The storm missed us here in The Forest, so we are still enjoying our spectacular peak autumn leaves. The sunrise this morning was an act of worship.
I’m off for a very busy and fun weekend. Details and photos on Monday.
Get outside this weekend, good people of the Book Shire. The Snow Queen is on the march!
in which the author chills…..
The past week with its book challenges and other crappy things have caused two lines the depth of the Grand Canyon to appear between my eyebrows. So I am trying to take life less seriously today.
I am reading Catwoman.
I am listening to The Hives. Loudly.
I am getting ready for Teen Read Week.
I am fantasizing about Japan.
Writing quote du jour: “I leave out the parts that people skip.” Mystery author Elmore Leonard.
What do you do to make the stress go away? What do you wish you could do?
Thank you, thank you to everyone who has let me know where SPEAK is being taught. My webgod made a new page so you can see the list here. (Check out the new seasonal home page, too!)
Please let me know if your school is not on the list yet. I will be adding to it regularly.
Also, I have received notes from teachers interested in corresponding with other teachers who are using the book in class. What is the best way to facilitate this communication?
I pounded out 8 pages yesterday in the WIP (draft 2). I hope I can do that again this morning. Instead of lifting at the gym this afternoon, I’ll be hacking away in the forest with a pick axe, loosening up boulders so I can plant more daffodil bulbs. So far, I’ve planted 150. Only 250 left. (WHAT was I thinking when I sent in that order?)
If I am really lucky, I’ll have time left over for the ever popular Forest past time – picking up sticks. I am assembling a fine collection that will be used for kindling this winter. Speaking of which, there is a rumor of snowflakes in this weekend’s forecast.
Thanks to everyone who has written telling me that SPEAK is in your school. If you don’t see your school below, let me know in a comment, or email to comments AT writerlady DOT com. I will be posting this on the website, along with information about why the book is challenged in schools, and how to deal with that if it happens in your community.
Secondary Schools where SPEAK is either in the curriculum, required summer reading or independent reading programs
The Agnes Irwin School, Rosemont, PA
Anderson HS, Austin TX
Arcata HS, Arcata CA
Bensalem School District middle schools, Bensalem PA
Bishop McGann-Mercy HS, Riverhead, NY
Centennial Scholl District, PA
Central Hardin HS, Cecelia, KY
Chagrin Falls, HS, Chagrin Falls, OH
Cheverus HS, Portland, ME
Christian Brothers Academy, Dewitt, NY
Columbus School for Girls, Columbus, OH
Cortland Jr/Sr HS. Cortland, NY
Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, Jacksonville, FL
East Bridgewater HS, East Bridgewater, MA
Ellington HS, Ellington CT
Hamilton HS, Hamilton, OH
Hannibal HS, Hannibal NY
Hatboro-Horsham HS, Horsham, PA
Hendrick Hudson HS, Montrose, NY
Heritage Hall MS, Oklahoma City, OK
Holicong Middle School, Doylestown, PA
Houston Area Independent School Library Network, Houston TX
Indian Mountain School, Lakeville, CT
King/Drew Magnet High School of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA
Knightdale High School, Knightdale, NC
Little Flower Catholic HS for Girls, Philadelphia, PA
Maritime and Science Technology HS, Miami, FL
McMinnville HS, McMinnville OR
Menlo School. Atherton, CA
Milken Community HS, Los Angeles, CA
Morrisville-Eaton HS, Morrisville, NY
Mount Saint Joseph Academy, Brighton, MA
New Albany HS, New Albany, IN
Noble HS, Berwick, ME
Oswego HS, Oswego, NY
Our Lady of Mercy HS, Rochester, NY
Parkview MS, Jeffersonville, IN
Paul Moore, HS, central Square, NY
Pioneer HS, Yorkshire, NY
Prospect HS, Mt. Prospect, IL
Rancho Santa Fe Middle School, Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Richland HS, Richland, WA
Saint Clement Junior Senior High School , Medford, MA
Scottsburg MS, Scottsburg, IN
Seekonk HS, Seekonk, MA
Sheboygan Falls HS, Sheboygan Falls, WI
Susquehanna Valley HS, Conklin, NY
St. Pauls’s School for Girls, Brooklandville, MD
Syracuse Academy of Science
Tallmadge High School, Tallmadge, OH
Terra Nova HS, Pacifica, CA
Theodore Roosevelt HS, Kent, OH
University Laboratory School, Baton Rouge, LA
Upper Darby HS, Upper Darby, PA
Valley SH, New Kensington, PA
Venice SH, Los Angeles, CA
Washington Heights, NY
Westmark School, Encino, CA
Woburn Memorial HS, Woburn, MA
Woodside HS, Woodside, CA
SPEAK is taught at these colleges and universities in a variety of different classes: Young Adult Literature, Creative Writing, and Adolescent Development
Arizona State University
Clarion University, Clarion, PA
Eastern Connecticut State University
Eastern Michigan University
Elmhurst College, Elmhurst, IL
Fairleigh Dickinson University
Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY
Hollins Univiversity, Roanoke, VA
Houghton College, Houghton, NY
Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Kansas State University
Kent State University
Michigan State University
Millersville University
Mills College
Moravian College
Mt. San Jacinto College, San Jacinto, CA
Northern State University, Aberdeen, SD
Syracuse University
SUNY Binghamton
UC Davis
UCLA
University of Buffalo
University of Maryland,
University of Michigan
University of Minnesota Duluth
University of North Texas
University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO
University of South Florida
University of Pennsylvania
Viterbo University, La Crosse, WI
Virginia Tech
West Chester University, West Chester, PA
Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA
Wright State University, Dayton, OH
What am I missing?
I need your help.
This fall, I’ve had a record-number of requests from high school teachers who are using SPEAK in their classrooms, and who are facing formal challenges to have the book removed. People are trying very hard to ban SPEAK. I have information that I share with these teachers (much of it is already on my website), but a couple of them have asked for more.
Specifically, they want to know that they are not alone. So I am going to start a list of school districts in which SPEAK is being taught and post it to my website.
This is where you come in. Please comment here and/or email commentsATwriterladyDOTcom to let me know if SPEAK is being taught at your school. If you are a teacher and would like to share what you do with the book, how your students have responded to it, and how it works in the larger scope of creating literate, intelligent young adults, I would be very grateful. If you are a student – what did you think of the book being taught in the classroom? How did it compare with the other books in your curriculum?
Can you help me out, please? Speak up!