I chose this particular excerpt from the Debts passage on page 27.
I ask Ma how, after all this time, Daddy still believes in rain. "Well, it rains enough," Ma says, "now and again, to keep a person hoping. But even if it didn't your daddy would have to believe. It's coming on spring, and he's a farmer."
In this passage Billie Jo couldn't understand why her dad still believed in rain. The mother's explanation was very powerful and spoke volumes to me. A farmer has to believe in the things that he needs yet has no control over. My dad is a farmer and I know personally that nature is an uncontrollable force. As my dad would say "it's a force to be reckoned with." Farming requires hard work in the field, but without rain to supplement the growth of the plants the crop will fail and all of the hard work will be lost.
This passage grabbed my attention. I kept thinking about how badly the farmers were affected by the Dust Bowl. They were challenged as men and as providers along with the rest of the challenges from the time period. He was trying to provide for his family the only way he knew how and was up against uncontrollable forces. This picture represents the farmer's during the dust bowl. I can imagine this farmer scanning his land and seeing failure everywhere around him. As a farmer who's job is living off of the land and providing for his family, he will blame himself even though he knows the dust is uncontrollable. Although Billie Jo cannot understand her father's hope in the rain, her Ma knows the heart of a farmer and knows that the only thing he can do is believe and have hope in the next harvest, just as I imagine the farmer in this picture doing.
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<a href="http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/2382419/Out_of_the_Dust"
title="Wordle: Out of the Dust"><img
src="http://www.wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/2382419/Out_of_the_Dust"
alt="Wordle: Out of the Dust"
style="padding:4px;border:1px solid #ddd"></a>
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Letter to Mrs. Roosevelt from Billie Jo
Dear Mrs. Roosevelt,
I am not one to complain about my life or ask for any favors, but that is just what I am doing right now. My names Billie Jo and I am fourteen years old. I live in the Dust of Oklahoma. My Daddy is a farmer and won't leave the land, even though its bare and dry. I was pretty content with my life in the Dust, that is until just recently, when my Ma passed away. Her passing is something I try not to think about, but since I am asking a favor of you, I might better tell the story. Well you see, my Daddy had set a pail of kerosene by the stove, but my Ma didn't know it was so, and poured it onto the stove. It caught fire and the stove caught on fire as well. My Ma ran out to tell my Daddy and I knew I had to get that pail out of the house. I just didn't know my Ma was coming back in the door. She was burned all over. I tried to put out the flames with my hands, but it didn't help much. She was hurt too bad and passed away. Also, she was pregnant and before she died gave birth to my brother. He died too. I didn't mean to throw the kerosene and fire on her. My Daddy had put the kerosene by the stove. I didn't mean to do it, but now she is gone. My Daddy and me, well we don't speak. I think he blames me, or himself, but the silence is bad. It's kinda like the Dust. Once the silence sets in its not going anywhere. Did I mention that my hands got burned real bad during the accident? Well, they did, now they hurt all the time, and I have trouble using them. I used to play the piano, Ma taught me how. Now I can't play because my hands hurt too much. Could you, kind Mrs. Roosevelt, lend me just enough money to fix my hands, or make the pain go away? Or could you send me some medicine or ointment to help them? Maybe if I can use my hands to play the piano like Ma, cook like Ma, or help my Daddy in whats left of our farm beneath the Dust the silence would break. And maybe the Dust will finally break too.
With all my might I send this to you, not to take your money or to receive your pity, but to talk about the accident that has changed my life, and maybe get help for my burned hands.
Yours Truly,
Billie Jo
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I Poem - Insight to Billie Jo from Out of the Dust pp99-189
I am Billie Jo.
I live in dust.
I hear my Ma playing piano.
I didn't mean to throw the pail.
I regret.
I blame.
I am broken.
I feel alone.
I pretend my Daddy's silence doesn't bother me.
I cry because my hands hurt.
I touch charred and scarred skin.
I worry I won't play piano anymore.
