In the fall I will introduce a new novel-reading project to my classes. I have pulled the book off my shelves here in Mexicali, and I think it is going to work. The English version is called Paradise Travel. The writer’s name is Jorge Franco. I now have read several of his novels in both Spanish in English. One of them, my students may be familiar with: Franco’s Rosario Tijeras has been converted into a popular series on Netflix. It’s about a young woman from Medellín, Colombia, who rises to power in the violent Narco-Traficante world that has enveloped her country. The theme of the American Dream runs through Paradise Travel. Not so much violence! This story is about two teen-age lovers who dream of a better life in New York City. It’s like the The Great Gatsby but for Colombians.
For our final research and writing project in my English classes, I will ask my students to select their MVP – Most Valuable Part – of the novel. They will need to think back to the ideas, characters, scenes in Paradise Travel. Their ARGUMENT for their MVP will make up a healthy part of their semester grade. I emphasize there is no right or wrong position in a student’s vote for MVP. There is no concrete definition for “valuable.” It can be the best part. It can be the worst part. ( I tell my students Time Magazine once put Donald Trump on their cover under the title “Man of the Year.”) Maybe, it’s a character the novel could not do without. Maybe, it’s an event that changed everything. Maybe, it’s an idea no one speaks about in class, but it may be most important to us all. I’m most happy with the diversity of choices my students make.
Wait! Here is where the Soundtrack comes in: In addition to defending thier ARGUMENT, students will be required to contribute a song to our classroom soundtrack. When they summarize their idea for their final submission, I want them to explain what song do they hear in the background. This is what I will say to them: When you read, do you ever tap your foot? Does music ever spark an idea in your head? Can you come up with a song or an artist that blends music and literature? Joyce Carol Oates wrote one of her most enduring works of short fiction after hearing Bob Dylan on the radio. There are no specific rules to making your choice. There is no right or wrong. I want you to reach back into your musical archives, and choose a song that brings our textbook to our ears.
This summer, I'm creating these assignments for my Canvas curriculum. I'm happy for the time to prepare in advance. This way I can eliminate or reduce obstacles to student success before they happen. For each assignment, I give a trial run-through with my own instructions, and then, I submit what I have on Canvas - in the same way the students do. I really enjoy this book. If I didn't, I wouldn't assign it. I'm drawn to the AMBITION of the main characters. In my mind, Reina may look like a young Jenni Rivera (see above.) She wants to get out of Colombia in the worst way, and she's taking Marlon along with her - again in the worst way. For these two lovers, failure is not an option. On the first pages, Reina tells Marlon: "In this placed we haven't done anything, wer aren't doing anything, ad we aren't going to do anything." For Reina, staying in Colombia is a fate worse than death. For Marlon, life without Reina would be pretty much the same thing. They will do whatever it takes to make their dreams come true.
I don't want to spoil anything here for my students; that's why my Paradise Travel MVP and Soundtrack Selection is based on the first chapter. In my Canvas submission, I will paint a picture of Reina's American Dream. I myself have gone back and read the first chapter several times. By teaching my students to pay attention to details, to judge which information is objective, such as dialogue or characters actions, and which is subjective, such as characters’ feelings or descriptions, this exercise also will also make them stronger readers. For Reina, it's important that you never settle; you always strive for something better. Through hard work, you can achieve anything you want. In the first chapter, she talks about New York City like she's already been there. She describes for Marlon, "a freshly painted apartment with a view of the rive and the Satue of Liberty, on the top floor with a small terrace and a little garden, two chairs where we can sit and watch the sun set over New York City..." Reina brings the image to life, like only she can. I mean, she's probably visualized it for the last five or sex years since she has reached adolescence. For Reina, the benefits of working hard to obtain a goal outweigh the costs.
Below I share my brainstorming process for selecting my song. By the time we reach this point in the semester, by students will be well-practiced in their annotations skills. I want them to read and re-read the context of their lyrics before they begin forming their argument. When I read about Reina ambition, it didn't take me long to think about Frank Sinatra's (Theme from) New York, New York." It came out with the movie when I was in high school. Robert DeNiro plays the role of a saxaphone player who is obsessed with making it in New York jazz scene. He could have been playing the life story of Frank Sinatra. When I read the lyrics and checked the background of the song, and I became very happy with my Paradise Travel MVP and Soundtrack Selection.
As I do in my classroom research projects, I found my annotations deepened my understanding of what I read. I feel like if I don't write anything down, I'm not learning. I expect my students to use the patterns of development and writing strategies we have practiced this semester: cause and effect, definition, compare and contrast, argument.They will need to document their sources.
- Will they be able to capture and explain a key quote?
- Can they define an interesting term used in the novel?
- Do they want to create a character analysis?
I‘ve provided them with specific formats, outlines, and models for their writing. I encourage them to make their presence felt – to find their own way of saying things – to share their own personal perspective and experience. My goal is for my students is to reflect on the coursework for the semester. I require them to use the same strategies and writing techniques that we have covered in my lessons. Will they be able to recognize their own cognitive growth? Well, show us what you got:
- Find a few words, lines, phrases, passages from the song that could match up with something from the novel
- Make a table - I suggest 4 rows, 2 columns.
- On the left side, arranged the lyrics
- On the right side, arrange a passage from from your research ( at the end, put the page number in parentheses).
Jay's Note: I had fun using my Frank Sinatra books from my shelves here in Mexicali. Below, I tried to follow my own instructions in the best way I could. Jaja. Here is how I connected what I hear in my head to what I reaed on the page:
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(Theme from) New York, New York By Frank Sinatra |
(Dream from) Paradise Travel By Jorge Franco |
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I wanna to wake up, in a city that doesn't sleep |
It’s a freshly painted apartment with a view of the river and the Statue of Liberty, on the top floor with a small terrace and a little garden, two chairs where we can sit and watch the sun set over New York City (6). |
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Start spreadin' the news, I'm leavin' today |
It’s New York City; and then she repeated in a quiter voice: My New York. With my mouth hanging open, I look around at the promessory landscape of twinkling lights and skyscrapers ( 78). |
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In old New York |
I’m going there to work, get ahead, have a child ( 81). |
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These little town blues, are melting away |
She breathed warm air out through her nose; she wasn’t angry, just determined, and she pushed her breasts into my chest with each breath she took, so I could feel exactly what I’d be missing if I stayed (5). |
Frank Sinatra was the TAYLOR SWIFT of his genreation. In previoius classes I have used a number of TAYLOR SWIFT songs to model this assignment. I have also used a number of Spanish-Language songs to inject important meaning into my discussion. LOS TIGRES DEL NORTE works. They are know for their songs about immigrant struggle. Musica Norteña. But I have also used heavy metal: BLACK SABBATH'S "Paranoid." Hip-hop. Movie soundtracks. Children's songs. In 1980, Frank was 64 years old - THE AGE I AM NOW. He was still belting out his old hits in Las Vegas, but at this stage of his life, HE WANTED MORE. For him, ambition was a way of life. Born in Hoboken, New Jersey, he always knew that if he ever want to be somebody, he would have to do it in New York. At age 64, he cracked the Billboard Top 40. The number one song that year was FUNKY TOWN. Jaja. Isn't that ironic? If anyone could sing FUNKY TOWN, it was Frank Sinatra.
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