Monday, June 27, 2011

Schooled!

"Maybe that was my mistake--even trying to understand. Garland was so simple--seven acres of land containing exactly one house, one barn, a vegetable garden, fruit trees, a pickup truck, and only one other person. Maybe in a place as complex as C Average Middle School, it was impossible to analyze every single thing that happened."  

from Schooled by Gordon Korman

Cap is a fish out of water. In the chapters he narrates, the reader can sense the longing he has to return to Garland--the world he knows. His adaptation strategy? To be himself. He's oblivious to the social "rules" of middle school, and just does his own thing. Sometimes it's not necessary to try to understand it all. You have to go with the flow. Cap Anderson is so Zen!

I think that when Gordon Korman illustrates Cap's difficulties in adapting to a new culture, he reminds us that adaptation is challenging for everyone...teenagers and adults.  In some ways, it's easier for kids. 

3 comments:

  1. This was posted by someone under the "Bloggers Wanted" post, but really fits well here:

    "I really enjoyed "Schooled." The whole 70's thing brought back great memories. I connected with the main character because I could relate to the high school dramas! I was disappointed with the ending. I wish that the book had more of a realistic ending. It was kind of a fairy tale ending!"

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  2. I wonder if there are really kids like Cap Anderson who exist out there! I agree with Mr. Higgins that the ending was a bit too "movie like". I would have liked Cap's grandmother to start a school with all of that money in order to teach kids the way she taught Cap.

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  3. I don't know if there is anyone exactly like Cap out there, but I think we are all fundamentally like Cap. Aren't we all just trying to fit in? To make sense of our world? If you like Schooled read Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli.

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