msstock87
Sitting For The Braddocks
Here Comes The Bride!
Created by Rie.
Posts: 3,618
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Post by msstock87 on Oct 24, 2013 20:54:18 GMT -5
If I am remembering correctly, in my school district you had to have a 60% to pass. Anything under was considered an F.
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Post by mistrali on Nov 2, 2013 0:04:23 GMT -5
Rereading some of the comments here, I agree: what on earth were the Kishis doing?! They could've made Claud quit the BSC, at the very least!
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Post by greer on Dec 28, 2013 8:41:18 GMT -5
Claudia was extremely lazy, I agree. I don't think she has a learning disorder, however. She just didn't try in school which annoyed me very much. So, according to Claudia, she thinks school doesn't matter because she's going to be an artist when she grows up. What if Claudia doesn't become a successful artist when she grows up? It's like saying,"I don't need to learn how to do math or read because I'm going to be a ballerina when I grow up." That just doesn't make sense at all. I don't think you can spell the way Claudia did at 13 and NOT have a learning disorder. Especially since the Kishis are obviously a family that spend a lot of time on their kids education and likely read to Claudia all the time as a child, etc., so it's not an issue of her being behind due to issues at home. Also, learning disorders can manifest themselves in many different ways. My brother has one, and it wouldn't be obvious looking at his academic record. He mostly has issues with organization, getting his thoughts down on paper (he is very strong verbally), fine motor skills (drawing/handwriting) and learning foreign languages. Learning disorders are more than just the ones that manifest themselves quite obviously and markedly, like dyslexia. Sometimes they are very subtle.
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Amalia
Sitting For The Braddocks
Her Original Point of View
Posts: 3,664
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Post by Amalia on Jan 3, 2014 6:02:07 GMT -5
^ I think that Claudia just got in the habit of guessing the spelling each time she approaches a word. I think that the habit just got ingrained and she just got stuck in that way and no amount of teachings on how to improve, and exposure to spelling rules and seeing words spelled correctly, etc. would ever get through to improve it.
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Post by greer on Jan 3, 2014 8:22:27 GMT -5
^ I think that Claudia just got in the habit of guessing the spelling each time she approaches a word. I think that the habit just got ingrained and she just got stuck in that way and no amount of teachings on how to improve, and exposure to spelling rules and seeing words spelled correctly, etc. would ever get through to improve it. Most have that habit as children. I think there would have to be something more serious going on.
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jessi82
New To Stoneybrook
Posts: 15
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Post by jessi82 on Mar 16, 2014 18:26:47 GMT -5
Claudia was extremely lazy, I agree. I don't think she has a learning disorder, however. She just didn't try in school which annoyed me very much. So, according to Claudia, she thinks school doesn't matter because she's going to be an artist when she grows up. What if Claudia doesn't become a successful artist when she grows up? It's like saying,"I don't need to learn how to do math or read because I'm going to be a ballerina when I grow up." That just doesn't make sense at all. I don't think you can spell the way Claudia did at 13 and NOT have a learning disorder. Especially since the Kishis are obviously a family that spend a lot of time on their kids education and likely read to Claudia all the time as a child, etc., so it's not an issue of her being behind due to issues at home. Also, learning disorders can manifest themselves in many different ways. My brother has one, and it wouldn't be obvious looking at his academic record. He mostly has issues with organization, getting his thoughts down on paper (he is very strong verbally), fine motor skills (drawing/handwriting) and learning foreign languages. Learning disorders are more than just the ones that manifest themselves quite obviously and markedly, like dyslexia. Sometimes they are very subtle. Yup I agree that Claudia does have a learning problem. I have similar issues to your brother Greer although I don't have issues getting thoughts on paper or with languages. I do have issues with fine motor skills and organization. I also have issues in spotting things or absorbing information quickly and while I love reading I've always needed to read word by word. I could never skim read or just find a sentence in the mddle of the page. I can also say that while other kids loved find a words it would oftern take me hours to complete. As a result I can identify with Claudia especially since I'm of Asian ancestory as well. Since my learning problems weren't the standard learning problems I was never put in special classes and accused of being lazy etc. I can also understand why she never asked for help. I never asked for help because I was scared of being told off. Unfortunately when you are deemed intelligent with no known problems people are less patient with you and think you are not listening etc. As for the attitude I don't need this I often felt the same.
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Post by greer on Mar 16, 2014 18:35:32 GMT -5
^yeah, my brother was lucky in that it was noticed early on, and my parents were able to get him a lot of help outside of school to help him work around his issues. I absolutely do not understand why Claudia was not written as having a learning disability, and why the Kishis didn't get her a tutor WAY before this book. A lot of kids are in this situation, and it would have been a nice thing to have in the books.
