Caught in the Middle: Nonstandard Kids in a Killing Curriculum.S. Ohanian. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2001. 195 pp. Remember Up the Down Staircase Up the Down Staircase is a humorous novel written by Bel Kaufman, and published in 1965. Plot summary The plot revolves around Sylvia Barrett, a young idealistic high school English teacher who hopes to nurture her students' interest in classic literature (Kaufman, 1964) and how you wished there would be a sequel? Well, your wait is over. Susan Ohanian's new book can be considered a natural successor. Caught in the Middle is a funny, sad, and often angry book about the realities of teaching in an urban school. There are good guys--a 7th-grade reading specialist and her often very troubled students--and there are bad guys--district psychologists who make academic decisions about students without ever observing them in class or talking to Noun 1. talking to - a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to" lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to their teachers. Then there are the "Standardistos" who insist that every student learn the same curriculum in the same way, and even teachers' unions that object to the "dangerous precedent" set by a teacher who offers a writer's workshop during a free period. Ohanian's book offers no formulas for success, only stories of how she met, or failed to meet, the needs of her students, from Sylvia, the "Zulu Chief," to the student who was "certifiably crazy." Her message is that a good teacher sometimes has to throw out the regular curriculum and find innovative ways to teach students to love learning. The author describes her file drawers of activities for students who wanted to play with words, such as writing "Mary Had a Little Lamb "Mary Had a Little Lamb" is a nursery rhyme of 19th-century American origin. Original text Mary had a little lamb, Its fleece was white as snow; And everywhere that Mary went, The lamb was sure to go. " without using the letter "a" (e.g., "Merry got this little pet, its fleece fleece, mat of wool formed by shearing a sheep in one continuous operation. The average fleece weighs from 5 to 10 lb (2.3–4.5 kg); in highbred wool sheep such as the American Merinos a ram's fleece may reach 30 lb (13.6 kg). so white, so soft"). At one point, her writer's workshop students were all writing school-based mysteries that included mock death certificates, police reports, crime scene photos, and faculty questionnaires (e.g., "Did the deceased ever cause any disruption disruption /dis·rup·tion/ (dis-rup´shun) a morphologic defect resulting from the extrinsic breakdown of, or interference with, a developmental process. in your classes?"). She describes enticing a student who perpetually lied to become a writer ("My dad gets mad. He can't get a bath because my cat is in there swimming laps."). Finally, Ohanian's advice to teachers on classroom management aptly summarizes the tone of her book as well as her philosophy: "Laugh every day, cry at least once a week, and don't worry if you gain five pounds; that's only 2.8 Celsius." Reviewed by Barbara Moore Barbara Moore may refer to:
|
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion