Beautiful Child
By: Torey Hayden
1. Why does Venus refuse to talk? Why does she turn into a whirling banshee when accidentally bumped by other children on the playground? Why do the school authorities sweep under the rug that Wanda is Venus’ mother.
Venus does not talk because unfortunately she comes from a very bad home life. She was currently being abused at home and it was suspected that she has been abused for most of her life. In the beginning, Torey wonders if Venus even knows how to talk because no one has ever heard her but she comes to realize that she can talk, she just doesn’t. I believe this is Venus’s way of controlling the one thing in her life that she feels she has some control over. Also, it seems that Venus has never had a close relationship with anyone and probably doesn’t feel that communicating is very effective. Venus goes crazy when she is bumped on the playground because someone invaded her personal space. As a victim of abuse, this was probably pretty traumatic for her and she simply reacted. School authorities keep the information about Wanda being Venus’ mother private because Wanda was most likely raped by the mother’s boyfriend and she would have been a very young age. Also, Wanda is mentally retarded and cannot take care of Venus herself, so the mother claimed Venus as her own.
2. Why is Billy so cocky and aggressive? How does Torey respond to these behaviors? Which behavioral problems of Zane and Shane are linked to Fetal Alcohol syndrome? How does Torey respond to these behaviors? Which behavioral problems of Jesse are linked to Tourette syndrome? How does Torey respond to these behaviors? Why is Alice so dependent on her hand as a companion? How does Torey respond to this behavior?
Billy is cocky and aggressive because he uses this as a defense mechanism to prevent himself from getting teased and picked on by other students. Torey tries to break some of this by structuring her classroom with rules and consequences to discourage this type of behavior. Zane and Shane both had a borderline IQ, hyperactivity, and attention deficit disorder as a result of Fetal Alchol Syndrome. The structure of Torey’s classroom was a response to their behaviors as she tried to make an environment that would allow Shane and Zane to focus without unnecessary distractions. Jesse had several tics including rapid eye blinking, head twitching, sniffling, and occasional outbursts of words that he couldn’t control. One of the main thinks that Torey tried to do to help Jesse was not allow teasing and name calling in the classroom as Jesse was frequently getting picked on by Billy. Alice was dependent on her hand as a companion because she saw it as an actual friend that she could talk to and confide in. Torey would often let it go because it calmed Alice and helped her focus.
3. Given the unruliness and frequent fistfights of her students from day one, why does Torey wait 12 weeks before instituting the traffic light system? Why does Torey ease up on the traffic light system as the school year draws to an end?
I think Torey waits until week 12 to institute the traffic light system because she wanted to use a behavior modification technique as a last resort. She tried other techniques, such as trying to unite them through the Chipmunk group, but they were not effective. Unfortunately, it came down to this system where the students had to be rewarded with candy and parties to get some kind of order in the classroom. I think Torey eases up on the traffic light system as the school year comes to an end because she realizes that much of the behavior issues that were present in the beginning have stopped or at least gotten much better and it is no longer as effective.
4. What is the basis for the conflict between Torey and Julie, her teacher assistant? Whose side of the story do you support in the fish bowl incident? The restraining Venus incident? The cat statute incident? The classroom singing issue? Explain.
The main source of conflict between Torey and Julie is a differing teaching philosophy. Julie takes on a much more nuturing role and always focusing on the positive with students. She never raises her voice or reprimands them for behavior, instead she encourages positive reinforcement. Tory on the other hand, takes on a much more hands-on approach. She believes that the students need to know when their behavior is unacceptable and deals out consequences as she sees fit. While I understand Julie’s point of view, I did side with Torey on the fish bowl incident, restraining Venus, and the cat statue incident. I think that in those situations, Torey dealt with the students so that they would know that their behavior cannot continue in the future. As for the singing, I think Julie overreacted and made the situation worse by not including herself. Torey found a way to get the class to feel united and Julie excluded herself making herself seem not part of the team.
5. What does Torey accomplish by taking Venus aside and spending one to one time with her while the boys are at afternoon recess?
Torey is able to build a relationship with Venus by spending one on one time with her. She learns how to get a response from Venus and we see Venus open up to her and begin to trust her by responding more and more. Venus clearly loves the attention and the contact as she climbs into Torey’s lap and will wrap her arms around her if Torey doesn’t do it fast enough. It seems that Venus lacked a relationship with anyone if her life which is why it takes her so long to warm up to Torey.
6. What do you think of the opposition Torey faces from Julie and Bob about the political incorrectness of using She-Ra, a blond-haired, blue-eyed heroine, as a role model for Venus, an African-American child? What superpower qualities of She-Ra does Venus emulate?
I think that Julie and Bob completely over-reacted to Torey using She-Ra as a role model for Venus. She-Ra, although not the most politically correct, was simply a way to relate to Venus. Torey was trying anything to get a reaction out of Venus as nothing else seemed to be working. Venus picked out the She-Ra comic herself and seemed to come alive when they acted out her story or watched the comics on the tv. It was the only way that Torey could get a response so she ran with it because at least Venus was communicating in some way. It would have been counterproductive to try to force something else on Venus if she wasn’t really interested in it. Venus emulates She-Ra’s power of strength. I think it is clear from the story that Venus was dealing with more than anyone of any age should be and I would say that Venus was a pretty strong little girl.
