This book surprised me with it's ability to grasp my attention and force me to realize the hardships others are going through. The Circuit is the story of a Mexican boy, named Panchito, and his family, they have migrated to the United States, take on back breaking jobs, live in terrible conditions and are faced with constant disappointment. Throughout this book it seems as if this family cannot catch a break and the boys willingness to move forward and continue is inspiring. I had never had a student like Panchito in any of my classes, at least it I didn't know about it, so reading this book was eye opening and should be read by anyone living in America. I feel as though a lot of people do not understand how fortunate they are and reading a book like this can be life changing for some. I know it was for me, seeing a boy not even 10 years old wanting to go out and pick cotton for his family is amazing and something that I know at his age I would not have been in a hurry to take part it.
In this classroom I would use this book with the upper grades because I think they would be able to understand the cultural significance to a greater extent. So, using this book to understand the hardships of other cultures would be one important educational use for this novel. Panchito and his family face a ton of negative events, I would have the students write a response to one of the negative events explaining how they think they would have responded and compare it to how Panchito responded. Panchito seems to have such a positive outlook, at least compared to how I think I would have responded and I want the children to really look at what this boy has been through and understand the perseverance he has demonstrated.
No comments:
Post a Comment