The Phantom Tollbooth

Blog #6

The Phantom Tollbooth

I really enjoyed this book! Crazy, I know! But I did! After last weeks readings though, I think anything would be better. Although this book was crazy and out there, I still enjoyed reading it. It was more of a “fun” silly book than Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and I would definitely recommend this book to any of my students just to read for fun. Not only did I like the language of the book and how it was written, but also I loved all the themes that occurred throughout the book. In the first chapter, we learn that Milo is just a bored kid and he doesn’t really care to learn. But as he drives into the Phantom Tollbooth and enters into a world so full of imagination. Throughout his journeys, from Dictionopolis to the Castle in the Air, Milo learns more and more as his journeys progress that help him eventually fight off the demons to get to Rhyme and Reason. So, while Milo is enjoying his time in the Lands Beyond, he is learning new things at the same time! I think that this can show students that they can learn and have fun at the same time. Bringing fun into the classroom can make the students learn without them even knowing!

I absolutely loved the use of puns throughout the novel! They made me laugh! Not only do they make the book more enjoyable, but also when they are used, Milo usually learns an important lesson. I think my favorite pun used in the novel was in chapter 13, Unfortunate Conclusions. This is when Milo, Tock, and the Humbug are leaving the Silent Valley and are on their way to rescue Rhyme and Reason.

[“Nothing can possibly go wrong now,” cried the Humbug happily, and as soon a he’d said it he leaped from the car, as if stuck by a pin, and sailed all the way to the little island. “And we’ll have plenty of time,” answered Tock, who hadn’t noticed that the bug was missing – and he, too, suddenly leaped into the air and disappeared. “It certainly couldn’t be a nicer day,” agreed Milo, who was too busy looking at the road to see that the others had gone. And in a split second he was gone also.] (Juster, 1961, p. 165-166)… [“But from now on I’m going to have a very good reason before I make up my mind about anything. You can lose too much time jumping to conclusions.”] (Juster, 1961, p. 170).

This passage in the novel is a pun. The three friends jump to conclusions about how wonderful the weather is and how they have so much time and how nothing could go wrong; they literally jump out of the car and are thrown onto an unpleasant island and they very quickly learn to not jump to conclusions, for things can change in an instant.

When Milo completes the task given to him by King Azaz and returns home from the Lands Beyond, he notices that it is only 6 o’clock and that he has only been gone for an hour! The next day on his way home from school, Milo is so excited to go on another trip! He is very disappointed when he comes home to find that the tollbooth is gone! But after he gets over his pouting, he realizes that there is still so much that can be done right there in his home! Milo learned such an awesome lesson about using time wisely while he was on his trip! This is something that any person can take away from this book and not just a child! Needless to say, I really enjoyed the book :)

Citation:

Juster, N. (1964). The phantom tollbooth. New York, NY: Random House Inc.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & A Tangled Tale

Blog #5

CRAZINESS!!

Both books that were assigned for this weeks reading A Tangled Tale and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland were very…interesting to say the least.

Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland

I remember hearing about the Disney movie Alice in Wonderland as a child, but I don’t think I have ever seen it. I am pretty sure I didn’t see it because of all the weird things I heard about it and I didn’t want to have nightmares. So I was interested to see what the book was going to be like. To be honest, I am not a fan of the book. From the moment I picked up the book, it all seemed very strange to me. If I am going to read a book, which is rare, I want to read something that makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside with a happy ending. And this book, was definitely not that. From Alice sliding down what seemed like a never-ending rabbit hole, to nearly drowning in her own tears, I was a bit freaked out by the weirdness of the story and wondered where Alice would end up. When I was about half way through the book, I was thinking “how in the heck is this supposed to be related to math,” but then I remembered that we don’t necessarily have to read the book from the point of view of a teacher, so I just kept reading. At the end of the story, I have to say that I was pleased to know that all of Alice’s adventures were a dream! After looking back at the story after reading it, I can kind of see some of the logic in all of the illogicalness. From Alice figuring out how to shrink to be able to fit through the door to figuring out how to grow to get the key, there is eventually logic behind her actions. But, like I said earlier, I am not a fan of this book and would probably not recommend it to my students.

