Unit10:SocialIssuesandDevelopmentallyAppropriatePractice(DAP)

Whenisitappropriatetointroducesensitivesocialissuestochildren?Inthethreenovelsthat
wereselectedforthisunit(
ThirteenReasonsWhy,Speak,
and
Zink
)thisquestionis
challengedbythegrittyandreallifeexperiencesofHannah,Melinda,andBecky.Allthree
womentrytocometotermswiththedevastatingeventsthathaveimpactedtheirlives.At
times,eachgirlchoosestotakeahealthydirectionontheirjourneythroughlifehowever,two
ofthewomenareforcedtofacetheconsequencesoftheirbadchoices.Eachcharacteris
givenachancetochangetheirfateattheendofthestorybysharingtheirexperience.This
decisionsignificantlyimpactsthecourseoftheirlifeandchangeswhotheyareasaperson.
Thereaderislefttoquestionwhethertheywouldhavemadethesamechoiceiftheywalked
inthecharactersshoes.

Hannahsstoryisrecalledthroughaudiocassettetapesthatsheleavesfollowinghersuicide.
Thesetapesactuallyserveasasuicidenotewhichgivesanaccountofthethirteenreasons
thatresultedinherdeath.Eachreason,orperson,receivesthesetoftapeswhichtheymust
listentoinordertohearHannahsstory.Inthebeginningofthenovel,Clayfindsthe
cassettesonhisdoorstep.Heisdeterminedtolistentoeverytapehowever,hestrugglesto
findawaytohandlehowhecouldhavefailedhisfriendduringherlastmonthsonEarth.A
characteranalysisofthestorymightbebeneficialtoagroupofmatureadolescents.This
novelwouldalsointroducecontroversialissuessuchasbadsocialchoices,suicide,and
bullying.Acurrenthighschoolclassmighthaveanissuewiththedatedformatofusing
cassettessidesAandBtotellthestory,becausein2015cyberbullyingandsocialmedia
wouldoccurinplaceofthetaperecordings.Studentscouldhaveaclassdiscussiononhow
theywouldreactinthesamesituationandprovideevidencetosupporttheirclaimofwhether
theythoughtHannahsthirteenreasonswerevalid.

MelindasstoryissimilartoHannahsinthatitalsoinvolvesisolation,bullying,teenage
drinking,andassault.Theformatof
Speak
isunusualinthatitisdividedintotheschool
quartersandcorrespondingsubtopics,whichisanattempttorelatetotodaysteens.
Strugglinginhistoryclass,navigatingsocialgroups,buildingfriendships,andfindingthatone
persontoconfidein,arecommontoallhighschoolstudents.Introducingnovelslike
Thirteen
ReasonsWhy
and
Speak
areawaytoopenupaconversationwithyoungpeoplewhoare
searchingfortheirvoice.Melindaseemedtohaveanallyinherartteacher,Mr.Freeman
althoughfromHannahsperspective,shedidnothaveaconfidantinthewholebookwhoshe
couldtrust.Inaddition,Hannahadmitsshedidnotalwaysmakegoodsocialchoices.
Melindapracticedavoidanceandpassiveaggressivebehaviorasaresultofhertrustbeing
shattered,yetastheschoolquartersproceedshebeginstogrowlikeaspringseedandfinally
speaksupforherself.Neithergirlhadaneasylife,butitcanbearguedthatwhilebothgirls
experiencedchallengesintheirschools,Melindaperseveredthroughherpaininsteadof
givinginandtakingherlifeasHannahdid.WouldHannahspathhavebeendifferentifshe
talkedtohercounselorattheendofthebookorhadshealreadymadeherchoicenottofight
tosurvive?


Zink
mayseemanawkwardchoicetoincludeamongtheothertwonovelshowever,adults
mustbepreparedtotalktotheirchildrenaboutdifficulttopicssuchascanceranddeath.In
thenovel
Zink
,tenyearoldBeckyfightscourageouslytosurviveherradiationtreatments,yet
losesherbattlewithleukemiabeforeshereachesherteenyears.Allalongshetriesto
supportherlittlebrotherashetriestoovercomehisreadingdifficulties.Attheendofthe
novel,thebrotherachievessuccessbyreadingthejournalthatBeckyhasleftbehindabout
herimaginarycreaturesandtheiradventuresintheSerengetijungle.Thisfantasyworldwas
herhealthywaytoescapethepainsheexperiencedduringherhospitalvisits.Thepolkadot
zebrawasBeckysfavoritecharacter.
Zink
isanendearingstorythatisageappropriatefora
youngaudienceingrades35.Maturitymustfactorintoanylessonandfollowupmustbe
initiatedtoinsurethecontentwasreceivedinamannerthatwasacceptabletotheyoung
audience.

Resources
:
1.Melinda
Anderson,L.H.(1999).
Speak
.NewYork,NewYork:PuffinBooks.
2.Hannah
Asher,J.(2007).
13reasonswhy
.NewYork,NewYork:PenguinBooks.
3.Becky
Bennett,C.(2001).
Zink
.NewYork,NewYork:Yearling

4.Leeson,C.(2014).Askingdifficultquestions:Exploringresearchmethodswithchildrenon
painfulissues.
InternationalJournalofResearch&MethodinEducation,37
(2).206222.