Purple Heart and our summer reading discussion

In this interview, Patricia McCormick talks about the events that inspired her to write the story Purple Heart.



She writes about a character named Matt, who is suffering from a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), a common challenge for soldiers and veterans. In class discussions and writing, we'll discuss how effective McCormick was at creating the character of Matt and helping readers understand the experience of a soldier. We'll also talk about the issue of TBI more broadly, looking at current news.

Welcome back!

It's the first day of school--hooray! I hope you're all looking forward to a great year...I know I am.

Here's a photo that I took this summer in my summer camp job. I include it here for two reasons:

1. I think it's hilarious.
2. There are at least two different ways to read it, both of which we can probably relate to. You could say that the guy in the front is doing all the work while the other guy goofs around and gets a free ride. That could be what's going on, but I hope not. I prefer to look at it this way: the guy in the back is super encouraging, providing the guy in the front his own personal musical inspiration. As you head into this new school year, maybe you'll find yourself in the position of the guy in front--working hard, doing your best to get somewhere. Remember you have people to cheer you on and support you, just like the guy with the bugle is doing. And with that, I end my slightly cheesy opening day thought.

Bring on the school year!