https://padlet.com/amtolbert/ks078mkh2amj en-us 2017-01-18 18:27:54 UTC 2017-05-17 06:32:01 UTC hello@padlet.com amtolbert https://padlet.com/amtolbert/ks078mkh2amj/wish/147907582 Liza Katherine Poole and her mother, Charlotte are currently on "vacation" from Liza's abusive father until Charlotte can make enough money from her waitressing job to find them a home. Surprisingly enough, the young Liza is not eager to find a home as most people would want if they were living in the woods. Chapter one leaves the reader with so many questions: where is the rest of Liza and Charlotte's family, why did they resort to living in the woods, what kind of child has a wild pet alligator, why did Liza's mother once live in the Florida Everglades as they are doing so right now? The list of questions could continue, but I keep imagining Liza as a student of my own. How could I help her when she is content with the label of a woods person in the backyard of a sophisticated condo community? The abuse she endured from her father, she believed to be deserved. There is so much psychological damage that has been done and despite Charlotte's attempts, they are not living in any better of a situation. I want to dive deeper through chapter two where I can see what Liza does during the day, does she even go to school? I also want to know more of Charlotte's background and will the Travis, the official who came to kill the alligator, report Liza to child protective services to provide her with a better living situation? I imagine I would report Liza as a teacher, but I will not really know how I would respond until I am faced with the situation. This is just the beginning of a detailed and mind boggling story. ]]> 2017-01-18 18:29:59 UTC https://padlet.com/amtolbert/ks078mkh2amj/wish/147907582 amtolbert https://padlet.com/amtolbert/ks078mkh2amj/wish/149423567 Reading chapter two has helped me understand future students in a way that I did not expect. During chapter one, I was shocked to read that Liza was not interested in getting a home and she was content living in the woods. Chapter two explain the community that Liza has with the other Woods People. It is similar to a family unit; which is the opposite of what I thought of people who are homeless. I believed this population kept to themselves and it was a survival of the fittest  situation. James James helps look after Liza, Liza and her mother bring food to Priscilla, and they all keep up with each others lives. 
I was happy to see that Liza was not the only one concerned for the alligator, Dajun. While I assumed James James to be a child like Liza, I found it interesting that he was a man who attended college and served in the military during the Vietnam war. If this was a normal living situation, it would be sort of odd for a young girl and an older man to be spending so much time together as Liza and James James do, but I assume considering how different their living situation is and how they need one another to continue living this is something that is considered normal. James James seems to be a mentor for Liza. He looks after her, but he also teaches her things that he learned in college and during his time in the military. In terms of family, James James would be a form of an uncle. 
The last take away I had from this chapter, Liza knows more than I would expect her to but she is also young and naive as well. Liza knows what welfare checks are, but is not able to assume that Priscilla is an alcoholic. The text did not clearly say Priscilla is an alcoholic, but it is implied from Charlotte's response to Pricilla's requests for gin bottles, along with Priscilla's collection of bottles. 
As a future teacher, I always examine people's lives and imagine how I would react to their lives, if I were their teacher. Having the information from chapter two, I think it would be more difficult to want to change a student's situation from being homeless. Liza does not have a home, but she seems so happy and content living the way that she is; how could I disrupt that happiness? I have always been a big supporter of people doing what makes them happy, as long as it does not hurt or offend others. So, I thought I would have all of the answers on how to respond to a homeless student, but now I am left with a loss of words.]]> 2017-01-25 18:38:10 UTC https://padlet.com/amtolbert/ks078mkh2amj/wish/149423567 amtolbert https://padlet.com/amtolbert/ks078mkh2amj/wish/151001522 I am amazed by the amount of knowledge Liza has about the natural world around her. In a way it makes since because it is her home, and I know the ins and outs of my home. He is every knowledgable about Dajun, his usual behaviors and how the changes through the seasons can cause changes more than simply, leaves falling off of the trees in the fall. In a normal situation, Child Protective services would have come in and take Liza away because she was living in the woods, but she learns so much. She learns more than the typical "street smarts" commonly found among homeless children. Liza was able to make connections from her environmental science lesson to hypothesize where Dajun may be. I know this is a fictional book, but the world is a crazy place and I keep imagining if this was a real