Text Set & Additional Resources

Critical Stance and Problem Posing Questions for Stormy Seas Stories of Young Boat Refugees

• Who or what is the focus of Stormy Seas? Whose voices are represented in Stormy Seas?

Possible Answers:

• The focus of Stormy Seas is about boat refugees. Boat refugees are the voices represented within this book.
• The focus of Stormy Seas is about migrants. Migrants are the voices represented in this book because it mentioned a boy from Cuba.
• The focus of Stormy Seas is about people from other countries who desire a better life for themselves and their families. The voices represented within this book represent five different people from various countries and various situations.
• The focus of Stormy Seas is about five different people from various time periods in history. The voices represented in this book come from various time periods throughout different points of history and followed with voices such as José, Najeeba, and Mohamed which represent voices from today and their struggles.
• Whose perspective does the author favor? What ethnic group (or race) is most common or favored?

Possible answers:

• I think the author favors the perspective of all displaced people. The group most favored in Stormy Seas would be the boat refugees. I don't think race is favored.
• I think the author favors people of darker skin, since most of the people talked about would be from countries where their skin would be darker, except Germany, would they be light-skinned or dark-skinned? I don't specifically know what race because they all come from different countries.
• Who or what is missing from the text? Is there a group you feel is not represented which should be within this text?

Possible answers:

• I feel that more input from immigrants who travel by sea are not represented enough in the text.
• There are no stories of migrants and their stories in this text. Do migrants travel by sea to get to America?
• Are there people who are being marginalized within this text? How are people with less wealth treated? Those with more wealth?

Possible answers:

• The boat refugee's are being marginalized. Whether they are wealthy or poor they are usually taken advantage of by the boat smugglers.
• The citizen's of Breslau, Germany are being marginalized. Wealth or non-wealth did not matter because the Nazis agenda wasn't about money, but about a racist agenda on the hunt for an "Aryan master race (LeatherDale, 2017, p.3)."
• The Vietnamese were marginalized. Wealth could of determined amounts asked for one to be smuggled, but either way wealthy or not the cost was expensive and came with high stakes.
• The Afghanistan people are being marginalized. The cost of smuggling one family out could be as much has $35,000 (LeatherDale, 2017, p. 33). Therefore, the wealthier a person is it could increase the cost of being smuggled if the smugglers know the family.
• Why do you think the author wrote this book? What are the intentions of the author?

Possible answers:

• The author wrote this book to inform us of past and current events which involve boat refugees. The intentions of the author are to persuade us to think about what is happening in other parts of the world today.
• The author wrote this book because she wants us to know that even though some of these things happened in the past that they are very much happening today. The intentions of the author is to make us aware of such events happening today.
• The author wrote this book to inform us of the struggles that refugees face and why they come to America or other countries. The author wants us to think about how we can be active in helping refugees within our communities or worldwide.
• The author wrote this book to inform us of situations that occur in other people's lives and to expand our thinking about those worlds and people. The author's intention is for us to develop a sense of empathy worldwide for refugee's through understanding.

• Look at the picture below closely and evaluate it. Why do you think Mohamed made this statement? How does this image make you feel?

Possible answers:

• It is possible that he lost someone he really loved and feels lost. This image makes me feel sad and lost.
• Maybe he did loose every family member he had. This image makes me feel empty and not whole.
• Maybe Mohamed feels he lives in place where he will never be prosperous so he feels the need to look forward toward something different. This picture makes me feel determined.
• It is possible that Mohamed just believes we are destined and if we are destined "we have nothing left to lose (LeatherDale, 2017, p.43)". This image instills within me a sense of courage, longing, and pride. But, more than anything acceptance of what is before him.
• How can I use this information to promote equity and justice for people like Mohamed?

Possible answers:

• I could determine if there are a sufficient number of refugee's in my school and if so find out what kind of support they might need and set up a support group for them.
• While doing this I could promote acceptance of refugees by anti-bullying campaigns.
• I could determine if my community has a local UNICEF or find out how I could become a UNICEF supporter.
• I could write a letter to my states representative and see what suggestions they might have for me to become an active member at a refugee agency.
• I could set up ED-Talks in my local school or community to make people aware of who boat refugee's are and give them the facts about why they come here. By doing this I could create a platform where empathy could be built and learning to support all people as our neighbors (or simply human).

Additional Connecting Texts

Book Talks/ Trailers