Posts by Ashley:
- In developing countries, 1 in 7 girls marry before age 15. About 1 in 2 girls will become a mother by the age of 18.
- Also in developing countries, the leading cause of death for girls between the ages of 15 and 19 is complications due to early pregnancy.
- In the United States, 54 percent of third- through fifth-grade girls and 78 percent of high school girls worry about their appearance.
- About 7 in 10 girls between ages 15 and 17 who give birth in the United States drop out of high school.
- Each year, about a third of teenage girls in the U.S. report experiencing physical abuse from someone they’re dating.
I’m Ashamed to Admit: I’m a First-Time Voter
November 6th, 2012I am 28 years old, and I am a first-time voter.
I know, this is shocking news, especially for how political I am and how impassioned I am about women’s rights, racial issues, LGBTQ rights, you name it. I honestly am so embarrassed about it that I wasn’t planning on admitting it to anyone at all and passing off my voting today as no big deal. But here we are. Allow me to tell you how I got here.
I decided to have a discussion about politics with my Fearless Females at our meeting yesterday, and I was met with groans and eye rolls. “This is boring!” “It doesn’t apply to us! We can’t even vote!” “Politics are so negative!”
I was floored. A group of girls interested in women’s rights but not interested in politics?! How can it be? I mean, seriously, how is that even possible? So I did what any teacher would do in this situation. I re-planned (or un-planned, as it were), grabbed a marker, and asked them why they all had such an aversion to politics. As they spoke, I wrote their reasons on the board.
The reason that came up over and over again was that they didn’t want to start an argument. While part of me was shocked that this group of outspoken young women was afraid to start an argument about politics, I couldn’t say I was surprised at the sentiment. Few things get people upset like politics. There’s nothing like a political discussion at a family gathering to get someone to burst into tears or storm out the door. I, myself, have been privy to (read: victim of) more than a few political Facebook threads that have gotten out of hand. It’s definitely not pretty, and definitely not something I’d want to relive by choice, so why should they, especially when they’ve seen the adults in their lives engage in the same heated discussions?
The fact of the matter is that these girls want to make waves, but without moving the water. It’s the same reason why so many women writers write about pink topics – fashion, weddings, babies, etc. We want to stick to what we know, and stick to what’s safe.
Our discussion got me thinking about why I didn’t actually vote before now. I was definitely interested and informed enough to vote in 2008, but chose not to. I told myself it was because Illinois isn’t a swing state and is always a Democratic state and, therefore, my vote didn’t matter. I also could have voted in 2004, even though I wasn’t as interested or informed at that point, but I told myself I was away at college and didn’t really understand the absentee voting process.
The truth is that, both times, I didn’t want to risk getting too involved in the coverage leading up to the elections and starting some kind of irreparable argument. The scariest thing is that I didn’t even realize that is what was going on until yesterday. From such a young age, girls are conditioned to be sugar and spice and everything nice. We’re given baby dolls and kitchen sets and told that we need to be sweet or else we’ll never find a husband. Even when we’re outspoken 23-year-olds, we say something headstrong and are told, “That’s why you aren’t married.” We are conditioned to bite our tongues and smile sweetly whenever anyone says anything we disagree with. And forget trying to say anything someone else might disagree with.
Realizing I’ve always been afraid to make waves, and having become so willing to do so now, has made me realize just how important it is for me – and all women – to vote. We all have opinions; now we just need to share them and use them to make a difference in the world around us.
I may not have voted in years past, but it’s never too late to start. It’s not too late for you, either. Go vote!
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Feminist Odyssey Blog Carnival: Fifth Edition
November 5th, 2012
The fifth edition of the Feminist Odyssey Blog Carnival is up over at The Mamafesto! This month, we’re talking about “Having It All.” Go check it out!
And don’t forget to submit to the sixth edition of the blog carnival at Diary of an Accident Prone Feminist. For November, we’ll be taking posts on “Feminism and Activism.”
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Is Teaching Exhausting or Exhilarating?
