“…if it grabs my interest, makes me think, or helps me learn something then it is a good book” (Frank) which tuesdays with Morrie does. The book should be required for freshmen in High School to read in a regular English class because it is interesting, it creates deep thoughts, and it teaches many lessons that they will carry through life. Although it is an 830 on the Lexile, the content in the book makes it more suitable for ninth graders.
This book teaches many life lessons. Some of the life lessons taught in the memoir are world, feeling sorry for yourself, regrets, death, family, emotions, fear of aging, money, love, marriage, culture, forgiveness, a perfect day, and good-byes all found from each Tuesday that they spent together. These are important because it will help the students in life outside of school and to appreciate their peers as well elders. The memoir gives the realization of how teachers can make an impact on a student’s life and that it is never too late to visit an old friend. Things in the book like, “Accept who you are, and revel in it,”(Albom) and “Love is how you stay alive, even after you are gone,”(Albom) are quotes that will have the students ponder on their values, how the world works, and life as a whole. This will have the student think deeply about such things, activating their mind.
This memoir also teaches literary lessons for English class, it teaches character connections, character analysis, metaphors, symbolism, and personification. With these lessons for class, it leaves plenty of resources to create class involvement and projects. Since this is a relatable book, the students would be more likely to be more involved in the criteria. With this in place, the students can create projects to show what they got from the text. This book will spark in depth discussions between classmates. With these discussions other students can get more ideas of what the characters mean by ideals brought up like, “The culture we have does not make people feel good about themselves. And you have to be strong enough to say if the culture doesn’t work, don’t buy it,” (Albom 42). The class can discuss what it means and how it can be pulled through. Also, students can compare and contrast their beliefs, Morrie’s beliefs, and Mitch’s beliefs on various topics like death, fear, and ageing. To make the book even more fun, the teacher can show the movie, show the interviews with Koppel on Nightline and have the students compare and contrast and just gain more knowledge on the situation presented in the memoir.
The main purpose of this memoir is the connection between student and book. It is important to have connections because it has the student more motivated to read, it has the student understand the situations presented in the book better, and in a way it’s a good break from the classics assigned in class. This contemporary memoir isn’t only an easy read; it develops understanding of others and to value life as a whole. With the growing realization of how teachers truly affect the lives of students, the students can write a letter to a teacher that they feel made an impact on their lives so, they can spread the lessons taught in tuesdays with Morrie and recommend the memoir to others and they can explain its importance on life and how its mind altering in a good way. To further the connections between the book and the students, the students can keep a journal to write how they feel while reading and relating to the book with situations of their own.
Works Cited
Albom, Mitch. Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson. New York: Doubleday, 1997. Print.
Frank, Meagan. “What makes a Book Worth Reading” booksmakeadifferance.com n.p. n.d. 14 Nov., 2014
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Hey guys, in the comments can you write down what's needed to be changed or altered in this. I need to make sure its perfect. This is only a draft for my AP English class, I just want lots of opinions to make sure this is where it needs to be. Thanks guys! :)
