not where, but who you're with...

i had finished reading charlotte's web to my class a few weeks ago, and i've still been thinking about it because i had to record a literature circle discussion for my grad class.

while reading the book, i realized the power of re-reading books. this was the fourth time i'd read charlotte's web to a class, and probably the 8th time i'd read the book altogether. i still pick up new ideas and meanings from the book, and feel stupid for not having noticed them before. i shouldn't feel stupid, i've been told countless times about the benefits of re-reading.

i had been noticing the same thing with the reading selections we have for first grade: now that i've been working with this series for 3 years, i think, i've become somewhat accustomed to it (which probably means the district will be getting rid of it soon)... i've been picking out different bits of each story, whether they be in the text or in the illustrations, and i think my students are benefitting from my experience.

okay, well anyway, i had been meaning to tell a couple things about charlotte's web. first of all, as i read the story, i noticed how pathetically dependant wilbur was on charlotte throughout the book, and how strong and wise charlotte seemed throughout the book. though they are the same age, charlotte was born with extra wisdom as a spider, perhaps because she lives such a short life, she becomes mature and wiser faster, like 7 dog years to a human year, and perhaps because most pigs aren't left to live to their life expectancy, they never reach maturity and wisdom.

i don't know, but as i was reading that book, i wondered whether i was more like charlotte's character or wilbur's. a lot of the time, i am like wilbur, dependant, silly, and in need of someone to keep me from going crazy. in need of reassurance.

sometimes i am like charlotte. she is more secure and in control of situations. it seems to depend on the situation for me.

and the best part of the literature circle discussion was when the kids said wilbur wanted to save charlotte from dying the way she had saved him. and then some kids started to say that wilbur couldn't stop charlotte from dying... you can't stop anyone from dying... if you die, you die... and then one of my favorites: "dying is life. life is dying."