October 26th, 2012
I’m over at Care2.com asking whether teaching is exhausting or exhilarating. What do you think?
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Rethinking the Routine
October 25th, 2012I’ve been thinking this week that I need to get back into a routine that incorporates writing. This year has been a difficult one because we have so many new things going on at school, and I haven’t been able to quite get a handle on it, which has meant I don’t have much time when I am at home, and the time I do have, I have spent either in front of the television zoning out or asleep on the couch. These reforms have been exhausting to say the least.
I really miss writing for myself, though. I have been able to keep up a little bit at Care2 and Teaching Tolerance, but this space has been hit or miss. I have an entire Evernote notebook dedicated to blog post ideas that just keeps filling up, but I can’t tackle any of them because I’m just too exhausted.
So, this week, I took a look at my routine. I get up early, make breafast, shower, go to work, come home, cook dinner, and usually grade some papers or plan. On most days, I usually squeeze in some type of housework so I’m not so overwhelmed on the weekends, and I try to get to the gym at least three days a week. By the time I actually get to the weekends, I feel so mentally drained, I can’t even think about opening up my computer. Oh yea, and I like to spend time with my husband at some point to make me feel like we still have some semblance of a relationship. He’s going through the same thing, so we have to actually schedule time to hang out together.
My goal of looking at my routine was to see what I could eliminate. Last year, I worked really hard and had a great year, but I rarely took work home. I thought getting to school a little earlier could help, so I tried that. It did help a little, but just made me more tired. I decided to only take larger assignments – papers, tests, etc. – home, and try to do all of my other grading and planning at school. I’ve been sitting on some papers for a while now, but the students don’t seem to mind, so I’m not too worried. The housework is non-negotiable, unfortunately, because I am very particular about my environment. I do try to leave things go instead of take care of them immediately like I used to do in the apartment, but I do tend to clean every week because I like a clean house. Plus, we now have two dogs. Have you ever vacuumed after having two dogs hang out in your house for a week? I emptied that vacuum bin three times the last time I vacuumed.
There was no way I was giving up the gym, and I’m certainly not giving up my husband, so that left cooking.
If you have been around here for a while, you know that I love to cook. There’s just something calming and satisfying not only about making food, but about eating a good, home-cooked meal. More than that, I see cooking as a way to provide for my family, and also as a way to have a healthy relationship with food. For a long time, I counted calories like it was my job. When I finally figured out that even low-cal options are often super processed and, therefore, pretty unhealthy, I decided to give that all up in favor of listening to my body and finding really great and healthy foods to make. On top of all of that, dinner is often the only time Tim and I have to spend together during the week before we move our separate ways to work for the evening.
I seemed to be at an impasse. I couldn’t give up anything for the writing without giving up a little bit of myself. So what’s a girl to do?
I turned to Pinterest, obviously.
I had been pinning a bunch of slow cooker recipes to make on weekends, and, after testing out a few, I’ve decided that I really like them. I get to cook, they’re delicious, and while they are not always healthy, they’re just as healthy as the easy meals I tend to make like pasta with alfredo sauce or ravioli casserole. Even better, they cook without me having to stand over a stove.
This weekend, I decided to freeze a few meals ahead to make in the slow cooker during the week. I figured I could just dump a meal in, turn it on, and come home to a delicious meal.
Now, you’re talking to the girl who unplugs the toaster before she leaves in the morning, so leaving the slow cooker on all day was a bit of a feat, but now that I’m home and everything was safe and totally fine, allow me to extoll the virtues of my slow cooker for a minute here. Dinner is cooked and waiting for Tim to get home, the kitchen is already clean, and I had to do literally NO WORK. OK, not none. I did have to dump the meal into the slow cooker, plug it in, and turn it on. But I can hardly count that as work.
This has given me time to play with the dogs, enjoy a glass of wine, and… well… write this blog post. It’s not a very exciting one, but it IS exciting that I had the time to write it!
I was nervous about leaving the slow cooker on all day at first, but I definitely think that this will revolutionize the way I cook (and write) during the school year.
And now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s dinner time.
