Noticing Sentences

Racism/ Discussions Jared: Ah, here we go. Not every white person who kills a black person is guilty of a crime. Pretty sure the courts proved that yesterday. p27 The cop shoves him to the ground beside the police cruiser as he asks if Justyce understands his rights. Justyce doesn't remember hearing any rights, but his ears had been ringing from the two blows to the head, so maybe he missed them. He swallows more blood. p7 I thought if I made sure to be an upstanding member of society, I'd be exempt from the stuff THOSE black guys dealt with, you know? Really hard to swallow that I was wrong. p12 There are people who don't see a man with rights when they look at me, and I'm not real sure how to deal with that. p37 Me: It's a conundrum: white people hold most positions of authority in this country. How do I deal with the fact that I DO need them to get ahead without feeling like I'm turning my back on my own people? p49 Excellent discussion on privi...

Great examples of journalistic bias throughout. Check out in between chapters and discuss how different the articles are from the story we're getting from the victim. Discussions It doesn't matter that the person I murdered was the most miserable excuse for a human being to ever walk this earth, shy of Hitler. It's knowing he didn't have a chance to find some humanity, that I took it from him. p18 Every day since-- all 588 of them-- his deep voice fills my head with hate-filled words. I don't share his hate. I really don't. But that doesn't stop the thoughts from creeping into my mind. p19 (A powerful thing to discuss. Just because a prejudices or racist thought comes into our minds, that doesn't mean we have to believe it or hold it. We can and must reject it.) Not that I'm much different-- seeing as how my first inclination was to kill her, too. But I didn't want to do it. My reaction was instinct, hers is ... judgement. p26 It sm...

Description I only see the top of her Sisterlocks. The rest of her is hidden behind her Nikki Giovanni book. Occasionally she goes "Mmm" at some line the same way my grandma does during a sermon. Poetry's Mrs. Murray's religion. p4 Compliments like that are part of the parental responsibilities she took on when she evicted me from her womb. p9 Ever since that boy got killed, my heart races whenever I see a cop. I could've been him, he could've been me. Luck's the only thing that separated us. p237 Society and Expectations   Every single time I get sent to her, she asks me questions that sound like they cam from some "How to Talk to Statistical Black Children Who Come to Your Office Often" handbook. p7 ______________________ "Carrying the torch for Law, huh?" Not really. More like making my own torch and carrying it. I say, "Yeah," though, because that's what I'm supposed to say. It's part of being ro...

I think it would be interesting to discuss how students feel seeing this-- have they ever thought about all of the people who learn the "breaking news" about someone they know, someone they care about, this way. I think these panels would be good to discuss the effects (from the pages before) of people and events on our lives. And also the medical issues on this page in light of articles like the one about Serena Williams and her birth story. This one is good for the "All Lives Matter" thing. The way the media draws conclusions and the information they choose to share is always a good discussion.

Gender and Expectations It was part of that disorienting feeling she'd had for yeas, that feeling that everyone except her had been issued a handbook. Samantha knew it was important to be pretty and cute, but she had no idea how to be those things, or even why she was supposed to want to be. p23 But now being a girl was like being stuffed into a heavy, constricting costume. She could barely breathe in it. The rules of the universe were fixed: You look a certain way and so you have to act a certain way and people are going to treat you a certain way. There was no way to alter it. p24-25 "You're the only one who knows what you feel," Sasha said. "If that's the word for what you feel, then stick with that." p26 p33-35 has a great glossary for gender/ sexuality terms "For how vehemently I felt like I wasn't a girl, I have to say, being a boy isn't super great either," he admitted. "Both sides have such bullshit baggage atta...

"The Journalist" p30 for journalism class "Accessory" p47 word use/ word choice and juxtaposition "Don't Flatter Yourself" p71-72 males dealing with the male gaze I realized that the students in Wyoming didn't need to hear my speech as much as they needed to see me, an out, proud lesbian, right before their very eyes. I knew what my presence communicated to them: if my life was possible, their lives and the lives of their friends were possible, too. p89 Looking at Matthew Shephard's picture reminds me why I do the work I do: so that what happened to him will never happen again. I gaze at the face of the young man I never had the chance to meet, and whisper a traditional Jewish prayer for peace that includes the words: and you shall lay down and no man shall terrify you . To quote John Lennon: Imagine. p91

Social Customs I watch the tip of my tie sway to and fro and wonder how humans got to a place where we said, "Whoa. Hold on. Before I can take you seriously, you need to hang a brightly colored strip of narrow pointy cloth around your neck." p5 In general, I'd rather be bitten on the nuts by a Komodo dragon than make small talk. But sometimes you do what you have to do. p7 If Sauce Crew had official positions, mine would be Keeper of the Sacred Traditions. I love the idea of the families we choose having all the features of familydom, including traditions. p63 "Child Protection? My heavens, yes. The sheriff? Many times. But we're talking about a rural county with limited resources. They don't do a thing." p188 We work to make money and then hopefully use that money to buy ourselves memories with the people we love. Simple things like that bring us joy. p197 ___________________ "I thought you're supposed to have your private life fro...

A great Lincoln Award title. I used the hardback edition of Fat Boy vs the Cheerleaders . Someone else's life philosophy might not work for you Total realization sir, Doris couldn't help that she was so old. What was she going to do? Cry about living so long she no longer had control of her body? Better laugh than cry makes sense for her. I, on the other hand, have a choice. I'm a powerful young buck. Ass-dancing isn't the only option, right? p11 Fat Boy vs the Cheerleaders by Geoff Herbach Burn "You're showing us why democracy is bound to fail, Gabe. Somebody always wants more than their fair share and that someone is willing to forgo ethical considerations to get what they want." p22 Fat Boy vs the Cheerleaders by Geoff Herbach Politics  "Uh, Kaus Company? The pop machine? They own it? The price went up?" Camille said. "Kailey's mom is head of the school board? Kailey is suddenly getting a dance team? Sounds like conspir...

A Lincoln 2018 Finalist There are curse words in some of these quotes. They are left in for accuracy, but know they are there-- don't just cut and paste onto your Smartboard. :) I don't know... I'm not sure what to label these, but they needed to be saved. My dad got blown up in Afghanistan, and Ma and everybody we knew and plenty of people we didn't know but knew his name, all reminded me-- he sacrificed for all of us. He sacrificed for the good of the country. He died in the name of freedom. He died to prove to the wackos of the world who didn't believe in democracy, liberal economy, civil rights, and all that shit, that we were right and they were wrong. But for me, my dad was dead, so the frigging wackos won. And, seriously, who are the frigging wackos, anyway? I sure as hell didn't feel sane all the time. p31 All-American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely Custody . A police officer-- not the one who did this to me, but a different one, the ...