Our task was to read the next section of Flowers for Algernon and make connections. This is something students had done previously in the week. I read this book many years ago. So I asked students to help me remember what was going on in the story. Students did a great job of filling in the gaps that I couldn't recall. We read the section where the narrator was beginning to gain intelligence and discovered that people were not actually his friends. Students made so many good connections and we had a fantastic discussion about whether or not it was worth it for the narrator to become smarter yet lose his innocence. The vast majority of students said yes. They argued that they wouldn't want to be left in the dark or that it wasn't fair that the other students could pick on the narrator. Several students participated in this discussion, even ones I know were struggling with things outside of the classroom. Students also made connections to times when they had been bullied or thought that someone was their friend and then realized they were not. Someone also made the connection to the Tom Hanks' movie Cast Away by noting that it is almost like the narrator was marooned on an island until he began to gain intelligence.
Although we all had several other things on our mind (sun, sand, vacation), we had a great discussion and finished what we needed to do. Students also made their selections for upcoming book talks that I hope I get a chance to hear! I'm so thankful to have had a great class to work with before leaving for break.
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