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Post by zoar3 on Mar 16, 2014 18:43:26 GMT -5
^I never thought about that before Greer, but if Claudia was written as having some type of learning problem and did get (more regular) help for it, I agree that a lot of readers could have related. I know both Claudia and Shea say that the resource room is an awful place and there is a stigma attached. Perhaps a more private or peer (non Stacey) type of tutoring would have helped Claud. There is a book by Jamie Gilson called "Do Bananas Chew Gum?" that I enjoyed reading as a kid and think I still have a copy of it. It's about a 12 year old boy named Sam who sometimes has trouble reading and spelling. It always makes me sad to read that his parents don't come across as very kind or always supportive to him. He does end up getting help and even feeling more confident. Plus as a sub-plot he baby-sits for two young boys. Has anyone read this? I think you might enjoy. My memory of it makes me think of Karen and wish I had had her self confidence always in school. I don't remember how old I was but my class was having a spelling bee and my word was archeology. In "Bananas," a book I must have read right before the bee, (or had elsewhere right beforehand seen the word in print that way) the word was spelled with an extra "a" archaeology. I know now it can be spelled both ways. The teacher insisted I was wrong and wouldn't hear my explanation. Since I was very shy as a kid, any type of public speaking wasn't easy for me. I think that made the situation harder, being on the spot and then being dismissed as wrong that way. Anyway, O/T, and onto something much better, I'm glad your brother, Greer, had his family for support.
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Post by greer on Mar 16, 2014 18:52:33 GMT -5
^it is frustrating when a teacher is wrong and you feel powerless to correct them. I think that archaeology is even more common--that's how I would spell it.
Anyway, it's one of Ann's strangest choices, IMO. If the Kishis were painted as caring so much about academic success, why didn't they have a private tutor from the very beginning?
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Post by zoar3 on Mar 16, 2014 19:03:31 GMT -5
^Thanks, Greer. Most of my school memories aren't too positive but that was more about what was going on in my life than school itself.
As for Claudia, she may very well have come to a place where she just didn't care about school (truly believed she's never need it and/or felt her parents and teachers would always compare her to Janine so why bother. However since I think 4th grade was when she went to Stamford Alternative Academy. So young and also makes me feel worse for Claud if her family was that oblivious to how lost (both academic and more importantly at home) she may have been feeling. I do remember by the time I got to high school, after horrible junior high years both school related with one teacher in particular and more so at home, I honestly just wanted to be done.
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starrynight
Sitting For The Kuhns
The Royal Diner of Pizza Express
Posts: 4,004
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Post by starrynight on Apr 5, 2014 22:51:06 GMT -5
I remember reading somewhere that Claudia having an actual learning problem was a very real possibility, but they eventually decided not to write that in. Even as a kid, that didn't make sense to me. I can see a lack of interest in school leading to poor grades and unfinished homework, but the spelling? That says to me that something else is going on. It WOULD have been a big help to readers with similar issues to have one of the main characters deal with something like that.
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Post by virgoscorpio on Apr 5, 2014 23:44:23 GMT -5
From viewing her writing abilities, it looks like she might have dyslexia. But then you're told that she loves to read Nancy Drew books, which gives the impression that she's good at reading (and enjoys it), which throws everything off.
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Post by greer on Apr 6, 2014 3:51:07 GMT -5
From viewing her writing abilities, it looks like she might have dyslexia. But then you're told that she loves to read Nancy Drew books, which gives the impression that she's good at reading (and enjoys it), which throws everything off. I don't think liking to read one particular type of children's book means that someone is good at reading. I think she just has some kind of general learning disability that would require a lot of testing to determine.
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celaeno
Sitting For The Papadakis's
I have to share a room with Vanessa
Posts: 1,514
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Post by celaeno on Jul 14, 2014 18:40:25 GMT -5
Man...I think this is the most depressing BSC book in the whole series. Not in a good, tearjerker type of way, but in a way that accurately portrays the feelings of total dread and anxiety and hopelessness when you cannot keep up with stuff, no matter how hard you try.
I'm a little surprised that the consensus in the thread seems to be "Claudia has no one to blame because of how lazy she is", because a lot of times in the series I've been struck by how she will spend HOURS studying for a quiz or working on a math assignment - that is NOT normal for a middle school workload, especially for a student not in advanced classes. Like, even in this book (pg 44) she spends her entire day after school studying for just a math quiz (breaking just for a BSC meeting and dinner), and she ends up getting a 45% on it. Like...that might be feasible in college, but not for a middle school math class. So, I think my opinion leans toward believing that Claudia doesn't get bad grades because she's lazy, but rather, that she gets bad grades even if she puts her all into her schoolwork, and that her feelings of impotence make her lazy (because if she's going to get bad grades whether she studies for hours or doesn't study at all, why bother?).
Also, I think she has to have a learning disorder that the professionals can't identify. And it bugs me that we have to be reminded often that Claudia DOES have an above average IQ. Half the population has below average IQs, but it's like authors feel that only smart characters are worth caring about. As weird as it sounds, I think dumb characters are underrepresented.
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Post by virgoscorpio on Jul 14, 2014 21:20:44 GMT -5
AHHHH! You know how I have been posting about going to post on a thread, after just reading a book, and it has been bumped - IT HAPPENED AGAIN!
I agree with all of your thoughts, calaeno. In the beginning, Claudia says how she was tested for learning disorders, doesn't have one, has a high IQ but just doesn't care of apply herself. If she did, she would do better. But then she does try hard and apply herself and she still gets no where? Yet she can go back to 7th grade and get 90s on tests OR score an A when she's completely failing a course and in a jam. And she can't spell her name properly, often jumbles up words or letters, and doesn't have a learning disability? I think the series could have done many readers some good by confronting learning disabilities and having Claudia actually have one. This book in particular could have spanned many books itself. Claudia's issues just become confusing.
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