The Outsiders is out dated...

I never really felt as though The Outsiders shouldn't be taught, not until today. Don't get me wrong, it is a great story and has powerful social class issues throughout, but today's society isn't the same. The divide between class is not as drastic as it was when S.E. Hinton wrote the novel. The Greasers and the Socs had conflict because back in the 1950's and 1960's. You see a lot more integration between social classes and that seems to have been helped by the civil rights movement. I'm sure there are certain situations which still relate to this story in today's society somewhere, but not all over. The other characteristic of the novel that is well outdated is the huge fight which drives Pony Boy away from town. Murder is so prevalent in society today that this type of evasion would be easily detectable. I know there are some people who are going to say this relates to how our lives are affected today, but I disagree. A fight of that magnitude would surely have been broken up very quickly as well. I love The Outsiders, and probably always will, but I don't think I would teach it.

The main theme throughout Ironman would be relationships. This novel has the title of a Matt Christopher book but actually digs way deeper. The struggles the characters go through are plotted throughout the book. There is the relationship between Bo and his football coach/English teacher, Mr. Redmond. That deals with the struggles between people who don't have any liking for each other. It is a relationship built off power. Redmond doesn't want to see Beauregard succeed throughout the book. He even comes to the Yukon Jack hoping to see Bo lose to the CFU students. There is the relationship between Bo and Mr. S. They have a great bond because of Mr. S's past experience, but that is strained when Bo finds out that Mr. S is gay. Bo overcomes Mr. S's sexuality because he realizes through the works of Mr. Nakatani that it shouldn't matter about what Mr. S prefers, just as long as he helps Bo. Mr. Nak, as Bo calls him, helps Bo with his Anger issues and pretty much any issue Bo has. There are many to go through, but let us cut to the chase, Bo and his father, Lucas, have the main relationship in the Novel. Bo and Luke don't get along, they are too much alike, both being very headstrong males. Luke seems to want the best for Bo, but wants him to earn it. Bo has so many issues with his dad that date back to his preteen years. Beauregard missed a Christmas because Luke tried teaching him a lesson about respect and responsibility. Luke, even to the dismay of Mr. Nak, was helping the local Triathalon relay team from the University swim team beat Bo at the Yukon Jack. Bo finds out when Elvis tells him that he was giving the relay team the best road bike for free. These are just a few of the issues Bo had with his dad. This novel, as you can see, deals heavily with positive and negative relationships.

Its hard as a child, especially...

Young and Frankie suffer through a lot of adversity throughout their adolescent lives. They both have to deal with their inability to speak English. Frankie fails the first grade because he can't speak English well enough while Young has problems initially in class. The way she describes the students and teachers speaking makes sense because you interpret things differently as a child. What really sets Frankie apart from Young are the experiences working when he was young. His entire family had to help put food on the table. He made so many sacrifices to ensure his family had their basic needs. He was put through a lot of troubles because of Papa's injuries. Their family even got sent out of the country for a time because of being illegal. Frankie worked and had school. He had to work early in the morning before school and on the weekends. This KID never had a break in his life. I think it made Frankie tough though, it helped him mature as a person. He had instilled lots of values which people today lack. He was incredibly hard working and never gave up. He rarely talked out of line and showed utmost respect for his elders.
I think Young had an identity crisis because of her Father. Poon always seemed to be favored. I don't really relate to Na's book which is why I spoke about Jimenez's in detail.

Rainy Lake..

Rainy Lake really has the feeling of a family novel rather then a piece of adolescent literature. The novel has great lessons for families. Teaching Rainy Lake would be very beneficial to students in the high school area because it allows children to draw comparisons. I am not a girl which would really help males in the classroom see that it isn't just a novel for women. I think if I could tell them how it relates not only to females but to males as well. It is a family piece which most people who take vacations can probably see. I noticed for a while when we used to go on family vacations that they were in fact vacations. Year after year went on and the strength of our family diminished because of growing pains. Eventually, my family stopped going on vacations together because we couldn't be in the same area without a huge fight breaking out.

I also relate to this story because of how characters tended to just settle for things instead of striving for what they wanted. I think a lot of people do that, and I can't say I don't in some respects, but I did just end a relationship because I was unhappy. I had been unhappy for awhile but settled because it was the easy way out. Many of the characters, like Terese, were sticking to something they weren't in it for. They settled. The jewish boy's mom would be upset if they got married because she wasn't jewish, so the passion there was never going to stick. even Danny didn't go for what she wanted, she ended up settling for Larry rather then be with Billy. Given, she had to deal with the racial aspect because of her parents and society. She could have broken that trend but decided to settle for something less than what she wanted. Every time she kissed Larry she thought of Billy. If you think about Billy and how you want to be with him, why not just take a shot?

What can I say?

I used to have one of these suckers a few years ago, but some of my friends took some of the things I said to personally. Unbelievable.

I would definitely teach The House on Mango Street to High Schoolers.