The Freedom Writers Diary

The Freedom Writers Diary

by Erin Gruwell

Growing up in South Central in Los Angeles, California in the 1990’s can’t be easy.  Imagine attending an integrated high school that has all levels of students but is broken into ethnicities based on academic performance. So, based on their elementary school preparation, the students are separated into groups:  Asian, White, Black and Hispanic.  Enter the world of Erin Gruwell, a recent college graduate teaching 9^th grade English to the lowest level class, an unmotivated mixture of students from low-income families.  Gruwell decides she will have students read books that reflect the students who are in the class: classics written by Asians, African-Americans and Hispanic authors.  She introduces play acting, drawing, and movie-making to the class.  She brings in authors who wrote about their experiences being held captive by the Nazis, fighting as a youth in Bosnia, and succeeding professionally despite coming from low socio-economic backgrounds.  After the first year, she was given the opportunity to keep the same class for their sophomore & junior years after winning accolades in local and national media.  The class receives computers and trips to Washington DC to speak with the US Secretary of Education. During their senior year, they are welcomed to NYC upon the announcement that the class was going to have their story published as a book: The Freedom Writer’s Diary.  Each of the entries tells the real-life story of numerous students in the class, addressing issues of sexual abuse, the shooting of friends and family members on the streets of NYC, drug abuse, pregnancy, poverty, and a litany of other personal hardships.  The success of the book is not only showing students that their voice matters, but also illustrating the importance of their story, that it needed to be told – they just needed a way to be validated and motivated to do so.  Gruwell’s creativity and persistence to never give up is a model for all educators who want to make a difference for students who don’t know that a future is possible.  An inspirational, real-life story that any and every educator should read.  We can change the dial for success.

Why We Broke Up

Why We Broke Up

by Daniel Handler

A great book written by Daniel Handler for young adults encountering love for the first time: Why We Broke Up.  Min, a sixteen-year-old junior in high school, decides to write a letter to her first love, Ed, the co-captain of the basketball team, after being with him for 4 weeks.  She drops off the letter with a box of trinkets she collected during their brief but intense relationship.  Min writes this tell-all story of how they met, when Ed shows up uninvited to her best friend Al’s bittersweet birthday party at his home with the artsy kids.  Ed and his friends are a year older (seniors) and a bit drunk.  Min is attracted to Ed and hence the budding relationship begins.  But the two are so different: Min wants to be a movie director, and Ed thinks only about high school sports, girls and friends. As each chapter unfolds, Min shares a new object that she has included in the box for Ed.  Ed has a list of former girlfriends, many of whom Min meets during the relationship, including one who befriends her. This girl, Annette, makes an effort to show her that Ed really does love her.  This is Min’s first relationship, and over the next few weeks, she contemplates having sex with Ed, as she believes she loves him.  Min turns to her friend Al for guidance – he remains supportive but is unwilling to encourage her relationship with Ed.  After much discussion and contemplation, Min decides to give up her virginity to Ed, who continues to profess that she is different from the other girls given her artistic/non-cheerleader style.  The day after they have sex, Min and Ed work on planning a birthday party for a former movie star the two think they saw when they went to their first date at an old-time movie.  When they go to get flowers for the honoree of the party, the florist thinks Min is Annette, the former girlfriend, for whom Ed has just ordered flowers. The florist has a note for her.  Min grabs the note and reads that Ed misses Annette, and all hell breaks loose as Min realizes Ed is just a sex-crazed high school athlete who has used her…hence Min’s letter explaining “Ed, let me tell you why we broke up”.  A sad reality that I think happens way too often in this generation of high school students.  A pretty compelling book for the 13-15 year olds to read to better understand the realities of today’s life for the young.  It’s a quick read, has good pictures and details a girl’s hard lesson in “love”.

The Immortals of Meluha

The Immortals of Meluha

by Amish Tripathi

It will be a reading weekend for me! First up, The Immortals of Meluha by Amish Tripathi.  It is a trilogy - good to know before you pick up the first book - but I only plan to finish part one.  What an exciting read! It was hard to put down.  The story flowed with action, great character development, and suspense.  It begins when the leader of Shiva’s land decides to lead the people of the war stricken area to the land of Meluha, a place of ethical rules and codes of strict behavior among its people.  When Shiva and his people enter Meluha, they are given a cleansing solution to drink, which causes Shiva's throat to turn bright blue.  This is the sign for the Meluhans that their God has arrived to help them continue their good work across the lands.  Shiva’s adventure causes him to fall in love with the Emperor’s daughter (who is deemed ‘scarred’ by the Meluhans), to lead the Meluhans to victory against the warring neighbors, and to drive change in some of the rules of the country.  Book one ends with Shiva and Sati (the princess) getting married with a child on its way while they are caught in a fight for their life against the evil Nagas.  Will Sati have their baby (she had a miscarriage years earlier)?  Will Shiva be able to convince the Meluhans that some of their rules are actually inconsistent with their philosophy?  Will Shiva’s throat continue to be blue? Or will it change colors, causing the people to lose faith in him?  So many questions and so much intrigue – I’m actually interested in books two and three, which rarely happens in trilogies.  Great story!

