An update!

Check it out. David, one of my 6th graders, is so smart. :) Look at his fingers fly!

I've been wanting to take pictures of empty vodka bottles in the snow. It is the quintessential picture of Russia. Vodka and snow.

This is me cringing with a squinty eye. :) I ordered a salmon bagel, but didn't realize the salmon was going to be raw. I ate it. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. The cream cheese helped disguise the pink fleshy-ness of the salmon.

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Among other news, I am going to a Russian wedding tomorrow with Laura H. She teaches at RACU, you know, and one of her students is either the bride or groom -- can't remember. I'm pretty excited. It won't be a typical Russian wedding though because they are Christians, and there won't be debauchery at the wedding. That's practically unheard of...from what I hear. (Is that an oxymoron?) I told Laura about Gogol Bordello's song "American Wedding," and she watched the video. She said there wouldn't be any vodka or marinated herring. Haha. :)

My lesson on the Billie Holiday song and the Scottsboro Boys case went really well. I enjoyed it a lot. I got nervous at first though. When I played the Billie Holiday song, the boys could hardly contain their laughter. The boys weren't taking it seriously; they were joking around about everything. I just kept playing it and didn't get on to them for being disrespectful. Then, I just acted normally and asked them serious questions. When they saw I was moving on quickly and ignoring their laughter, they calmed down. I immediately jumped into asking them questions about the song. What is the tree being nourished by instead of water? Why does this make the fruit bitter? What is the purpose of this fruit? Why did Billie Holiday want to record this song? I told them that it was okay to not think the song was pretty. "A song doesn't have to be pretty. Billie Holiday knew this song wasn't going to be one you'd be singin' along with in the shower. It doesn't have what you might call a pleasing melody -- a song you'd want to dance to or listen to so you can relax or feel better about life." I think that once they realized that, they were able to focus and think of it more as a message and less as entertainment.

I was surprised at first that my Korean students weren't more serious about it all. I mean, they know what prejudice is. There is a lot of racism in Russia, and it is not safe for anyone who doesn't look Slavic to be on streets at night. The daytime is fine, but many Koreans have been beat up at night. So, I didn't really get why Paul, Kevin, and Sang-Joon were laughing so much. After thinking awhile, they're laughing because they're in middle school. And what's more...they are laughing because they are middle school BOYS. And that's okay. That's what they are.

They got better later though. I eventually told them why I was doing this. "I don't want you to think that this story is just fiction. The things you read about in To Kill a Mockingbird have happened to real people. Many have experienced similar injustice."

I printed pictures and found biographies for each of the people involved with the Scottsboro case (Thanks, PBS!): the nine black men accused of rape, the two white female accusers, the two judges, and the Jewish lawyer who wanted to free the men. Each student had a person. They had to answer some questions about them, and then they had to share their answers with the rest of the class. The pictures really helped get their attention because they would all crane their necks to look at the pictures, and I'd pass them around. I think it helped them focus.

Even after I handed out the pictures, some of my students still didn't realize it was a real case though. Paul said, "Mees Beck, these are real people? You mean they lived?"

"Yes, Paul. The Scottsboro boys were real people. This really happened."

"No. You mean, they were put in jail even though they did not rape?"

"Yes."

Four of the black men accused were from Chattanooga actually. I told Paul that that was my hometown, and I think it affected him for some reason. Maybe it just made it more realistic.

I mean, how random life is for the Korean students. They live in a Korean home, in a Russian culture, and have an American education. And none of them have even been to America. So, how could it be realistic? America is so far away from them, and it is especially far for an 8th grader.

"These people...were from your hometown?"

"Yes, but a long time ago."

I think he finally understood 'cause after that he was dead serious, and that is an amazing feat for an 8th grade boy. :)

We compared these people to the characters in the novel. Ruby Bates and Victoria Price are very similar to Mayella Ewell. They were white trash hoboes. However, it was pretty cool to talk about Ruby Bates because she later confessed that there was no rape, and she ended up working a lot to support the campaign for the Scottsboro Boys' freedom. So, she was completely different from Mayella Ewell. Judge Horton and Samuel Leibowitz were both very similar to Judge Taylor and Atticus Finch.

Another thing we talked about was whether Tom Robinson was a realistic character. Athough innocent of the rape charges, most of the Scottsboro boys had immoral lifestyles. Many of them broke their parole and were in and out of jail throughout their lives. One of them stabbed a deputy and was then shot. Another killed his wife upon finding her with another man and then killed himself. Another was known to be a sexual predator in prison. They all led very violent and dark lives. The only thing they had in common with Tom Robinson was the economic background. In the novel, Tom is portrayed as a saint who can do no wrong. He's practically a Christ figure -- not too different than Uncle Tom. We didn't get a chance to develop this topic, but I want them to talk about how this affects the reader. It's much easier to be sympathetic for a morally flawless martyr than it is to feel sorry for a violent, sinful man.

Anyway, next week is finals week for my students. The week after that marks the new quarter. Sixth grade will begin reading Let the Circle Be Unbroken by Mildred Taylor. Seventh grade will read White Fang by Jack London. I'm not sure if I will like it (I haven't read it), but I know it's gotta be better than Treasure Island. I absolutely hate that novel. Seriously. I hate it, but as Long John Silver says, "Dooty is dooty." And finally, the 8th grade will begin reading Romeo and Juliet. I am super excited about that. :)

To hear Koreans imitate an African American dialect is hilarious, but I bet hearing them speak with Shakespearean language is just as good. Haha...

Oh, yeah, speaking of my Korean students... Sara came up to me yesterday and said, "Mees Beck, may I go to nurse?"

"What's wrong?"

"My finger smarts."

"What?"

"My finger smarts." Then she pointed to her finger which barely had a scratch on it.

I thought it was hilarious. I have never heard someone use the word "smarts" for "hurts" so naturally. I mean, she wasn't even trying to be funny! :)

Among other things, Monday is Women's Day which is a national holiday. This means a three-day weekend for me. :) We've had tons of cake, chocolate, and cookies at school this week to celebrate Women's Day. I bet every tsveti shop (flower shop) in the city is gonna be busy as heck on Monday. All the women at school received a devotional book from the administration. The Russian women at the school got Russian ones too.

I have some stories to tell you about working with the Russians at school, but this post is getting too long.

I'll let you know how the wedding is. I'll probably be worn out afterwards because I hear they last well after midnight. Not sure if we're staying that long though. Laura is flying out on Sunday to the U.S. to renew her visa.

Much Love,
Meredith