Responding to Reading
In Semester 1 I did two projects that fall under the responding to reading standard: my work on the book A Swim in a Pond in the Rain (which has its own separate page), and the notes I took on the memoir I read, Untamed by Glennon Doyle.
In Semester 2 I read two books as well: Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott (which also has its own separate page), and Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman (a collection of poetry).
Untamed, by Glennon Doyle
Notes on Untamed, by Glennon Doyle
Memos (from Part 3: Free)
“Our memo has led us to steal from our children the one thing that will allow them to become strong people: struggle. Our terrible memo is also why we stay busy with the trivial while the world our children will inherit crumbles. We obsess over our children’s snacks while they rehearse their own deaths in active-shooter drills at school. We agonize over their college prep while the earth melts around them. I cannot imagine that there has ever been a more overparented and under protected generation. New memo: Here is your baby. Love her at home, at the polls, in the streets. Let everything happen to her. Be near.” (page 155)
This excerpt (and the rest of the chapter) stood out to me because they are true: the memo that our society gives to parents should be changed: parents want to protect their children but clearly they should approach that in a different way - rather than trying to protect them from everything, including struggle, which will help them grow and develop, parents should try to protect their children by focusing on making better the world that will be passed over to them.
Poems (from Part 3: Free)
This chapter talked about how Glennon’s son Chase was negatively affected by having a phone. Originally as a parent, she allowed him to have one and ignored its negative effects on him because she wanted him to be included since all of his peers had phones. But then she realized “that fear of being different is a terrible reason for a parent to avoid doing what her child needs her to do” (page 159).
Glennon said in this chapter that phones took away the opportunity to be bored, and only after being bored would people be creative.
I found this chapter really interesting and could connect to it because I do not have a phone, and I am honestly probably one of the only kids in our school who doesn’t have one. It has been my personal choice not to get a phone, and this chapter had ideas in it that supported my reasoning for why not to get a phone - I don’t want to get sucked in to constantly using it and getting addicted to it, and I don’t want to lose my creative interests, and also just because it is something that others have and do, doesn’t mean it is something that I should have or use (however, I can also connect to the reasoning to get one because that is what all of Chase’s peers had - I sometimes feel more disconnected, for example the rest of my friends text each other and I am not a part of that, and I also sometimes miss out on important information because I am not in the cross country group chat).
Boys (from Part 3: Free)
I thought that this chapter was interesting. I don’t have specific notes on it, but it stood out to me and is definitely worth reading.
Questions (from Part 3: Free)
“Unasked questions become prejudices.” (Page 222)
“But ‘progress’ is just perpetually undoing our no-longer-true-enough systems in order to create new ones that more closely fit people as they really are. People aren’t changing, after all. It’s just that for the first time, there’s enough freedom for people to stop changing who they are. Progress is the acknowledgment of what is and what has always been. Progress is always a returning.” (Page 224)
Decals (from Part 3: Free)
“The thing that gets me thinking and questioning most deeply is a leader who warns me not to think or question.” (Page 240). I think that this quote is very relevant in our world today. Some people’s opinions on certain leaders (particularly government leaders and politicians) might be very different if they actually thought through the fact that those leaders want them to not think about or question anything that they are saying or doing.
Girl Gods (from Part 3: Free)
This short chapter acknowledged that Glennon uses female pronouns for the “God” that she refers to in the book. It explained that she did that because: “I think it’s ridiculous to think of God as anything that could possibly be gendered. But as long as the expression of God as female is unimaginable to many while the expression of God as male feels perfectly acceptable - and as long as women continue to be undervalued and abused and controlled here on Earth - I’ll keep using it.” (Page 247). I think Glennon’s point is fair, and is something for people to consider. Why do none of the people who believe in God question why God is referred to as a “he”? Why do none of them even consider the possibility of referring to God as a “she”?
When Glennon is referring to a non-specific, general person in the book (for example if she said: “She would then do this….”), she uses female pronouns for them. I think that gender neutral pronouns should be used in these instances, however I don’t completely disagree with Glennon’s way of doing this because it is a protest against the use of male pronouns in these instances - it shows that she is actually thinking through what she is writing and the actions that she is taking, not just going along with the flow of what everyone else is doing.
Streams (from Part 3: Free)
“If you want to get jaded and numb, watch the news…. When trying to understand humanity, seek out firsthand accounts.” (Page 254). I feel like this quote is important, relevant, and true. I think that it is an important statement for people to be aware of and to use to think about their actions, especially the part about seeking firsthand accounts in the attempt to understand humanity.
“Now when I encounter someone who is struggling to stay afloat, I know to first ask, ‘How can I help you right now?’ Then, when she is safe and dry, to ask, ‘What institution or person is benefitting from your suffering?’” (Pages 254 + 255). This is an important question for people to keep in mind. When making change not only should we help people, but also actively try to prevent these problems and bad situations from happening in the future.
Comfort Zones (from Part 3: Free)
Pages 284 - 285. Glennon talked about how she saw a confident girl somewhere, and her first reaction to her was anger. Ibn this chapter she talked through how she thought about her reaction and then decided that she needed to change that belief - she had first reacted to the confident girl with anger, because of the social construct in our culture that girls should not be strong, confident, or freely express themselves. I thought this chapter was interesting, because it really emphasized how even people who believe in powerful women can have internal biases that they may not be aware of or have much control of.