Literacy Now

The Bitter Side of Sweet. Tara Sullivan. 2016. G.P. Putnam’s Sons.

Ages 15+

Summary

The Bitter Side of Sweet, which received four-star reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly and School Library Journal, tells the story of Amadou, Seydou and Khadija, but in reality it is the story of thousands of children whose names, faces and fates are unknown to us. A word of caution about this young adult novel and its topics—the events in the story are difficult to read about, and readers will likely finish the book with an altered view of the world. In addition, it is a story that will remain with readers for a long time, if not forever.

Fifteen-year-old Amadou is from Mali, however, he and his 8-year-old brother, Seydou, find themselves working on a cacao farm in the Ivory Coast. Like many young people from their village, and across Mali, Amadou and Seydou left home to find work as the droughts and poverty that plague the country have made survival a daily struggle. The brothers planned to work for a season in the Ivory Coast and then return to their home and family with their earnings. But that was over two years ago and before they realized that they wouldn’t be workers on a farm, but rather slaves. If someone doesn’t meet the day’s quota, talks back, attempts to run away, or commits any other kind of infraction that person faces a severe beating, withholding of food, other forms of torture, such as being locked overnight in the tool shed, or worse.

Seydou is the youngest on their cacao farm and Amadou, as his older brother, is extremely protective of him. Amadou is also wracked with guilt for what he sees as his part in getting Seydou into this inhumane situation. As a result of this protectiveness and guilt Amadou lets Seydou do very little of the more difficult or dangerous work, especially wielding a machete. Therefore, Amadou must often complete the work of two in order to keep himself and Seydou fed and safe from beatings. And when he isn’t able to do the work of two, he sacrifices his food for Seydou and takes the beatings in his place.

Amadou’s dreams and life change radically as the result of two unimaginable events. The first event, which ultimately leads to the second, is the arrival of Khadija. It’s not unusual for new boys to be brought to the cacao farm to slave away alongside the others. However, they are usually brought in groups—Khadija arrives alone. Most new boys arrive scared and meek—Khadija arrives like a wildcat, fighting, biting, and trying to escape. Finally, in the two years that Amadou and Seydou have been on this cacao farm all the boys who have arrived have been boys—Khadija is a girl, which may be the most shocking part.

Khadija is undeterred and continues her fighting and attempts at escape. During one of her earlier escape attempts Khadija, who has been tied to a cacao tree by one of the bosses, tricks Seydou into getting close enough that she can snatch his machete and cut the rope that binds her. When Amadou discovers what happened he fears for Seydou’s life as the retribution from the bosses for “helping” Khadija escape will no doubt be severe. Amadou quickly assumes the blame for Khadija’s escape and while the bosses are not very convinced by his flimsy explanation of what happened, they are all too happy to punish someone. Amadou is forced to accompany one of the bosses, Moussa, as he tracks and recaptures Khadija. When the three return to camp Amadou receives the most vicious beating of his life.

Amadou is forced to stay and work at the camp, with Khadija, for several days as his injuries are still too bad to allow for him to easily climb cacao trees and chop down the cacao pods. His anxiety over Seydou’s safety is eased slightly by Seydou’s first successful day without him, but it continues to consume him as he tries to get enough work done at camp to impress the bosses and return to their good side. But these efforts are short lived as after a few days of being forced to work at the camp, Moussa returns from the day’s work with news of the second event that radically changes Amadou’s dreams and life. Moussa informs Amadou that he will be returning to work in the fields tomorrow as the crew lost a boy that day. When Amadou asks which boy, Moussa responds “Seydou.”

The rest of The Bitter Side of Sweet tells of their journey to freedom and the horrors, kindnesses and realities they encounter on the way. Khadija shares her story and Amadou begins to understand why she is how she is, but even as he gets to know her better he feels like he knows less and less about her and her life. Along the way they, and the reader, learn more about the cacao and chocolate industry including the vast expanse of land and people, willingly and unwillingly, involved in the business of producing chocolate and the lengths that are gone to for profit and power. After reading this gripping novel chocolate will never taste as sweet.