A Tangled Tale

I thought Alice was confusing…oh my goodness! This book was horrible! It took me FOREVER to read this book! Every time I read just one page, I had to go back and read it again. I had such a hard time following all the knots and solutions and what not. This book is a perfect example of why I do not like to read. I know that I would never use this book in a classroom, because if I did, my students would hate me for confusing them! If I couldn’t understand what was going on, I know that the majority of middle school students will not be able to figure it out either. I am also not a fan of old English language. Yes, I understand that the book is full of problems, or knots, that we are trying to figure out, but I know I can find problems for my students to think about logically and figure out without completely confusing them, making them hate math. I hate to be so negative but I really did not enjoy this book!

References:

Carroll, L. The best of lewis carrol. New York, NY: Castle Books.

Rocket Boys

Blog #4

When we were given the reading list for Mathematics Area Content and I saw that Rocket Boys was first on the list, I was not totally against reading it. I read parts of this book in middle school and what I read, I enjoyed. This time was no different. Rocket Boys is such an inspiring story and I think it can teach students and adults a lot about life and chasing your dreams. I love the enthusiasm of Homer and the rest of the boys. The way they never gave up on their dream of building rockets and winning the National Science Fair. The support that they provided for each other motivated them to keep pursing their dreams. I was extremely touched by the reaction of the community when they saw the boys’ rocket launch into the sky. Through all the obstacles that got in Homer’s way, he continued to do what he could to keep his passion of building rockets alive.

I think that many students, especially middle school students, would be able to relate to this story in multiple ways. Middle school years are very awkward and fitting in can be difficult. You want to be “popular,” you want to fit in with your friends, and you want to make your parents proud at the same time but sometimes those to things don’t line up. Trying to figure out what their lives are going to be is sometimes on the forefront of their minds and sometimes at the back of their minds, but either way, encouraging them to follow their dreams is something I want to be able to do as a teacher. Like Miss Riley, “She was strict with us, not ever allowing anybody to get her off topic even once, but she still had an impish humor that she often used to keep us alert, along with such an obvious love for her subject that we all paid attention” (Hickam, 2000, p.150).  I want to be a teacher that students feel comfortable asking me to slow down or to go back over material they do not understand. I love how Miss. Riley always pushed her students to reach their full potential and how she always stuck up for the boys. If I ever use this book in the classroom, I hope my students think of me when they read about Miss Riley.

I know that this book was under the mathematics content area, but I don’t think I would use it in a middle school math class. The math content was far to hard for middle school students to use. Like I said earlier, I really enjoyed this book and I would however, use this book in a science classroom, particularly chemistry, showing combustion, the reactions of chemicals, and their effects on each other. I hope that my students would be inspired by the motivation of the boys and that they would be encouraged to chase their dreams and follow their hearts, not only in the classroom, but outside of school as well.

Citations:

Hickam, H. H. (1998). Rocket boys. New York: Dell Publishing.

"Growing Up Online" & "Digital Nation"

After watching both "Growing Up Online" and "Digital Nation," I was a bit disturbed and overwhelmed. So much craziness that I was not really aware of. I have heard about cyber-bullying and young girls putting "sexy" pictures of themselves online, but I guess I was just hoping that it wasn't reality. Growing up in a small town and my family being very involved in my life, I wasn't aware that technology was really as negative as "Growing Up Online"portrayed it to be. It makes me so extremely sad to know that children have to turn to online outlets because they can't turn to their families or friends. And that some children can be as mean as they are, potentially being the cause of someone's suicide. But I don't think that technology has to be that negative.

I think that we should be coming up with ways to use the internet and technology to enhance the lives of students. I agree with what was said in "Digital Nation" that no matter how much we don't like technology, it isn't going away and is only going to advance. So I think that as educators, we should incorporate technology so that students will have the knowledge and skills that are needed in the real world today. So instead of complaining that the internet is making the current and upcoming generations completely reliable and incompetent without it, we should be brainstorming new ways that technology can help our children.