The Inuit and the Residential School System

The Legacy of Hope Foundation has released an overview report on The Inuit and the Residential School System (http://www.legacyofhope.ca/downloads/inuit-and-the-rss.pdf).

This provides useful background information for units on this subject built around books such as Christy Fenton-Jordan's Fatty Legs and A Stranger at Home.

    
Although it might not address the issue of residential schools directly, Susan Aglukark's song "Arctic Rose" demonstrates the use of metaphor to evoke the alienation of youth in the North who find themselves exiled from their communities.

Homeland

In the interview Cory Doctorow did for the Winter 2011 issue of School Libraries in Canada, his concern for social justice, his dedication to intellectual freedom and his passion for books are all apparent. His most recent YA novel, a sequel to Little Brother, brings his concerns and passions into focus for a generation that is confronted with the economic, social, political and technological complexities of our digital age. He depicts a world where student debt and unemployment have become middle class problems and where money seems to grant impunity of action. Without being pedantic, Homeland explores issues of privacy and the distribution of wealth and power, while showing how technology can be a tool for oppression or for liberation. It depends on who is using it and how it is being used.


This novel could be a great tool for making students aware of issues surrounding privacy and for encouraging them to be proactive in participating in building the society in which they will want to live. Although the free version of the novel is frequently interrupted with plugs for a range of book stores where readers can purchase either the book or DRM-free e-books, this does not significantly detract from a highly-engaging, action-packed read. The free-download is posted at http://craphound.com/homeland/download/ on Doctorow's Craphound web site.

A Glimpse of Somalia

When Waubgeshig Rice was discussing Human Rights and Canada's First Nations peoples at Lisgar Library on Monday, he made reference to the fact that many Canadian First Nations communities have struggled with the transition to a sedentary existence from the traditional nomadic hunting and gathering way of life that is still a part of their recent history.  Coincidentally, my bus commute reading this week has been Nuruddin Farah's novel From a Crooked Rib (1970) in which he tells the story of an illiterate young woman from a pastoral encampment in the Somalian countryside who flees from an arranged marriage to an old man to a town and then to a city in search of some sort of freedom and choice.  The story is set at the time of Somalian independence from Italy and Britain and it portrays the parallel existences and the interchanges between the traditional and modern worlds. It puts a human face on the struggle for women's rights and reveals the strength and determination that is necessary to bridge the gap between the old and new worlds.  It is interesting to compare Farah's portrayal of Somalia as it moves towards independence with that provided by Margaret Laurence in The Prophet's Camel Bell (1963).

Last month I read one of Farah's more recent novels, Links (2003), which tells the story of a Somalian expat, a former political prisoner, who returns to Mogadishu under the control of warlords.  He paints a vivid picture of the struggle for survival in that "Twilight Zone" kind of world.

Farah is one of the  politicians, academics, journalists and aid workers to whom Hassan Ghedi Santur speaks in the CBC Ideas program Things We Lost in the War about what has happened in Somalia.

International Human Rights Day

The author of Midnight Sweatlodge, Waubgeshig Rice, spoke about Canadian First Nations, the Media and Human Rights at Lisgar Collegiate Institute to help mark International Human Rights Day. In highlighting the role of "digital smoke signals" he pointed to increasing frustration with unresponsiveness of the Federal Government especially with regard to complaints about Bill C-45 and how talking about how social media is helping to mobilize opposition. He made specific reference to #IdleNoMore on Twitter.

Interestingly, many of issues mentioned in his IHRD discussion are also mentioned in his short novel, Midnight Sweatlodge where stories touching upon every issue from substance abuse and traditional healing to land rights and political corruption emerge from the sweatlodge.

Returning to the Project

Between my work as a teacher-librarian, my work as an editorial board member for the OSLA's Teaching Librarian and my work as editor of the Voices for School Library Network's School Libraries in Canada, I got side-tracked from my vocation as a blogger.

Now with the prospect of my school day starting 90 minutes later than usual and ending an hour earlier than usual as a consequence of the dispute with the Government of Ontario, I think I may have some time for blogging about some interesting books for engaging young adult readers.

One book you probably won't find unless you go out of your way is How to Make a Golem and Terrify People. Written by Alette J. Willis, an alumnus of the high school where I teach (who now works at Edinburgh University), this novel won a book of the year award for Scottish Children's fiction.

Although it is aimed at a slightly younger audience, this book would be engaging for many Grade Nine readers and this fictional examination of the dynamics of fear, bullying and friendship has entertainment value for a much broader audience.

Welcome to Literacy Buoys

This blog is intended as a forum for sharing resources that can be used to promote literacy by promoting reading amongst reluctant readers, particularly teenage boys. You are invited to share your ideas and any resources that you have found useful. Please participate in this exploration of wikis and blogs.