Cross-Curricular Connections

Social studies/history, geography, economics, journalism, and math

Ideas for Classroom Use

Dying to Tell a Story

As Khadija shares her story with Amadou she explains that she ended up at the cacao farm because she was kidnapped from her home. She also reveals that her mother is a journalist and has been researching a secret topic, one that has prompted threatening phone calls to their home. Khadija believes that there is a connection between her mother’s research and her kidnapping.

Unlike journalists in the United States who have the protection of the First Amendment, journalists in other places around the world often face retribution, threats, and even death as a result of the stories they research and publish. This can happen in the United States as well, but it is more widespread in other parts of the world.

The Committee to Protect Journalists reported that 69 journalists died on the job in 2015. Of these 69 deaths, 47 were victims of murder, with at least 28 of these 47 murder victims receiving death threats before they were killed.

The topics presented above provide a wealth of teaching and learning opportunities. Some of the issues or ideas that can be explored are as follows:

• Freedom of speech is protected in the United States by the First Amendment. What does freedom of speech mean? What protections does the First Amendment provide for freedom of speech?
• What are the topics or stories that have led to the threatening or killing of journalists? What do these topics or stories have in common? What do the threats and/or killings related to these topics or stories indicate about the topics and/or stories?
• In the era of Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms, the reporting of news is changing as is the field of journalism. Is journalism becoming obsolete? What is the role of citizen journalists in this new era?

“I count the things that matter.”

The first line of The Bitter Side of Sweet is “I count the things that matter.” Amadou goes on, “Only twenty-five pods. Our sacks need to be full, at least forty or forty-five each, so I can get Seydou out of a beating. Really full if I want to get out of one too.” Amadou spends his days obsessed with meeting the daily quota of cacao pods in order to protect him and his brother from a beating and hopefully to get them some food for the day.

Quotas rule the lives of many, such as those being paid by piece rate, those working on an assembly line, or those who work on commission. Piecework is when workers get paid a set amount for each item or unit they make or action they perform; for example, a seamstress may get paid for each collar she sews on to a shirt. Although not limited to the jobs held by children, women, and the working poor, the jobs held by these populations often involve quotas, piecework, assembly lines, or commissions.

In order to explore the pressures of working under a quota an assembly line can be created in the classroom. For example, students could assemble a predetermined design out of Legos, with each “worker” adding a specific piece or two to the total. There is an abundance of topics related to this type of work, including:

• What types of industries use assembly lines? Why do these industries use assembly lines? What are the benefits of an assembly line?  What is it like to work on an assembly line? Who regulates assembly lines? What does it mean for consumers when they buy products that have been made on an assembly line?

• What industries rely on piecework? Why these industries? What is it like to do piecework? Who regulates piecework? What does it mean for consumers when they buy products that have been made through piecework?

Where Did This Come From?

The world has become a global marketplace; a single product can pass through numerous steps and hands before it arrives at our local store for us to purchase. The Bitter Side of Sweet provides insight into some of the beginning steps and hands involved in the making of the chocolate that we love. Sullivan also provides glances at some of the other steps in the production of chocolate, such as the transport of the dried cacao seeds to large warehouses.

Have students select a product and research the steps involved in its production. Students should consider the “who” involved in each of these steps as well as the “what” of the steps. If a product has steps that occur in different locations, students can create a production map that traces the route of a product and its components as it moves towards completion.

What’s Fair About Fair Trade?

In her author’s note, Sullivan mentions fair trade chocolate. She says, “Fair trade chocolate, produced by companies that guarantee a minimum price to growers even when international prices dip, is by no means the only answer. Nor is it an answer free of its own complications, as any long-term solution must address empowerment and education as well as economics. However, it is one way of tackling the root problem: the grinding poverty of the small growers who produce cacao.” There are many aspects about the idea of fair trade products that can be taught and explored; here are some possibilities:

• What does it mean for something to be fair trade?

• What kind of products can be considered to be fair trade? What do these products have in common?

• What is the impact of fair trade on workers? What is the impact of fair trade on employers? What is the impact of fair trade on consumers?

