Personal Reflection

Through completing this ISU, I discovered some helpful methods in writing essay. I found the four blog method very helpful in understanding the book. I would have been able to read the book and write the apologia and explication quite easily, but as I was forced to pay attention to little details and really understand little details. When it came time to use quotes from the book, I knew what section and the approximate page of the desired quote.

I also developed my time management skills. Due to work and other school work, I would only work on the ISU when I had a solid amount of time to complete the required task. This proved to be difficult, especially with the blogs. I almost didn't make the deadline. This showed me that even if I were to work for half an hour before work, that is a half an hour of the work done. This would have made the writing process easier and less stressful.

As well as learning skill that would benefit me in the future, I also gained some insight. I feel that I can better understand and sympathize with teachers after this project. I have always known that teachers have a large workload, but I never really thought about how the students affect them. When Mederic and the teacher weren't friends, he got under her skin. She was scared of him and didn't know how to handle him. I don't know why but I always figured that teachers would just brush off the insults and bad behavior.

Overall, given my schedule and time management mishap, I think I did okay on this ISU. If I had balanced my schedule to give me more time to complete the various stages of this assignment, I know I could have done better job at expressing my ideas. I think the main thing I would need to work on is the overall flow of my writing.

Works Cited

Apologia

• "Canadian literature - Characteristics of Canadian Literature." Spiritus-Temporis.com - Historical Events, Latest News, News Archives. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/canadian-literature/characteristics-of-canadian-literature.html.
• "Literature in English." The Canadian Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=M1ARTA0004709.
• Roy, Gabrielle. Children of My Heart. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2000. Print.

Explication

• Roy, Gabrielle. Children of My Heart. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2000. Print.

Explication of Ambition in Children of My Heart by Gabrielle Roy

After reading Children of My Heart by Gabrielle Roy, I found it very easy to choose the dramatic situation. I immediately narrowed the options to two different situations, these situations were "Ambition" and the "Daring Enterprise". I chose Ambition because I believed it best suited the story. It is clear that throughout the story the "Ambitious Person" is the teacher, the "Thing Coveted" is knowledge, and the "Adversaries" are the students.

Throughout the novel, the young teacher, who remained nameless, had the desire to learn and have the students learn. She had a passion for teaching, and would have the students learn, no matter the cost. A perfect example of her desire is in part two, with young Andre. Andre lived the farthest from school, and during the winter season he was forced to walk to and from school. After he arrived home from school he would have to do chores before he could do homework and get to bed. This grew to be too much for the little boy and he was forced to drop out of school. When the teacher discovered this her only reply was "Leave school! Andre! You musn't think of it!" (95). After the winter season Andre's mother had high hopes for his return to school. When she asked the teacher if he would pass his year, the teacher was sure it wasn't possible but replied "I'll do my best" (106).

The teacher always did her best to get the students to succeed, because of this, it is clear the coveted object is knowledge. This is clear in part one with the teachers "little Demetrioff" (67). The Demetrioff family consisted of five children that could never pass their year, the teachers would "give [them] fifty percent and away [they] go in to the next class up" (57). When our young teacher gets her first Demetrioff, she doesn't have dreams of getting him to be her top student, but merely have some skills. The youngest Demetrioff took a liking to cursive writing, and the teacher used this to get him to learn some of the basic skills of his year. As a result the young student did a little better with writing and grammar and was able to cursive write across the black board. By doing this she became respected as a teacher and developed her teaching methods to further help students.

This novel would have been nothing without the students. The teacher needed the students to have a job, and she needed them to learn the life lessons they taught her. One of the most important students was Mederic in the third section. Mederic was at first a trouble maker. He even "held 'the last teacher' at bay at the point of his jack-knife" (110), but by the end of the story it was clear that this was just an act. Mederic's mother died when he was younger, and as a result his father became an alcoholic. His father would often say things to make Mederic feel bad and Mederic lashed out. He did poorly in school to make his father mad, and as soon as he was sixteen he wanted to run away. Running away was something Mederic was used to, he had often tried to get away. When the teacher inquired about this, Mederic he only ran away for "just two days. My dad's on the lookout now. They found me almost right away and brought me back like a thief." (123). Mederic loved his special hills, and after the teacher and him had become friends he wanted to show her. Again she bribed the young student, if he did better on the midterm, they could go. When Mederic accomplished this, he was extremely excited to get to share his passion.

