Quite awhile ago when my kids were still kids and living with Eugene and me I was in my door yard. A younger neighbor struck up a conversation. She told me that she would never become a teen parent because she knew how much work kids are. Her mother was a semi functional drug addict. When she wasn't in school she was in charge of her siblings: a seven-year-old brother with serious behavior issues and a four-year-old nonverbal sister. She also had the housework and cooking to do. It was hard for her to find the time for her homework. She even had to extricate her mom from trouble at work, with boyfriends, and even with the police.
That's quite a lot for an eleven-year-old to deal with.
Kids who live lives of precarity and too early adultification are very rarely seen in juvenile fiction. That's why books like Ann Braden's The Benefits of Being An Octopus 🐙 are so very much needed.
"Some people can do their homework. Some people get to have crushes on boys. Some people have other things they've got to do."
Zoey, Braden's narrator, certainly falls into the latter category. From waking up to falling into bed her life outside of school is pretty much consumed with sibling care. Before going to school she has to feed Bryce (4) and Aurora (3) and get them on their Head Start bus. After school, besides this dyad, she has baby Hector.
The kids and their mom are living with their mom, her current boyfriend, Lenny, and his father. Lenny's trailer is a real step up from other places the family has lived in. But nice comes at a price. Zoey knows that Lenny bullies her mother. True he never strikes her. But he knows just to say to perpetually undercut her self confidence and agency.
When one of her teachers has her join the debate club she thinks it's a waste of time. She'll never be that kind of kid. But it gives her some skills to begin tackling the challenges in her life.
"When I was a middle school teacher I loved finding thought-provoking resources that would connect deeply to the students' lives, prompt rich discussions, and ultimately help students recognize their ability to shape the world around them. My goal with this educator's guide is do just that. I believe the best way we can help students grow is to give them the space they need to ask questions, to draw conclusions, and to build their own broader understanding of the world."
The 36 page educator's guide at the end of the book contains a wealth of ideas for teachers and others who work with kids. I highly recommend using it to incorporate The Benefits of Being An Octopus 🐙 into the curriculum. It's as relevant now as when it first dropped.
On a purrrsonal note, the vigil went well Wednesday--good turnout and lots of honks. Thursday was the second meeting of the mending club. We were turning t shirts into grocery bags for Black Bear Exchange by cutting and knotting. What was wonderful for me was getting to spend time with my best friend, Lisa Morin, who runs Black Bear Exchange. Friday I was paparazzi for two on campus events--the always popular First Friday Bagels and Student Wellness vision board making. My sweet cinnamon bagel was SO GOOD!!!
Jules Hathaway
Sent from my Galaxy
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