Whale Talk - Day 3

I'm tired. Exhausted really, but if I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it all the way. That means writing a post when all I really want is to crawl into my bed.

My honors class had been assigned Chapter 3 for reading over the weekend. A small task in the grand scheme of things, but pretty big for this book. We met some new characters, and had a GREAT conversation.

This chapter, among other things, introduces Oliver Van Zandt, a homeless Dad working two jobs to put his kid through college. It was interesting to hear the kids talk about the stereotypes of the homeless versus their reactions to Oliver. They were aware of the negative stigma, and tried to avoid it. I'm not sure we accomplished a TON with this topic, but the next one hit home.

Last class one of the girls mentioned that she wasn't sure TJ is a believable character because he sticks up for Chris. She wasn't convinced that a real teenage boy would put himself out there like that. In the reading for today, TJ went one further, throwing himself over a fawn that eventually gets shot by Rich Marshall. It was interesting to hear the following when I brought it up:

"I don't get it."
"That was totally random."
"Rich is a - pardon my language - a douche."

This particular event is one of the most powerful in the novel. It's followed up with a passage that explains how easy it would have been for TJ to end up as damaged as Chris. He explains that he has a gut level reaction to that kind of hurt, and doesn't have a choice but to do something. I looked around the room to some blank stares. Then I explained where I thought TJ was coming from. It was something like this:

We've all experienced pain. Not the same kind, but some kind. Like, for me, when I was in high school my mother got sick in October and died New Year's Eve. That was hard. Since then, I've had several students who have been through similar things, and even if we have nothing else in common there is a connection there. It's powerful to know that someone else has been where you have. I feel, now, like I have a responsibility to DO something for people who are feeling that pain. Like, there were people there for me, and I need to pass that on.

The interesting thing is that this speech made it's point. They got it. One kid in class lost his mom in the fall, and I couldn't look at him while I said this. Partly because I'm not sure I did everything for him I could. But, at the end of this, when I asked if it was believable that TJ would be that righteous and "good" they said yes. Even the girl who said no the first day. I can't really explain why, but this was such a powerful moment.

This section of the book, I think, really drives home that people need to be there for each other. We're all connected somehow - sometimes superficially, and sometimes on a DNA-can't-help-it level.

Each student is going to start tracking one of 7 characters for the rest of the book for a character analysis project - I'm so excited for them to see how ALL people, good and bad, impact one another in small and big ways.

I. Love. This. Book.