Photo Credit: Joelk75
Because who doesn’t like cute dog pictures?
October 24th, 2012
Bailey is fitting in great! He and Penny are like old friends. We absolutely love having him around. He’s such a sweetheart!
Day of the Girl Inspires Student Action (Teaching Tolerance)
October 21st, 2012
I’m over at Teaching Tolerance today talking about Day of the Girl and the events at our school:
I was shocked that for these girls under 18 and dedicated to talking about pertinent girls’ issues, it could be unclear why we needed a Day of the Girl. I started doing some research. My students and I were all astounded by the statistics I found:
Read the whole post here!
Image Credit: Day of the Girl Summit
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Friendships Change (Role/Reboot)
October 15th, 2012I’m over at Role/Reboot today talking about changing female friendships:
But then I got married. On top of teaching full-time, I had a wedding to plan and grad school to finish and, after the wedding, I still had my job plus my writing, which was all meant to help us save for a house. Furthermore, I felt immense pressure (from society, mostly) to keep the house clean and cook good meals. About six months after we got married, we decided to add a dog to the mix, which brought on a whole new set of responsibilities. Whoever said getting a dog would be a good test for having children was right. It’s a lot of work.
In the meantime, many of my married friends started having babies, which pulled them further away from the active social lives they once had. My groups of friends were now split into three categories: unmarried, married without kids, and married with kids. Trying to get the unmarried girls’ schedules with their still-active social calendars to match up with the new moms’ schedules, which were now filled with diapers and bedtime stories, was next to impossible.
Read the whole post here!
Featured Image Credit: Tobyotter
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Sponsored Post: Do You Need Life Insurance?
October 15th, 2012The first time Tim and I thought seriously about life insurance was when we bought this house.
Lots of our friends got huge life insurance policies the instant they got married, and some of them even started with policies well before they even met “the one.” While we saw the value in life insurance, we also saw it as an added expense that was just unnecessary. We lived in an apartment, neither of us had any kids, and we both had stable jobs. If anything happened to one of us, the other would be just fine. Getting out of a rented apartment is a lot easier than getting out of owned property, and neither of us had huge, mutual bills to take care of. Furthermore, Tim and I had both lived on our own before getting married, so we felt confident that we could take care of ourselves if something happened.
Then we bought the house. While we were confident we could handle the added monthly costs of the mortgage, home repair, and homeowners insurance together, we weren’t so sure that we could do it alone if we had to.
We thought about getting life insurance right away, but just couldn’t afford it with the closing costs we were prepared to pay. Also, without kids, I was sure that, if anything happened to Tim, I wouldn’t want to stay in this house at all; I would just want to sell it and move as far away as I could, making life insurance to cover our mortgage unnecessary. Tim felt the same should anything ever happen to me.
Now, though, as we settle in more and more every day, our house is becoming much more of a home than just a house to us. Personally, I couldn’t ever imagine living anywhere else; that is how much our house means to me now. Our house means love, stability, and happiness. It would be difficult to sell and move anywhere else.
We’ve started seriously thinking about getting life insurance policies again. Lots of policies are very affordable, and there is an added bonus of being able to borrow against them should we need the money in the future. We’re also starting to see the value in making sure our loved ones are comfortable and not saddled with debt should anything ever happen to us. That’s the strange thing about insurance; it always seems like an unneeded expense, until you need the insurance to cover something! Tim and I are just now starting to see why we might need coverage. Maybe it’s because we’ve bought a house. Maybe it’s because we’re growing up. Maybe it’s because you can’t really put a price on love, but you can make sure those you love are set up for whatever they need, even after you are gone.
Click here to get a rate quote.
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Image Credit: Alan Cleaver
What’s Best for the Family
October 14th, 2012You might recall a few weeks ago that we got a new dog. You might have also sensed that I was a bit uneasy about the dog becoming a part of our lives. He was very anxious, and made the dog we had before we got him – Penny – extremely anxious as well. He also growled and bared teeth at Tim more than once, and even snapped at him for no reason.