Additional Resources and Activities

Resources for Teachers: Chocolate Production and Child Slavery: On her website, Tara Sullivan, the author of The Bitter Side of Sweet, provides teaching resources for both of her young adult novels. Sullivan provides suggestions for what readers can do if they have been inspired to action by The Bitter Side of Sweet. She also discusses the idea of fair trade chocolate and supplies a list of other resources on the chocolate industry and modern day slavery.

“The Dark Side of Chocolate”: This 45-minute documentary is a great companion to The Bitter Side of Sweet as it provides visuals for many of the objects, locations, and events that occur in the novel such as the cacao pods themselves and how they are harvested.

Additional Literature With Similar Themes

Diamond Boy. Michael Williams. 2016. Little, Brown.

Iqbal. Francesco D’Adamo. 2003. Atheneum.

Sold. Patricia McCormick. 2006. Hyperion.

Trash. Andy Mulligan. 2010. Ember/Random House.

Aimee Rogers is an assistant professor at the University of North Dakota. She is a member of the reading faculty and teaches children’s literature courses. Aimee’s research interests include how readers make meaning with graphic novels as well as representation in children’s and young adult literature.

Our students’ learning and independence happen one intentional moment at a time. As we start the school year, just how do we best plan for these incremental steps toward truly independent and engaged readers?  I’ve found it helpful to focus on a handful of key milestones each month so I don’t become overwhelmed and distracted by everything I want to accomplish across the year. In this post I share Reading Milestone Calendarsthat remind us of the key moments in our fall reading classrooms.

What to focus on in September

Although focusing solely on structures in September to create a solid management routine can be tempting, I’ve found that getting independent reading up and going from the start is equally important. On the very first day of school and every single day afterward, I make sure students have books in their hands that they can read and actually want to read.

Students can organize books in the classroom into bins by category and topic—and not only is this task great for reading, but it’s also a terrific ice breaker. Students create labels for these book bins such as “Tear Jerkers,” “For Dreamers,” “Crime Solvers” and “For Adventure Seekers.” Rather than label the books by reading level, I suggest you keep the level on the inside or cover of the book. When choosing topics for the larger categories and labels for book bins think, “What would kids actually say to one another in a book talk?” Students tend to be motivated and engaged by topics they care about much more than a reading level label.

Getting students turning pages is one thing, but it’s jump-starting our own curiosity as teachers that matters most, because our reading instruction is only as good as the quality of our last mining expedition. As I’ve written about in my book, Mindsets and Moves (Corwin 2016), right from the start of the school year we can take on the role of a Miner, uncovering what—and how—each of our students read. In order to get to know students well and value who they are as people and readers, we observe them in action, talk about their process, and listen to them read. By getting to know students well, we can make sound instructional decisions for the rest of the school year.

By mid-September, assess your students’ current reading stamina and set a goal for how much more they will be able to read by the end of the month. If they can read for seven minutes on day one, aim for about 15 to 20 minutes in a few weeks. You can chart your progress, share strategies for building focus, and talk honestly about setbacks and challenges. Stamina is developed over time and requires our patience.

By the end of the month (if not a little sooner) introduce students to their reading notebooks. A reading notebook is not a place to complete assignments for the teacher. Instead, it is a place for students to document and develop their thinking about the texts they read. Give students choices right from the start about what they write down and how they choose to write it. Show examples of structures such as a timeline, t-chart, bullets, and visuals, but allow students to decide what works for them. Build excitement for these notebooks by having a gallery walk of decorated notebooks, discussing how you will use them in the coming year, and letting students know they are in charge of what and how to record their thinking. These notebooks become a boon to conferring and formative assessment.

A third initiative in the march toward independence is to dare to make yourself known as an independent reader. We have known for years about the benefits of sharing with students the magazines we read to relax with on trips, favorite authors, guilty pleasure “commercial” fiction or “geeky” science reads, but this September and throughout the year, model your mindset and goals as a reader. Spend time every week in your read-alouds, minilessons, and conferences showing students how you reflect on your strengths and challenges and then how you go about forming personalized goals for yourself. For example, I might share how I tend to focus so much on predicting the plot that I read too fast and miss out on some of the author’s vivid language and word choices.  Once you have modeled this process, invite students to do the same. No need to worry if the goals are “good” yet; instead, focus on the process of setting a goal, as this helps students develop ownership of their reading lives. Students can work with a partner to talk through their self-reflections and help each other choose strategies that will help them accomplish their goals.

