Right Before Stargirl Vanishes...

"I tried to play dumb, but that wasn't working. Hey, I said, don't look at me. We're talking about them. Them. If it was up to me, I wouldn't change a thing. You're fine with me the way you are. But we're not alone, are we? We live in a world of them, like it or not.

That's where I tried to keep it, on them. I didn't mention myself. I didn't say do it for me. I didn't say that if you don't change you can forget about me. I never said that."

Choose ONE of the following questions to answer for your comment this week:

1. Do you think it's right that Leo pins his comments about Stargirl on "them"? Do you think he's being honest? Why or why not?

2. Do you agree that "we live in a world of them"? Do you think as many people fall into the "them" category as Leo thinks? Why or why not?

3. Why do you think Leo cares so much about what "everybody" thinks? How would you behave similarly/differently in his position?

For extra credit to start the new quarter, check back in and respond to someone else's comment after you've already written.

This post and any extra-credit responses are due Friday at 8:00 a.m.

The Hot Seat!

Write a short (5ish) sentence response to the section we read in class today. I think this quote is a pretty interesting place to think about:

"The jurors laughed. They were a mob. Hands grabbed at the mike. Kevin looked anxiously at me. I could do nothing. With all the buttons and switches at my command, I was helpless to change anything on the other side of the glass.
'I got a simple question for you. What's the matter with you? Huh? Huh?'
'Why can't you be normal?'"

What comments/questions/predictions/connections do you have about the section we read today? Please read everyone's comments before posting, because someone might post an interesting question you'd like to answer.

Extra Credit Stargirl Response

So sorry I forgot to post today. I literally got out of bed to do this because I just remembered. I'll give extra credit on this until 3 p.m. Wednesday, October 7.

Remember, this post is for extra credit (about 2 points, though I may give more if you participate a lot). I thought the section of Stargirl we read today was really interesting. I'm most interested in what you think her actions say about her character, or what you think of them (the pledge, the funeral attendance, the bike). I'm going to leave your response this time up to you--comment on something that interests you right now about the book. If you have a question for the group, post it, and check back in to see what people thought. I will look forward to hearing what you have to say.

Another Stargirl Question

Now that we're a little further in the book, I'd like you to choose another question to respond to. This time, in your response, please write 3-5 sentences, and spend a little more time on it. What I mean by that is pretend it's being graded for spelling, capitalization, etc. It's easy when we're online to not use standard English, but for classroom blog posts, I'd like you to focus on it. It's important to know what it's okay to not capitalize and when it isn't. For example, I don't capitalized anything in my personal emails to my friends. But I would never send an email to our principal without checking my capitalization. I want you to start being aware of your choices online.

Now, for the questions:
1. What do you think of Leo's choice to follow Stargirl? What does it make you think about him?
2. What do you think will happen next? Jerry Spinelli left us with sort of an ominous statement at the end of the chapter: "How could I have known that he would soon be challenged by a freckle-nosed homeschooler?"
3. Think again about Peet compared to Mica High. When Hillari Kimble and Wayne Parr are described, do you think of any similarities? Please don't name names, but feel free to comment on if you think there are similar leaders at Peet.