Ideas for the Critical Literacy Podcast

For my podcast I want to discuss the sociopolitical issues that are refelected in the children's book The Wump World.  This book addresses how our society often destroys the Earth without much concern for the future and the impact that it has not only on our society but on others that share the Earth with us.  It is also interesting to investigate the issue of class as the society that is not destroying their planet is viewed as less intelligent than those who come and ruin the bounty that was once there.  This may be similiar to how civilizations that live more grounded in the needs of the land are looked down upon as savages and forced into certain regions, while those destroy are actually often viewed as creators.

In terms of actually recording the podcast I am going to look into the equipment that Katzen has as a resource for students because I know they have recording devices that would probably be capable.

Quotable Quotes- When the Emperor was Divine

"Sometimes he worries he was there because he'd done something horribly, terribly wrong.  But then when he tries to remember what that horrible, terrible thing might be, it would not come to him.  It could be anything.  Something he'd done yesterday--chewing the eraser off his sister's pencil before putting it back in the pencil jar--or something he'd done a long time age that was just now catching up with him.  Break a chain letter from Juneau, Alaska.  Flushing his dying pet goldfish down the toilet before it was completely dead.  Forgetting to touch the hat rack three times when the iceman drove by.  Sometimes he thought he was dreaming, and he was sure that when he woke up his father would be downstairs in the kitchen whistling "Begin the Beguine" through his teeth as he fried up breakfast in the skillet.  'Here it comes, champ,' his father would say, 'one hobo egg sandwich.'"

In this quote Julie Otsuka reflects on the fact that there was no reason for the treatment of the Japanese Americans through the eyes of a child.  His guilt and search for the mistake he made emphasizes his innocence and really causes the reader to reflect on the tragedy of the Japanese internment.  It also reaffirms that these people are just like us, they do things like break chain letters and mess with our siblings things.  This quote is so clearly through the eyes of a child; I would believe that a child wrote this, which makes me sympathize even more.  Something about hurting children is just unacceptable and even more awful than hurting adults, because they are so innocent and so young.


"Nothing's changed we said to ourselves.  The war had been an interruption, nothing more.  We would pick up our lives where we had left off and go on.  We would go back to school again.  We would study hard, every day, to make up for lost time.  We would seek out our old classmates.  'Where were you?' they'd ask, or maybe they would just nod and say, 'Hey.' We would join their clubs, after school, if they let us.  We would listen to their music. We would  dress just like they did.  We would change our names to sound more like theirs.  And if our mother called out to us on the street by our real names we would turn away and pretend not to know her.  We would never be mistaken for the enemy again!"

This quote was really touching to me.  We would never be mistaken for the enemy again.  It is so shameful what we did to our own people.  I think that this also shows the generation gap that I think often exists in the Asian community.  Maybe this is where it began.  The younger generation wants to assimilate and become Americans while the older generation tries to maintain the culture and roots that they left behind.  In many cases the younger generation is even ashamed of their past and their heritage, which in this case is because they've been told their heritage is the enemy.  To say you will pretend not to know your mother is a pretty profound statement.  It's sad that  these children felt they had to dress the same as everyone else and listen to the same music as everyone else and change their very identity in order to avoid being the enemy.  Doesn't sound like freedom to me.

Hello My Names are

Hello My Names are:

• Meg
• Margaret
• Margaret Elizabeth Gabrielle Palermo
• Margo/Margie/ Meggo
• Meggers
• Megger McGreggor
• Meg Monster
• Meggs
• Miss Meg
• And Many Many Many More

Meg is the nickname I was given upon birth.  My mother stole it from Little Women but actually Shakespeare used it before Louisa May Alcott in Much Ado About Nothing.  It is my name for everyday life, what I prefer to be called.  I think it fits me- kind of spunky, short and sweet, not flowery or particularly ornate, just kind of down to earth but still fun and not too serious.  It indicates my gender since Meg is not terribly ambiguous, which can have certain implications in society, but I have never found to put me at too much disadvantage.   Meg makes situations informal and comfortable.  I've been told my height can be intimidating, so I think using Meg takes that edge off a bit and let's people know I don't take myself too seriously.  

