Sometimes listening to my students talk in their book club meetings makes me want to cry big fat sentimental tears of joy.
When my ENG4C class begins its book club meetings, they discussions are shallow and clunky and stilted. I have to intervene to keep the discussion flowing.
We’re in our second last meeting and my group of boys reading Crank are so invested in the story they talk about it at lunch and text each other about it after school. Boys who used to groan about reading are raiding the library for more books by Ellen Hopkins.
My other guys who are reading Looking for Alaska are discussing how angry and sad they were at a certain point (except for one who’s claiming it didn’t affect him) the others are all begrudgingly admitting that they cried.
I don’t need to do anything now during these meetings. I’m just watching them and listening to them.
It’s kind of beautiful.
Here are the books my kids love: