Sandy Kaser, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona

In my university classes, I sometimes use a strategy called “text rendering,” in which we read aloud a passage from a text or article that we found to be particularly meaningful. Although it is all right to discuss the passages, I personally prefer simply to hear the words and let them stand. I invite you now to hear the words of Francisco Jimenez taken from some of the multiple sources I reviewed in which he speaks in a public forum.
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Sandy Kaser, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona

Dear Mr. Francisco Jimenez,

I’ve read all of your books and they are all so great! It made me disappointed how some of the people treated you and your family. Like when your girlfriend took you home to meet her parents and they were angry because you were a Mexican.

I liked the part when you asked Roberto if he’d dance with you because you wanted to learn how to dance. And Roberto was afraid that someone would see you dancing together.

I admired how you didn’t care what other people thought of you. You were brave and devoted and kept going even after someone insulted you or put you down.

I also liked how your books were so descriptive, everything stood out in my mind. I could picture the people you described and the places you went in my mind like I’d actually seen them before.

I loved your books. They were all so wonderful.

Sincerely,

Madeline

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Sandy Kaser, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona

Gordon Wells makes a case for spontaneous dialogue and its relationship to community and to society in the March 2009 issue of Language Arts,. He states that “the beliefs, values, and knowledge that are attributed to society remain abstract and disembodied until they are brought to bear in particular interpersonal situations.” He argues that “dialogue within a classroom helps to create community while simultaneously building a bridge between individuals and the society of which they are members.” As we read the books of Francisco Jimenez, our class engaged in dialogue that brought us together as a community, and that also enabled us to reflect on current issues and values in society.

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Sandy Kaser, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona

Many teachers look for ways to make books meaningful to students. Sometimes we go about this in a deliberate way. Perhaps we have a unit of study coming up and so we look for books that offer different perspectives on this particular topic, or we have “umbrella” themes that cover an entire year and find books that support students in making connections and asking questions all year. In pulling books, we are careful to have a range that reflects the identities of the students entrusted to us.

But sometimes, we happen across a book that has an unexpected effect for both our students and ourselves. When that happens, we want to climb up on a roof top somewhere and shout, “This one! Read this one!” But then we discover that other folks have been shouting on that roof top and we just didn’t hear it. And we are all the more amazed. How did we miss it? This is what happened in my classroom with the books of Francisco Jiménez, specifically The Circuit, Breaking Through and Reaching Out.
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