Th1rteen R3asons Why

Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher was recommended to me by a student in the early part of the semester, and I only now got a chance to read it. The story revolves around a high school junior named Clay Jensen, who mysteriously receives voice recordings of Hannah Baker, a classmate who committed suicide. It most likely falls into the YALit category, but I wouldn't let that deter you from reading it. This is a powerful story. It would make a great addition to a high school syllabus, especially in 9th or 10th grade.

I don't want this to be a book review, though. That's not really why comPOSITION exists. Instead, I want to talk about this book's take on education and writing, especially education about writing.

For Hannah, like real life student Phoebe Prince, writing became an outlet to address the confusion she was experiencing in her life. Hannah particularly took to writing poetry. It should also be noted that she made fun of the self-indulgent "miserable poets" in her poetry class. Outside of class, she shared with a classmate what she considers to be her real poetry. At first, she found this experience freeing and thought it might be her ticket to finding comfort, but eventually, writing was not enough. It wasn't enough because her words became twisted by others, just as her reputation does.

This became especially true when classmates tried to interpret a poem they did not know she wrote. The professor refereed to the assignment as akin to interpreting a "dead poet." As the students tried their hand at revealing the hidden meaning of the piece, Hannah became more and more upset with their inability to understand her meaning-- which, underneath it all, was clearly a cry for help. This moment only further severed the ties between her peers and herself.

Eventually, the only way Hannah believed she could express herself was through her 7 tapes. She would be the "dead poet," with the power of her name left behind, but this time, her meaning would not be hidden by imagery and meter.

If one looks back, though, the problem for Hannah was not that she was not allowed to express herself, but that she felt that her voice was never heard or that her messages were contorted. As a writing teacher, this is a major concern of mine, especially when I either congratulate a student for using voice well or tell them that I can't really hear "their voice." Am I hearing them correctly? Am I helping them to express themselves? And even if I am, so what? What do I want those words to do? Do they have an effect if they stop at me? These are questions to which I have no answers.

Speaking more towards education as whole, Hannah also talked about her favorite class, Peer Communications. This is a class that encourages students to talk about the real issues they are facing in their lives, including topics like abortion, drug abuse, and, eventually, suicide. The teacher promotes positive reinforcement between peers, as well, which is something that almost never happens in classes that rely on tests and grades to separate the strong from the weak. Hannah noted that despite her suicide she believes that Peer Communications class should continue. She also talked about how the class must be defended every year against those who believe it is a waste of time because it does not teach the "hard facts." Several of the teachers of those "hard fact" classes, Hannah said, resent the Peer Communications class because it is "fluff" and, more likely, because they are jealous that students are so engaged. Hmm... reflection of real life much?