Chapter 5(Stabbed in the Back) Jake Wee

05 Extensive Reading Questions for Chapter 5: Stabbed in the Back

1. Joey’s Pain

Pre-Reading

Turn to page 146, do the ‘Where do you stand’ quiz.

I feel that maybe out of the whole student population, at least 90% has been a bully if you follow this quiz. Everyone has someone that they dislike or due to peer influence ignores that certain person, as in the story of Joey.

During-Reading

• Why should Joey feel ashamed when he came back to school?
• This was because it would be embarrassing if any of his peers find out that he wanted to kill himself due to the bullying that he endured in school, it would just get worse and he would be bullied more.
• The author of the article said ‘ I don’t know whatever happened to him’. What do you think happened to Joey?
• I think that maybe Joey went to a mental institution to receive help from professionals and later when he got better went to another school.

Post-Reading

• If you were Maggie Jo Kundla who wrote this article, and you felt so strongly that you have to contact Joey to try say you were sorry, what are the possible things you could you do to find him?
• I would firstly check to ask for the previous school records and find his parent's details, like for example, the handphone number or email then try to contact him. If this leads to no avail, I will try to find his address and visit him. If still to no avail then I would try to find him on social networks.

1. Memoirs of a Ganger

Pre-Reading

- Why do you think people join a clique or group or gang?

They join a clique or gang to be, what is known in man schools, the popular group of people, who always hang out with each other and are either in the high society group of people or those who hang out on the streets real late and ignore their curfew.

During-Reading

- How long was Jessie in the group before she realized she was really not welcomed and wanted by the rest of the girls?

She was in the group until high school began, and when she followed the group around, she figured she was not welcomed, but persisted until when she realised that when she followed the girls and they hid in the toilet to avoid her.

- List three ways in this article that showed that the author of this article, Terry, was a bully or unkind and disrespectful to her peers.

Gossiping, back stabbing and double crossing her friends were three ways that showed that Terry was a bully and unkind to her peers.

Post-Reading

- Why didn’t Terry leave the clique when she knew it was not a very healthy one?

This was because due to peer pressure, she was forced to continue to stay in the group to be part of the "cool" gang.

1. Hung Out to Dry

Pre-Reading

- Consider the friends /classmates or people you spend time with. Would you think that they are healthy for you?

I would think that I have two group of friends, one of which are those who nurture me both emotionally and academically and another group who are rude and well are my friends because they want to benefit from me.

During-Reading

• In your own words, say what you think ‘five finger discounted’ means.
• I think five finger discounted them means stealing.
• Lindsey ‘was speechless’ when her two ‘best friends’ didn’t say a word to help me her out and left the store in the clear. Why was she reacting this way?
• This was because she was close friends with them for most of middle school and the thought of them doing such a thing to hurt her just seem very hard to accept.
• Although it was her mom who forbade Lindsey to talk to K.C. and Sarah, why would she be ashamed to talk to her two friends even if she could?
• She would be ashamed because she wouldn't want such bad friends to be around her and furthermore forgive them.

Post-Reading

- What would be some possible warning signs that your friends may not be good for you?

They might ask you to do something that you know is not good for you or influence you in a bad way that would demoralize yourself.

1. Forgiving the Unforgivable

Pre-Reading

- What would you deem to be one thing that you would never expect a good friend would do to you?

That one thing would be betraying me and going against their word.

During-Reading

• How was Alison different from Andi?
• Alison was interested in horses, but Andi was more of a social butterfly who enjoyed going out with boys and partying.

Post-Reading

• Do you think it was acceptable that Alison ‘hooked up’ with Andi’s ex-boy friend? Give reason(s) to support your answer.
• I think it was acceptable because firstly, Andi had already broken up with him, and since the relationship between alison and that boy had blossomed, it seemed okay that they got into a relationship.
• Andi ‘decided to forgive’ her friend? What are you thoughts about this decision?
• I think it was something that Andi should have done and not even bother to contemplate about. This is because I personally feel that it is not worth it to lose a close friend for a boy you got into a relationship with for less than a year.

1. You to Blame

Pre-Reading

- Do you believe that the first love you’ll ever have would always be the only true love? Give a reason(s) for your answer.

This might happen only to a minimal percentage of people, because first love is always believed to be love at first sight, which might be true sometimes, but mostly, love at first sight is only a one way feeling and the other party might not feel the same.

During-Reading

• What were the possible questions or words said before the responses of

1) “I’m not ready for a relationship’ and

2)“ I’m not feeling for you the same way”?

I think it would be something like " I feel that now we should concentrate on our studies and talk about getting into a relationship when we are more mature" or "Would you want to be my boyfriend/girlfriend?"

• When ‘something plays like a record in a broken dream’, what does that imply about the thoughts of the person involved?
• It implies that that dream keeps coming bak and doesn't seem to stop.

Post-Reading

- What would be some healthy and useful thoughts to help deal with being rejected or dumped by a boyfriend or girlfriend or a close friend?

I would want to be consoled by my other close friends or better still family.

1. Thunder Still Roars

Pre-Reading

- Do you think it is okay to have pre-marital sex or are you one who advocates sex only after marriage?