This book was extremely compelling. The teacher had such a passion for the students to learn and do well you couldn't help but get passionate as well. The students meant the world to her, and she meant the world to the students. They would work together to accomplish whatever task, whether big or small. The young teacher’s ambition was clear from the beginning of the story, and only grew throughout the novel. This was an amazing book, and was definitely worth reading.

Apologia - Final

When Canadian Literature is talked about, the topics of nature and frontier life are brought up. They are then broken down into further detail such as the setting (urban vs. rural), and whether or not there is an underdog hero. Children of My Heart, by Gabrielle Roy, uses the characteristics of Canadian Literature to create great novel, and is worthy of its great reviews. While fulfilling these characteristics Roy makes you fall in love with the characters and fall in love with Canada.

Throughout the story we follow a young teacher as she is assigned to different schools as her teaching abilities progress. The few schools she teaches at have a wide age and grade range. This represents the "constant challenge to expand a foothold" (spirit) throughout the large expanse that is Canada. This is very important in the representation of the frontier life in Canada. When she is teaching children of many ages and grades in one class, this means they are in an unpopulated area. This shows that Canada is in the early stages of its expansion. As they are in an unpopulated area, the children and their family's are spread out over a large area. The children have to travel over two miles to arrive at school. At a young age these children are forced to face the challenges and difficulties of the Canadian climate.

Without the harshness of the Canadian climate several key events of the story would not have taken place. In part two, one child has a particularly long journey to school and the student drops out of school due to the limited sunlight and harsheness of winter. As there is so little sunlight, he does not have enough time to do the chores in the evening after school. Another event that takes place during a winter seasnon is when the young teacher goes to a Mederic's house for dinner. When the time comes for Mederic to drive her home, there is a blizzard. The blizzard is so terrible that they lose track of the road and get lost "in the blinding snow" (Roy), making the return journey much longer than necessary. During the journey the teacher is forced to make their relationship clear after Mederic expresses his true feelings for the teacher. He is left heartbroken. After he recovers from the initial shock, he tries to make the remainder of the journey home as fun as possible to redeem his mistake.

When Mederic puts forth the effort to recover his mistake, this shows one of the patterns found in Canadian literature. The pattern is when a character "turns failure into a form of grace" (Historica). Children of My Heart is a perfect novel to show the patternes as it uses variety of them. Another pattern it uses is when a "person leaves their homeland, [and] adjusts to the new world" (Historica). This is perfectly describes the students in part one. The majority of the students are immigrants for a several different countries. They adapt to the methods of the Canadian teaching style and the Canadian climate. Another example Roy uses is "people arrive in their new home only to find that they are excluded from power" (Historica). This is best shown in section two with Pasquier family. This family had immigrated to Canada and had difficulty getting enough money. They often were forced to send the father away for his job to earn money.

Toronto star states "Children of My Heart" is a slim book, elegiac and graceful, but so filled with homely wisdom that overflows its pages". Through Roy's use of the various traits and characteristics of Canadian Literature, she created an outstanding novel. It is well worthy of the classification of classic Canadian novel.

Apologia/Explication - Rough

Apologia

-Reviews are all positive

-Characteristics of Can. Lit.

~Nature

~Frontier Life

-Traits of Can. Lit.

~Humour

~Urban vs Rural

~Nature (the enemy or ideal)

~Underdog Hero

-Patterns/Motifs

~ "person attempts to recover from the past, the secret or suppressed life of a previous generation"

~ "people arrive in the new home only to find that they are excluded from power"

Explication

Part One

-Daring Enterprise: Bold Leader(teacher), Object: (knowledge), Adversary(students)

-Ambition: Ambitious person (teacher), thing coveted (knowledge), Adversary(students)

Part Two

-Daring Enterprise: Bold Leader(teacher), Object: (knowledge), Adversary(students)

-Ambition: Ambitious person (teacher), thing coveted (knowledge), Adversary(students)

Part Three

-Daring Enterprise: Bold Leader(teacher), Object: (knowledge), Adversary(students)

-Ambition: Ambitious person (teacher), thing coveted (knowledge), Adversary(students)

-Obstacles to Love: Two Lovers (teacher, Mederic), Obstacle (teacher student relationship)

-Obtaining: Solicitor (Teacher), Opposer (Mederic)

