Four Perfect Pebbles --Chapters 5 and 6

Chapter 5 "The Greatest Disappointment"


The setting of Chapter five is exactly how I pictured Nazi Germany in my mind for so many years.  "It was dark, bitterly cold, and raining" (Perl 61).  Every time I think of a concentration camp I picture it cold, wet, and dreary.  It is just the emotion that you get when you think about it.  You do not think sunshine and birds chirping sweetly.  Before I began reading this chapter I was in a great mood from the school day, however, once reading this initial setting my mood changed.  That, to me, is an example of a good book--when it can really impact your mood and draw you in, making you feel what the character is feeling.


This chapter is really about hope.  At nine years old Marion Blumenthal had to have hope.  When Marion and her family were standing in the Sternlager Square listening to the alphabetical list of Jews scheduled for exchange, she had hope.  It did not matter that the B's were already called and "Blumenthal" was not mentioned.  "Perhaps there would be a few more names after the Z's," Marion thought (Perl 63).  I think this is something that students and everyone can relate too, I can.  I remember entering the lottery for the New York City Marathon and when my name didn't show I thought perhaps they just haven't called everyone yet and my name would show up soon.  Granted Marion's situation could have meant life or death, one can still feel that since of hope.  No matter how young or old we are I think everyone can feel the short of hope Marion was feeling standing in Sternlager square. 


Marion's hope is also eminent in her quest to find the four perfect pebbles--which I am surprised as to why this has not been a more prevalent aspect of the story.  Marion says "We went on with out aimless existence.  It was now more important than ever for me to search over and over again for my four perfect pebbles.  I knew, even then, that in spite of everything, our family must survive" (Perl 65).   In other words, even though Marion was a young, naive, 9 years old, she still knew how important it was to remain hopeful and optimistic even in the worst possible circumstance. 


I think that this chapter explores and prescribes some important lessons.  When the guard gives Marion’s brother and apple it shows that not all German's were terrible and evil (Perl 66).  The German's had to do what they did because if they didn't obey Hitler and the SS, they jeopardized their own life.  It raises a good debate about whether or not Germans could or should be accountable for their actions. 


This chapter is definitely the most graphic to date.  I think that this chapter would be very difficult for elementary students to handle.  Even I had a hard time getting through it and I have research concentration camps and labor camps pretty extensively.  The chapter really starts to get graphic mid way through when Marion is talking about the stench of the burning flesh (Perl 68).  The visuals for me were atrocious and I could not even bare to smell what Marion had to smell, the thought just makes me cringe.  These sights for a nine year old must have been most unimaginable.


Chapter 6 "On the Death Train"

Chapter 6 actually brought a smile to my face because at the end the Blumenthals were liberated.  Of course I realize that they journey is not yet over, I was happy to see that perhaps the worst is behind them. 

At first I wondered why the prisoners did not try to escape from the train.  After all, the train was not going anywhere and it seemed as though the guards did not really care.  Escape, however, was not on the prisoners mind.  For one, most of the prisoners were too weak to try and escape—in the case of Marion her leg was infected from the soup burn and she was in no condition so try and escape.  The prisoners also did not escape because where would they escape?  No matter where they went they would still be surrounded by Nazi Germany (Perl 77). 

I think the passage about Albala, the head Kapo, was very interesting (Perl 79).  Although he had treated Marion and the other prisoners cruelly, Marion still felt his sorrow when he was burying his child. Marion said, “as I watched him place his child’s lifeless body alongside the track, I thought, No, not even he, the hated Albala, deserves such a sorrow” (Perl 79).  I think this is also Marion’s realization that Albala had to do what he had to do.  For just like the guard who gave Marion’s brother the apple, he was just trying to survive as well. 

To Understand Chapter 5--"To Savor the Struggle"

Throughout her book, Ellin Oliver Keene is pointing out the seemingly obvious when it comes to literacy education. However, I say that with a grain of salt because if it is so seemingly obvious then why are educators not following it.  I think it is very easy to point out the flaws and declare what should happen in education, but what we see, say, and do are three completely different things.

I think that Keene is absolutely correct when she tells of adversity as a means for stimulating ones intellect.  Keene used her own battle with cancer in the previous chapter to explain how adversity actually stimulated her intellect.  Gripped with a life threatening illness, Keene went through great lengths to research her condition.  She wanted and needed to know answers.  Similarly in Chapter 5, Keene tells the story of Reynolds Price (Keene 100).  Price had a tumor that developed on his spinal chord.  As a result of his battle and experience Keen wrote multiple stories of his journey.  In order to come to a better understanding of his condition and place in life he wrote.  I really enjoy stories like this and their are so many out there.  Adversity and understand adversity are certainly a means for intellectual stimulation.  For me this adversity was my friends battle with OCD.  In order to help my friend I went through great lengths to research OCD and ways in which I could help.  It was very stimulating, rewarding, and fun.  Long story short, adversity helps build ones internal drive to learn (Keene 104).  A common flaw in today's classroom is that kids are so driven by external rewards--a pizza party for reading so many books, a prize for reading all your sight words.  The external rewards overpower the internal gratification (Keene 106). 

