Dear Seventh Grade Parents,

Each day in the seventh grade brings a new learning experience and your children are an absolute joy to teach. The Outsiders proved to be an immense hit with the class, and as you know, yesterday we had a classroom party to complete our novel unit.  An earlier email included some photographs taken by our special services director, Peg O’Rourke, who just so happens to be a talented photographer who can always be counted on for capturing special moments around our school.

To add to the festivities, Dr. Desmond stopped by and joined in the fun by assisting me in teaching the students to do the swim while dancing to Surfin’ USA by The Beach Boys.  Ms. Barnes dropped in as well, and would be happy to report that the greasers caused no problems at our little gathering.

Although the novel has several themes, below are the three that we focused on, and I am hopeful you will have an opportunity to continue discussing these messages with your child/children.

1.Why it is important to “stay gold,” that is, to keep your youth with its innocence, wonder at the beauty of the world, and understand that we are all related.

2. The divisions between these two groups, and how they are similar to the divisions between cliques and groups in society, and recognizing how and why they are artificial and based on circumstances of birth and random events in life. Socs, like Greasers, have sorrows, problems, difficulties in coming of age, dreams for the future, etc. Divisions between people are harmful because they interfere with friendships and relationships that would normally develop if the divisions were ignored.

3. Violence is never a good way to solve problems.

Before we begin our next novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, the class will complete a short study of wolves to learn how wolves are social animals that live in packs with complex, highly organized social systems. The students will compare and contrast how a wolf-pack society is similar to human society.

Your child/children make my world a better place,

Joanie Lampert