REVIEW: The Bar CodeTrilogy

Not my usual M.O., but I decided to review the entire trilogy, not just the recently released third book. I re-read the first 2 because I realized when I started book 3, that it had been far too long since I'd thought about Kayla's story.
Note: these books do not stand alone well. But, that's okay.

The Bar Code Tattoo
Originally published in 2004

 The bar code tattoo. Everybody's getting it. It will make your life easier, they say. It will hook you in. It will become your identity.

But what if you say no? What if you don't want to become a code? For Kayla, this one choice changes everything. She becomes an outcast in her high school. Dangerous things happen to her family. There's no option but to run . . . for her life. Indivuality vs. conformity. . Identity vs. access. Freedom vs. control. The bar code tattoo.

Debut near-future dystopian novel. Interesting premise, not so awesome writing. It's most certainly not Weyn's best work, but it is what got her some attention. There really wasn't a huge amount in this genre at the time and she did well breaking in with something different.

I've read reviews that tell you the story is predictable. It's not. Well, it wasn't for when it was first published. Sure...it is now, when dystopian YA fiction is all the rage. The characters are all a little weak, and yes, Weyn has some disjointed connections here and there. But the book isn't a lost cause.

The story doesn't wrap up neatly, which is a plus. You want some closure for Kayla and the love triangle she finds herself in while running from the government. So...you pick up the second book.

10 Things Your YA Student Wants to Hear From You

I was reading an article the other day about things kids need to hear from their parents. Specifically, it was directed at parents of "tweens" and was really pretty interesting. (Read it here, if you're interested.) It got me to thinking about the students I work with. I've always called them "my kids--All 1800 of 'em a year." Some of the ideas from the article certainly apply to those kids, too.

So, I started an informal poll. I asked kids I know would give me a straight answer, so yes, it's probably a bit skewed, but I have managed to create a good working relationship with kids from all walks at our school. Some of them are things I would've easily answered. Some of them sparked more conversation and kind of opened my eyes.

1. "How is your day going?" I heard this from one student, and it stuck with me. He stopped juuuuuuuust short of calling some of his teachers automatons--that just teach without ever really connecting.
2. "Good job." This one sounds so obvious to me. SOOO obvious. But some of our kids, much like some adults, need to hear it regularly, not just when they do well on a test.
3. "I had a hard time understanding this, too." It helps kids to know that YOU, the teacher, had a hard time learning how to solve quadratic equations or understanind the language in Beowulf. Not only are you infinitely more human when you admit that you know what they're feeling.
4. "I promise, it does get better." This one isn't just one that kids today want to hear, I think a lot of formerly struggling high school students wanted to. Needed to. Sometimes they need to hear that the garbage they are going through right now doesn't last, and that life does get better.
5. "You're smart." Another one that sounded so obvious to me. I get what this student meant, though. She wants to hear that she's smart, and have the statement have no relationship to her grades. 
6. "I saw your name in the paper/heard it in the announcements/etc. That's awesome!" Provided what you heard is positive news, get them talking about life outside your classroom. It's called "being interested" in what they do.

Homework: What do you think? Tell me below. :)

A little ditty to start the day...

Sites to See, Nov 8

Two Hands-On Economics Lessons
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2012/11/two-hands-on-economics-lessons-for.html
There’s Captains of Industry, which is a simulation of the business practices of American businessmen in the late 19^th century (Think Rockefeller, Carnegie, etc.). The 2^nd is Life on Minimum Wage is designed to show students how difficult it is to get ahead financially when your only job pays minimum wage and doesn’t offer benefits.

WeSeed Virtual Stock Market Game
http://www.weseed.com/
The stock market game that we’d used for years stopped being free, but WeSeed appears to have stepped up. There’s a special educators site that shows you how to set up classes for competitions and has free lesson materials

The Smithsonian’s Seriously Amazing
http://seriouslyamazing.si.edu/#masterpiece Just a fun site with some neat things. Just by clicking a trivia-style question, you can quickly find yourself lost in articles, videos, and pictures  from the Smithsonian magazine website (which is also an awesome website to explore).

Amusement Park Physics
http://www.learner.org/interactives/parkphysics/
A neat site you can easily use to explain some basic physics concepts. There are interactive games for experimenting with the way different forces interact. Kind of fun.

Spanish Language learning resources from the BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/
Lots of different resources, including games, online tutorials, and a 12-week interactive video drama (with teacher guide)

Something to check out...

Lizzie knows it isn’t right to eavesdrop, but is it really eavesdropping if her neighbor Maura makes all of her phone calls on her parents’ pool deck in easy earshot of Lizzie’s backyard? And of course it’s wrong to go snooping around on someone else’s computer, but is it Lizzie’s fault that Maura keeps her computer turned on (and logged in to Facebook) all the time?

Lizzie Richard’s father has moved the family around every few years to advance his career, so she has never had a chance to develop the kind of “BFF” relationships she thinks most kids have. She’s bracing herself for another lonely year at her third high school when her new neighbor Maura gets sick of watching her little brother when she could be partying. Thanks to Maura’s plotting, Lizzie becomes everyone’s new favorite babysitter. Seeing her opportunity, Lizzie breaks her strict parents’ rules and uses Maura’s computer to create a secret Email address and Facebook account. She is quickly friended by Missy, a fellow transfer student as eager for a friend as she is. Things are looking up for Lizzie until Maura’s ex-boyfriend Paul sets his eye on Missy. Caught between her new best friend and the neighbor whose friendship promises instant popularity, Lizzie doesn’t know what to do—because she’s fallen for Paul, too.

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An Excerpt

I like the makeup better when I put it on myself. I apply it more lightly than they had, so it looks more natural. Try as I might, I’m not very handy at hairstyling, though. I can’t seem to tease the roots as Katherine instructed, and I have no luck with the up-dos they showed me. In the end, Katherine produces a small set of scissors and, while I hold my breath, trims some fringy bangs and layers, which we iron flat into a funky style. When we’re done, I don’t look like me, but I look sort of good. And good thing, too, because all the little pieces she cut are never going to fit into a ponytail.

“See,” Maura says. “That wasn’t so hard.”

“Maybe we should come raid your closet and see what we can do with that,” Katherine says, laughing smugly. She has gotten a little friendlier as the day has gone on. When I let her cut my hair, I think that sealed the deal. She is willing to at least consider extending friendship to me.