Biography

• http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?
• BioId=42126http://www.mta.ca/faculty/arts/canadian_studies/english/about/study_guide/famous_women/gabrielle_roy.html

Book Reviews

• http://www.librarything.com/work/460515
• http://myreadingbooks.blogspot.com/2007/03/children-of-my-heart-by-gabrielle-roy.html
• http://inlauriesmind.blogspot.com/2009/06/review-children-of-my-heart.html

Interviews/Information

• http://archives.cbc.ca/arts_entertainment/literature/clips/16637/
• -http://www.maisongabrielleroy.mb.ca/en/chronology.php

Characteristics/Themes/Motifs

• http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/canadian-literature/characteristics-of-canadian-literature.html

Regional Characteristics/Influences

• http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=M1ARTA0004709

Welcome!

Welcome to my Blog! I created this blog for the ENG4U Independant Study Project. The purpose of this Blog is to post your process as you complete certain aspects fo the assignments. Over the next 2 months you will be able to read my four blogs on read and response, a links list to show the amount of research I've done, and the process and final draft of an Apologia and Explication. It is beneficial for everyone to have this process online so you can get regular feedback from your teacher and peers.

Enjoy!

Children of My Heart - Post 4

What a book! This book was definitely a good read, and is worthy of being called a classic. You go on a journey with this young teacher. You take pride and want to cheer with her triumphs and you are saddened and want to to comfort with her failures. I couldn't help but feel connected to the young teacher.
I would have to say part three was definitely my favourite part. It take place in an isolated village when the teacher is only eighteen. Eighteen! This is the first reference to her age. When they called her a teenager in the beginning of the book I assumed she was eighteen then, and by the end of part two/beginning of part three i thought she would in her be mid twenties. This was really hard to wrap my head around. I kept comparing myself to the teacher. I am eighteen in four months, so it would be like me standing in front of a classroom of forty students from ages five to thirteen.
I would have to say my favourite part in the entire book is the teachers first day with Mederic, the problem child. He came to class late, didn't pay attention, and spat spit balls at the ceiling. If I was in that position, I would have been extremely frustrated. However, the teacher is scared! She keeps him after class, waits an hour to get her nerves together, and gets him to clean up after himself. Over that hour, young Mederic, aged 13, began worry. He was terrified too. That night it was the beginning of a powerful friendship.
I would say my least favourite part would be the ending. I found that the conclusion wasn't really a conclusion. With so many exciting events and the progression of part three I expected a completely different ending. It was like Roy just decided, Hey I just did all this character developement, but I'm going to do something different. I was just disappointed.
Overall, I really, really enjoyed this book. I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good adventure book. I think part of the reason I enjoyed this book is because it is incredibley different from the books i usually read. After reading this book I would like to read more books like it.

Children of My Heart - Post 3

Part three of Children of My Heart is the shortest part in the book, but I found it more interesting than the first one. Although the entire book is in the perspective/memories of the teacher, the characters jump around a lot. As soon as you get used to a character and grow to love them, they are shuffled around and you have to start again. However, in the part two all of the characters were maintained throughout the entire section. There was one main foucus in part two, and that was Andre.
In part two the teacher is at a new school, and she is the only teacher. She teaches a class of forty students from first to eighth year. Andre is one of her students. He has the farthest to walk to school, two and a half miles, and he has the most chores to do at home. Andre's home life is hard. His father works hard to make enough money to pay the bills, to do this he has to got to a neighbouring village over the winter time. He leaves his two sons Andre and Emile to look after the household, the animals and the pregnant mother. Andre's Mom has hard pregnancies, she is forced to stay in bed after the first few months or she risks losing the baby. As winter approaches, Andre is forced to drop out of school. The young teacher always sits at her desk, waiting for Andre to come back to school, but he never comes.
As she changed schools in this part, I think that this will happen again in the third and final part. It will probably take place a few more years in the future, so she has some more experience. As the time passes I think that the variety of Immagrants will increase.
I'm really interested to see how the story line will turn out. There hasn't really been a plot to the story. So far the major events have been a child does something heartbreaking or touching. The teacher then learns from these events and becomes a better person. If it continues with this trend I don't think the Climax will be very exciting.