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

by Judy Blume

You never know what you might read about next with the RA Favorite Books.  I don’t have a daughter, my sisters were ten and twelve years older than me, so reading this book, about religion and young girls having their periods, was, let’s say…a learning experience.  Enter the world of Judy Blume (yes, NYU alumna) and the coming-of-age book, Are you there God? It’s Me, Margaret.  Margaret, an eleven-year-old girl from NYC, relocates with her parents to their new home in suburbia New Jersey.  Her parents were raised different religions (Jewish and Christian), and because of the difficulties they experienced, they decide not to force religion on Margaret and allow her to choose her own belief structure later in life.  Simultaneously, Margaret is introduced to sixth grade in NJ, meeting new friends and being asked to do a yearlong project, which leads her to consider what religion she should practice.  All the while, Margaret and her three girlfriends create a secret club that focuses on boys, bras, and trying to guess when they will get their period.  Well, what can I say…this probably was an impactful book for the RA and many other young girls.  Might even be an eye opener for young boys, if they are mature and want to learn about the life changes that members of the opposite sex experience, though I surely wouldn’t have been at that age.  But I opened this blog never knowing what I’d read next!  Hard to rate this one as my perspective and life really didn’t intersect much with this topic.  Reads light and quick, good message for those who would benefit….

House of Leaves

House of Leaves

by Mark Danielewski

House of Leaves, by Mark Z. Danielewski, is a pretty long book but flows nicely.  Kudos to an author who brings in 3-4 storylines using unusual methods to separate them: varied font sizes, mixing in art, playing with spacing on the page, and placing words on different parts of a page.  The technique makes it easier for the reader to know which storyline he/she is entering.  It is a book about a book/movie/experience and brings the reader in through its brief thirteen-page introduction, describing how Johnny Truant finds the work that recently deceased “Zampano”, a ‘mystery man’, leaves behind.  Truant, the protagonist, is searching for the Navidson Record, the work that shares the story of a family by the same name, living in a haunted house in Virginia where disappearance and death rule the day!  Truant’s own life, his friendships, his early childhood abuse, sexual exploits, drug and alcohol addictions, and the story of his parent’s abandonment play large roles in his own exploration of the Navidson Record.  The writing is raw, great style, and the author draws the reader’s interest in the mysteries that the characters are all trying to solve.  The author also adds another level of intrigue by adding celebrity feedback on the Navidson Record (Stephen King, Edward Albee, and key political leaders) and pictures of artifacts from the house, drawings of movements in the house, and sketches of portraits.  This is a full-package book with multiple stories and innovative structures.  I never lost interest – in fact, I started the book in the morning and finished it by evening!  Not bad for a 600+ book!  I would recommend this one for those comfortable with non-linear storylines and a new approach to a novel.   The appendices also provide a perspective that fills in the rest of the story on Johnny’s childhood.

Nobody

Nobody

by Marc Lamont Hill

Marc Lamont Hill’s book Nobody captures the most recent tragedies from Ferguson to Flint, from Eric Garner to Trayvon Martin, and the long list continues.  Lamont Hill not only provides the historical context of each case, but he also looks deep into the decades of how these issues have recently been catapulted into our society today.  White aggression, decades of poverty, laws that harm the poor and those who have limited resources to education - these are just some of the concerns discussed.  His research is spot-on with a long section of notes that support all of his points.  This is an essential read for anyone who questions why America is divided racially.  It is not a geographical issue within the US, i.e., South or North, but it permeates all areas of our country.  It is a hard book to read because of the realities of our society.  Every time one thinks that the killings can’t be more atrocious, the next one happens.  Young black boys carrying skittles and an Arizona Ice Tea or a man who is choked by the police screaming “I can’t breathe”…what is this world coming to?  When we can’t see the individual, when we are blinded by skin color?  We need to move from dialogue to action.  If this book doesn’t move you, I’m not sure anything will!  Thanks for the recommendation.  A compelling call to action with in-depth reasons why…    

