Char, as she is called, is orphaned and lives with her sister. Her sister throws overnight parties with an implied presence of drugs and sexuality. As pieces of Char’s life come out in the book, it is obvious as to why she has decided to identify as a mean bully. She craves attention, power, and control as would any child who lacks all three. Char, like many of my students, simply lacks the knowledge to turn her life around for the better. Char questions her identity just as much as any other child. However, she has figured out that being a bully shields her true pain. Char has no family, no supervision, and no guidance. Her sister shows her no love, and simply pays her for doing whatever she asks. She has more of the role of maid than child and sister.
When these unnatural identities and roles are forced upon children, they tend to lash out. I have seen his many times in my teaching. Many of our students will be able to relate to the notion that many of them become the negative things people tell them that they are despite their truth. As teachers, it is important for us to explain that this process is not organic, and that they do not need to conform to what society assumes. All children possess potential.
Citizen, By Claudia Rankine
Pages 23-36
In this excerpt, Rankine delves into an analysis of professional tennis player Serena Williams behavior as described by the media and tennis officials. The media has traditionally described Williams as many pejorative words to describe her animated reactions. What the media does not let on to is the extreme racism that Williams has outright experienced in the White-dominated sport. This excerpt explains the sources of William’s very real rage and truly justifies all of her behavior and reactions. Be aware that racial slurs are featured in this excerpt.
Though our school has some teachers of color, the staff is predominantly white. This is consistent with the United States as a whole. White culture (and countless others) assert the importance of politeness and remaining calm in frustrating situations. This is an unreasonable request for students that have experienced trauma and violence
as
a means of overcoming frustrations. It is crucial that we as educators understand these experiences. They provide us with the necessary information we need to properly help our students find their voice. With that, we can then help them to develop positive workplace and school behaviors. Many of our students lash out, and we punish them for it. This excerpt perfectly outlines why that is not a successful or reasonable approach.
Secondly, this excerpt provides a look into how the media portrays certain events and how reality is often skewed. It showcases how dangerous uninformed perspectives can be as well as how dangerous it can be to take the media’s word without questioning. It proves the importance of asking questions and researching something in order to categorize truth from falsehood, especially in terms of race.
Locomotion By Jacqueline Woodson, Select Poems
“Me, Eric, Lamont & Angel” (pages 26-27)
In this poem, Lonnie describes a conversation between himself and his three friends. They are “one-upping” each other by sharing tales of horrible things they have witnessed. When it gets to be Lonnie’s turn, he says, “Never seen nothin’.” Watching his parents and his home burn was the most horrible of all of the stories, but he decided to keep it from his friends. Like Char, the loss of his parents embarrasses Lonnie. It is not something that is discussed, perhaps because Char and Lonnie do not want to be identified as orphaned, or without a loving parent. They both put on different fronts to try and escape loss as identity. In this poem, Lonnie is angry, like Char. Many of our students hide from their traumas for fear of being seen as different. What they do not realize is that this is a very common feeling, and that they are not alone in it.
“Haiku Poem” (page 59)
“Ms. Marcus wants to/ see all my poems. No way. / Some things just your own.” In this poem Lonnie expresses that much of this thoughts and poems are not for anyone else. Some of his pain is not to be talked about, shared, or worked through. In this instance he feels isolated, alone, and that no one will ever help him out of that. Char’s behavior indicates giving up on having love in her life. Char does not have a loving home and confronts the world very defensively and with aggression. She cannot feel love in the same way that people who haven't experienced the loss of both parents can. Her behavior is a direct and understandable response to the trauma she has encountered in her young life. It is important that our students have an outlet for their emotions or traumatic events. This outlet can be private, and can be very helpful.
Monster By Walter Dean Meyers
Though this is the core novel for 8th grade in New Haven, aspects and quotations from it could very well supplement The Skin I’m In while also building background knowledge for when they revisit the book in two years. Monster is about a young black boy who is on trial for a crime we as the audience never know if he truly committed or not. The book is a collection of excerpts from his own journal, conversations with people throughout the trial, and transcripts from the trial itself written by Steve in the manner of a screenplay. There is one quotation that I feel related directly to Char in The Skin I’m In. The main character Steve is asking his lawyer why she seems frustrated with the case. She explains to Steve why she will lose the case- it’s because the jury only sees stereotypes. “You’re young, you’re Black, and you’re on trial. What else do they need to know?” In this sad moment she is presenting Steve with the idea that she thinks the jury all assume young black boys are guilty of crimes despite solid proof of innocence due to old stories and stereotypes. The theme in this scene explores superimposed identities based upon things we cannot control.
Char is seen as a child who is headed toward a difficult and felonious lifestyle due to the fact that her sister treats her like a servant and she has no family or guidance. She becomes the messed-up orphan everyone assumed she would always be despite who she really may be deep down. Many of our students succumb to the pre-assumed identities placed on them, often from strangers. There are families of multiple children from impoverished situations that are often assumed to perform in certain ways, and without positive reinforcement from anyone, end up becoming exactly what people say they are.