I think that I would advocate only sex after marriage, because after marriage, both persons are sworn to each other and the chances of the man ditching the woman after sex is less probable, because the man has already devoted himself to love the woman

During-Reading

• What were the things Madison and her boyfriend used to do together?
• They used to go out very often to the malls and they would spend time at the boyfriend's house to watch movies and other stuff.
• What were the signs to show that Madison’s boyfriend had changed his attitude towards her?
• He started ignoring her and didn't bother waiting for her at the usual spots where he would wait for her, example at the doorsteps where madison's boyfriend would eagerly wait for her to come but after sex, he didn't bother waiting outside.
• Why do you think Madison’s boyfriend dumped her the night after he had sex with her?
• I think he realised that after sex, he had no interest in her anymore or the fact that he realised of the responsibilities he would have to carry when after sex, Madison has a baby and since they are still schooling, how were they going to handle life.

Post-Reading

- Why do you think ‘Thunder Still Roars’ was chosen as the title for this article?

I think this title was chosen because after the lightning, the thunder would still roar, meaning that after madison and her boyfriend had sex, they still had the responsibility to take.

1. Standing Short

Pre-Reading

- Have you been or witnessed someone being humiliated by a teacher? How did you handle it or feel?

Yes I have been both humiliated and witnessed a friend being humiliated by a teacher. I think for myself personally, I would feel sore about it for a while, and forget about it but then the feeling in me would still keep harping over it.

During-Reading

• After the humiliation, how did Allyssa deal with the incident initially?
• She felt very embarrassed as they were many people around and she felt unfairness as she felt her height should not hinder her from taking the lead role.
• What did Allyssa finally take away from that same incident?
• She realised that insulting a person's appearance or physical outlook might crumble his/her confidence or ego making them feel of a lower standard then the rest which is untrue as all man are equal on this earth.

Post-Reading

- What would be one thing you wished your teachers would do better in their treatment of students. Why?

I feel that teachers should put themselves in the student's shoes and see how they feel being treated like this. The feeling is just terrible and the fact that the teacher doesn't know what's going on in the person's mind is worse. I think that the teacher should improve the treatment of the student by having discernment in the way they speak.

- If you had the good fortune of only meeting teachers who treated you well all these years, what would be the one thing you would want your teachers to keep doing?

I would like my teachers to keep continue having that awesome sense of sarcasm and yet the feeling of care can be felt within.

Blog Question

Do the five-questions quiz ‘Can you handle being stabbed in the back?’ on page 175. For each answer you have chosen, say why you picked it, and what the expected consequences would be in making that choice and how you might handle those consequences.

Remember to elaborate and expand on your answers where possible. If an explanation or an example is needed to make your answer clearer or illustrate it better, please use it.

Also remember that this is a forty-five to fifty minutes writing exercise. By the fact that you are given this much time to response to the question, your answer should really be more than just five lines.

Also try to write it like an essay question and not treat it like a comprehension short question and answer exercise. You will need to organize your paragraphs by making sure that each new idea is in a new paragraph. If there is too much information, it might be better to use more paragraphs to separate out the information.

You could start with the following introduction or write your own version:

I did the quiz ‘Can you handle being stabbed in the back?’ on page 175 and answered the questions as honestly as I could, given the three answer choices. For every answer, I will endeavor to say why I chose that answer, anticipate the consequences for choosing it as well as how I would handle these consequences.

You could then proceed to answer your questions sequentially. First, by reframing the questions into an answer form before you proceed to give your answer:

For first question that asked me about how I would react when my friend and I were told by my teacher to stay back after class when she thought we were cheating at our science test, I said I would......

For the first question, I would most likely go with B, as I cherish my friendships and I also wouldn't want my friend to land up in big trouble, so I would most likely just confess unwillingly and then ask the teacher for another chance. But then again, cheating is a serious offense in school, so i might end up in a situation where I would choose C as it would get me out of trouble, but on the negative side, I would lose a friend and get him/her into trouble, which he/she deserves it. but what are friends for?

For question 2, I would not go with any of the desired choices, and instead, just be myself and not be two-faced. Why should I act better than someone just to gain his/her attention? I find it a waste of time and a very childish act. On the contrary, I would just hang out with my other friends and continue with life. But if faced with a must of choosing one of the choices, I would choose Option B, as instead of loosing a friend, why not try to gain one more?

For question 3, I would most likely go with option B as I am the sort who is very shy to express my feelings and furthermore, I wouldn't let the whole class know I'm in a relationship. But in such a case I would just shrug it off, as I find that since we have made no vows or such, like in marriage, its her freedom to make out with anyone she ones. For question 4, I would go with option B, as I hate competition, and I once thought to myself if it was possible the the earth was in my control, the first thing I would do is to make everyone equal and there is to be no president, prime minister, principal, CEO or any of this such nonsense. But then again, without a leader, everyone would get lost. For question 5, i would go with option A as I feel secrets when shared, should be kept to yourself and not be told to anyone. If such a thing happens, I would be furious and ignore him/her for a long period, but still I would one day be her friend again.