Book Review - Car: A Drama of the American Workplace

Today's guest blogger/reviewer is Simon Hunsinger, also from Ms. Carr's first year English 9/10 class. This book sounds like a great choice for both youth and adults - I think my husband the engineer would really like it!


Car: A Drama of the American Workplace, a 346-page work by Mary Walton, follows the team at Ford Motor Company tasked with engineering the 1996 Ford Taurus. Walton, a former reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, followed the team’s engineers over a period of five years as they worked long hours in a damp basement, and the result is a deeply personal account of the people behind the making of a car.

The protagonist of Car is the Taurus team’s director, Dick Landgraff, a bad-tempered, dictatorial man who is completely dedicated to beating the Taurus’ Japanese competitors at Honda and Toyota. Landgraff runs the Taurus team with the ferocity of an Army sergeant. When he learns that the engineers from climate control had made their knobs a few dollars over budget, Landgraff shows no mercy.

“What’s the absolute cost of these teeny tiny knobs?” The knobs, he was told, accounted for $3. They were high-quality polycarbonate. “Who says we have to have polycarbonate?" he demanded. “How many warranty costs are we saving with polycarbonate?”…Of course they didn’t know. Landgraff knew they wouldn’t know. (Walton 138)

Walton describes with exquisite detail the conflicts between the engineers as they struggle over every aspect of their project, from headlights that weren’t bright enough to stopping the door moldings from falling apart. The incompetence of the engineers injects Dilbert-like humor into the tense mood, and the plot roars into a heated climax as the Taurus team rushes to complete their car as their deadlines loom ever closer.

Walton has made an otherwise dull business book into a fast-paced, wildly entertaining drama. Throughout the book, the reader can’t help but root for the Taurus engineers, flawed as they may be, as they struggle to deliver a competitive product. Car manages to be at once thrilling, very informative, and genuinely funny, a tough feat to pull off in journalism.

Book Review - The Search for WondLa

Today's guest blogger is Lydia Allabaugh, a first year ATYP  student in Ms. Carr's English 9/10 class, with a book recommendation for your holiday weekend, or as a gift idea for the reader in your life.

A Little Taste of The Search for WondLa

The Search for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi is an incredible and breathtaking fantasy novel. Some of the main characters include Eva Nine, Rovender Kitt, and Muthr. The beginning introduces Eva Nine, and her robotic mother Muthr. They live in a sanctuary, a house underground that has all the necessities to live, and have a peaceful life. The setting in the sanctuary is uneventful and prepares Eva Nine for life after she leaves the sanctuary. The reader realizes Eva Nine has never been above ground. After a day in Eva Nine’s regular life, the reader finds her in an unpleasant situation. A marauder has broken into her sanctuary. He destroys her sanctuary, and she is forced to run away from her home and her beloved Muthr. While on the run, she meets a creature that looks nothing like the animals, plants, and other humans she had seen in her holoshows, like television except shown in holograms. Once Eva Nine is out of the sanctuary she meets a new acquaintance, whose name is Rovender Kitt, Eva Nine begins to realize some thing she hadn’t before. The two things Eva Nine realizes are how much she loved Muthr and she was on Earth, but there was something changed about Earth.

There are amazing things included in The Search for WondLa. Throughout this novel, there are great lessons on friendship. Most of the friendships developed are nurtured throughout this novel and the two following it. There is so much action a person could sit down and read all the way through this novel without wanting to stand up and stop or put it down. The following two novels in the series are only worth reading after reading this first novel. Once the reader has read this novel, they will desperately want to read the rest of the series, too. The other two books in the series are called The Hero for WondLa and The Battle for WondLa. There is also a movie based on The Search for WondLa coming out in 2017.

Talking to Your Gifted Child About World Events

Is your gifted child highly sensitive and aware of what is going on in the world around them? Does he or she have a great concern for others and worry about issues such as social justice, world hunger, and the state of our planet? These tendencies are very common in this population of students, and so this election cycle has taken a toll on many. 

If your child has concerns, please address them as factually and objectively as you can. Reassure them that, although right now people are divided regarding the results of this election, we will get through it. Minority children especially - and those who have friends who are minorities - may worry about the future, but remind them that as long as we work together, our country can have a future as bright and wonderful as we make it. 

The tensions children see between family members, friends, and neighbors can be frightening. When you reach out to others, you set an example for children on how to agree to disagree, how to advocate for policies and laws in a respectful manner, and how to live in peace in the greater community. We must all be role models to our children - both in victory and in defeat - for how democracy works. 

For People Who Like to be Quiet

Dr. Kelly and I recently heard a speaker say that in the general population, 70% of people are considered extroverts and 30% of people are introverts, while in the gifted population, the split is more like 50/50. Some would argue that, at least anecdotally, those numbers may be even higher. What does this mean for you?

First, it helps to take a minute and think about what the difference is between an extrovert and an introvert. Extroverts draw their energy - renew their spirit - by being around others. Introverts need time alone to refocus, decompress, and recharge. You can see there's nothing here about being shy. You can be extroverted and shy - which might make the shyness very painful if you want to connect with other people, or you can be introverted and shy. But gifted people in much greater numbers need that space by themselves to think and gather themselves, and if that describes you then it's important that you know that about yourself.

One of the best ways to get an idea of what your personality type is is to take something like the Myers/Briggs Personality Inventory (look online for one that's quick and easy, such as http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/the-16-mbti-types.htm). It's not the same as going to a psychologist, but it will give you something to think about. 

Now, do you think you're an introvert? What does that mean for you? In the book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, author Susan Cain discusses how American culture overvalues extroverts and undervalues introverts, leading to "a colossal waste of talent, energy, and happiness." You can also hear Cain discuss introverts in a great Ted Talk, https://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts. 

What's the take away? Understand what makes you happy. Yes, you might still have to interact with people when you don't want to, but don't let others convince you that you have to be an extrovert to make something of yourself. Mark Zuckerberg, JK Rowling, Bill Gates, and Steven Spielberg, all famous introverts, can tell you that you can be wildly successful and still honor what you need to be at peace with yourself and the world.