The Reading Milestones Calendar offers these reminders and reflective questions you can use when planning for September. There’s a link at the end of this post so you can print your own.

What to focus on in October

If we look ahead to October, we can build on the solid foundation we laid in the previous month. Much of the work we began in September will carry over such as building stamina and reflecting on and setting new goals. We also continue to get to know our students well taking on the role of a Miner.

Begin a weekly book talk ritual in your classroom by giving students approximately 10 minutes to share some of their book recommendations with a partner or small group. Older students can write reviews or create a class Goodreads account or book talk blog. Model how to give a book talk and how to sell your book so others will want to read it. We know books become popular when students tell one another about them, so create space where students talk about books on a regular basis.

While continuing to be a miner, take on the role of a mirror, offering feedback to students about how they are reading and what is working for them. Like a mirror, you reflect back on them their own process as readers, which is profoundly supportive to students’ independence and self-concept as readers. When we take the time to explain to students that we see them, really see them, and value all they already know how to do, we build a respectful and trusting relationship. In so doing, before jumping in and teaching new strategies, you are supporting what students already know how to do by reinforcing it and explaining how it helps them as readers. Students will be more willing to develop ownership and independence when they trust you and feel safe to take risks in the classroom. This mirroring work is all part of moving students from a fixed mindset about their abilities to a growth mindset.

You’ll find some reminders of these milestones in the October calendar. You can print your own copies of both of these calendars here.

Good luck with your reading milestones! Remember: Nothing is accomplished overnight. Be patient with yourself and your students, and don’t forget to record your celebrations on this calendar too. Time to celebrate gives us a boost and motivation to go after the next one.

Gravity Goldberg is a literacy consultant and author of Mindsets and Moves: Strategies That Help Readers Take Charge (Corwin, 2015) and coauthor of Conferring With Readers: Supporting Each Student’s Growth and Independence(Heinemann, 2007) in addition to managing her blog. This post is one in a series on how teachers can create more independence in the classroom by embracing new roles. She also can be reached via Twitter. 

We all send our “babies” off to school each day watching our greatest blessings exchange our hands for their teachers’. As they walk away, are you crossing your fingers each day hoping you made the correct choice in school placement?

Although we may worry, we also trust.  We breathe.  And we trust some more.  We trust that the education our children will have is rooted in love, safety, and knowledge. In the classroom there is joy, triumph, fatigue, and worry, although there are also deadlines, communication, paperwork, and management that must be on point to run a successful classroom where students become lifelong learners and thrive. We have to trust that all of that is happening. I know this from both sides of the desk, as the mother of two young boys and as a reading coach.

Until you have really lived the balancing act of a classroom teacher’s job, giving support, suggestions, or mandates can be too abstract and unrelatable. Every day, teachers are expected to reply to parent e-mail by the end of the day, hold guided reading groups, ensure a particular student is completing short-term goals for the individual behavior chart, tend to hurt feelings, celebrate small successes.

This is all to say, “trust me.” Parents, let me be your voice at your child’s school while you are at work. Trust me. Trust me to assist teachers in helping to meet your child’s individual needs. I, too, am balancing the trepidation about the start of school as a mother while also calming the fears of my fellow educators on the other side of the desk as a reading coach. I am walking in two sets of shoes.

Teachers, let me be your voice to administration.  Trust me to walk beside you and guide when necessary as you make literacy decisions for your classroom instruction and for individual students.  Let me be your biggest cheerleader because you have the most important job in the school.  

I want to help you grow professionally.  Sure, sometimes change is hard and feels personal.  Together, we can work through your concerns about change and peel them away like an onion.  The science of reading has changed since many of us have been trained.  You joined the teaching profession because it was your passion to help children, and now we know better how to do that.  Change will not happen overnight, nor will your comfort level with new ideas and strategies.  However, I would not help if I did not share with you up-to-date research and how best to help your students.  I have two voices at school.  My first voice speaks for the children—as their parents would—and what is best for student learning.  My second voice speaks for the teachers and the support they need to be successful.  Let me be those voices.

