Amberly K. Rumrill

Eng 112B

Professor Warner

Spring 2006

Everyday Epiphanies: Teaching Teens to Live

�Maybe happiness was just a matter of the little upticks�the traffic signal that said �Walk� the second you got there�and downticks�the itchy tag at the back of your collar�that happened to every person in the course of a day. Maybe everybody had the same allotted measure of happiness within each day. Maybe it didn�t matter if you were a world-famous heartthrob or a painful geek. Maybe it didn�t matter if your friend was possibly dying. Maybe you just got through it. Maybe that was all you could ask for� (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 282).

This is a realization by the character Tibby while she is walking home from the hospital where her friend is possibly dying of leukemia. It is this everyday epiphany that has taught her a valuable aspect of life: to be content in the here and now, whatever that includes, and it is this type of lesson that we hope all young adults will be able to learn, starting from an early age.

Only when young adults learn how to deal with the everyday pressures of life�school, family, friends, crushes, grades, peer pressure, feeling fat�can they effectively deal with the more serious issues that may face them, such as drugs, alcohol, abuse, violence. Donelson and Nilsen state,

If authors have a teaching goal when they are creating problem novels, it is to help young readers develop an internal locus of control through which they assume that their own actions and characteristics will shape their lives. They ask the question, �What am I going to do with my life?� while people with an external locus of control depend on luck, chance, or what others do. Their major life question is �What will happen to me?�� (122).

The works included in this annotated bibliography all feature individuals, most of whom are in high school situations, struggling to determine what they believe and how they will react to the world around them. What is important in life? How will I treat others? How will I determine what values I hold, and how will I act on those values? These questions are all raised in the following works, and the works usually provide a situation where an individual experiences a simple realization about life that is reflected in their everyday happenings, as opposed to under unusually horrific or difficult circumstances. Hopefully, it is through these daily situations and simple realizations that young adults can, like Tibby, experience everyday epiphanies that will arm them against the more difficult issues they may have to face later in life.

Literature

Brashares, Ann. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Publisher: Delacorte Press; (May

2004) ISBN: 0385730586. Book Talk handout by Amberly Rumrill. Class

presentation for Eng 112B: March 8, 2006.

Carmen, Lena, Tibby, and Bridget have been friends since their mothers were in an aerobics class for pregnant women together. On the eve of their first summer apart, Carmen buys a pair of thrift store pants that not only magically fit each girl despite differences in body types and shapes, but look fantastic on each girl. The girls make a pact, becoming the �Sisters of the Pants,� and decide that each Sister will get a chance to wear the pants for some portion of the summer, no matter where they are. The traveling pants become a symbol for the love and friendship the girls share, despite the different adventures, challenges, and good times each girl faces.

This book stresses the importance of strong, healthy friendships with members of the same sex and brings up issues that are relevant to teens�either personally or as friends: sexuality (when it�s appropriate to have sex); divorce and re-marriage/stepfamilies; openness to friendships with people outside of our comfort levels; death of parents, friends, and beloved pets. Also, although these issues are raised, they are not dealt with in a preachy or dramatic fashion, and the overarching mood of the book is fun.

Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Publisher: MTV Books; (February

1999) ISBN: 0671027344. Book Talk handout by Andrew Nguyen. Class

presentation for Eng 112B: February 15, 2006

Charlie is a freshman in high school, but he isn�t your ordinary freshman. He�s the wallflower from the title of the book�he�s shy, thoughtful, reflective, and intelligent beyond his age. He sees something great in the people around him, something that your normal pimple-faced freshman wouldn�t be able to see. [�.] In the novel Charlie experiences everything a young adult experiences: sex and sexuality, drugs, alcohol, family tensions, relationships, cliques, and everything else in between.[�] Charlie also deals with bouts of depression and it is only through his friends and the teacher that sees his intelligence that he is able to pull out and push forward. Through his letters to an anonymous reader, he expresses his search for that feeling of �being infinite,� the feeling where you are free from any inhibitions in life and are happy beyond comprehension.

The wallflower theme is appropriate for young adults who, although may not live the true wallflower high school existence, might feel inhibited by those qualities they feel make them an outsider. Like Charlie, young adults explore that search for �being infinite� and through this story, may find examples of how and how not to attain that state.

Haddon, Mark. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Publisher: Doubleday

(2003). Book Talk handout by Ioanna Boletsi. Class presentation for Eng 112B:

March 15, 2006.

When 15-year-old Christopher finds a dead dog on a neighbor�s lawn one night and decides to solve the mystery surrounding his death, he is taken beyond his comfort zone to discover the truth�something he values deeply. This book brings up issues of family relationships/divorce, coming of age, children with special needs (Christopher has Asperger�s Syndrome), and the importance of truth in our lives.

