Summer is rapidly going by. I really hope all of you are enjoying the summer and getting out. We begin book number two, Jim Thorpe. This book is written by a native author. I hope you all find this book informative and enjoyable. The focus of this book will be on how you as an educator could use this resource within your classroom. We will read Chapters 1-20 this week.
Your assignment will be to post your ah ha's for the first half of the book, think about the impact this man had on his tribe as well as other tribes. Questions to answers:
1. Do you believe it was easy to live within two cultures for Jim.
2. What do you think Jim's father meant by this quote: "Son you are an Indian. I want you to show other races what an Indian can do."
Also please check out this link: http://www.slideshare.net/imroselle/jim-thorpe-viewer-guide-3-10
We will be using some of the questions and information from this website next week.
Have a great week everyone!
Kim
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First I'd like to say how much I enjoyed the book about Jim Thorpe. Being a huge football fan, I liked reading about the evolution of the game, thanks to Pop Warner. I had no idea how much he changed the game and that he was Jim's coach at Carlisle. By telling the story through Jim Thorpe's voice, Joseph Bruchac really captured the personality and essence of him. Jim Thorpe's quiet nature, leadership skills and competiveness were a surprise to me. I really hadn't known much about him. I think, perhaps, Jim Thorpe was able to assimilate into the white culture much better than others. True, he ran away from the Sac and Fox Indian Agency numerous times but he wanted to be with his family and work on the land. He had such a strong family base that it was hard for him to be away. Once he got to Carlisle and discovered sports (plus it was too far away to "run" home) he made the best of his life. I truly believe being in sports, playing against white teams, and traveling helped Jim understand himself and his culture a lot more.
ReplyDeleteIndians, of course, were considered second-class citizens. The government felt they could not exist as separate people and tribes any more. The whites and government were not willing to understand them. When Jim's father said "show other races what an Indian can do", he meant to be proud of his heritage, his athletic skills, and his personality. He was saying don't let the white culture smother you and let you forget what and who you are. His father may have been strict, but he was also very wise.
Can I "ditto" Vicki's answer? Just kidding, but I agree with everything she said. I also immensely enjoyed reading this book. Like Vicki, I love football and found it interesting to read just how much the game has changed since its creation. I have read other books about Jim Thorpe, but never one written in the first person; it defintely added personality to the story. I believe this makes it a more enjoyable and easier read for students.
ReplyDelete1. Do you believe it was easy to live within two cultures for Jim?
I do not believe it was easy for Jim in any way, but I do think it may have been easier for him than for others, simply due to his life's circumstances. I have read a great deal about the boarding schools and the heartbreak that went along with sending the Indian children there. I cannot imagine being expected to give up my heritage and culture, not being allowed to see my family, and being expected to learn in a way I am not familiar with. Jim was miserable and ran home several times. By the time he reached Carlisle, his entire situation had changed. Not only had he lost his brother, but by then he had lost his mother and other siblings as well. "Home" would never be the same. He accepted Carlisle and it became home to him. I think he is unique in that he liked the uniforms and found some strange comforts in the routines. Sports definitely helped him to embrace this new lifestyle. I found it interesting that when he ran these times, it was back to Carlisle. He couldn't run to Oklahoma, but he could have run away in general. He had found his niche. There was definitely still a cultural rift, but Jim made the best of it.
2. What do you think Jim's father meant by this quote: "Son you are an Indian. I want you to show other races what an Indian can do."
I think Jim's father meant that he should be proud of the Native American culture, and to show whites (and other races) that he is as good as they are. He wanted it to be understood that Jim didn't need to be assimilated to be good at anything he desired to do. I think it was also a reminder for Jim to remain true to himself, and to tell him that his father wasn't sending him off to change(assimilate)him, but to give him opportunites he wouldn't have otherwise.
1. I can't imagine it was easy for any of the children sent to Indian schools and to live in two cultures. I am certain they experienced a great tug within their hearts to be home among their families and what was familiar to them. I think Jim made the best of what life had offered him and seems to be embracing his life outside of his native culture. A good example is his reaction to trading in his going to town best clothes for a school uniform and a trunk. It seemed like a good deal in his mind.
ReplyDelete2. I think Jim's father said, "Son you are an Indian. I want you to show other races what an Indian can do." as a way of empowering his son to do his very best and to give honor to his heritage. I also think he wanted his son to be a testimony that Indians are just as capable as another race. He wanted him to be a grown man who could fend for himself in a white man’s world.
This is a good read and is very enlightening. Good pick Kim!
Ways I might use this book in my classroom might be to help build self-esteem, showing students that anyone can succeed, even under difficult circumstances and as a discussion book that introduces students to a bit of Indian life in America at the turn of the century. I would be appreciative if others might have other lead-ins on how to use this book as a classroom resource.
ReplyDeleteSome of the ah ha’s I had from this section are how polite and respectful the Indians were, even under the extreme circumstances of being up-rooted from your home and forced into a boarding school whose purpose was to strip one of their heritage and assimilate them into the white man’s world. I was also pleased to see that many of the young Indian students held onto their native traditions throughout their ordeals.
I do not believe it was easy for Jim to live within two cultures, but think his upbringing helped him navigate those years well, under the conditions. I think most all the other Natives had a very difficult time adjusting to the boarding schools they were forced to attend. The Hopi’s not agreeing to send their children was interesting, but I assume they were forced to as Louis Tewanima was at Carlisle.
I think Jim’s father wanted to instill pride in him from his ancestral background that might help give him what he needed to survive and prosper in the boarding school with the quote mentioned. His father wanted Jim to be proud to be a Thorpe, an Indian, and use that pride to help him reach his goals in life.