Unfortunately, after careful consideration and lots of tears, we decided we had to take him back to the shelter.
I know. It’s awful. You think you’re saving a dog and you have to turn around and send him back to a cold kennel in an underfunded shelter.
But I had to do what was best for my family. There were lots of things at play here. The growling and snapping at Tim pushed us over the edge, but that wasn’t the only thing going on. The dogs’ anxiety levels made it difficult for anyone to relax, especially me. It’s no secret that I’m a high-anxiety person, and having three high-anxiety living creatures in one house was just too much; it wasn’t healthy for anyone. On top of that, we wanted to be sure he would get along with the other dogs in the family, and it didn’t seem like he was doing too well at that, either. What made me extremely nervous was that Tim and I will probably have kids at some point down the line, and by the time we had toddlers, this dog would be really old and even more snappy, growly, and cranky than he was already.
It was just too much. It wasn’t healthy for anyone, the new dog included. We had to bring him back.
This was my first experience making a tough decision in the name of our family. It was heartbreaking and awful, and, honestly, if it were up to me, we would have kept the little guy, but we realized what had to be done for the best interests of everyone involved, and we did it. I don’t feel good about bringing him back, but I do feel good that Tim and I were able to come together and do what we had to.
The thing about it, though, is that, when it was good with the two dogs, it was really good. They played, ran around, and taught each other how to be better dogs and family members. They had company, and Penny was more than a little depressed when he was gone, even though he had only been with us for a week. If I am honest with myself, I was more than a little depressed when he was gone, too.
So, you guessed it. We went to another shelter this weekend with all of the things we had learned from this experience in mind and we fell in love with a wonderful 2-year-old beagle. We introduced Penny to him today, which went much better than the last time, and if all goes well with his neutering and heartworm test, we will be bringing him home on Tuesday. (If not, we’ll still be bringing him home, just at a later date.)
Beagles and terriers (Penny is a terrier, obviously.) get along really well together, apparently. Terriers are active and silly, while beagles are laid-back and good at taking hints. The other dog we had was a terrier, as well, and apparently putting two terriers together is a terrible idea because neither of them know when to stop pushing the other’s buttons. Today’s introduction went much better, and I’m confident that this new dog will be a better fit for our family.
So, without further ado, meet Bailey, the newest addition to the Samberts family!
Two Years And So Much More
October 9th, 2012Two years. Where has the time gone?
In two years, we’ve gotten a house, two dogs, and more love than I could ever imagine.
One year ago, I was just starting to realize that functioning as a unit isn’t a bad thing:
I’m finally starting to realize that being a little dependent on someone isn’t always a bad thing, and that leaning on each other and fostering each other’s successes and building up each other’s spirits and supporting each other’s endeavors can, actually, help us become better people apart than we ever could be, but to do that, we need to function more as a unit than as two people who happened to marry each other.
Today, we are more a unit than ever before. Additions like dogs and a mortgage can make or break a coupe, and it’s definitely made us. My mother-in-law said something interesting this weekend. She got engaged very young, and she said that you can do that and have it work out as long as you grow together. Personally, I think this is the key to any successful relationship: you must grow together.
The past year has given us many challenges, but Tim and I have talked, agonized over decisions, and come out the other side on the same page. We’ve pulled each other through sorrows and celebrated each other’s successes. We’ve grown closer. We’ve grown together.
I can’t wait to see what this next year brings, because I know that, whatever it is, we’ll do it together.
I love you, my favorite.
Guest Post: Top 5 Book-to-Movie Adaptations in the Last Decade
October 8th, 2012
When a director and screenwriter team up to adapt a book to a full-length feature film, the results are often mixed. The complexity of well-written stories often makes it difficult to do them justice in the span of a couple of hours on film. And most of the time, the adaptations end up being botched efforts that plague the legacy of their source work.
