I hope you enjoyed this graphic novel. Why do you think I had you read it? Note: you can answer this by relating it to any of the documentaries, feature films, TV shows or songs we have discussed along the way this semester. You can also write about what New Kid has to say about the purposes of education.
I feel like we read New Kid because it has plenty of topics related to our discussions earlier this year. Things like social equality and the concept of social classes play a huge part in the story. Drew being confused for another black student, white students being rich, and keeping the need for financial aid secretive are some things in the book that I feel like we've talked about. Especially when we had talked about societal stigmas and the problems with education. There are many ways this graphic novel relates to topics in class.
ReplyDeleteI think the purpose of reading New Kid was to reflect on the topics related to what we have learned in class. The book discusses social inequality, specifically how race and class can impact students in school, which are both topics we’ve discussed in class. The story takes place in a private school that has a predominantly white population. The school's staff and students have a very obvious issue of treating their students of color differently. This reminded me of the movies we watched, many of them about schools with a negative environment and a student or teacher who decides to change that. The story is about a school environment and yet it paints a very realistic image of what being seen as “different” or “less than” based on the color of your skin can be like. This book made me think of American Promise because it deals with a similar plot of students dealing with the discrimination that comes from being a person of color from a lower class in a private or prestigious school that has a predominantly white population. New Kid does a really good job of encouraging readers to acknowledge the issues with the US school system and how class and race affect experiences.
ReplyDeletei think we read new kid because it relates to topics we have discussed in class such as social equality, race, income and education. in specifically though it went into depth about how income and race and affect someone's time in school. the school shown in the book is a predominantly white school with most of its students coming from a background of wealth. when a student who doesn't fit into those categories enrolls they feel out of place and the other students and staff are unsure of how to treat them and or treat them badly.
ReplyDeleteNew Kid discussed the dynamic of race and schooling, like we have discussed throughout this semester. It showed many of the effects of different types of school, public vs private. It showed individuality within young students and how that appeared in school and how it impacted their schooling experience. The graphic novel was kind of surface level, as expected, but it discussed and showed through illustration a lot of this things kids of color face within the walls of school, particularly private schooling in this case but still. It reminded me a lot of The Hate You Give, not as heavy obviously.
ReplyDeleteThe purpose of reading “New Kid” was to show how much diversity in a public setting (such as school) and making friends can make someone’s time better especially if they’re new. His mother was all for making sure Jordan gets the best education as possible and while his father wanted the same for him as well, he believed that Jordan should keep trying for his future. The story captured the feelings of the main character, Jordan , well and how his environment & community best served him; between trial and error.
ReplyDelete- Novia ^
ReplyDelete"New Kid" tells an important perspective of a Black student named Jordan going to a predominately white school. This story relates to class because we have talked about micro-aggressions and stereotypes that people of color face in school. The book mentions the common tropes put on Black men when Jordan discusses the stories recommended to the Black students in comparison to the white students. This reminded me of when we watched "Friday Night Lights" in class and how the main character is shown to uphold common stereotypes put on Black men. The book tells an important perspective on what it feels like as a person of color to go to a predominately white school and the trials that come with it. I think this is a good book for people of all ages to be able to put themselves in Jordan's shoes and experience what many kids go through everyday.
ReplyDeleteI think New Kid goes along with everything we've been discussing in class all semester with how race and class can affect schooling. From making new friends, to teaching staff, to financial aid, everything is navigated differently joining a predominantly white school.
ReplyDeleteI believe that New Kid fits into our class in many ways and has many topics that pertain to things discussed in this course. Things such as social equality are brought up in the novel. With the predominantly white school, I was reminded of the documentary- American Promise. New Kid has many things to say regarding the purposes of education and ties into many topics already discussed in class.
ReplyDeleteNew Kid and Class Act definitely provide a new way of experiencing different perspectives of students. It is also done in a very accessible and easy to understand way that allows readers of all ages to understand the themes and perspectives of the book. I think this is a really powerful teaching tool as it is very baseline in many ways but is complex enough to spark conversation and validate students' feelings.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading new kid I can say that he it relates to what we learned in class. From what we learn from the beginning to to the most recent. In the beginning of class we talked about class rooms and “urban” areas well in the book a good friend of Jordan’s went to the “urban” school while jordan event to the private school. Later in the book Jordan or drew I can’t remember who said it but they gave the context of if they were another color it would be easier for them, it ties back to when we were learning about documentaries. When that kid we watched said how if he was white it would be easier.
