Speak Loudly--Update

   We've been talking about a lot of important things recently in class.

  We've got the wikileaks thing going down--how wikis are going to change the world, how we are part of that change as a class.  I am amazed every day by the power of the internet.

   We're also reading Speak.  I think a lot of us are finding it a very powerful experience.  I know the poem "Listen" brought some emotions to the class that are pretty special.  It's an important book, I think many of us realize that.

   And then those two things, social media and literature combined.  I tweeted the following today:

@halseanderson I teach Speak to a class of all boys. Your poem "Listen" was extremely emotional and eye opening for them today. Thank you.

  I was communicating directly to an author.  Thanking her for her work.  Thanking her for creating art that changed my student's lives.  Amazing. 

   Better: she wrote back.

@MrFlynnWave Thank you for sharing that with me!

 Unreal...

I am so moved by this experience as an educator and a life-long learner right now, I hardly know how to express it.  I guess I just feel so blessed to be working at a time when this is possible.

  It truly is an amazing world out there.  Reading and writing helps us understand it and express it.  Days like today are why I love what I do.

Speak Loudly

  I know we haven't done a lot of reading in this book, but I think it's important to understand the power of Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak.  The book may not be Moby-Dick in terms of writing style, but it has touched many lives.

Here's a small example.  Feel free to contribute to "Speak up about Speak" if you want.

Credit: World Wide Lens Photography

 This small title has become a cultural phenomenon.  You must ask yourself: "Why?" "Why do so many people see themsleves in this book, even if I don't."


  Yes, the book's subject is Melinda and her rape.  But it's more than that.  It's about pain.  It's about silence.  It's about the false construction of ourselves we put into the world every day.  It's about how terrified we are to express who we really are, what we love, what we want to be.


  The book is sad.  The book is triumphant.  The book is a typical expression of what growing up is like for many students just like you.  


  Do not be afraid.  Speak Loudly.

SL/Speak Wiki

We will be using this wiki page in order to collaborate and comment on the numerous symbols in Speak and The Scarlet Letter.

A symbols is defined as: A physical object that represents something greater than it's physical presence, an idea, an emotion, a time period, a belief.

Great symbols are like jewels: they shine differently in different light.  A symbol could have one meaning in one part of the book, but be given a different meaning as the book progresses.

Classic symbols:
Sunlight


Dove:


Ring: