Relating Latham's article to "Speak"

I do feel that Latham had some good points in the article that could relate the struggles of the gay community to Melinda's story. Melinda is unable to speak and her friends are unable to listen. They force her to become outcast because they don't understand. This is also often true of members of the gay community in our society, although they typically are ignored by their friends more after they have spoken, as opposed to before speaking.

However, a large part of becoming an outcast lies in the hands of the "victim." Melinda is not able to share her story with her friends and she therefore carries a burden with no additional help. Likewise, many young people (and even adults) wrestle with the topic of their homosexuality and wonder how they can reveal to their friends and families that they are gay, knowing that when they do share that information they will become one of the outcast members of "normal" American society. They bear the same burden as Melinda: "What do I say? How do I say it? What will people think of me?"

I think Latham's inclusion of the scene toward the end when Andy corners Melinda is really beneficial because it helps us more firmly grasp the idea of being "closeted."

Trying to Teach...

I actually liked this book, though I do admit there is at least one note in the margins of my book that asks about the author, "Is he on crack?"

I felt that this book was highly unrealistic (cheerleaders on motorcycles?), but I felt that is what made it so important. Through the author's use of absurdity, he makes readers realize how odd it is that we think it's weird that gays are so accepted in this book, and a drag queen can be a football quarter back.

Our country has made great progress in the past 50 years (from Civil Rights to a black president), but we are still discriminating against many groups. There is a constant struggle for equality between gays and straights, which is mostly apparent during discussions about gay marriage. This book helps to point out the fact that we as a culture still think gays are "weird." Levithan shows us an alternate world where they are accepted by their peers and where they do not have to fear coming out to their friends.

I might teach this with "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez. There are a few chapters in this memoir that detail his struggles to make his father accept him. (http://www.amazon.com/Hunger-Memory-Education-Richard-Rodriguez/dp/0553382519/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253650932&sr=1-2)

I also think that if the school allowed it, it would be valuable to teach this with The Laramie Project (http://www.amazon.com/Laramie-Project-Christina-Ricci/dp/B000067D0Y/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1253651284&sr=8-3).
Certain scenes from this movie might be helpful in understanding what happens when we are hateful and intolerant.

I know that in public school we cannot teach whether homosexuality is right or wrong, but we do need to teach students to act responsibly and to be respectful of others. There is no need for violence and intolerance, and by showing them the memoir and the DVD (all taken from real-life interviews with friends/acquaintances of Matthew Shepard), students would be able to see real-life examples of intolerance, as well as how people have overcome this adversity. They could then apply this to the novel and discuss how Levithan's book addresses the current state of our society.

Random...

...Just in case anyone is interested, Borders is having a sale right now: Buy 2 Young Adult Books, get 1 FREE! I found this out last night... so if you want to add to your Twilight series, you can buy the last 3 books but only pay for 2 of them. I picked up a couple titles I had never heard of just because I wanted to see what students were reading for fun these days, and I wanted to have some YA novels to relate/assign to future classes.
Just a heads up!

Teaching Forever and its contradicting approaches to sexuality

As a future teacher, I think teaching this text would be difficult. I think some of the most challenging aspects would be helping the students take this book seriously, even though it is an older novel and they will probably find some of the more detailed scenes to be silly. However, I do feel that this novel is important to teach because of the points Judy Blume was trying to make and the ways she contradicted herself in the novel.
As Trites notes on page 93, Blume wrote the novel for her daughter when she asked Judy if she "could write about two nice kids who fall in love, do it, and nothing terrible happens to them.... [Blume's daughter] had read a number of books that year that linked sex with punishment. Trites also points out, and I agree, that Blume is not really able to divorce the idea of sex from the idea of punishment. She does inflict punishment on the characteres: As a result of Sybil being overweight, she feels the need to have sex frequently to feel beautiful. She then becomes pregnant and experiences physical pain in childbirth but also emotional pain when she gives up her baby. When Erica and Artie try to have sex and Artie cannot perform, he tries to kill himself (though whether this is related to his inability to have sex with Erica or the confirmation he is gay, we cannot be sure.) His attempted suicide is devastating to Erica and their friends. Also, I attibute Kath and Michael's emotional attachment to their physical relationship, so their breakup is especially painful to both of them.
What is essential when considering how to teach this book to students is realizing that it cannot be used to teach students that sex is wrong or right. It should not be used to preach to a class full of students. Instead we can examine character motives for certain events. For example, I thought it was interesting that Kath kissed Theo after learning that her grandfather had passed away. She had managed to be faithful to Michael throughout the summer, but a devastating life event pushed her over the edge. This passage and others could serve as a tool for helping students understand the psychological effects of life on our desires and impulses.

The Chocolate War

Throughout Robert Cormier's The Chocolate War, the characters learn much about themselves through their interactions with each other and their reactions to their situations. Many of the students view the world as it relates to their chocolate sale, their friends, and their teachers.
One of the passages that I found interesting occurs in chapter 16:
"...[H]e had allowed Brother Leon to blackmail him. If teachers did this kind of thing, what kind of world could it be?...And he [saw] that life was rotten, that there were no heroes, really, and that you couldn't trust anybody, not even yourself." (Page 109)
In this passage, David Caroni reveals to Brother Leon that Jerry's refusal of the chocolates each morning is part of a Vigils stunt in order to save his grade. He is surprised that he would provide that information and immediately feels sick to his stomach.
I was also intrigued by the recurring idea that the boys are roped into dead lives as young teens. Evidence of this appears on pages 20 and 92.
First, one of the hippies at the bus stop approaches Jerry and calls him "middle-aged at fourteen, fifteen. Already caught in a routine." He adds, "Go get your bus, square boy.... You're missing a lot of things in the world, better not miss that bus." (Page 20)
Second, when Paul is selling chocolates and he meets the woman with the children, he "felt sorry for older people, stuck in their houses and tenements with kids to take care of and housework to do. He thought of his own parents and their useless lives...What the hell were they living for?" (Page 92)
A similar incident appears on page 62 when Jerry recalls asking his dad if he ever wanted to be a doctor and his father replies "no," and Jerry senses his father is not being truthful. Jerry later regrets seeing himself as a reflection of his father. He no longer wants to be a "Square Boy." (Page 63)
These boys realize that there should be more to life than what they experience at school; that life is not just about chocolate sales and grades and making the football team, but about doing something and not missing out.
Jerry only partly fits into Buckley's definition of Bildungsroman. He is growing up with a father that confines him, not on a physical level, but emotionally because he himself never fulfilled his own dreams. His romantic relationships fit into Buckley's categories: the relationship with Playboy corrupts him to the point that he can't even keep an issue, and the girl from the busstop helps to purify him because he cannot even speak to her. He is humbled by her. He also triumphs when he continues to say "no" to the chocolates after the Vigils stunt is over. However, he never really breaks through his issues with his parents (his mother's death and his father on a daily basis), financial resources, and women. There is no "happily-ever-after" for Jerry--just a ride in an ambulance and a question regarding whether he actually lived through his high school years.