Margaret is my formal name.  It is what the US Government knows me as.  It is who I am on standardized tests, school rosters, and credit cards.  It reflects my European, specifically Irish and English, descent, which puts me in a position of privilege.  It is the name used when I am in trouble or sometimes just to tease me.  Oddly enough it shows that a person really knows me, because most people don't know my full name is Margaret.

  

Margaret Elizabeth Gabrielle Palermo is my full name, impressive right? I always say I was born to be a queen with a name like Margaret Elizabeth.  The Gabrielle is my confirmation name and indicates that I am Catholic, which can give me both privilege and disadvantage.  While Catholicism is a very popular faith in America and is Christian so thus doesn't suffer much discrimination.  My faith is often attacked and people often assume I am extremely conservative, close-minded, and judgmental when I say I am Catholic, which is simply not true.  We are a widely misunderstood family of believers I would  say.  Palermo is also misleading as I am only one eighth Italian.  People always assume I am from a big Italian family and know how to cook well and all the Italian stereotypes but unfortunately I have missed out on much of the Italian culture.  

Margo, Margie, and Meggo are just a few of the multitude of nicknames my friends have up with for me.  I always say that I will have so many options for old lady names when I get into my 70s- Margo, Marge, Margie.  Naturally my friends starting calling me these names as a joke and first it started off to tease me but they soon became endearing.  Now people assume they can get a rise out of me by calling me Marge, but I just take it as a compliment.  My best friend Kim calls me Margo, so that name is very near and dear to me. She would shout it through the halls of my high school and it has very happy connotations with it.  Meggo is the name my friend Jen calls me because I call her Jennono so sometimes it's Meggo and sometimes is Meggogo.  I love having fun nicknames for people so I love it when people come up with a new nickname for me.  A good nickname means to me that the person really cares about me and wants to have an individualized name for me.    

Meggers is a nickname that I often like to use for myself.  When signing letters or cards to my closest friends I will often sign them Meggers.  I don't really know why I like it, it just has a nice ring to it I guess.

Meggor McGreggor is just another nickname but this one is from one of my childhood neighbors.  It shows that I grew up in a close-knit community and had a strong support net as a child which has always been an asset in my life.

Meg Monster is the nickname my best childhood friend's family called me. While it may seem like a not very fun nickname, for me it is brings up memories with that family and how close I was with them.  It was never used in a malicious way and they still call me that to this day, even though I do not see them as often.

Meggs is the nickname my middle school drama director called me.  I like to think that it reflects that I am an actor.  There is not just one Meg, but multiple sides of me that come out in different characters and that I can transform into different roles.  As an actors I feel both looked down on as someone who will make no real contribution to the world, but also envied for the courage to follow my passions, as impractical as they may seem.

Miss Meg is the name my ex-boyfriend used to call me.  We are still good friends so there is no lingering resentment in the name, although he doesn't use it anymore.  I really liked it that he called me that because I think it shows the respect we had for each other, but was still affectionate.  

Hello My Name is not:

• Megan
• Margarita
• Katie

People have been calling me Megan all my life and it used to frustrate me but now it doesn't really bother me too much unless I know the person really well.  I have met several other Margaret Megs and they are really different from Megans.  Megans are usually a bit more mellow and calm and chill where as Margaret Megs are more spunky and laugh more and are more silly.  Those are just come personal observations.  So I feel like I make much more sense as a Margaret Meg than a Megan.  But without fail people call me it all the time.  I have  an acting coach that I have known for 4 or 5 years that still calls me Megan.  

Margarita was my name in Spanish class and is also what the Mexicans that work in the kitchen of the restaurant I work at call me.  While I enjoy the nickname I feel like its not me because of the implications that would come with it.  It would be unfair of me to represent myself as a heritage I am not of and let people assume I have  faced more prejudice and hardship in my life than I have.  

Katie is my older sister's name and I got called that by teachers all throughout elementary, middle, and high school.  Often even my own mother mixes us up.  Friends at church and the community often mix it up too.  We are constantly told we look very similar, and yet neither of us see the similarity.  We are also very different people.  While we are both very silly, she is much quieter and introverted.  She is extremely talented in the visual arts but is terrified of public speaking.  It used to really irritate me back in school but now I usually just don't correct it and wait for them to realize.  It can be rather amusing.