The Intelligent Investor

The Intelligent Investor

by Benjamin Graham

Surprising that an RA would have enjoyed a dated finance book – The Intelligent Investor, by Benjamin Graham – albeit a seminal read in the industry at that time (late 1970s).  (Note that the author died in the late 1970s and the book had a latest edition in 2015 with input from Warren Buffett, which was not the version suggested.)  The book provided historical perspectives from the early days of the Stock Market (late 1890s) through the 1970s.  I’m not sure if the suggestions I read would be applicable now that mergers and acquisitions have come so far (in addition to international trade and technology), but certainly information helpful to understanding how we got to where we are today.  One suggestion that few would follow today is investing in CDs from local banks, which paid double digit interest in the late 1970s (today closer to 0.1% or lower).   The book was lauded for its value on the topic of investing.  Chapters include: the investor vs. inflation; how to think about your portfolio; the investor and market fluctuations; the investor and their advisors; and a series of case studies using top industry mergers from the era.  For business students, a great historical view on how to invest, who to best include as advisors, and a way to diversify investments.  A yawn for anyone not inclined to invest.

The Overachievers

The Overachievers

by Alexandra Robbins

A must read for anyone who has a high school student preparing for the college search process in The Overachievers, by Alexandra Robbins.  Robbins goes back to her alma mater, Walt Whitman High School, in the prestigious town of Bethesda, Maryland, to follow juniors, seniors and one alum who headed to Harvard for college.  Robbins chooses a cross section of students – the nerds, athletes, social-conscious, the tease, and the popular kids.  The chapters follow the timeline of the academic year over the course of sixteen months, introducing the various issues that students face in the college search process.  Of all the stories, I appreciate Robbins’ inclusion of “APFrank”, the student who had just graduated from Walt Whitman, was moving on to Harvard and had a younger brother attending the same high school.  Robbins discusses the role of hired consultants to assist with the college process, the pressures of getting accepted to the “Ivy” institutions, the challenges of SAT prep, the peer pressure involved in alcohol consumption, finding a date for the prom, balancing academics and extra-curricular activities, and so much more.   Robbins concludes the book with where each of the students got accepted and how they made their decisions – well, decisions were made for some students who didn’t get into Stanford, Yale and Princeton.  Robbins’ best contribution is her suggestions to high schools:

Delay schools start times (start later, let kids sleep more); drop class rank (stop the competition!); de-emphasize testing; provide less competitive alternatives; assign and enforce coordinated departmental project and test days; increase awareness of self-harming behaviors; limit AP classes (yes!); and reinstitute recess time (too many overachievers take classes during lunch)

Robbins also suggests that colleges should:

Boycott the rankings; scrap the SAT; eliminate early decision; prioritize mental health concerns: send a message of what is important (well-rounded students!).

She has advice for high school counselors:

Focus on the student, not on the schools

And what should parents do?

Limit young childrens’ activities; get a life; schedule family time; place character above performance

And finally, what should students do with the support of their parents:

Stop the guilt; adjust the superstar mentality; carve an individual path; ignore the peanut gallery and accept that name doesn’t reflect ability; pare down activities, take a year off after high school; try an unrewarding activity; reclaim summer; accept that admissions aren’t personal; take charge

As you can see, a great list.  Pick up the book and enjoy reading what it is we should be doing for our high school students.

Gloria

Gloria

by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins

Every year, there is at least one Tisch student who shares with me a play as their favorite book.  Today’s read was Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ top-rated play Gloria.  The character, Gloria, is a fifteen-plus-year veteran at the mid-town Manhattan magazine publication office.  Many of the young staff leave this office to go on to outstanding careers in the field.  Gloria is viewed as an awkward peer who is always trying to connect with her colleagues.  The play begins the evening after Gloria hosts a party at her home that only one staffer attends.   In the office, all other staffers make fun of Dean, the sole member who attended.  He describes how uncomfortable he felt being there.  The first act focuses on everyone’s crass comments regarding Gloria and how strange she is as a person.  The act ends with Gloria walking into the office & shooting all of her colleagues!  The rest of the play discusses how the owners of the magazine and those who survived the killings tried to produce books, screenplays, and TV pilots about Gloria’s killing of her office mates.  There are some good soliloquies and character development, but the story for me is weak, reminding me of a BRAVO or WE Network movie.  Maybe seeing it on stage might change my opinion, but I doubt it.  The subject matter is overplayed in media outlets and the reader never really gets to know Gloria - she only comes in the End of Act 1 to shoot her peers.  It does have good reviews, so maybe I am being too harsh.  Not the best read to pick-up after a number of weeks under the weather.  Hope the next one will be better.