Confession: I feel guilty about two things. First, that I gave this post an incredibly wordy title. And second, that Quita and I failed to mention an important event last week. You see, January 23-27 was No Name-Calling Week, an event aimed at middle schoolers that encourages them to refrain from tossing insults at each other.
It's rare that I collide my day job onto the blog, but I felt this one was worth mentioning. In honor of No Name-Calling Week, my students created their own inspiring poetry that I read over the morning announcements. Also, I asked them all to sign a No Name-Calling Week Pledge. Granted, not every student HAD to sign, so I was pretty impressed by the outcome:
During the week, I also finally read Cracked by KM Walton (which was on my 2012 Debut Author Challenge list), a story told in dual POVs--from the bully and his victim. Yes, KM's my agent-sister (Team LaPolla rules!), but NO, I'm not recommending this book because I'm biased. I'm saying you should read this book:Because it gives you an uncensored view of bullying and high school
Because it doesn't condescend to the readers and stuff your face with morals
Because it makes you empathize for the victim AND the bully
Because despite all of the heartache, it'll leave you with hope
And in perfect timing, I just won a grant in which I'll be able to buy MORE books for my school that'll take on bullying headfirst. In addition to Cracked, here are some other books that I'm considering:- The Misfits by James Howe (the main inspiration for No Name-Calling Week)
- Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers
- Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
- Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
- Story of a Girl Sara Zarr
- Everybody Sees the Ants by AS King
- Dear Bully edited by Megan Kelley Hall and Carrie Jones
5 comments:
Pam, wow. The world needs MORE teachers like you. Your dedication and willingness to shine the light on bullying is to be commended. I am honored to have my book included in your passion for the subject.
Go, Pam, go! Team LaPolla all the way!
I absolutely loved The Truth About Truman School by Dori Hillestad Butler.
http://i-am-so-grateful.blogspot.com/2011/09/book-review-truth-about-truman-school.html
I wish I would have thought to do something with this in class. I always hear about these things when they are over. This sounds so awesome!
YES Thirteen Reasons Why. If I had read that a few years ago... my face = :| ... :O
That's great that you were able to stock your school library with such important books. :)
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