7. Was Torey guilty of not doing more to prevent the abuse of Venus? Explain.
No, I don’t think there was anymore that Torey could have done to prevent the abuse of Venus. She was concerned from the very beginning and constantly reported to Bob and social services everytime she felt that something was not right. She also made two home visits to Venus’s house to try to find out what was going on and a way to make Venus responsive. Most teachers would not have done this.
8. How does Torey use singing and physical activity to manage classroom behavior?
Torey uses singing as a way to unite the group to try to get them to behave and get along with each other better. So many fights were breaking out in the beginning that she tried a few strategies to unite the group and give them a sense of group unity so that they would get along. With this group, all of Torey’s strategies seemed to be aimed at getting the student’s behavior under control.
9. Torey uses five main strategies to strengthen the group: (1) concrete identification with the group, (2) de-emphasizing comparisons between students, (3) group responsibility, (4) group problem solving, and (5) group celebrations. Give an example of each strategy in the book.
Torey uses concrete identification with the group when she forms the Chipmunk group and when she uses the singing technique. Both of these were done to unite the group. She de-emphasizes comparisons between the students by discouraging them from teasing and fighting with one another and disciplining them equally when they misbehaved. Group responsibility was seen with the traffic light system cause they were all held accountable for their actions and had to work towards getting a party. Group problem solving was seen when the class would have discussions about certain things so that they could make a decision together. Group celebrations were seen through the parties the students were rewarded with for good behavior.
10. If you could ask anybody in the world one question and get it answered, what would it be? What was Billy’s question? Zane’s? Shane’s? Jesse’s? Alice’s Venus’?
At this point in time I would want to know where I am going to end up living and teaching in the next few years since all of that is up in the air for me right now. Billy’s question was “what happens when you die,” Jesse wanted to know “what’s in the future,” Shane would ask Mickey Mouse if he enjoyed living in Disneyland, Zane wanted to know if Goofy like living in Disneyland, and Alice said, “the stars shine all over the sky, the wind is gone, like sorrow.” Venus’s question was for Alice and she wanted to know why she talks to her hand so much.
11. Do you consider Torey’s school year to be a success? Explain.
I do feel that Torey’s school year was a success. The next year, Billy and Jesse were able to be mainstreamed into classrooms and adapted to regular education. While Venus and Alice remained for another year, they too were eventually mainstreamed in general education classrooms. I think that Torey’s year was a success in the fact that most of the students had made significant improvements by the end of the year. It was definitely a rough year and difficult at times but I think that Torey was able to help the students adapt better to how to behave in a classroom which was a great achievement. While Venus did not make a complete transformation within a year, Torey definitely made progress with her and was able to reach her in a way that no one else seemed able to. I would say that this makes Torey’s year a success.
Dangerous Minds
By: LouAnne Johnson
1. Describe the Academy program. What is LouAnne really teaching?
The academy program is a program designed to teach students at-risk for dropping out of high school. The program has a select group of students work with the same teachers for two years. The program focuses on getting the students ready to interview for and secure jobs after school. They stress computer skills so that the students will have that skill when looking for a career. Aside from teaching English, LouAnne is teaching her students how to be successful and to believe in themselves. She provides opportunities where they develop self- confidence and self-esteem. She is a strong role model that is dedicated to making sure her students graduate and complete the program.
2. Do you approve of LouAnne loaning Raul $100 to pay for suspected stolen goods? Would you have loaned him the money if you were in LouAnne’s shoes? Do you think Raul paid her back?
I do think that LouAnne did the right thing by loaning Raul the $100. He was obviously desperate for the money and his attempts to earn the money were getting in the way of his schoolwork. By loaning him the money she made him promise that he couldn’t pay her back until after he graduated and made him give his word. Due to Raul’s culture, she knew that giving his word was very important and that he would do all he could to keep it. In doing so, LouAnne did what she could to guarantee that he stay in school and graduate instead of dropping out like many of his classmates. I do think that eventually Raul paid her back the money. He seemed very sincere in his promise to graduate and pay her back the money. If I were in her shoes I would hope that I would have loaned him the money. She obviously broke school rules in doing so but ultimately I think it was the right thing for the situation.
3. How did LouAnne use student input to develop classroom rules in Chapter 2?
She used student input to develop the classroom rules by asking them what they expect of her as a teacher and also what they think makes a good student. She had them come up with these characteristics and then showed them how all of these rules could be encompassed in just one rule of respecting yourself and others. While most of the students didn’t believe that she could have only one class rule, she explained that if they respected themselves and others there was no need for any other rule.
4. Why did Hal Grey tell LouAnne the “okie dokie artichoke” story? Was Hal an effective mentor for LouAnne in Chapters 2 and 3? Explain.
Hal told LouAnne the “okie dokie artichoke” story to give her an example of what not to do with the students based on his own experience. He warned her that gaining the respect of the students is important but abusing power will make the students lose respect for her and it is hard to get that back. I think that Hal had good intentions and was trying to give LouAnne what he thought was good advice about how to teach a class. However, Hal was extremely burnt out from teaching and no longer had a passion to teach. I think his negative attitude was discouraging to LouAnne and ultimately he wasn’t a great mentor for her.
5. Why did LouAnne’s P class perform differently than the ACL class on the Of Mice and Men end-of-book test in Chapter 4? Do you think the practice of tracking contributed to these outcomes.