However, we can celebrate the adaptations that turn out well. Next time your tune into your Cable TV or satellite service, be on the lookout for these 5 best book to movie adaptations of the last decade:
American Psycho (2007): This film is adapted from the 1991 Bret Easton Ellis novel of the same name. The story follows Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman, a wealthy Wall Street banker who moonlights as a brutal rapist, torturer and murderer. The movie was highly successful, and most negative reviews cited the movies sheer brutality as a negative aspect. Still, the performances of Bale and others like Reese Witherspoon and William Dafoe made this one of the most memorable book to movie adaptations of the decade.
No Country for Old Men (2007): Joel and Ethan Cohen took on this adapation, which is based on the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name. The story features a Vietnam veteran who finds a case full of money from a drug deal gone wrong, a creepy killer who attempts to track him down and a soon-to-retire Sheriff who is trying to contain the violence in his small Texas town. Featuring one of the best performances of the decade from Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men won an Academy Award for Best Picture.
Precious (2009): This heartfelt and emotionally tolling film is based on the 1996 novel “Push” by Sapphire. The story follows Precious, an oft-abused inner-city teenager about to have her second baby, and the people around her who help give her overcome all the obstacles she faces – including her cruel mother and her misguided sense of self. The popular film was critically acclaimed for the performances of Gabourey Sidibe and Mo’Nique, who played Precious and her abusive mother, respectively.
Atonement (2007): Based on the Ian McEwan romantic drama and love story, Atonement was nominated for Best Picture at the 80th Academy Awards, losing out to No Country for Old Men. The film received positive reviews for the performances of James McAvoy and Keira Knightly, and was lauded for its score and cinematography. The film’s numerous award nominations and critical acclaim made it a must to include on this list.
The Hunger Games (2012): This film is based on the highly successful 2008 Suzanne Collins novel of the same name. The story follows a teenage girl as she fights to the death in a futuristic dystopian society following the fall of civilization. The performance of Jennifer Lawrence and the special effects and cinematography bring to life what Suzanne Collins portrayed in her novel. One of the most popular films of the last few years, the The Hunger Games is the final member of the list of best book to movie adaptations.
Many other adaptations have hit the big screen in the past decade. Which ones do you like?
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Image Credit: plural
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An Interview with Justin Stanley of Uprise Books
October 2nd, 2012
You may not have noticed from all of the posts on this blog, but it’s Banned Books Week! You all saw my awesome bulletin board to celebrate the week. My students have all seen it, too, and they are outraged to find some of their favorite titles on the list. They are also very interested in reading some of the other books they saw on the board, and were excited to find out that we will be reading several of them this year in class.
This is English Teacher 101. You want a kid to read? Tell them the book is banned, and they will want to read it.
That’s Justin Stanley’s idea, too. His nonprofit, Uprise Books, puts banned and challenged books into the hands of underprivilged kidsfor free. Fighting censorship and promoting literacy? Yes please!
I was fortunate enough to get an interview with Justin for my Banned Books Week post at Care2.com. Here’s a little teaser:
Ashley: What is the most dangerous part about censorship, in your opinion?
Justin: I think that the bans and challenges usually come from a good place, from a desire to protect children from what the adults see as the ugliness in the world. Unfortunately, covering your child’s eyes doesn’t really make the ugliness go away; it only makes them less equipped to deal with it on their own.
Go read the whole interview! It’s pretty awesome.
Check out all of my Banned Books Week 2012 posts here!
Photo Credit: wanderingone
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Banned Books Week Bulletin Board
October 1st, 2012I am ridiculously proud of this.
Check out all of my Banned Books Week 2012 posts here!
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There’s a New Kid (Dog) on the Block
October 1st, 2012We have a new addition to the Samberts household! And it’s a boy!
No, we didn’t have a baby. We adopted another dog! He’s a 4-year-old rat terrier mix named Charlie that we got from the awesomest shelter around. He’s two years older than our other terrier, Penny, but it’s nice that she has a friend.
We got him last Tuesday, and it’s been a little difficult to be totally honest. If you’ve ever had more than one kid, you probably know what I’m talking about. Penny was jealous, difficult, and turned into a dog I’d never really seen before. At first, we didn’t want to correct her behavior because we didn’t want her to feel like she was punished or left out because of the new dog. We quickly realized that was not the way to go; as soon as we started correcting her behavior, it got a lot better.
