Author: Louis Sachar
Summary:
Bradley is the biggest boy in his class, he sits way in the back of the class, no one wants to sit by him, as he doesn't have any friends. No one in his school and his class wants to be friends with him, and he doesn't want to make friends with anyone. He goes to school everyday but doesn't do his homework, and his teacher seem to not say much to him because he always has an excuse or make up stories about why his parents never show up for teacher/parent meetings. His father doesn't tolerate Bradley's behavior but his mother tends to do what ever he wants. His sister is a smarty pants that always wants to know what is Bradley up to. Until one day a new boy name Jeff enters the classroom and is pointed to sit by Bradley, which he doesn't mind. They become friends after a while but end up fighting because of bad stories circulating in school. But when the word gets out that a boy was in the girls bathroom, and Bradley finds out it's Jeff, he thinks it's cool and they become friends again. Finally the new school has a new counselor name Carla, and she accepts and becomes a friend of Bradley even though he didn't want to in the beginning. Because Bradley has a lot of problems he is told that he must go and see his counselor and get help by telling her what he needs and why he doesn't do any homework. Things take a turn for the good and slowly Bradley changes his ways, he starts greeting people, and even become friends with some boys that use to beat him up, he tries to do his homework but ends up ripping the paper and trashing it because he couldn't see himself turning it in. Only Carla sees that he's trying really hard at first, and she's the only one that tells him what he wants to hear. So now Bradley is a bit confuse because he's beginning to fall in love, well at least he thought he was. As other students were seeing Carla, parents started to complain and a meeting was held as parents wanted to remove the counselor saying that she was feeding their children with wild ideas. Bradley's meetings with Carla always turned out positive even if Bradley was angry, but he always enjoyed talking to her. Finally, Carla told him that she was moving to a new school that needed her assistance. Bradley was angry and walked out, but before he left she asked him for help in packing and moving her things. Bradley never showed up on that day, but soon as he remembered he ran all the way to her office but she was already gone. He was surprise the next day when he went to school, he saw next to his name were stars that the teacher had placed there. He wondered what were the stickers for and came to find out that Carla had turned in his book report to the teacher. Now all he wanted to do was thank her for it, and that he did by writing her a letter.
Biography:
Sachar, L. (1987). There's a boy in the girls' bathroom. United States: Random House Children's Books.
My Impression:
I was very familiar with this type of situation, so my impression was "okay! I know the type of student this boy is because there are so many students just like him in our own classrooms. Bradley's case is very popular even today as we find students go to school but don't like doing homework only because they don't understand. There are students out there that can't ask questions because they're shy. Sometimes kids think that if they ask question other students think they're stupid, so they sit and don't do anything. Using myself an example when I first started taking courses at the college. I haven't been to school since I graduated so everything seemed new again. I sat in my math class, I couldn't understand what the teacher was saying, even when he was working out the problems. I went home not knowing what to do, so I ended up not doing anything. It went on for days until I finally decided that if I don't do anything I will fail, and I won't be able to graduate. I started asking my children for help and slowly I started to understand, but my son always told me "mom, just ask it's the only way you can understand, because sometimes there are different ways of solving them". I had no choice but to ask, so I waited until everyone left and then I went to see the teacher. Everyday after that things started to get better, I never got an A but I was able to pass which is all I needed was a passing grade. Bradley just needed to find the right person to talk to and I think that's where Carla came in. She always said the things that he needed to hear, making him feel comfortable and just listening was all Bradley needed. It's a good story line and a very familiar problem that can help others in true life.
Professional Review:
|
||||||||
| Retrieve from: | ||||||||
| http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:4874/DetailedView.aspx?hreciid=|5561956|6706850&mc=USA | ||||||||
| Bowkers Books in Print Use in Library Setting: I would love to utilize this book in a short skit where students can witness how bullying and not doing homework is not a good thing. Students learn faster when they actually get up and play a character. Students can take turns playing the part of Bradley and Jeff, then the class can have a discussion to decide if the teacher can pass you without turning in any homework. Image from: http://www.barnesandnoble.com | ||||||||
No comments:
Post a Comment