A Girl Doesn't Need to Go to College, but . . . but . . . but . . . 1. utgave

KORTE'S poignant rhyming parody, spiced with fun 1950?s sayings, brings bullying, child abuse, poverty and gender disparity during the 1950's-1980's era to the fore as it grabs and holds the interest of readers age 11 and older. In Korte?s A GIRL DOESN?T NEED TO GO TO COLLEGE, a rowdy bunch of sixth- and seventh-grade students are left unsupervised in the classroom for the better part of a school year. Their ineffective teacher shirks his duties by repeatedly granting them long recesses. PART I: THE COCKY CHICKS? MANIPULATIVE TRICKS PLUS . . . BULLY JAKE AND GRACE?S FATE, is a journey back to an exciting 1950?s sandlot baseball game when taunting and name-calling on unsupervised school playgrounds was commonplace. During this game, one particular girl, fed up with being bullied, bravely confronts the kid bullying her. PART II: THE GIRL WHO BROKE POVERTY?S YOKE, leads you down the path one student from this rowdy class takes. In youth, she lives in poverty; her days riddled with abuse. Influenced by a powerful teacher, she, at age eleven, secretly decides, "I'm going to break the yoke that has me locked in poverty by getting a good education." However, in her early teens, after settling into a home of caring relatives, her dream is beaten down by an unfair, sex-discrimination adage. Confused, she capitulates to her elders? bidding. In early adulthood, divorced with a child to support, she finds herself living on the edge of poverty. Later, influenced by the Women?s Liberation Movement, she internalizes an important lesson that guides her to fulfilling her dream. Michael Beardslee, MA, Educational Programs Manager, HandsOn Greater Phoenix, AZ, poignantly summarized A GIRL DOESN?T NEED TO GO TO COLLEGE this way: Take one part vocabulary, two parts history, three parts poetry, and four parts compelling autobiography; add a dash of schoolyard drama and a pinch of personal tragedy . . . The result . . . VIOLÁ! You have Mary Korte?s winning formula to derail the downward spiral of poverty? A GOOD EDUCATION! This one-of-a-kind parody may be just what disengaged students need to reignite their smoldering wicks. Her story illustrates the power of education (and sheer grit) to end the poverty cycle. It is, in my opinion, an inspiring story to which children can relate. Knowing young people hate plowing through dictionary definitions, Korte included a story-relevant, easy-to-use Glossary. Words and era-relevant terminology underlined in the body of the book are defined in this Glossary. At the back of the book, Korte?s "AUTHOR COMMENTS" section include these topics: Putdowns, Stepmothers, Women?s Liberation Movement, Child Abuse, Mindset of Her Guardian Mother, and Kowtowing. Under her CHILD ABUSE section read how abused children prior to the 1980s were often locked up for months with children who had broken the law while social workers tried locating placements for them in foster or group care. At the time both systems were not only filled to capacity, they were overloaded. In conclusion . . . quoting Michael Beardslee again: Most importantly, this parody should be read to enjoy.