In a world whose society constantly introduces more and more challenges into children�s daily lives, this book examines the point of view of a special boy who seeks the truth of both the happenings surrounding the dog�s death, and of life in general.

Moriarty, Jaclyn. The Year of Secret Assignments. Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks

(April 2005) ISBN: 0439498821. Book Talk handout by Crystal Beran. Class

presentation for Eng 112B: March 22, 2006.

The Year of Secret Assignments tells the story of Lydia, Emily, and Cassie, three private school girls who befriend three public school boys through a letter writing activity in each of their English classes.[�] As the three sets of penfriends get to know each other better, romance blossoms, and each of the girls eventually meets up with her public school counterpart. As the details around certain sneaky behavior emerge (a fire alarm, stolen history tests, and a collection of other �secret assignments�), the couples are tested and grow tired of each other�s antics. But when Lydia and Emily discover that Cassie�s penfriend has become abusive, everyone must reunite to develop the ultimate revenge.

This story pairs high school hijinks with deeper issues of friendship and loyalty, in a fun and funny letter-form narrative.

Philbrick, Rodman. Freak the Mighty. Publisher: Blue Sky Press (October 1993) ISBN:

059047412X. Book Talk handout by Elizabeth Soesten. Class presentation for Eng

11B: April 5, 2006.

Max is the town reject. He�s too large for his age, has been labeled as an L.D. (learning disabled) and is stuck dealing with the pain of his father being in prison for the murder of his mother. Kevin was born with a disease that stunts his bone growth. He is unusually small for his age but his brain more than makes up for it. His intelligence, vivid imagination and capacity to talk big (well, talk back) have earned him a place on the outside of the junior high social spectrum. The two forge an unlikely but deep friendship. They offer each other what the other needs the most. Max offers Kevin his strength, carrying him around, while Kevin offers Max his brain and imagination. They meld together becoming one unit, calling themselves Freak the Mighty. But through Kevin, Max learns much more about himself, and what it truly means to be strong and about having dreams that beat the odds.

This story makes the idea of being the freak cool, and offers an honest glimpse into the realities of students on the fringe of mainstream school society. The ways in which Max and Kevin complement and help each other can remind readers that sometimes the pursuit of popularity can actually interfere with the good things in life.

Music

Switchfoot. This Is Your Life. Beautiful Letdown. Sony, 2004.

This pop rock song asks the question: �This is your life/are you who you want to be?�

This is an important question for young adults to ask of themselves. Sometimes the daily struggles and stresses of life can make us lose sight of our goals and values, so this is a reminder for young adults to live with that attitude of ��What am I going to do with my life?�� mentioned in the intro.

Nickelback. Photograph. All the Right Reasons. Roadrunner Records, 2005.

This rock/pop song is from the point of view of an adult looking through a photograph

album and remembering parts of his young adult life.

This song can help young adults realize that in ten to fifteen years, their lives now will

be memories that they can look back on and laugh or cringe at. This can be both

encouraging for young adults that are facing difficulties in their daily lives as an

adolescent, or a poignant reminder for those who are not thinking in terms of how their

present lives will affect their future lives.

Poetry

Frost, Robert. �Nothing Gold Can Stay.� Class handout for Eng 112B: Spring 2006.

This famous poem uses various aspects of nature as a metaphor for the passing of time.

�Nothing Gold Can Stay� is appropriate because it explores the nature of existence, and can be used to raise questions of what is important in life.

Television

My So-Called Life: The Complete Series. ABC Productions, 1994.

A realistic mid-nineties teen drama series that takes a look at a 15- year-old girl and her trials and tribulations with being a teenager and dealing with friends, guys, parents and school (Amazon.com).

This series addresses issues teens face everyday: family dynamics, crushes, sex, friendship and betrayal, divorce, and homophobia. Both males and females can relate to the challenges lead character Angela Chase must grow from.

Freaks and Geeks: The Complete Series. Apatow Productions, 1999.

A television show about two unique groups of teenagers dealing with life in high school during the 80's (Amazon.com).

This show portrays two groups on opposite sides of the outcast spectrum. Most every young adult has either felt like a freak or a geek�or both�at some point of their teenagehood, and this show gives the limelight to these types of students, showing realistic portrayals of peer pressure, fitting in versus being an individual, academics, and family life. It also brings up the idea of not fitting in even within the outcast spectrum.

Other works cited

Donelson, Kenneth L., and Alleen Nilsen. Literature for Today's Young Adults. 7th ed.

Boston: Pearson Education, Inc, 2005.