situation with one of my students. Would I really want to report them to Child Protective Services? Would it do more harm than good? She appears to be well taken care of and her mom is trying to give them a better living situation, even though Liza would prefer she did not. One sentence from this chapter made me extremely sad. Liza said that Travis, the official, cannot come kill or take Dajun away because he replaced the friends she was unable to bring home. How sad is it that a girl has befriended a dangerous animal because her current living situation is not ideal from brining friends over? All three chapters have made me rethink about calling Child Protective Services. If this were a real situation, would it be better to wait and let Liza's mother finish her schooling, get a better job, and provide Liza with a real home? I know that I would be obligated to report this situation as a teacher because it is seen as child endangerment, but is it really child endangerment? She seems taken care of, but maybe not to society's standards.]]> 2017-02-01 21:52:23 UTC https://padlet.com/amtolbert/ks078mkh2amj/wish/151001522 amtolbert https://padlet.com/amtolbert/ks078mkh2amj/wish/152584367 For the first three chapters I spent a lot of time pondering how I would support a student who lived in a situation similar to Liza. Today when I listened to chapter for being read, I could not stop thinking about about important this specific chapter was and needs to be addressed. People are killing the world we claim to love so much. Liza and her friends live in the woods behind condominiums. The people that live in those condos are doing a great harm to the woods and the animals that live there by cutting down trees and 
spraying pesticides. They may have indirectly caused algae is growing in weird colors, salt water is getting into the fresh water and large amounts of fish are dying at a time. They have also called people to kill Dajun because they are afraid of him. I think people need to be reminded more that what they are putting into the environment and they things they consume are destroying homes for plants and animals, the very things that are fighting to keep our ecosystems intact. I am calling the kettle black because I have done things that the people in the condos are doing, but it is fact that we need to be more loving and aware of the environment. My greatest hope for the end of this story is for Liza and James James to find Dajun and remind the people surrounding their home that their way of living is disrupting the world around them .]]> 2017-02-08 19:06:28 UTC https://padlet.com/amtolbert/ks078mkh2amj/wish/152584367 amtolbert https://padlet.com/amtolbert/ks078mkh2amj/wish/154117673 This chapter was a good reminder of how a student's living situation can make them good at lying, and not because they are mischievous and want to lie. When students live in difficult or unusual situations as Liza is doing, they lie out of fear or to protect those that they love. During this Chapter, Liza gets a map from the center that would help Liza and James James locate Dajun. Liza lied to the woman who helped her get her map in order to get it for free and avoid letting her know that she was homeless. Liza thought quick enough on her feet that she did not have the woman question her about her address or where she lives. Liza also was aware enough that should memorized an address to provide to the woman rather than simply saying she lived in the woods. While there is so much science that can be drawn out from this text and further analyzed, I cannot help but be mesmerized of the harsh realities that this book provides about students' home lives. I also hope that Liza and James James can find Dajun, Liza does not need a heartbreak. Not only will she be sad if they cannot find Dajun, their home life will be disrupted as it would for any family system. If my father were to leave or pass away, my entire family dynamic and home life would change. If Dajun is not found or is dead, the woods would lose it stability as a habitat because Dajun keeps the water clean, along with other things and Liza would lose a family member.]]> 2017-02-15 18:37:53 UTC https://padlet.com/amtolbert/ks078mkh2amj/wish/154117673 amtolbert https://padlet.com/amtolbert/ks078mkh2amj/wish/155591148 Reading this chapter really stressed me out. I feel like there is so much foreshadowing taking place. People from the waste water company have been notified of dead fish and salt water mixing with fresh water, Liza's mom is afraid that she will not get a job because a man has interviewed for the same job as her. Liza's mom also found out that Liza's father is in a rehabilitation facility and it would make them starting a new life even easier. Liza also found out that It has also been discovered that Priscilla is not an alcoholic, but she uses the bottles she collects to feed hummingbirds.
I worry that with the city officials aware of the water issue, they may be more likely to find Dajun before Liza or James James. I also fear the because Liza and her mother feel safe again because Liza's father is gone, this is just the calm before the storm. I think there is more to come if he is released from his rehabilitation center anytime soon.