ReplyDeleteI think the purpose of reading New Kid is to give some of us a different perspective that is not highlighted in mainstream media. The innocence of Jordan's difficult to navigate situation gives a clear narrative of growing up as a non white person, in a private "elite" school. The characters Jordan interacts with, especially the white ones, are depicted in such an accurate way. The jocks or older boys are complete idiots and it almost seems like they're oblivious to their stereotypical comments.
ReplyDeleteI think we read New Kid to give more perspectives on race in education and the difficulty of trying to fit in to new environments that you aren't necessarily used to. It provides a more realistic experience of what some have to go through when changing schools especially as a minority in a predominately white school who tend to not realize their class status.
ReplyDeleteI did like New Kid, it was a pretty entertaining and easy read. I believe this book was chosen for us to read because of how the book deals with school stereotypes. I think the book does how good job addressing and tackling these issues while also keeping the book lighthearted and engaging.
ReplyDelete'New Kid' was overall a quick and fun book to read. I think this class read 'New Kid' because the topics we’ve learned in class showed up in the book. It brings up school, class, race, and individuality. It showed how teachers in some schools discriminate against minorities and how they subconsciously pick on them, an example of this was the teacher always forgetting the minorities’ names. The book shows inequality that is being faced.
ReplyDeleteNew Kid had a lot of similarities to what we were discussing too in class. I enjoyed reading it and making those types of connections. It was also fairly easy to read. It talked a lot of about school and race in a private school with white people. It also includes some individualism.
ReplyDeleteI think you chose for us to read New Kid because it relates to the topics we’ve talked about during class. Such as social equality and class vs race. In some aspects, New Kid had stereotypes which reminded me of when we watched Friday Night Lights and how the main character in that show was created to show stereotypes of black male students. In New Kid, Jordan may not have been a stereotypical character but he experienced what other black kids go through in reality.
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed reading New Kid last semester as well as Class Act for this class. Both books were great stories about students of color that I know many kids would relate to. We read this book for this class because it talks about diversity and how class and race go together. When we were reading that article written by Bulman, he talked about class and race separately but never how they are together. A lot of media do this as well and I think it is so important for kids to read books that discuss this topic. Overall, I enjoyed both books and would recommend them to my future students!
ReplyDeleteNew Kid touches on many of the subjects we have discussed so far this year. Things like race, class and equality were the main points in this story. This story is also told from a perspective that is helpful to understand the problem from a more first hand point of view. The book definitely reminded me of the American Promise documentary, in which students find it hard to navigate a school because of their race or wealth.
ReplyDeleteI think you had us read "New Kid" because it relates to the topics we discussed this semester. Topics such as race, equality, and individualism. It highlighted issues like feeling left out at a new school, being black in a predominantly white school, and being stereotyped by other kids. I enjoyed reading this book and I wish this existed when I was in elementary school. I would've enjoyed reading a full series of these books.
ReplyDeleteEmily.H
ReplyDeleteHaving us read New Kid was because of how it relates to the topics we talked about in class. Race and equality in one. When reading this book I thought of when we were all chosen a documentary on the school system and how different it is with people of race as well as the struggles of social class. Jordan adapts to new environments, and builds lasting relationships. He describes his internal self as being in a perpetual state of free fall as he goes to a school where he feels he doesn't belong. Some of us now can feel like we don't belong based on education and race.
New Kid relates to Bulman's ideas but it talks about race and class i stead of just focusing on one. I feel like new kid is opposite to Bulman, though because it talks about a more privileged environment instead of school's in lower income areas. New kid ties together class and race because in the private school with more high income people there are less people of color in the school.
ReplyDeleteNew kid covers many important ideologies. It demonstrates racial inequality, the experience of being the minority. Also it shows the divide in education when it comes to availability of resources and quality. these are important idea to cover as we see it in our American education system and shows why some area that are predominantly white receive better tools than minorities.
ReplyDeleteI believe we read New Kid because it related to a lot of topics we discussed as a class earlier in the year. For instance, the two main topics were race and equality. Overall, I did like the book because it helped show the perspective of a black new kid at a predominantly white school, and how minorities don't receive the same treatment / opportunities
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