I am upset.
I hate the silence and the dust.
I feel raindrops.
I hear my Daddy's voice.
I am changing.
I understand.
I will be okay.
______________________________________________________
Double Entry Journal Children Of the Dust Bowl
"The farms often produced more than could be picked or sold, but if the Okies tried to help themselves to the surplus crop left on the ground, the growers might pour oil on the food, strike a match, and set the crop on fire, hoping the Okies would more on to another town." (page 26)
~This quote made me angry. The farmers were wasting the surplus of the crop solely in spite. I feel as though if maybe they let the Okies eat some of the surplus they would have bettered the situation for themselves because with more strength the Okies could have found more jobs, therefore getting more money and moving away. I hate to see food wasted especially when there are so many in need.
"They sang the Okie tunes that gave them identity and strength, for the people in Weedpatch camp had learned to accept hardship without showing weakness." (page 31)
~Taking a situation that is absolutely horrible and finding something good in it, or pushing through the struggle and staying strong is not an easy task. It shows a lot of character of the Okies that they were able to accept hardship. They did not blame anyone for their misfortunes and kept their strength despite the fact that they were being ridiculed and were hungry. It is very difficult to stay positive through the most minute of problems and for them to accept their fate when it cost them so much is amazing.
"When they went to school each day, most of the teachers ignored the migrants, believing that Okie kids were too stupid to learn the alphabet, too dumb to master math, and too 'retarded' to learn much of anything. Other teachers forced the newcomers to sit on the floor in the back of the classroom, while the non-Okie kids, well dressed with clean faces and the best school supplies, sat at desks and poked fun at their classmates who wore dresses made out of chicken-feed sacks, baggy overalls held up by rope, and frequently no shoes at all." (page 38-39)
~This was the quote that stuck out the most to me. I cannot imagine the pain the children must have felt while going to school. The Okie children knew that they were poor and they felt like school was a privilege, but they were constantly the butt of the jokes. The worst part of the situation to me is that the teachers were often the ones who led the ridicule. They made the Okie children sit in the back on the floor and felt as though they were not worthy of education. As a teacher I cannot imagine making a student, or group of students feel inferior and worthless in my class. It makes me angry that there were so many children who had such a traumatic school experience.
"I could never understand, Leo said, why these kids should be treated differently. I could never understand why they shouldn't be given the same opportunity as others. Someone had to do something for them because no one cared about them." (page 44)
I think that this quote shows how gracious of a person Leo Hart was. As superintendent he had the courage to go against the public wishes and work hard to provide a place for the Okie children to go to school. He saw the children as normal children who needed to be given opportunities instead of worthless filthy children as most people saw them.
"The teachers, Leo said, ' went out of their way to help these children and teach them things about themselves and the world that they couldn't learn anywhere else." (page 56)
I was happy to hear that there were teachers who were willing and eager to teach the Okie children. They were interested in more than teaching content, they taught the students real life skills and were emotional forces for them as well. I think that the teachers from Weedpatch School are the example of the type of teacher we should strive to be, instead of the teachers we read about in an earlier chapter who didn't help the Okie children at all.
"They understood what we were trying to do. It was the first time the children ever had anything of their own, where all the attention was on them, where they were given the best and they knew everyone was for them." (page 68)
The children did have to do manual labor to help the school run. They worked in the garden and built the school and were often at school from dawn to dusk. But they were proud of their school and were very thankful for the people who contributed to the schools success. It showed them that there were people who saw them as normal humans rather than animals.
____________________________________________________
Out of the Dust Final Reflection
I love the book Out of the Dust. I feel that it is an excellent book to use in the classroom as well as a book to encourage students to check out from the library. The book is written in verse which can seem a bit confusing or intimidating at first, but once you have read a few pages it is much easier to follow. I think that reading this book will help me as a teacher to understand the hardships that some of my students may face. Most of them are not living in such dramatic circumstances as Billie Jo, but many may be touched by poverty and have to live in dirt, or unsanitary situations. Many of my students may also connect to Billie Jo in the fact that her mother died. By understanding the feelings that Billie Jo has in the book, I will be able to better understand what my students may be feeling if they have lost a loved one.
