March came in and was on the way out as the book club came together to discuss the book “The Wednesday Wars”. Each chapter in the book was a month of the school year. The group was split on thier feelings about the book.
There was much to discuss starting with the fact that students were allowed to leave school to go to religious classes. Do you think this happens anywhere today?
Another question that was discussed; was it Holling Hoodhood’s imagination that the teacher did not like him? The statement was made that in reality students need to know and believe that there are people who care. The realationship that develops between Holling and his teacher lets the reader know they can approach a teacher. In this book we watch the main character develop empathy. He even helped his older stister come home. In this book it appeared that the parents weren’t supportive of their son. Is this what we are seeing in our parents today?
The reader also develops a realtionship with the teacher. As all of us reading this book were teachers we could identify with the teacher and share in her excitement of a student growing and learning. Through the eyes of the writer we see history taking place with events like the Vietnam War and President Kennedy’s death. We see a teacher take a class on a camping trip event though she does not like camping. We see a happy ending and a different view of an “ugly” period in our history.
So add your thoughts about this book that has a lot to offer and includes humor as well.
May 6, 2010 at 10:55 pm |
What a fun book. I thought the writer really stepped in to a middle schooler’s shoes for this one. What great “tips” for teachers….how to go from the perceived “Teacher Who Hates Me” to the subtle and then not so subtle Coach, Cheerleader, Empathizer, turn you into a classic Shakespeare lover, and CareGiver. I loved the phrase “Toads, Beetles, Bats”. I also liked the way he was always trying to convince you….really!
Also, what a neat way to write about tolerance. Religeous tolerance (throw the presbyterians, Catholics, and Jews together), political tolerance (weave in the Vietnam War), and ethnic tolerance (heal clashes between heart broken white anglo saxon Mrs. Bigio, and twirl the ethnic neighborhood/school mix of rich ethnic surnames).
May 20, 2010 at 6:58 pm |
I guess the Wednesday Wars kept my attention because I could remember the events of the 1960′s–The Vietnam War, assassinations, underground bomb shelters, etc.
I could relate to the type of pranks the students pulled during that time and could identify with prejudices shown by different groups. The teacher really connected with her students, even though they perceived her as being too hard on them. The constant drills of diagramming sentences were very familiar to me.
Sometimes I got lost when all the Shakespeare quotes were thrown in. It made me wish that I could recall his works better than I could.
Taking everything into consideration, this was indeed a good book for middle school aged students.