American Born Chinese

I've heard good things about our next novel, Persepholis, but when I saw that both American Born Chinese and Persepholis were graphic novels, I was fairly certain I would not only have difficulty reading them, but wouldn't be able to get into the story. I was sorely mistaken on both accounts.

I started American Born Chinese by reading the ABC portion inside the flap of the front cover and learned how three stories would be combined into one in this novel. That intrigued me. I found it more alluring than the information on the back of Boy Meets Boy because there were only three main characters to worry about. I wanted to see where their stories would take me. I decided to stop judging the format of this novel and try to enjoy it.

This novel is an "easy read" in terms of how quickly the reader can move through it from beginning to end, but there are some complexities that I didn't expect to find. It wasn't all about the expressions the characters had on their faces when they delivered lines, but the writing that made them stand out to me. I did, however, enjoy the Batman-esq "Bang!" "Pow!" "Whack!" that I couldn't help but look at (and laugh at) during the Monkey King parts of the story. I found that the characters were well-developed and the storyline held my attention until the very end. There is no question that my students would EAT THIS UP, hook, line, and sinker. The graphic novel is great for reluctant readers (much like I thought Monster would be, but for different reasons). I always urge my students to select novels that have more words than pictures, but in this case, it's a bit different. American Born Chinese has the relation factor that other novels may not have - the language and struggles of the characters are ones that my students also use and face every day.

I'm not sure what else I would use to teach this novel as supplemental materials in terms of other graphic novels, cultural novels or materials, or even something completely different. I'm anxious to hear what others have to say after our discussion last week about "teaching culture" versus exposing students to various cultures through the literature they read. I would, however, consider incorporating items from a colleague's recent trip to China to perhaps reverse the way the characters felt upon their arrival in America and allow students to experience being "different" in a culture they don't fully understand.

As for the article, "Cultural Reflections," I found myself nodding in agreement and feeling that I could have written several of Gaughan's experiences about my own first-year teaching experience. One essential question that came to the surface during my reading was, "How can teachers continue to improve their practices and pedagogy?" Gaughan's answer is found in reflections the teacher writes himself/herself. I WISH I had the time (or energy) during my first year to keep a journal log of my experiences teaching in a city school district. As I think back, I remember kids spitting sunflower seeds into the heater vents, finding a cockroach running up my neatly-constructed bulletin board, locking my belongings up with a padlock every day (and still having $20 stolen from my desk drawer), and breaking up fights that left desks askew and the remnants of hair weaves on my classroom floor. If I were the crying type, I would have been in tears every day.

I learned from my first year that I'm the surviving type. This is only because there were little glimmers of hope that occurred as well: a Thank You note from one of my English as a Secondary Language learners who really took command of the English language that year, a stuffed bear I received as a gift from one of my students (which still lives in my classroom today), the first time I demanded that paragraphs be turned in on time and they actually were (in the spring semester), and the one and only time every student in my class received a 100% on the weekly spelling words, due mostly to the in-class strategies I used once I figured out these kids weren't going to do any work at home (which was also a spring semester revelation).

It is because of these experiences, both good and bad, that I am the teacher I am today. I may have hated having to go through my first year, but having made it through that time, I wouldn't trade it for anything. As Gaughan mentioned, most teachers get into education because they had a favorite teacher when they were students themselves. I had many favorite teachers and when students enjoy my class and learn from my teaching, I feel that I've come full circle.