Deenie by Judy Blume, Response 1

I have always loved Judy Blume. I read her books often when I was a pre-teen. This book is about a girl named Deenie. She is under constant pressure from her mother to become a model. Her mother thinks that she is extremely beautiful, which she is, but there is always something wrong with her posture. After going to several modeling agencies, Deenie is always told how beautiful she is but she just does not walk correctly. Her mother is constantly blaming her for not trying to stand up straighter, and Deenie swears up and down that she can not help it. After trying out for the cheer leading team and not making it, one of Deenie's teachers notices that she is walking weird and pulls her in her office to examine her. The teacher calls Deenie's parents and tells them that Deenie needs to see a doctor. After a few doctors visits, Deenie is diagnosed with scoliosis. Scoliosis is a spine deformity which either causes the spine to curve like a C or an S. It is usually noticed during the growth spurts of puberty. Deenie's mom is devastated and claims that the doctors are wrong. It seems as though her mom is not devastated because her daughter might have to get surgery and go through pain, but rather she is upset because Deenie won't be able to model. I think in looking at my single story this is a very interesting physical ailment. Scoliosis is only debilitating when not taken care of early. In Deenie's case, she is lucky because it was caught early and there are many things that can be done to fix it, yet her mother is still freaking out. This goes along with my single story because it is that constant idea that people who have "deformities" or disabilities are automatically seen as being unable to have a full quality of life. People are constantly jumping to that conclusion. Deenie's mother said when she found out her daughters diagnosis said, "So you're telling me my daughter is deformed?". I can't imagine being Deenie in this situation. She seems as if she just wants her parents to help her but they are more concerned on placing blame on someone. That is another thing I have discovered in my reading, most people always want someone to blame for their disability or their family members disability, but why?

Shifting Gears for a Moment: I Am Mad and I Am Sad

Hi to anyone who reads this. I want to start by saying that what I am about to say is my opinion. If you do not agree, that is fine. Today I read a statistic that saddened me to my core. We have lived through 311 days in 2018, and on 307 of those days there have been shootings. I read this over and over again until hot angry tears ran down my face. Im angry and I am sad. I can't wrap my brain around the fact that some people believe that their right to bear arms is more important than peoples lives. People argue that gun laws are already strict enough, yet California is said to have the strictest gun laws and there are twelve people who are dead in Thousand Oaks California from a mass shooting. The laws are NOT strict enough. My heart is so heavy today, and I guess me writing this is a way to try and deal with what I am feeling. I have so many other things to say, but I am having trouble articulating it. I want to end this post with the idea of privilege. People who believe that gun laws should not become stricter are privileged. I guarantee those peoples views would change if someone they care about was injured or murdered due to gun violence. I will leave you all with this photo. Read the sign, then read it again

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Reflection on My Tech Demo

I did my tech demo on the website Formative. I was really excited about this for a few reasons. One reason was because in searching for this website, I came across some really awesome teacher blogs that have so much information! It was really amazing to see all of these teachers wanting to help each other, and all of the information I was able to obtain. I was actually fairly nervous to present this tech demo to the class because a lot of people had really awesome and interactive websites, but I put my fears aside and did my best. I thought that the class responded very well to my demo, and I was really pleased that the class had so many questions for me. It was my hope that they would all find Formative useful, and it seemed that many of them did! I really liked this website because there were so many awesome features that could be really beneficial to teachers. As future teachers, I think these tech demos are really important and useful for us to watch. I know have so many tools to choose from when I am a teacher!