As a teacher I would love to use this book in my classroom if age appropriate. I think that my students would learn a lot about the Dust Bowl as well as struggling through hardships and facing trouble. I feel that by using this book I could incorporate a lot of subjects. We could do an integration unit where my students study the Dust Bowl, or we could pick out issues such as death or emotions to discuss in class.
I enjoyed reading this book, and although it is sad and a bit depressing, it is a story in which you can see the silver lining when you reach the end. I believe this book teaches us that even though we may experience hardships and feel as though nothing will make us whole again, we will get past it. I think this is a very important lesson for students to learn in the upper elementary grades.
Dear Mrs. Roosevelt,
I am not one to complain about my life or ask for any favors, but that is just what I am doing right now. My names Billie Jo and I am fourteen years old. I live in the Dust of Oklahoma. My Daddy is a farmer and won't leave the land, even though its bare and dry. I was pretty content with my life in the Dust, that is until just recently, when my Ma passed away. Her passing is something I try not to think about, but since I am asking a favor of you, I might better tell the story. Well you see, my Daddy had set a pail of kerosene by the stove, but my Ma didn't know it was so, and poured it onto the stove. It caught fire and the stove caught on fire as well. My Ma ran out to tell my Daddy and I knew I had to get that pail out of the house. I just didn't know my Ma was coming back in the door. She was burned all over. I tried to put out the flames with my hands, but it didn't help much. She was hurt too bad and passed away. Also, she was pregnant and before she died gave birth to my brother. He died too. I didn't mean to throw the kerosene and fire on her. My Daddy had put the kerosene by the stove. I didn't mean to do it, but now she is gone. My Daddy and me, well we don't speak. I think he blames me, or himself, but the silence is bad. It's kinda like the Dust. Once the silence sets in its not going anywhere. Did I mention that my hands got burned real bad during the accident? Well, they did, now they hurt all the time, and I have trouble using them. I used to play the piano, Ma taught me how. Now I can't play because my hands hurt too much. Could you, kind Mrs. Roosevelt, lend me just enough money to fix my hands, or make the pain go away? Or could you send me some medicine or ointment to help them? Maybe if I can use my hands to play the piano like Ma, cook like Ma, or help my Daddy in whats left of our farm beneath the Dust the silence would break. And maybe the Dust will finally break too.
With all my might I send this to you, not to take your money or to receive your pity, but to talk about the accident that has changed my life, and maybe get help for my burned hands.
Yours Truly,
Billie Jo
_________________________________________________________
I Poem - Insight to Billie Jo from Out of the Dust pp99-189
I am Billie Jo.
I live in dust.
I hear my Ma playing piano.
I didn't mean to throw the pail.
I regret.
I blame.
I am broken.
I feel alone.
I pretend my Daddy's silence doesn't bother me.
I cry because my hands hurt.
I touch charred and scarred skin.
I worry I won't play piano anymore.
I am upset.
I hate the silence and the dust.
I feel raindrops.
I hear my Daddy's voice.
I am changing.
I understand.
I will be okay.
______________________________________________________
Double Entry Journal Children Of the Dust Bowl
"The farms often produced more than could be picked or sold, but if the Okies tried to help themselves to the surplus crop left on the ground, the growers might pour oil on the food, strike a match, and set the crop on fire, hoping the Okies would more on to another town." (page 26)
~This quote made me angry. The farmers were wasting the surplus of the crop solely in spite. I feel as though if maybe they let the Okies eat some of the surplus they would have bettered the situation for themselves because with more strength the Okies could have found more jobs, therefore getting more money and moving away. I hate to see food wasted especially when there are so many in need.
