The Outsiders (YA fiction)

     On my first day of first grade the principal gave me a personal tour of the school, introducing me to all the teachers and letting them know who my parents were. I wondered why only me. Back in the classroom another girl was greeted with "I know you Nelson's and your tricks. I'll be watching you. Don't try anything." My mother explained this disparity. I had educated, professional parents; she came from the wrong side of the tracks. Decades later I ran into a former classmate who told me that everyone knew that I was the only one who would make it to college. Classism was alive in Beverly, Massachusetts in the 50s...

    ...And in Veazie, Maine in the 90s. This time my family was on the wrong side of the tracks or, in more popular parlance, trailer park trash. Kids from "better" neighborhoods were rarely allowed to visit Greystone peers for events as harmless as a first grade birthday party. I will never forget the school event at which a mom publicly called my beautiful, intelligent eight-year-old daughter a little trailer park trash and the other parents AND TEACHERS said nothing. 

     So in retrospect I'm amazed that I never read S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders when it first dropped or when Amber read it in middle school. This year, scouring yard sales for books to add to my emergency stash, I found a 1995 edition with bonus material by the author. Then serendipitously I ran out of library books. I was hooked by the end of the first chapter. 

     Ponyboy, Hinton's narrator, is an orphan. Because their parents died in a car accident, he lives with his older brothers. Darry, the eldest, works two jobs and does his best to parent his siblings. He's always on Ponyboy's case for one thing or another.  Sodapop, the middle brother, is much more easy for Ponyboy to get along with. 

     The brothers are part of a larger informal family, the Greasers. They do their best to meet each other's needs and protect one another. This often involves rumbling with the Socs (short for Socials), the ultra privileged teens who view Greasers with contempt and animosity. 

     When Ponyboy and his close friend, Johnny, talk to Cherry and Marcia, girlfriends of Socs members, they are later jumped by the girls' boyfriends. The fight gets out of hand. 

     "'Johnny!' I nearly screamed. 'What are we gonna do? They put you in the electric chair for killing people.'"

     The plot is intense as are the characters and their relationships. The unfairness of the Socs having more material resources, connections, and social capital than the struggling to survive Greasers is very infuriating. The Outsiders is an excellent thought and feeling provoking coming of age story for the more mature YA reader, as relevant today as when it was hot off the press. 

On a purrrsonal note, I had an incredible Saturday. Eugene and I had an excellent breakfast at Governors. At noon we went to Amber and Brian's place for a family get together. Katie, Jacob, Adam, Brian's mom, and my mother-in-law and sister-in-law were also there. Brian had a great variety of pizzas 🍕--everybody's favorites. I contributed home baked cookies. We all had a great time together chatting and eating. Time spent with my children 💕 💓 💖 ❤️ 💗 is so precious!!! Then I went to a Black Bear Mutual Aid Fund event at my church. People had contributed items they no longer needed. People could browse and take what they wanted, extending the useful life of the items. The atmosphere was festive. People were so happy. There was such a variety of items: a racing bike, a weed whacker, a sewing machine (which I took home) , clothes, shoes, jewelry, kitchen stuff, games, books, home grown veggies, dozens of boxes of Girl Scout cookies, and so much more. People are asking when the next one will be. Hopefully soon.

A great big shout out goes out to all who participated in both events. 

Jules Hathaway 

     

Sent from my Galaxy

Maine Hello

More sorority sisters pitching in to help welcome the newest members of Black Bear Nation. 

Sent from my Galaxy

Maine Hello

The people who guided traffic wore safety vests.

Sent from my Galaxy

Maine Hello

Kathleen Gillon, one of my grad school professors, and me. She was wearing the official tee shirt. I wasn't going to wear anything that would cover my signature cat tattoos. 

Sent from my Galaxy

Maine Hello

Volunteers take a break to enjoy the sunshine. Even the weather cooperated to make the day a shining success.

Sent from my Galaxy

Thank You, Teachers (adult nonfiction)

     I'm sure you've heard the saying: if you can read, thank a teacher. Literacy is not the only reason to appreciate educators. Every day they go beyond the call of duty (or job description) to hook students up with resources their families can't afford. They are intuitive. They can realize strengths and challenges and the special interests that can make learning feasible and exciting. I've talked to so many people who credit a teacher with turning their life around. I wouldn't be surprised if you have a story. 

     My sheroes are my grad school professors: ElizabethAllan, Leah Hakkola,  and Kathleen Gillon. When I went back to school after a forty year gap in which technology evolved seemingly at the speed of light they and their TAs help me adjust to the new world of electronics. After the stroke their confidence in and valuing of me helped me believe in myself and persevere and triumph and get my masters in higher education in the face of residual brain damage. They knew that I could do it even when I didn't. A lot of the credit for who I am today goes to my personal trinity. 

     Sadly it's getting ever more stressful to become a teacher. Due to factors such as salaries so low that many must moonlight to make rent and eat, additional time consuming tasks during and beyond the work day, and intrusion of government micromanagement a growing number of gifted and talented teachers are burning out and many college students with real potential aren't even considering the field. 

     All of us can and should thank James Patterson and Matt Eversman for writing Thank You, Teachers. This hard hitting, straightforward narrative consists of stories by teachers. Readers get the inside scoop on the difficult challenges they face--challenges resulting from the children themselves, often in poor physical and mental health, traumatized, behind on the most basic skills necessary for academic success, and endangered in the place they deserve to feel safe; the homes the come from where they may encounter extreme poverty or neglect at the hands of drug using and/or dealing or mentally ill parents or other family members; salaries that are hard to get by on especially when they have to buy many absolutely necessary school supplies fortheirstudents; dangerously underfunded workplaces; and too many mandates from a government seemingly intent on shutting down public education. Some of these stories will anger and/or sadden you...

     ...Fortunately there are others that will elate and inspire you showing the joys and rewards of the profession--the moments that affirm career choices and commitment. 

     In his author's note Patterson reminds us of our responsibility to those to whom we, individually and as a society, owe so much. 

     "I've said it before, and it bears repeating: Teachers are heroes. Let's join them on the front lines as they show us just what it takes to teach kids day in and day out, what it takes to foster future generations of lifelong readers and lifelong leaders. 

     Teachers will show us the way."

     Amen to that!!!

On a purrrsonal note, after this weekend the pace of my life will really pick up. I'll be back to job hunting and volunteering at UMaine while still engaged with children's and community gardens, this blog, house stuff, my 2nd manuscript, finding a publisher for my 1st manuscript, an at least 2 hour commute any time I go somewhere... I feel tired even thinking about it. Today is my end of summer festivity--a family party at Amber and Brian's place which I'm really looking forward to. The weather is purrrfect for outdoor events. 

A great big shout out goes out to all the teachers who make such differences in the lives of their students. 

Jules Hathaway 

Sent from my Galaxy

Maine Hello

The crew from the College of Education and Human Development. 

Sent from my Galaxy