Last night, however, Charlie got a little overwhelmed and started growling at Penny and Tim. We’re sure it was a combination of several things, but it was pretty nerve-wracking. Today was much better, so we’re hoping it was a fluke.
Charlie is still really nervous. He won’t come upstairs, and he’d rather be in his crate than anywhere else. Penny is sitting with me in my office as I write this, but Charlie is downstairs on the couch, even though no one is down there with him. We did take a really long, great walk today, though, so that’s positive.
I’m excited to welcome Charlie into our home, even if I’m a little sad that our one-dog family has changed so much. I definitely didn’t expect things to change as much as they did, but a lot of it is for the better. Penny and Charlie are teaching each other new things all the time, and it feels really great to know we rescued another dog. We’re still watching him to be sure that the growling was a one-time thing because we don’t want to endanger anyone, but I think it’ll all work out in the end.
So, to brighten up your Monday, here are some Penny and Charlie pictures! Penny is the brown and white dog, and Charlie is the black and white dog.
Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read
September 30th, 2012
It’s Banned Books Week! This is literally my favorite week of the year. We just finished reading Fahrenheit 451 and my students are excited to start reading some banned books of their own. (I, of course, suggested a few of my favorites. Next to Fahrenheit 451, I love Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Howl.) I have lots of events planned for this week, including the unveiling of the best bulletin board ever, a few articles and an interview with the president of Uprise Books – a nonprofit dedicated to getting banned books into the hands of underprivileged teenagers for free– and as some awesome student-made videos that will be shown in my school. I’ve also carved out some time to FINALLY read 1984 cover-to-cover.
Let’s start the festivities off with a proclamation. This has been adapted from ALA.org.
WHEREAS, the freedom to read is essential to our democracy, and reading is among our greatest freedoms; and
WHEREAS, privacy is essential to the exercise of that freedom, and the right to privacy is the right to open inquiry without having the subject of one’s interest examined or scrutinized by others; and
WHEREAS, the freedom to read is protected by our Constitution; and
WHEREAS some individuals, groups, and public authorities work to remove or limit access to reading materials, to censor content in schools, to label “controversial” views, to distribute lists of “objectionable” books or authors, and to purge libraries of materials reflecting the diversity of society; and
WHEREAS, both governmental intimidation and the fear of censorship cause authors who seek to avoid controversy to practice self-censorship, thus limiting our access to new ideas; and
WHEREAS, every silencing of a heresy, every enforcement of an orthodoxy, diminishes the toughness and resilience of American society and leaves it less able to deal with controversy and difference; and
WHEREAS, Americans still favor free enterprise in ideas and expression, and can be trusted to exercise critical judgment, to recognize propaganda and misinformation, and to make their own decisions about what they read and believe, and to exercise the responsibilities that accompany this freedom; and
WHEREAS, intellectual freedom is essential to the preservation of a free society and a creative culture; and
WHEREAS, conformity limits the range and variety of inquiry and expression on which our democracy and our culture depend; and
WHEREAS, the American Library Association’s Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read is observed during the last week of September each year as a reminder to Americans not to take their precious freedom for granted; and
WHEREAS, Banned Books Week celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that Small Strokes celebrates the American Library Association’s Banned Books Week, (Insert Dates Here), and be it further
RESOLVED, that Small Strokes encourages all libraries and bookstores to acquire and make available materials representative of all the people in our society; and be it further
RESOLVED, that Small Strokes encourages free people to read freely, now and forever.
Adopted by Small Strokes
September 30, 2012
Check out all of my Banned Books Week 2012 posts here!
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Faith & Feminism: Feminist Odyssey Blog Carnival Fourth Edition
September 30th, 2012
The fourth edition of the Feminist Odyssey Blog Carnival is officially up over at from two to one! There are some awesome posts by some really fantastic writers, all dealing with the issue of Faith and Feminism, so go check it out!
The fifth edition will be hosted on Halloween by the wonderful Avital at The Mamafesto. Stay tuned for more details!
