages that are either important to the plot or just board wise statements that make us think.

"Sometimes you never feel meaner than the moment you stop being mean. It's like how turning on a light makes you realize how dark the room had gotten. And the way you usually act, the things you would have normally done, are like the things that you everyone can see but pretends not to." p. 144

I chose this because I think it really can speak to everyone. I never really thought of Miranda as a mean girl until this passage and now that it was brought to our attention I can definitely see where Miranda would be considered a mean girl. What do you think it was that made Miranda do a 160 with her mean girl behavior?

"My brain was doing that thing where it yells at me. It was yelling "The laughing man stole Jimmy's Fred Flinstone bank? The laughing man?" p. 151

This is where things kind of started to click for me. I realized the laughing man had a much larger part in the plot than I had realized. Different parts started clicking for me, like why Colin, Annemarie and Miranda's job at Jimmy's was included in the story and the importance of Belle and the two-dollar bills.

"42. On the other side of the street I saw Marcus, still hunched over on the curb and crying hard. I could see him shaking. Behind him stood the boys from the garage, so still and silent that they looked like a picture of themselves. 43. Sal was not dead. The laughing man saved his life. 44. You saved Sal's life." p. 162

It was hard for me to pick the most important part of this turning chapter, but I think these few lines really get the main point across. How shocked were you when you read this part? I couldn't put the book down after this!

Artist Section 5

These are the pictures that I think most mattered to me in terms of what happened in this chapter...what do you think?

Investigator Section 4

For this section I decided to investigate the usage of the term "swiss miss" as a racial slur.

I had never heard this term used in a derogatory manner before, however after some internet searches and Googling I have found the term to be quite popular in the realm of politics and racism. Apparently the term has been used quite a few times in a popular NBC show and many people have started to protest that show. I could never really figure out which show it is, since there are restrictions on people using the name in their blogs...but there was a photo of a white guy painted black and making fun of black people using the term swiss miss. I think this takes racism to a whole other level because it is finding ways to talk about people's color without them knowing it, like in the book no one knew that Jimmy liked Miranda because she used that term to describe Julia, until he said it outright. I think I am also turned off by this term because it infers that anything black/chocolate can be used in a derogatory manner to defile someone...

After investigating this term, I feel that this book deals with some heavy topics that would be good spring boards for discussions in the classroom of 6-8th graders. For example you could talk about racism and racial slurs...what do you think?

Connector: Section 4

This was definitely the most difficult Literature Circle role for me. I found it hard to make connections beyond just self-to-text, but here's what I came up with: In this section we find out that Marianne's dad has a charge account at Gold's Stationery, and both Colin and Miranda seem to think this is a big deal. Obviously in current times there is no such thing as a charge account consisting of a notebook where items are written down. Instead we have credit cards and checking accounts. But what might kids have today that would cause awe and envy from their peers? Later on, during Christmas vacation, Miranda thinks over the differences between herself and Marianne and whether those differences really matter. She decides that they do. Do those differences still matter today? What differences do you (as students) think matter today between yourself and your peers? Finally, we also read about adolescents noticing the differences between themselves and their peers in American Born Chinese. Of the characters in that book, with whom do you think Miranda could most relate?

Artist - Section 3

These are the images that I chose for section three.
How are these pictures critical to the development of the story?

Hey girls, I'm sorry for the delay in posting.
I am out of town and the hotel internet has been hit or miss.
See ya Monday