Maritcha: 19th Century American Girl

This unique story took place when slavery ended in New York in 1827.  This is based on an unpublished memoir the Author found in a rare book collection.  The dynamic of the story surrounded social issues such as classism and racism in the Civil War era.  Even though this book may be challenging to some young readers, it had the potential to create "spaces" by reflecting on the overall theme of defining social justice and action.  When the Union decided to start an unpopular decision to draft able bodied white men, New York faced serious riots in the summer or 1963. (Blacks who wanted to serve as soldiers in the Union Army were not yet being accepted.) So angry mobsters targeted pro-war politicians, the wealthy (since they were able to buy themselves out of the draft), abolitionists (since freeing slaves was seen as increased competition among the working class white), and Blacks of all classes.  I wonder how a student can truly understand the scope of this disenfranchisement and injustice and apply it to their own lives?

Whats particularly interesting about Maritcha's life is that she suffers both from being a girl and being Black in the 19th century.  Going to school was a struggle, as shown by the fact that she was denied from going to an all White school.   This had to go in the hands of the legislature.  Even though they ruled that she had the right to attend, the school fought back by questioning her aptitude. Despite all these setbacks, she had the support and influence of her family who was aquatinted with powerful abolitionists such as Fredrik Douglas.  They family had a history of helping newly freed slaves in their boardinghouse.  Could this be used to help students create space by reflecting on influential people in their own lives ? and if so, how can students use them?

Children's book that made a difference in my life.

Any book that had any difference in my life was read to me.  This was most likely due to the way my second grade teacher managed to get even the most disengaged students to focus just long enough so she can read to us.  I recall spending an entire unit on was Roald Dahl which I have come to embrace due to its wit and creativity.  This is my first recollection of reading fantasy fiction on my own.  This changed my life in the sense that I started to have a unique imagination.  His use of giants, witches, and talking foxes were very different than what I had read before.

This was around third grade, I had just moved to the United States from Japan, and my english grammar and vocabulary was limited.  I was learning Japanese when I was in kindergarden at a public school in Tokyo.  Pedagogical approaches were naturally very different, but I was happy that I was able to transition comfortably.  However, I missed out on a lot of the books that my classmates in the United States read in Kindergarden when I moved to the United States.  I was therefore enrolled in the school's ESL program to improve my English.  This inadvertently discouraged me from learning in class as I lost confidence in myself being taken away from the classroom everyday.   However, I was happy to be able to take part in my regular class's reading time.  Otherwise, I would probably not have been exposed to Roald Dahl.  I found his stories very humorous and entertaining, which encouraged me to read more books in English.  I was then able to improve my english skills more rapidly than had I never been exposed to his books.  

First Recollection of Reading

My first recollection of reading for the first time on my own was the Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne.  I remember liking this not only because I took joy in reading my first chapter book, but also because the two main characters visited different parts of the world meeting figures and visiting places I've been learning about in school.  It was the first time I remember drawing parallels in what I read for pleasure and what I learned in my history class.  I was probably around 8 or 9 years old, and my history loving father recommended this book for me to read.
Noel