Traci Black Salari will soon embark on a new journey as the fifth-grade writing and word study teacher at the Whitehurst campus of The Bolles School in Jacksonville, FL.  She holds a master’s degree in reading education from Jacksonville University and is trained in Lindamood Bell reading intervention programs.  As an educator for 15 years, her career includes classroom teacher and learning specialist positions.

It was five minutes before my first freshmen skills class of the day. I stood outside my door and greeted students as they walked in. When the bell rang, I moved away from the door to the front of the classroom. I began to share the learning intention with the class while taking attendance.

About 10 minutes later, Mike charged in.

Mike was a tough kid; rough around the edges and totally disengaged from school. Mike and his buddies caused enough classroom headaches that teachers were weary of them. He and I had, for the most part, a working relationship. He did what I asked him to do with a minimum of pushback, and I sometimes gave him space to do what he needed. 

This morning something was wrong. He was angry; his face was contorted and red. He stormed to his desk and sat down with a thump. I continued explaining the morning’s goal along with the pertinent skills. I asked students to take out paper along with their text.

Mike did nothing. I gave him a couple of sheets of paper and a pencil. He moved them aside and put his head down. I stood next to him and gave the next set of directions. As students were moving their desks to make teams, I leaned over and encouraged him to move to a group.

“Leave me alone!” he shouted into the crux of his arm. A few heads turned in our direction. 

“Mike,” I said softly, “join Devon’s group. You can follow along with him.” He lifted up his head. “I told you, leave me alone! Shut up and leave me alone!” he screamed.

Before the situation escalated further or the language turned colorful, I said, “Mike, let’s go in the hallway for a minute.” I turned to my class and asked them to please review their vocabulary notecards.

Mike stood up with such force that his desk tipped over. I followed him into the hallway where he paced back and forth. I gently closed the classroom door about halfway—wide enough to see and hear my class, but narrow enough to give Mike the attention he deserved.

“OK, what do you need from me?” I asked. I didn’t ask him what was wrong. That answer would come in time. I didn’t need to know what had happened. The situation would reveal itself eventually. Right then, I needed to know how I could get him to a place of learning.

Mike stopped, looked at me, and began ranting about his mother. There had been a disagreement that morning, and he left the house angry, hurt, and frustrated. 

I listened and kept quiet, focusing solely on him. I kindly reminded him to keep his voice down because I didn’t want to bother the students working in my room or alert administration. I didn’t want Mike to feel that his honesty would get him in trouble. This didn’t need to be another referral.

I didn’t correct his language, nor did I correct his feelings. He was angry at his mother, and I was the first adult female he saw that morning. When I asked him to join a group, I was one more person asking one more thing of an already stressed and disenfranchised kid.
When he was done, I asked him to quietly wait in the hallway. I went into my room, grabbed a paper cup and a hallway pass. I explained to my students that I needed to finish the hallway conversation.

Mike had settled down. He wasn’t pacing anymore but leaning against the wall with his head on his chest. I gave him the paper cup and began to write out a pass. 

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Go get some water. Take the pass and walk around the building. I expect you back in five minutes.”

“Wait, you’re not going to write me up?”

“For what? For being angry?  No. I need you to do the best you can to put this away for now. I need you in my room and focused. We’ll talk to the social worker later.”

“Thanks, Mrs. G.” he said sheepishly.

Mike returned to my room within five minutes. He joined a group and did the best he could to be the best student he could on this particular morning.

Could I have handled the situation differently? Yes—but I’m not sure how. I could have sent him to the office for being late to class—but he would have missed more learning. I could have called our Safety Officer and had him removed for his behavior—but to what end? Had I done either of those things, he never would have trusted me again.

The way I handled this situation caused Mike to rethink our relationship. Although it was acceptable; it became stronger. He never raised his voice to me again. He became tardy less often. And most important, I saw a change in his attitude. He was willing to be a part of our classroom community—whatever that meant for him. And every morning, there was an empty cup on his desk that he filled with water. It was my way of saying, relax, breathe, and focus as you begin your day.

