I love my job!
This past Thursday I had one of the top five experiences of my long teaching career. Sixteen students met with me for over two hours to debate the selection of the Mock Printz book for our high school. Two and a half hours of students talking about books, literature, writing styles, and themes. It was so much more than just kids talking about their favorite books. It was students identifying good literature and recognizing the importance of it in their lives. It was about kids making connections with other kids through their shared experiences by reading the same books. I just had to sit back and let them go, making a few comments here and there to bring them back if they strayed too far. It was amazing. I get goosebumps even thinking about the event. Of the ten (eleven) books in consideration for the Mock Printz the average student read five or six, but there were a few students who read all of them. Everyone had something important to contribute to the discussion and to the outcome. We had to vote many times and had wonderful debates to create our winning list. The final results are:
The 2010 Mock Printz Winner:
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork
2010 Mock Honor Books:
Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Liar by Justine Larbalestier
I should add that the students didn't select one of the books that I think should win a bucket full of awards: When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. I honestly don't think that enough of them read it (unfortunately) for it to get a fair hearing. Oh well. I'm holding my breath until the actual awards come out. This week-end? I think so.
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