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Teaching Tolerance: Keeping Students Strong While We Stop Bullies
September 22nd, 2012I’m over at Teaching Tolerance today talking about what we can do to help students when they are being bullied, but when the bullies are hard to find:
Now I try to help students as much as I can, both inside my classroom and out. Every year, I receive about a dozen personal essays, journal entries or folded notes on my desk describing instances of bullying. Some students are hopelessness. Others are looking for the strength to push on. All of them want advice on how to handle it.
About 30 percent of middle and high school students are bullied each year, according to the U.S. Department of Education. We’ve read news reports about students are resorting to harming themselves—or worse—in an attempt to stop the misery.
So while we focus on ensuring that school policies are clear on bullying, intervene in any incidents and instruct bystanders on how to speak up, we must continue to empower each student being bullied.
Check out the whole article here!
What do you do to empower students and children to continue on in the face of bullies?
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A Feminist Kind of Faith
September 19th, 2012I’m not one to talk much about faith. As a teacher, I feel it is my responsibility to ensure that church and state remain separate in my classroom. I know not all teachers feel that way, and I suppose that is their right, but I’d much rather discuss everything critically through a lens of tolerance and acceptance. I think, especially when terrible, religiously motivated tragedies occur in our world, we as educators need to be concerned with making sure students understand that one of the founding principles of our nation was the freedom of religion and, as such, we should uphold those values and practice religious tolerance when necessary.
I suppose this is easy for me to say, though, because I’m not necessarily a religious person. For the most part, I was raised Catholic, but I no longer practice and I was never confirmed. Our wedding ceremony was outside at the golf course where we held our reception and performed by my uncle, which says a lot, I think, because most weddings I’ve been to have had some religious overtones at least, and ours did not.
People have asked me frequently about my faith, and, depending on the audience, I usually give some vague response followed by a joke and a change of subject. My husband, Tim, is the same way. We talk about faith privately, but it isn’t something we’re anxious to get into in public.
One time when we were at lunch, one of my friends was trying to engage me in a discussion about faith and, after my typically vague response, she blurted out, “Do you even believe in anything? You really should believe in something, you know. It’s good for the soul.” Then, the waiter came and dropped off the check and our discussion turned to splitting the bill. I was saved by the bill.
I’ve thought about that moment often, though, and, were I to answer that friend now, I would say: Yes, I do believe in something. I believe in a lot of things, actually, and I believe them to the core of my very being. I believe in equality for everyone regardless of gender, race, sexuality, ability, and any other reason people are discriminated against. I believe in the healing power of laughter, and that a genuine smile can go a long way. I believe people are generally good if you give them the chance to be. I believe in my students, and I believe in the educational system that was founded on the belief that everyone in our country has the right to a good education. I believe my family will catch me, no matter how far I fall. I believe in people. I believe in the transformative power of love. I believe in myself.
In many ways, feminism has lead me to this faith because it has allowed me to see the sheer volume of people working for a better world in their own ways and has inspired me to work harder in mine. My faith is a different kind of faith, but that doesn’t make it any less important or powerful, and it certainly is just as good for the soul.
This post was written as a submission to the fourth edition of the Feminist Odyssey Blog Carnival. For more information, click here.
Photo Credit: Balaji.B
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Dystopian Novels Teens Love Post-Hunger Games (Care2.com)
September 18th, 2012
I’m over at Care2.com today talking about 7 classic dystopian novels that are great to recommend (or teach!) to teens after they’ve read The Hunger Games. This is particularly important now that the first video is out on DVD. Even if teenagers loved the movie and didn’t read the book, you can inspire them to read one of these!
Dystopian literature is so popular, especially right now, because of the anxiety of these times. We are facing a global recession, war, and a new tragedy every time we turn on the news. People turn to dystopian literature in these times because it calls to our attention the possibility of a different world, and makes us think about how much worse the world could actually be. Furthermore, each dystopian novel is equipped with its own Katniss — its own hero willing to risk everything to make the world a better place. For this reason, people with idealistic tendencies, and especially teenagers, love dystopian fiction because they still believe that the world can be improved.
