inge
Junior Sitter
Posts: 767
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Post by inge on Jan 22, 2007 17:23:16 GMT -5
if my daughter did what mal did in this book I think I would be really proud ;D
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Post by hitzpink on Jan 22, 2007 21:42:25 GMT -5
^Heh, me too! I definitely wouldn't get mad at her. Gym class is stupid anyway, it totally just sets the more awkward, shy kids apart from the jock types and makes them feel even more awkward.
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digigirl02
Junior Sitter
The P is for Princess
Posts: 698
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Post by digigirl02 on Jan 22, 2007 22:49:58 GMT -5
I agree.
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Post by charlottejohanssen on Jan 23, 2007 8:17:14 GMT -5
Gym was, and still torture for fellow Mallorys. It was one of places where my awkardness and clumsiness were the most visible.
If my daughter would have the done the same thing as Mallory, I would probably be a bit mad at her for disobeying, but still proud of her standing up for herself.
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lilafowler
Sitting For The Johanssens
Posts: 1,163
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Post by lilafowler on Jan 23, 2007 15:42:38 GMT -5
I don't know, I think Ms. Walden had a point when she told Mallory that quitting can become a habit. Though I certainly don't believe Mallory wouldn't be able to sell a novel because of her lack of a "mean serve," I can also see the same logic being applied to, say, a physics class later on in her academic career. Calculating the resistance of an electric circuit is going to be about as useful as that mean serve to an author, but would it be less appropriate to refuse to do the work a physics teacher is assigning you? Why? I totally identified with Mallory in this book, but I don't think what she did is okay, and I'd have a problem with it if my child did it. I'm not saying one should blindly agree with all authority figures, but I believe that a teacher deserves at least a modicum of respect -- which is denied when a student basically tells her, "No, I don't think what you are teaching me is worth learning."
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2007 7:44:26 GMT -5
That gravestone comment was hilarious though. Here Lies Mallory Pike, She Had a Mean Serve.
The teacher did have a point. Quitting can become a habit, and I know a lot of people who went through secondary school bitching about stuff they had to learn but wasn't going to be of any use to them.
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Post by hitzpink on Jan 24, 2007 20:02:49 GMT -5
Well, I just don't see Mallory as the type to make quitting a habit. She's normally such a goody-goody, and this was so out of character for her that I think it can be excused. Like I said before, I think that's why Mrs. Pike went easy on her. She knew that Mal had to have been REALLY upset/uncomfortable in order to do something so extreme.
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digigirl02
Junior Sitter
The P is for Princess
Posts: 698
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Post by digigirl02 on Jan 24, 2007 20:34:19 GMT -5
I wonder if she was ever worried that when Mal did that, that someday the younger kids would follow suit.
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alula
Sitter-In-Training
Posts: 406
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Post by alula on Jan 24, 2007 20:52:18 GMT -5
I don't know, I think Ms. Walden had a point when she told Mallory that quitting can become a habit. Though I certainly don't believe Mallory wouldn't be able to sell a novel because of her lack of a "mean serve," I can also see the same logic being applied to, say, a physics class later on in her academic career. Calculating the resistance of an electric circuit is going to be about as useful as that mean serve to an author, but would it be less appropriate to refuse to do the work a physics teacher is assigning you? Why? I totally identified with Mallory in this book, but I don't think what she did is okay, and I'd have a problem with it if my child did it. I'm not saying one should blindly agree with all authority figures, but I believe that a teacher deserves at least a modicum of respect -- which is denied when a student basically tells her, "No, I don't think what you are teaching me is worth learning." That's a really interesting point, lilafowler. My first reaction was that Mallory's benching herself and the accompanying attitude to Ms. Walden was as more about the humiliation and bullying aspects of the situation than Mal's valuation of the skill--I don't think Mallory's general attitude to school (etc) is as narrow-minded as Claudia's (irritating, to me) repetition of the idea that OMG she'll never need X skill as an artist. (I wonder if, in turn, that's because Ann Martin, as a writer, has a better intuitive understanding of the idea that you honestly never know what bizarre fact or skill is going to turn out being great to write about later). And as a PE-class-hater, my main objection was (and is, with regards to traditional classes, is that they fail in their most basic objective--promoting health and good exercise habits--by turning less athletic kids off and making them feel self-conscious and miserable about physical activity. I went to the one state in the US that requires daily PE every day through high school, but honestly, after freshman year it wasn't quite as bad, because we could pick our units, and I did aerobics and kickboxing/self-defense and yoga, and so at least I felt like it wasn't a total waste of time, and I wasn't competing with anyone and constantly feeling shamed about my body and my lack of coordination. [/rant] On the other hand, that made me recall how thin-skinned Mallory is, and it does kind of seem to give foreshadowing to the argument that she essentially "gives up" at SMS over the Spaz Girl incident. Which ironically may be a much bigger problem for a writer, because, sorry, sweetie, no one wins "best overall fiction in the sixth-grade" every/ time.
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Post by aln1982 on Jan 27, 2007 17:02:43 GMT -5
Agree with you Alula and can't think of much to add right now except I am also irritated by Claudia's opinions on school. My mom is super-athletic and has a PE teaching degree and has always had the same philosophy of the purpose of the class that you said. She told me that is what they learned in college, too. Unfortunately, most teachers seem to think it's a time to compete and just play sports. I hated "boys against girls" more than anything in PE.
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msstock87
Sitting For The Braddocks
Here Comes The Bride!
Created by Rie.
Posts: 3,618
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Post by msstock87 on Jan 30, 2007 21:05:20 GMT -5
I could totally relate with Mal on this one. I remember in gym class when we were forced to play volleyball I hated it! I have since become afraid of volleyballs when I got smashed in the face with one. I swear my face stung for a week afterwards.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2007 17:39:05 GMT -5
I was so lousy at it. Most of my childhood sports memories involved being hammered with a ball. Ironically i ended up being quite good at dodgeball! People started calling me Daria when we did volleyball in school because I had crappy reflexes and usually by the time I tried to hit the ball it was already behind me, like Daria does in the intro to the show... that wasn't too bad a nickname though, Daria was kind of cool
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msstock87
Sitting For The Braddocks
Here Comes The Bride!
Created by Rie.
Posts: 3,618
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Post by msstock87 on Jan 31, 2007 20:30:24 GMT -5
Daria was pretty cool. I had, and still have some crappy reflexes to some things. The only thing I ever enjoyed in gym was hockey ( as long as I wasn't in the goal). That was only though because I grew up in a hockey crazed family, I still sucked playing it though.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2007 9:53:53 GMT -5
Ugh. Hockey was The Sport in secondary school. I was always picked last and dumped in a corner at the edge of the pitch on the top of a freezing hill. Those were the days!
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Post by aln1982 on Feb 3, 2007 0:34:37 GMT -5
I'm playing backyard hockey on the computer now. That's the only way I like sports I never had to play it for real thank goodness. I thought I would play "Haans Christian Anderson" once and try ice skating on my new double bladed skates on a small area of ice in our field. Five minutes later, I had knocked out my two front teeth - at least they had been loose already. I would like to see Kristy and Abby battle it out on the hockey rink, though.
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