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Post by aln1982 on Mar 7, 2006 17:42:08 GMT -5
I've never been a big fan of Claudia, but she really made me mad in this one. On about page 20, she says that school is not important to her and that she doesn't need it since she is going to be an artist. This kind of logic is just foolish to me. So many times I have heard people say, "I don't need to read because I can play/do/ect." but then something happens and they are left with nothing. Then later in the book, Claudia all but says that friends are much more important than school. I know BSC books aren't necessarily supposed to educate but this one might give a mixed, if not the wrong, message to young readers who look up to Claudia. I think the whole situation with Claudia being held back could have been handled a little better so that the message of "school is important" (like it or not, you need to be able to read all of your life) was more clearly presented.
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macca
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,084
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Post by macca on Mar 7, 2006 20:41:06 GMT -5
I haven't read this one (I so need to get hold of more later books!) and while I generally agree with what you're saying, it's somewhat refreshing to hear of a BSC book that isn't preaching the latest PC message. Not everyone kicks ass at school and a good education isn't necessarily the be all to end all in life. However, assuming that school is unimportant because of one's artistic merits is naive and very adolescent. Definitely not a good message for preteens.
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jen
Sitting For The Johanssens
Posts: 1,156
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Post by jen on Mar 8, 2006 5:27:45 GMT -5
Claudia uses that argument every time school is mentioned, I swear. That artists don't have to be scientists, no one is going to ask her what the chemical something for something is, no one will ask her how to use a protractor, or spell a certain word...
I loved her first tutoring session with Rosa, where she tells Claudia that she is lazy and has terrible study habits. About time someone told the girl.
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macca
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,084
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Post by macca on Mar 8, 2006 5:31:33 GMT -5
Tsk, jen, you're a bit tough on ol' Claud. I personally believe she DOES have a learning disability and her problems are not really laziness, it just doesn't make sense otherwise.
But yeah, the art thing is annoying. She's like one of those guests on Dr Phil that mooch off family members and claim that a job would interrupt their creativity.
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jen
Sitting For The Johanssens
Posts: 1,156
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Post by jen on Mar 8, 2006 5:36:06 GMT -5
Well, I guess so. If only they could just SAY that she has a learning ability! They usually just say that she's lazy, but not in such direct terms. But Rosa says it much more directly. "You're lazy, scholastically speaking, and you have sloppy study habits". Or something like that. Which seems true, but no one every tells Claudia that in such a direct way. It took 101 books for them to say it!
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Post by aln1982 on Mar 8, 2006 8:55:37 GMT -5
Not everyone kicks ass at school and a good education isn't necessarily the be all to end all in life. I agree with this. I know lots of educated and smart people who can't get a job (for various reasons) and others who are successful with no education at all. But I've also seen people struggling because they can't read, do simple math, etc. so I do think it's important that kids have the basics. Like we both agreed on, Claudia's attitude sends the wrong message about this. I loved her first tutoring session with Rosa, where she tells Claudia that she is lazy and has terrible study habits. About time someone told the girl. (This is a quote from Jenlovesmorelli in this thread but I don't know how to get it to show up as a quote. Sorry.) I also loved this part of the book. I think Rosa has a great attitude about the whole thing.
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lilafowler
Sitting For The Johanssens
Posts: 1,163
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Post by lilafowler on Jun 6, 2006 22:45:22 GMT -5
The outfits in this book are a lot less eighties. Claudia's first-day-of-seventh-grade one is almost preppy.
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jen
Sitting For The Johanssens
Posts: 1,156
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Post by jen on Jun 8, 2006 0:39:49 GMT -5
The outfits in the books progress with the times, mostly. Especially in the Friends Forever books - Stacey wears normal things, mostly!
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magentanation
Sitter-In-Training
The girl with colitis goes by
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Post by magentanation on May 21, 2007 23:33:07 GMT -5
I remember my parents not letting me buy this book because of its title. They thought if I read it I would suddenly want to quit school or something. This is also the book that introduced me to Fluffernutter sandwiches. ;D
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mckay
Junior Sitter
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Post by mckay on May 22, 2007 4:32:34 GMT -5
If anything, Claudia was the poster child for why you should stay in school! You should've just shown them her journal entries...
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msstock87
Sitting For The Braddocks
Here Comes The Bride!
Created by Rie.
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Post by msstock87 on May 24, 2007 14:35:42 GMT -5
What really bothered me about this book was how rude she was to the seventh graders especially about the Halloween party. Claudia was really annoying in this book!
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Post by aln1982 on May 24, 2007 16:28:29 GMT -5
^ Totally agree on this, msstock! I hated how this must have made Jessi and Mal feel. They were so supportive, just like always. Then I have to laugh when Claud, herself, ends up "Queen of the 7th Grade" a few books later ;D
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Post by greer on May 25, 2007 8:48:12 GMT -5
I really don't understand why the seventh graders didn't make fun of her. That seems very unmiddle school reality.
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Post by aln1982 on May 25, 2007 9:44:47 GMT -5
^ I thought it was strange, too, that they were actually impressed by her. The kids who I knew who have been held back were sometimes laughed at or at least felt insecure about it. Does Claud really have those feelings? As for this book, this is one of my least favorites. I think Claudia handled the whole situation in a really bad way and was lucky that Janine basically bailed her out.
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lyricalangel
Sitting For The Newtons
Logan's love-bunny
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Post by lyricalangel on May 25, 2007 20:12:16 GMT -5
Janine to the rescue again.LOL.
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