During the chapter, Liza thought of her teacher and her classmates on two different occasions. She wanted to show her classmates how Priscilla fed the hummingbirds and she thought about her teacher when her, James James, and her mother were talking about the water and they were going to find Dajun. I hope I make an impact on my future students in this way. I want them to share their daily life encounters with me. Even if I have students that are homeless or that do not live in ideal situations, I hope they will share things with me that prove they can trust me. I hope the story ends with Liza connecting with someone, her teacher maybe, to help her and her mother find a better living situation and Liza shares with her teacher and classmates the things she learned over the winter break.]]> 2017-02-22 20:14:12 UTC https://padlet.com/amtolbert/ks078mkh2amj/wish/155591148 amtolbert https://padlet.com/amtolbert/ks078mkh2amj/wish/157655791 I think this chapter was the most symbolic of all of the chapters so far. When Liza met the parrot, she communicated with it. Whether they were truly communicating or if it was all in Liza's head, is beside the point. It proved that regardless of a situation, you are not always alone. The parrot also provided a bird's eye view (no pun intended...well, maybe just a little). The parrot shed light on the situation that the wood's people are living in. They tell little white lies to one another. Maybe they only tell these fibs to Liza because she's a child. Caruso says that he performs; while he does perform he leaves the impression that he is performing with his name in lights. In reality, he is simply a street performer who is playing music and collecting spare change in his hat just to have a meal. When the parrot shakes his head when Liza talks about Caruso playing at a nice theatre, the parrot is negating that Liza is saying as if he knows it all. The parrot also appears to know where Dajun is when he keeps saying "night". This chapter foreshadows that Dajun will soon be found.]]> 2017-03-03 16:13:06 UTC https://padlet.com/amtolbert/ks078mkh2amj/wish/157655791 amtolbert https://padlet.com/amtolbert/ks078mkh2amj/wish/161916239 This is the second to last chapter. I'm going to make a prediction and assume that Liza and her mom are going to move from the woods and James James will go with them. Pricilla will get medical attention for while she does not like to live inside. Liza will have to grow up and learn that living in the woods is not a normal way of life and that her mother, James James and her will all live a happier and better life inside of a real home. My fear is that the social. worker that called the diner will come find them before they are ready to leave to their new home. I have a good feeling that this won't happen because this is a children's book and it can't end on a sad note, right? But then again it can show the harsh reality that some people face. I am happy that Dajun finally came out and was safe, but possibly not for long. Maybe Liza and her mother can alert a local zoo to come take him as the area he lives in is dangerous from the contaminated water. I am also thrilled that Liza's mom was able to get a large promotion of managing two diners. I am afraid of the next chapter, too many good things have happened for the woods people. This could be the calm before the storm.]]> 2017-03-22 17:51:26 UTC https://padlet.com/amtolbert/ks078mkh2amj/wish/161916239 amtolbert https://padlet.com/amtolbert/ks078mkh2amj/wish/163479229 Chapter nine is the final chapter and did not come to an ending that I personally like. It was a happy ending, but I truly dislike books that end that way. Not everything is a happily ever after ending. If I were to use this book in my future classroom, I believe it would be a good tool and I could you it for multiple lessons. The problem comes with the type of students that I wish to teach. Not only do I want to teach Special Education, I also want to teach in a low income area. This is because I feel so many teachers a deposited in Title One schools, forgotten about and are left to burn out and hate their job. As a beginning teacher, I will still be young with fresh ideas that I believe will be a necessary and positive resource for those teachers that may be feeling burned out. I can imagine the final chapter would help students who live in low income areas, see and understand that teachers can be your friend and usually want the best for their students; and not only in academics. When Liza's teacher comes into the woods, she helped protect the woods, the woods people, and Dajun by having her father buy that land and keep it safe from outsiders and tourists. So much good came out of this book, but I am just the typical "negative Nancy" and I can see where this book could cause a disconnect with students. I feel if I were to use it, especially with older students they would tell me that people like Liza's teacher do not exist. Students would say, "there goes another person waving their money around to protect everyone else". The only reason I am making these predictions is because I have seen and heard students make statements like this before. When I read books such as this one, it only deepens my desire to teach in a Title One school. I want to be the teacher who uses books with happy endings and also be the teacher that changers their minds about people, and specifically teachers. I want students to see their teachers as a safe place. So, thank you Dr. Wash for a great tool to use in my future classroom and continuing to strengthen my passion to working in a Title One school as a Special Education teacher.]]> 2017-03-29 16:33:05 UTC https://padlet.com/amtolbert/ks078mkh2amj/wish/163479229