Laura L. Johnson's Blog

Posted by Laura L. Johnson

They say March comes in like a lion, and out like a lamb, but even to me, a high school teacher, March is little more than a hibernating lion at best. The days and weeks seem to drag along with seemingly no end in sight. Though you know spring break is out there, somewhere, like a small dot on the horizon, it just can't come fast enough. So what are you going to do?

I say, try getting into a few great books. Here are a few suggestions:

Life of Pi - Yann Martel (Adventure, sunshine, boats and tigers - what more could you ask for?)

Heat - Mike Lupica (As if the title isn't enough as we long for warm weather, this baseball thriller is sure to get your blood boiling!)

A Ring of Endless Light - Madeleine L'Engle (L'Engle authoring a book about human interaction with dolphins - I can feel the sunshine of the text now!)

Any of the Jennie McGrady Mysteries - Patricia Rushford (If you loved Nancy Drew but feel you need to move on, may I suggest these great adventures!)

Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer (You may feel actually feel a little happy to be cooped up inside after reading this harrowing true story of one teen's adventures in the wilds of Alaska).

Stargirl -Jerry Spinelli (It makes any list of book recommendations I make - simply stunning)

Posted by Laura L. Johnson

I'm tired of the same old Inauguration coverage - I really am. It's not that I'm tired of people talking about it- it deserves to be discussed. I am, however, tired of the same tired old views on it. So I challenge you, blossoming teen writiers, to share your feelings on the inauguration!

If you are currently in high school, you will probably vote in the next presidential election - your thoughts are valid and the rest of the world needs to hear them. Even those budding fiction writers: create a short story somehow tied into the inauguration!

I had the distinct priviledge of attending the Inauguration, along with 70 of my high school students, and it was an amazing experience. They had such unique and poignant things to say that I wish the whole world could have heard.

Step up, teen writers, and let us know what you think! Put on your blog, write it up for a school assignment, make it a note on your Facebook - LET YOUR VOICES BE HEARD!

Posted by Laura L. Johnson

I don't know why I even go see movies anymore. It's not that I'm always disappointed - in fact I often enjoy the stories I watch unfold before me on the screen- and it's not that I always go see movies made off of books (although lately, that's all there seems to be in theaters). My biggest problem is that, even with the best movie, I find myself thinking "yah, that would be better as a book" or "ooh, the book was better." To a lifelong reader, there is just no substitution. Not surprisngly, Twilight held true to this theory.

It wasn't a bad movie - decent plot, had some excitement, I liked a few of the characters. It even followed mostly true to the book's plot, which is a rare find in the movies today. Where my biggest complaint comes in is in the exclusions of Bella and Edward's conversations. Though I understand it's only a 90-minute movie from a 450+ page book, what makes the book really great is not the plot, but the character development through Bella and Edward's conversations about life and the soul and eternity and even love. This wa largely left out of the movie. With the exception of the a shortened "questions" scene from Bella and a few quick responses about the nature of vampires (although nothing as broodingly delivered by Edward like in the book), there was little build up to this connection. In fact, this exclusion almost made me feel like I was watching a kiddy pre-teen romance - they "fell in love" in less than one hundred (or at least, so it seemed). I can suspend reality - I did, after all, watch a vampire movie - but literary reality is much more important.

My advice: see Twilight. But if you haven't read the books yet, you'll be in for a real treat. Edward's even better on the page than he is on screen!

Posted by Laura L. Johnson

What would Carolyn Keene and Jerry Spinelli say to the Stephanie Meyers and Cecily von Ziegesars of this world? I'd imagine that they'd all have a lot to discuss with one another. Though certainly times have changed since the days of Nancy and Ned's courting, we have to wonder, have teenagers changed so much that they'll now only be entertained if they're reading about the sex lives of Manhattan teens and the voracious habits of vampire families?

It's not that I'm bashing either set of books or their authors - they've all become immensely popular and are both very entertaining, but I wonder at what it says about our world. I also wonder about the teens who choose to live their lives in different ways than the characters in these books and who want to read about something a little less edgy - is there any decent fiction out there for them still?

To those teens, I dedicate my next few postings here at Suite101 - to let you know that, while the pickings may be slim, there are still books out there being written for you. To those Edward Cullen/Blair Waldorf fans out there - never fear, there's still more to come on them. But for once, in our society, let's stop and remember that not everyone gets caught up in the latest craze, not all teen readers and not all teen authors.

Posted by Laura L. Johnson

Many schools were in session for the year starting today, though the school at which I teach is starting the third week of class. Of course you all have a lot of important classes: math, science, history, computers, etc. But let's be honest - I'm biased towards English.

As I think on my first days as a high schooler and the last 3 years of "first days" as a teacher, I realize that sometimes, as teachers, we miss great opportunities to get you high schoolers excited about books and reading.

I remember my first class of English with my junior English teacher - she was so excited. I've always loved to read, but I wasn't really passionate about English. But my teacher was just SO excited - she was obviously loved every moment of what she was doing. It was then that I started to realize maybe there was more to this reading thing than just being entertained by a great plot or an addicting character. Maybe, just maybe, these authors and these books were letting us into great secrets of life - truths throughout the centuries. Maybe, just maybe there's something that could apply to our lives.

Challenge your English teachers this year - respectfully - to open up new possibilities in literature. Dare to ask the tough questions.