"They sang the Okie tunes that gave them identity and strength, for the people in Weedpatch camp had learned to accept hardship without showing weakness." (page 31)
~Taking a situation that is absolutely horrible and finding something good in it, or pushing through the struggle and staying strong is not an easy task. It shows a lot of character of the Okies that they were able to accept hardship. They did not blame anyone for their misfortunes and kept their strength despite the fact that they were being ridiculed and were hungry. It is very difficult to stay positive through the most minute of problems and for them to accept their fate when it cost them so much is amazing.
"When they went to school each day, most of the teachers ignored the migrants, believing that Okie kids were too stupid to learn the alphabet, too dumb to master math, and too 'retarded' to learn much of anything. Other teachers forced the newcomers to sit on the floor in the back of the classroom, while the non-Okie kids, well dressed with clean faces and the best school supplies, sat at desks and poked fun at their classmates who wore dresses made out of chicken-feed sacks, baggy overalls held up by rope, and frequently no shoes at all." (page 38-39)
~This was the quote that stuck out the most to me. I cannot imagine the pain the children must have felt while going to school. The Okie children knew that they were poor and they felt like school was a privilege, but they were constantly the butt of the jokes. The worst part of the situation to me is that the teachers were often the ones who led the ridicule. They made the Okie children sit in the back on the floor and felt as though they were not worthy of education. As a teacher I cannot imagine making a student, or group of students feel inferior and worthless in my class. It makes me angry that there were so many children who had such a traumatic school experience.
"I could never understand, Leo said, why these kids should be treated differently. I could never understand why they shouldn't be given the same opportunity as others. Someone had to do something for them because no one cared about them." (page 44)
I think that this quote shows how gracious of a person Leo Hart was. As superintendent he had the courage to go against the public wishes and work hard to provide a place for the Okie children to go to school. He saw the children as normal children who needed to be given opportunities instead of worthless filthy children as most people saw them.
"The teachers, Leo said, ' went out of their way to help these children and teach them things about themselves and the world that they couldn't learn anywhere else." (page 56)
I was happy to hear that there were teachers who were willing and eager to teach the Okie children. They were interested in more than teaching content, they taught the students real life skills and were emotional forces for them as well. I think that the teachers from Weedpatch School are the example of the type of teacher we should strive to be, instead of the teachers we read about in an earlier chapter who didn't help the Okie children at all.
"They understood what we were trying to do. It was the first time the children ever had anything of their own, where all the attention was on them, where they were given the best and they knew everyone was for them." (page 68)
The children did have to do manual labor to help the school run. They worked in the garden and built the school and were often at school from dawn to dusk. But they were proud of their school and were very thankful for the people who contributed to the schools success. It showed them that there were people who saw them as normal humans rather than animals.
____________________________________________________
Out of the Dust Final Reflection
I love the book Out of the Dust. I feel that it is an excellent book to use in the classroom as well as a book to encourage students to check out from the library. The book is written in verse which can seem a bit confusing or intimidating at first, but once you have read a few pages it is much easier to follow. I think that reading this book will help me as a teacher to understand the hardships that some of my students may face. Most of them are not living in such dramatic circumstances as Billie Jo, but many may be touched by poverty and have to live in dirt, or unsanitary situations. Many of my students may also connect to Billie Jo in the fact that her mother died. By understanding the feelings that Billie Jo has in the book, I will be able to better understand what my students may be feeling if they have lost a loved one.
As a teacher I would love to use this book in my classroom if age appropriate. I think that my students would learn a lot about the Dust Bowl as well as struggling through hardships and facing trouble. I feel that by using this book I could incorporate a lot of subjects. We could do an integration unit where my students study the Dust Bowl, or we could pick out issues such as death or emotions to discuss in class.
I enjoyed reading this book, and although it is sad and a bit depressing, it is a story in which you can see the silver lining when you reach the end. I believe this book teaches us that even though we may experience hardships and feel as though nothing will make us whole again, we will get past it. I think this is a very important lesson for students to learn in the upper elementary grades.