Although I agree and understand much of what Keene is advocating, I am struggling with her ideas in regards to the current grade I am teaching--first grade.  First grade is when we are really pushing students to read and write as this is the foundational year.  In first grade there is a lot to cover.  I agree when Keene states that there is far less essential material then we perceive, however I still don't understand what is essential even after being exposed to her "what's essential model" (Keene 108).  Of course their is the 6 blocks that she proposes, which I fully understand and believe in.    However, what is the most effective way to incorporated these 6 blocks into the classroom.  I know that Keene herself admitted that this was not a how to book, I almost wish there was a little more of how to. 

One thing that I disagree with Keene on is when she mentions that graphic organizers do not facilitate learning (110).  The first grade teacher that I am working with right now is a huge proponent of graphic organizers, thus I have been using them in my own classroom.  I truly believe they are very helpful for students as we have been using them for every writing piece we have done so far this year.  I think that there is a huge benefit to them and I think it helps students use specific skills that might not otherwise be taught. 

Keene's book and thoughts constantly make me rethink my own teaching.  As I am reading I am always making notes of things that I could change to promote student understanding.  This is my first year teaching so I am constantly looking for ways to improve and so far Keene's book has given me a lot of insight.  Keene mentions that a lot of educators are not teaching enough of the deep structure in regards to the cognitive strategies she uses (Keene 118).  A lot of the time we focus on the surface structure but do not provide a lot of deep structure teaching.  I can see this in my own students.  When reading the are like robots, just reading the words, not constructing meaning and not self monitoring--which Keene says are examples if not enough deep structure (Keene 118).  However, my first graders are just learning to read so shouldn't this be expected?  Or am I not having high enough expectations?  

To Understand--Chapter 4

I was amazed by the school that Ellin Oliver Keene described in Chapter 4, Charles Lake school.  I could not believe how the classroom operated and how the students responded.  The Charles Lake school that Keene studied is exactly how I would like to run my classroom someday and I really took to Keene's idea of "rigor, inquiry, and intimacy."  When I compare my first grade classroom right now to that of the classroom at Charles Lake I almost see it as a failure.  Of course this is my first year teaching and I learn something new every second of the day, but in comparison to Charles Lake I feel like I am letting myself and my students down.  I am very guilty of rushing through the day without pushing students thinking to the next level, which is something Keene says is a major no-no if you really want your students to understand (Keene 77).  I would love for my class, like the class Keene describes, to be able to come into the classroom and know exactly what to do without being told.  With my class right now I have to repeat the directions numerous times even though the routine is practically the same everyday.  Although I teach first grade, I believe that if I created a better classroom community right from the very first day I too would be able to achieve these things.  A classroom based on the principals of rigor, intimacy, and inquiry would work for children at all levels.  Not only do the students that Keene described come in and get right to work, it seemed as though they were all being intellectual challenged and were having fun.  I feel that I do not have high enough standards for my students sometimes and it really shows in the quality of their work.  It was really interesting to see how the teacher at Charles Lake dealt with the student who was an English language learner, Rita.  The teacher did not just seat with Rita and give her all the words she didn't know.  Instead the teacher challenged Rita and reminded her of the strategies to use when you come across a difficult word.  The teacher did not lower her expectations just because Rita was an English language learner.   In fact she almost had higher expectations for this student.

Keene points out in chapter 4 that teachers not only lower their expectation for some students, but in general we seem to lower our expectations for poverty stricken schools and students (Keene 80).  The lowering of expectation for schools in poverty is very eminent.  To often do we assume that just because a student comes from a lower income family or is being education at a lower income school they are not intelligent.  From my own personal experience the best school that I worked at was a school in which 70% of the families attending the school were living in poverty.  The third grade classroom that I was involved with followed very much the ideals of intimacy, rigor, and inquiry.  Hanging on the walls were pictures of Ghandi and Martin Luther King, not posters about punctuation or essay writing.  If anything our expectations should be higher for those in poverty because those are the people we need to help. 

At first I did not really grasp the quote that Keene uses in chapter 4, "As important as what is happening is what is not."  After pondering for a while, before reading, it eventually clicked and was then supported by the reading.  My track coach always told me "it is the silence between the notes that make the melody."  In other words time off from running is just as crucial as actually running.  This is actual the same as the quote Keene uses.  Sometimes rather then students doing worksheets, answering question, or doing projects students need to just sit back and think.  The times when I just shut everything else off and just think are the times when I am the most intellectual stimulated.  Today kids rarely every just sit back and relax in the silence.  In the background there is the sounds of the tv or buzzing in their ear they have there Ipod headphones.  Children and adults are to caught up to just shut off and think.  .

