The social justices of Monster and Centerfield

  Walter Dean Myers has a fascinating way of going beyond traditional teaching styles.  Monster is a book about a young boy, Steve Harmon, who has been summoned to court to appear as an accomplice to an armed robbery.  Te entire book is written as a movie script because Steve Harmon is interested in movie making and editing.  He told his lawyer that one day he's like to turn this story into a film.
   Rather a quick read, Monster opens young eyes to the harshness of jails and seriousness of court cases.  The lawyers, and attorney Petrocelli, Briggs, and O'Brien, are vivid depictions of men and women in a courtroom.  The story itself is about two men that planned a stickup in a local store.  The owner of the store was by himself, and had a gun for protection.  The two perpetrators had gained control of the gun and shot the owner, Al Nesbitt.
  The story was a bit confusing in how they were giving information because ayers were promising a lesser sentence.  So, Steve Harmon had recognized the men involved, so they had dragged his name into the cops to add another victim to sentence.  But, that day, Steve Harmon was in the drugstore, and did walk out, but was not part of the crime as the others had mentioned.  He did not give a signal that the coast was clear.  He had been pulled into this whole mess because he was at the wrong place at the wrong time.
  The court script was very interesting to read.  Students can get a feel for how lawyers and judges interact with not only each other, but with their own clients.  Though  Steve was found innocent, Ms. O'Brien had never had faith in him.  She consistently said the odds were against them and to prepare for the worst.  Then, when they had won the case, she did not rejoice for her client.  He was not the 'monster' that the court had accused him to be.
   Mock trials are always a stimulating activity to do in the classroom.  I often did them in my sixth grade, and I created various roles for all the students.   We had read a short story about a trial, and the students wanted to try it.  It was a major success and I hope to do it again; this book would be a great follow up read for eighth graders.  I would not go any younger, depending on my students.  Some language and reference to what happens in jail is frightening for adults, let alone kids.  It is a quick read to open a student's mind to our justice system.
 


     In reference to the text, Young Adult Literature in the Classroom, "non fiction books can do more than motivate' they can improve student comprehension of expository text".  I agree with this fully.  Nonfiction has a way of captivating students because it is real.   Real people, real events, and real places have a way of hooking readers in.  It can provide  insightful looks into contemporary issues, and this is a perfect example.  Little detail can be provided in a textbook about the social injustices in New York, yet, Monster can.  Bringing non fiction into the classroom is essential for all students.  On page 95, the text states, "incorporate non fiction during sustained silent readings, and reading nonfiction aloud".   I read Randy Pausch's Last Lecture aloud this past school year, and it was very interesting to the students to follow along.  The whole class read chapters of the text, in small groups.  They read the book together, and then we invited guest speakers into our classroom to offer their own lecture on life's experiences.  These guest speakers really added emphasis to what we had read in class, and to their own lives.
 

Loosely connected, Robert Lipsyte wrote a novel called Centerfield.  Mike is a junior in high school and he is getting ready for an anticipated season playing Varsity center field.  Baseball is all he can think about.  His coach, Coach Cody, is really tough on his players but has brought them to championships.  Mike really respects him, almost as much as his baseball hero, Billy Budd.  Mike's life seems to fall off track when he decides to push a politically opinionated kid at school, Zack.  He knew about the zero tolerance policy at Ridgedale and thought his baseball season was out the window.  Luckily, Cody worked a schedule for him to work with Zack Saturday mornings in Cyber Club.  Little did Mike know he was supervising.
  Mike has inner turmoil against his parents, though he does his best to forgive their absence from his life.  A new store is opening, and they are busy with the finishing touches.   His brother and sister are also absent from his life; his best friend Ryan is there for him.  His girlfriend Lori tries desperately to be the girl for Mike, but he just doesn't see her for him.  A love interest in another character, Kat, develops.  She is mysterious enough to keep Mike on his toes.
  The story unfolds into the baseball season with a student, Oscar, who also plays center field.  He is an amazing player with talent that Mike recognizes, but doesn't want to give up his position.  He soon finds out that Oscar's dad is working for Mike's dad in preparations of the new store.  He knows they are from New York, but doesn't tell coach.  His focus is to please his coach as often as possible, to live up to expectation.  Kat and Mike begin to talk, and become an item towards the end of the book.  She had sent in a video to the Billy Budd website, "Meet and Greet with Billy for the Day" and Mike had won. He found his hero was not what he had envisioned for so long.  The site was created by managers, and Billy was too busy to interact with Mike.
  Next, Coach Cody's true colors came out.  Besides fabricated stories to different groups of kids, Mike and Zack work together to discover he had stolen an identity.  His real name was Roger.  Mike knew he had to get Coach out of their school for manipulating so many lives, including Kat's.  He does just that, with the help of his dad.

   This is a perfect read for eighth grade boys getting ready to enter high school and the realm of sports. It teaches them patience and working as a team.  Dedication to a team is important, and sometimes perseverance pays off.  I would use this as a book club read for boys- and I think they would enjoy it.  The language and vocabulary is easy to follow, and the chapters are relatively short to read through.   The use of dialogue is very good and allows the reader to really view Mike's inner thoughts and actions.  This would be very successful in a book club setting, especially among boys.
    In reference to the textbook, Young Adult Literature in the Classroom, book discussions are essential in understanding.  As Robb states on page 30, "How students read books at school is equally as important as what they read."   I think student engagement and involvement in talking about the book is crucial for understanding.  I like the idea posed on page 33 that states, "During discussions I circulate and listen to snippets of talk.  I carry sticky notes and a pencil, jotting down some of the students' discussion strategies.  Later I will review my notes to see what has worked well."  This is something I look forward to doing in my classroom because as a reflective teacher, I want to make the best learning environment possible.   This will help better engage myself with my students and their understanding.