The Misfits Part one

The Misfits By James Howe

So far, I think The Misfits is a good book. There isn't a ton going on yet, but the build of characters is strong. I like the uniqueness of the formatting for a chapter book. Like when the kids are having their forum and Addie takes minutes, the text is displayed as if they are Addie's notes. This book has a nice flow to it which makes it easy to read. I also like how the setting is mostly at school. How would you like to have a student like Addie in your class? I'm sure we all will at some point have a student who wants to do things a little different every time, stand up for his/her rights, and not go with the flow of the classroom. I didn't think this book had any controversy in it at first, and I kept wondering why we were reading this book this particular week. With there being so much racial diversity at the school, and by having Joe, one of the main characters saying he's gay gives room for a lot of discussion. I think kids should read books like this to open up their minds a little. Especially at this level of reading, they are really in the stages of figuring out their own identities and standing up for themselves just as the group of misfits in the book.

Skeeze talks about boys when they are younger are so cute when they hold hands and do girl type things, but when they get older it is completely wrong. This is such a good point because that is exactly right. Why do we think this way as a society? Is it because we as people have more innocence as a child and then when we grow up it vanishes and we become corrupt? I don't get it. This book so far has made me remember actually how mean kids are. This book is completely true, kids are constantly teasing, calling names, poking fun, and no one either sees it happening or chooses not to do anything about it. How do you as a teacher handle things like this name calling in the hallways or in your classroom?