Question and vocab for FPP chapter 4

Vocab:
-Luftwaffe
-transit
-crematorium
-refugee
-moor
-commandant

questions:
-Why might the move to Holland been a difficult journey for the Blumenthals?
-What do you think Marions education was like in Westerbrok?
-Do you think the Blumenthals will really leave for America in 2 months?
-How do you think Marions viewed her life at Westerbrok? Was it normal for her?
-Do you think it would be difficult to be happy, nice, and polite like Marion if you were in her situation?
-How do you think the Blumenthals felt when the found out they would have to wait until June to leave for America?
-How do you think Hitler became so powerful that he was able to defeat Denmark, Norway, and Holland?
-Do you think other countries were growing fearful of Hitler? How about America?
-Were the Jews safe anyplace?
-Why did the world refuse to believe the monstrosities of the concentration camps?
-Do you think that the Blumenthals will make it Palestine as an "exhange jew."

FPP--Chapter 4 "Escape to Holland"

Chapter 4 had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. It was filled with emotion, feeling, and action. Although I have a reasonable sense of what this story is about and how the events unfold, there was still a part of me that thought perhaps the Blumenthals will make it to America before they are dehumanized by the Nazi's.  However, such was not the case.

I found it extremely interesting to see how the refugee camp, Westerbork, turned from a Jewish safe haven to a Nazi controlled camp that feed into life in a concentration camp.  Imagine seeking refuge, getting comfortable and safe, and then having that place of refuge turn into your worst fear.  That is what it was like for the Blumenthals and the other refugees in Westerbork.  As Ruth Blumenthal said "our escape to Holland had not been an escape at all.  Instead we had been caught in a trap" (Perl 52).  It would be like residents from Darfur coming to America to seek refuge, living in a camp for a few years, having the camp taken over by the government of Darfur, and being shipped back to Darfur to live their life under the fist of their oppressor.     

The numbers and figures in this chapter was absoultly sickening.  The books declares "the extermination camp know as Auschwitz-Birkenau could dispose of as many as 4,756 bodies ever twenty-four hours" (Perl 54).  4,746 bodies every 24 hours! That is astonishing.  That number is greater then the entire school district in which I teach.  That is the population of two towns completly gone overnight.

FPP questions/vocab for chapter 3

This is a list of vocabulary terms and questions that could be used while teaching this story

Vocab:
-whooping cough
-synagogues
-expulsion
-Torah
-Buchenwald --> students can research more about this camp
-Dachau --> students can reseach more about this camp
-expiation
-trousseau

questions:

-Why were Mr. Dannenberg and the Blumenthals worried after Ernst vom Rath was shot?
-How random were the "random" acts of violence against the jews?
-Do you think it is ironic that Walter could be arrested for having a gun that he used to once defend his own country?
-Why do you think the Gestapo were only taking men during the time Mr. Blumenthal was taken?
-Would you, like Mrs. Blumenthal, go to the Gestapo to find out about your husband?
-Do you think Mr. Blumenthal will be "released shortly" like the Gestapo told Mrs. Blumental?
-What do you think the Gestapo meant by "correctly treated?"
-What do you think of the Goverment charging the jews for the damage of Kristallnacht?
-Would it be hard for you to leave everything you worked hard for behind?
-Will the Blumenthals be safe in Holland?

FPP-Chapter 3 "Get Dressed and Come With Us"

The more I read of Four Perfect Pebbles the more I grow to love it.  I think that this is a remarkable story.  Chapter 3 is laden with so much imagery and even though the nature of the story is terrifying and horrible, the way that it is written makes it somehow poetic and beautiful. 

I received my undergrad degree in history and for some obscure reason I am absolutely fascinated with the holocaust and even more so with the labor camps of the Soviet Union.  In my thesis work I did a tremendous amount of research and exploration on the Gulags in the Soviet Union.  In Keene's book she talks about being engaged and excited about developing your own intellect.  For me, studying about Stalin and the Gulags is where I really get excited to learn.  While reading this story I see many similarities between what I have learned about the Soviet Union and the dialogue that is taking place in FPP.  So needless to say this book is very engaging for me.

As I mentioned previously, I love the imagery in this story.  The particular part that I find to be really poetic is the passage describing Kristallnacht on page 29 and 30.  The passage reads,

                                       In Germany alone, some eight thousand Jewish owned shops

                                       had had their windows smashed and their contents looted.  Two

                                       hundred synagogues has been destroyed, their Torah scrolls and

                                      holy books burned.  Unoccupied Jewish houses and apartments had 

                                       been entered by force.  Furniture and even pianos were heaved from

                                       balconies into the streets below.  Possession of every sort crackled in

                                       the bonfires that leaped up on numerous street corners.  But it was

                                       the vast amount of shattered glass that gave the infamous night of

                                       November 9-10 the name Kristallnact, Night of Broken Glass.

There is just something about this passage that I love.  Even in the midst of this tragic event the author finds beauty and peace.  The description is very poetic and vivid.  As I read it over and over again I am able to get a clear vision of this scene.