About six years later, I had a visitor. Sure enough, it was Mike. He was working as a heating and cooling apprentice with his uncle. He came back to high school for the first time since graduation. He came back to apologize to me.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. G. I know I wasn’t easy. I know I gave you a hard time. Thanks for putting up with me. Thanks for listening,” he said awkwardly.

I knew what he meant. Nearly nine years later, Mike remembered what I had done. I had the chance to get it right and I did. I put my hand on his shoulder and thanked him for coming in and told him how much I appreciated his visit. He told me he was “in the neighborhood and decided to stop in,” but had to get to work. He thanked me again and left.

As he walked down the hall, I smiled. Thank you, Mike. He gave me the opportunity to know that I made a difference. Although all teachers hope that to be true with their students, many of us don’t get the chance to actually hear it. A cup of water, a walk, and a little humanity goes a long way for students like Mike—and for all of us.

Peg Grafwallner is an instructional coach with Milwaukee Public Schools.

Happy New Year! So it’s not New Year’s, but in the world of education, September is traditionally our—educators’—new year. It’s when we have the opportunity to try new ideas and draft resolutions. Soon we’ll hear “this year, we will…” or “we have a new initiative…” echoing in staff meetings. As optimistic as a new initiative may sound, some of us may start thinking, Is this really going to work? I don’t have the time, and when am I going to do that?

Deep down, we all know that the purpose of new initiatives is to continue enhancing the learning experience of our students, but they’re still the cause of discomfort and nervousness, as anything new might be.

When I work with schools that are about to undertake a new initiative, I ask the administration team if they have considered AIR—administration, infrastructure, and resources. I use this as a checklist before launching a new program.

Administration

How much buy-in, support, and understanding does the administration provide? John Maxwell, an expert on leadership, once said, “People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision.” If administrators don’t believe in the new program, how can other teachers buy in? Teachers are smart, and they can quickly see who is “in” and who is “out.”

As an administrative team, standing together as a unified voice is key. Moreover, administrators need to have a strong understanding of what exactly is the new initiative. There will be questions and there likely will not be answers for all of them (yet), but knowing where to seek the answers is appreciated. There isn’t a doubt that the road to successfully implementing something new can be long and arduous. Having administrators understand and acknowledge possible struggles ahead of them is crucial.

Questions to reflect upon: Is the administration team entirely on board? What questions need answers to move forward?

Infrastructure

New initiatives can be viewed as “adding more to my plate.” In that case, reflecting on how full the staff’s plates are now is key. Sometimes, we keep adding to the plates. They don’t become any bigger, but the amount of items keeps increasing. Eventually, something falls off.

If the goal of the new initiative is to enhance student learning, the infrastructure of the school must be equipped to embrace the new initiative. Staff should consider the culture of the school as part of infrastructure. Schools with strong professional learning communities are more inclined to navigate the rifts and tides of a new initiative. Schools where teachers work in a culture of growing, sharing, and learning—rather than one that is siloed or resistant to change—can accomplish great things.

Questions to reflect upon: Do teachers have time to accomplish the initiative? Do teachers need grade-level planning time? Do schedules work for this initiative? What are the logistics necessary for this initiative to work?

Resources

A new initiative requires resources. For a teacher, not having the materials needed to implement the change is frustrating. Some schools attempt to solve this issue by asking teachers to share resources. I have nothing against sharing, but let’s be frank: The last thing teachers want to do on a daily basis is to run down the hallway asking for resources. The initiative can fail as a result of that alone.

Besides material resources, administrators should consider people as resources. Are there people (e.g., a literacy coach) present to support the initiative? By providing “human resources,” schools send a message of the importance of the proposal.

By considering AIR, schools can circumvent the pitfalls of a new initiative. If one or more of these elements are missing or are weak, achieving success with the new initiative may be more of an uphill battle. When there’s a fresh idea for the school or classroom, the last thing you want is for your school to be breathless and gasping for AIR!

Vincent Ventura is the director of LitLife Latin America. As an educator for more than 15 years, he has worked in junior and middle school grades, been a literacy coach, and has been in an international school setting for more than nine years. He consults with schools throughout Central and Latin America, including Colombia, Costa Rica, Curaçao, Guatemala, Mexico, and Suriname.