Whatever your reason for loving dystopian literature, there is plenty of it to choose from. Some of the best authors in the world have written classic dystopian fiction for you and your teen to enjoy, and the following slideshow will give you some ideas for what to read after you’ve finished The Hunger Games.
Click through to see the slideshow and find some great ideas for your teenagers to read, whether you are a teacher, a parent, or both.
Image Credit: Nomadic Lass
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Fahrenheit 451 and the Good Woman/Bad Woman Dichotomy
September 14th, 2012
I just started teaching Fahrenheit 451 with my honors English classes, and I’m so excited to be rereading talking about it. There are so many themes that are incredibly pertinent to our time. It never ceases to amaze me that this book, written in 1953, predicted so many of the shortcomings of our society. People relying on television for their relationships, earbuds to tune out the world, and burning books that make them uncomfortable.
Fahrenheit 451 is the reason I became an English teacher. I first read it in seventh grade because my English teacher at the time thought I would like it; he was right. It quickly became my favorite book, and I soon after devoured every story and novel by Ray Bradbury I could get my hands on. I cheered Guy Montag on as he fought for the right to read, to be sure, but I was more interested in the novel’s catalyst, Clarisse McClellan. Clarisse enters and leaves the story within the first quarter of the book, but it is because of her that Montag starts to question the society in which he lives.
I was much more than interested in Clarisse, though. I wanted to be her. Montag, upon first meeting her, is obsessed with her peculiar qualities, particularly the way she makes him think about himself. He associates her with beauty and glowing perfection, comparing her to snow, the moon, a glowing white clock you look at in the middle of the night, and, finally, a mirror: “…for how many people did you know who refracted your own light to you? People were more often – he searched for a simile, found one in his work – torches, blazing away until they whiffed out” (11).
Clarisse is positioned in stark contrast to Montag’s wife, Mildred. Where Clarisse is bright, curious, and engaging, Mildred is essentially dumb, blank, and generally associated with the night. While Clarisse gets Montag thinking about how the world could be, Mildred shows Montag how the world is, and it isn’t a pretty sight. Her hair is burned by so many chemicals, she’s stick-thin, and – the horror! – she doesn’t even want children, positioning her as cold-hearted and empty. When I first read the book at age 13, I looked around me, and many of my peers were turning into Mildred: frying their hair with bleach and straightening irons, dieting and exercising to the extreme, and refusing to read or think deeper than absolutely necessary.
In many ways, I have succeeded in becoming Clarisse. My job is one that asks me to reflect students’ “light” back to them, as Clarisse does for Montag. I try to get them to think about themselves in new ways, and I try to remain thoughtful and curious. However, I have some Mildred in me, too. I love fashion and I will burn my hair to get the right look. Furthermore, I’m not entirely opposed to turning on the TV or putting in my headphones and tuning out the world for hours at a time. The truth of it is, though, that, as a human being, I cannot be Clarisse and not Mildred. I am multi-faceted. I am a little bit of both.
This is the classic feminist’s dilemma: the female dichotomy. Written in 1953, this trope made a lot of sense, and it still does. Women are expected to be either Clarisse or Mildred, Taylor Swift or Kesha, Christina Aguilera or Britney Spears. You are supposed to fit into a little box: good or evil, light or dark, pure or tainted. The problem is, though, that women don’t fit into boxes; they can be both good and evil, light and dark, Clarisse and Mildred.
Fahrenheit 451 is a classic piece of literature, and it is still one of my favorites, even after I’ve combed through it with my feminist lens. It still holds important themes we need to talk about in our society, especially while people are still beholden to their televisions and iPods, and while people are still burning books and championing an unthinking society. Just because it is important, though, doesn’t mean it isn’t flawed. Bradbury’s use of women as foils and catalysts but nothing more doesn’t get a passing grade from this feminist but, even so, I won’t stop teaching it or, for that matter, loving it.
Photo Credit: PjotrP