Nathan: I like the self-esteem angle. You could create a whole unit on this and include other famous sports figures who had to overcome hardships, or other successful Native Americans-taking it from an angle other than sports. So many possiblilities. I also liked what you pointed out about respect.
ReplyDeleteThis book is a wonderful book. I believe it is a fast read and would be wonderful for using in the classroom. There are so many things this book could be used for in the classroom. We will get to that next week though. This book is an example of an excellent book to represent the Essential Understandings. It is a story about an important American Indian and is written by an American Indian. This book is highly recommended by Oyate and there are OPI lesson plans for this book as well.
ReplyDeleteMy ah ha for this first section of reading was that no matter what time in history or what type of school that athletes were from (in many cases even today)he or she were treated differently. It seemed in the book that the boys who played sports went on to college. I wonder what the number was of students from Carlisle going on to college athlete vs. academic students. I was surprised too at how important sports were in the earlier times. The time period Jim grew up was such an interesting time for sports. Many sports were new and gaining popularity among Americans.
1. I believe like that group members who have answered this far that Jim seemed to manage the two worlds well, though there were many examples in the story about how hard it was too ( running away, wanting to be with his family, not always interested in western school information, and much more). I feel that it depended on what tribe children came from how strongly it affected his or her life (example the Hopi children). I could not imagine being an American Indian mother during that time and someone telling me how my child was going to be raised due to my savage culture that had been successful for thousands of years before the white entered my world.
2. What do you think Jim's father meant by this quote: "Son you are an Indian. I want you to show other races what an Indian can do."
-I believe that Jim’s father wanted him to show the world that Indians were not savages, that they were a strong people who had a place on this earth for thousands of years. I believe he wanted people to know that Indians were important for the whole person. Jim’s father felt his son was the person for this job. Jim strived to be his father’s son and be the best he could be.
Sue,
ReplyDeleteI really like what you said concerning question #2
I am certain they experienced a great tug within their hearts to be home among their families and what was familiar to them. I think Jim made the best of what life had offered him and seems to be embracing his life outside of his native culture.
I really believe you hit this one on the head. I believe this book really relates to our own students at our school. Many of them live in two different cultures (school and home) and many have a hard time embracing his or herlife outside of his or her home life. School life and home life for most at our school are very different this book could really open a path to talking about this issue for some students. Great share.
I knew of Jim Thorpe growing up, Jim Thorpe, PA was not too far away, but I did not know the extent of his athletic abilities and knew nothing f his background. I was surprised when I read that Pop Warner coached at Carlisle and having him involved in the story made it even more interesting.
ReplyDeleteIt couldn’t have been easy to live in two cultures, especially for Jim. He admitted that he, and other athletes, were treated better at Carlisle than the other Indian students. I would imagine that he would enjoy the special attention that he received and it made his time at Carlisle more bearable but he would also feel guilty about it at the same time. Jim was able to see more of the world because of his athletic abilities and was treated differently by many whites; I do believe this enabled him to fit into white culture better than others.
It was often a very difficult decision for Indian families to send their children away to boarding school; many had no choice at all. I think Indian families were often very torn with the issue. They understood the purpose of the boarding school was to take the Indian out of the Indian but many also felt that their children needed to learn to read and write and understand white culture if they were going to survive. I am sure Jim’s father understood that; he wanted Jim to always remember he was an Indian to be proud of that fact. He knew that Jim was capable of great things and wanted Jim to help the world understand what the Indian people were capable of.
Dori and Vicki- I also enjoyed reading about the evolution of football, I hadn't realized that Jim and Pop Warner had such a hand in that.
ReplyDeleteDori- good point that home had changed so much for him by the time he got to Carlisle, I think it was acoming together of many circumstances that made Jim accept his life at Carlisle and become more successful as a result.
I have to say that I really am enjoying this book! I agree with Dori, Vickie, and Tracy about the evolution of football...talk about a HUGE a-ha for me! I keep reading snippets of the book to my husband who is a HUGE football nut and he now wants to read the book when I am done.
ReplyDeleteAs for question number 1: I think it was difficult for Jim to live within two cultures however, the fact that he came from a more "civilized" (dare I say) home life may have made it slightly easier for him to adjust to certain things (especially since there wasn't a language barrier for him).
Question 2: I think that Jim's father meant that Jim was capable of making something of himself which would reflect on Indians as a whole. Jim's father saw the fight in him and knew he would not be happy until he experienced life outside of the life he already knew. I also think Jim's father wanted more for his son and knew Jim had it in him to be successful at whatever he set his heart and mind on doing.
The inclusion of the evolution of football brought out in this book was a big ah ha for me as well. I remember while reading parts of it, how cool it was to be getting a glimpse into how modern day football came to be.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I'm chiming in late. Aha moments for the first half of the book: Disparity of treatment between athletes and non-athletes. Frank and unapologetic disparaging attitudes towards Indian students from Indian Agents and school officials.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it was easy for Jim to span two cultures, but I do think in some areas he led a charmed life due to his abilitites. It was enough to sustain him through the out and out racism so prevalent in that day. He was naturally talented, but Bruchac points out that Thorpe earned his successes. There is an interesting father-son relationship between Pop and Jim which accounts for the level of loyalty, blind and genuine.
Thorpe was uniquely positioned to carry out his father's final wishes. An all-Indian school would definitely put the spotlight on Indian activity. I appreciate his father's affirmative stance, as well as the reminder that what Thorpe accomplished could or would be significantly shared by others. You all spoke of this with more eloquence.