Children of My Heart - Post 2

Now that part one is complete, I am left amazed. Unlike the first half of part one there wasn't a single child per chapter, but a family of children of the rest of part one. Through these chapters you really get to understand how devoted the teacher is.
The Demetrioff family consists of a mother, a father, and five children. The children have plagued the teachers since their arrival at the school. The father, who owns a tannery, will often pull the children out for weeks on end to work. On top of the that, the children just choose not to learn. "There is not one Demetrioff, whoever passed his year. When a teacher's had one of them the second year in a row she just pushes a little: she gives him a fifty percent and away he goes to the next class up. " (Pg 57) One of the other teachers named Anna, who just had her first Demetrioff, was having trouble getting him to pay attention and do work. To get some help Anna wrote a letter to his father. Unfortunately, when the father gets the letter he is outraged. He comes to the class room and beats his son in front of the class. He gets sentenced to three months in jail, but his wife in children would not survive without him. The family bands together and pleads his case getting him out of jail.
The main character, whose name is yet to be revealed, eventually gets a demetrioff of her own. In the beginning, she had a lot of trouble getting him to remember what he'd learned. "'The Demetrioffs always forget today what they learned yesterday. But sometimes part of it floats back to them, like a dream." (Pg 67) However, he loves to copy the alphabet and the teacher uses this to her advantage. She wouldn't let him copy out letters, until he could tell her what each letter was and what sounds they make.
The style of the story is something i've only seen a handful of time. It is almost like a diary or the teacher reliving her memories. I find this interesting because it really changes a lot in the story. I was under the impression that all of these children were in the same class, but in the last section she starts off without a Demetrioff and ends with one. This shows there is no timeline to the story, just a series of chronological events. The diary aspect reminds me of sci-fi series (Beka Cooper) by Tamora Pierce. The entire series is Beka's Journal. Each chapter is a different day and each book a different point in time.
My guess for what happens in the book are if each chapter is a different year, the next part will be when she is older, maybe she will be teaching in highschool or a different grade. On the back it mentions immigration, which has already taken place as she has already tought someone from Poland and Russia. Whatever takes place, I am eager to read it.

Children of My Heart - Post 1

When I chose to read Children of My heart by Gabriella Roy I chose because I have known a few people who have read the book. When you read the back of the book, it tells you exactly what the story is. It is about a young female teacher, who touches the lives of the children she meets, while they help her grow. Part of me thought this book would be kind of boring. I thought it would be full of cliche moments that a typical teacher would go through, but i was wrong.

The book is split into three different parts, and I am about half way through the first part. So for the format of the story has been going through the teachers memory. Each chapter she has been talking about a different, child she has taught. Each child pulls on your heart strings in a different way. One character that has really stood out for me, is Nil. Nil's mother is of Ukranian decent, and has taught Nil how to sing songs of her homeland. The teacher is captivated by his voice and refers to him as "the Lark". Even the principle refers to him as the lark. "Well, with your thirty-eight sparrows you've caught a meadowlark this year. Do you know the lark? Let him sing and there's not a heart but is lightened." (Roy 39) I looked up meadowlark, and there were a few different types. The one the were refering to was the Western Meadowlark, which lives in the prairies. It is known for its "Flute-like warble song" (wikipedia). Little Nil goes around on the principles request to various locations. The teacher went with him to these places, which included a mental institution and nursing home. At each visit the audience doesn't want him to go home, and tries to get him to stay.

The part that draws to the story, is how the children teach the teacher valuable life lessons. An example of this is a little boy Clair. Clair comes from a broken home. His father left him at a young age, and his mother works the majority of the time, just to get by. Clair is always on his best behavior, he always gets his work done, and always has a smile for the young teacher. However, as christmas approaches his attitude changes. All of the children in the class want to by the teacher a present, but little Clair doesn't have the money. He eventually stops talking altogether, and is always near tears. On christmas day, there was a knock on the teachers door. Clair had walked through a blizzard to deliver a present for her. His mother had recieved an Irish Linen Hankie from one of the ladies she cared for, and wished it to go to her. The teacher recieved, expensive or flashy gifts from other students but this one meant the most to her. A family with nothing gave away what they recieved in hopes of showing some appreciation and gratitude for what she does.

Overall, Children of my heart has so far blown my expectations out of the water. The antics the children get into keep the pages turning, and warm your heart along the way. You can't help but get captivated by the children as the teacher has with each of their stories. For a young teacher, she has learned some valuable skills.