"Its not up to me..."

In the forth session the group talks about Brendan being gay. They talk about how a petition is signed every year saying that every boy refuses to change in the same locker room as Brendan.
Susan is shocked to see that Randy signs the petition..
Susans father comes home from the conference and brings the kids tee-shirts. He talks to Tom about the baseball team telling Tom that he is not allowed to embarass him. Thi upsets Tom and Susan because she knows that she embarasses him.
At the next session, Susan is attacked Amber points out that she has begun looking much nicer because Tracee has bullied her into feeling awful about herself.
Then Kale is attacked for his nickname which seems to have gone around the school. He says it doesnt bother him but we can all see it does.
I am shocked by the way Amber stuck up for Susan! I never thought anyone was going to. However i was so upset when everyone attacked Brendan for being gay, thats just not fair. The meetings are getting better though and everyone is starting to feel comfortable speaking, which i like.

"Why dont you wear nicer clothes?"

Susan attends the third session. At this session, everyone attacks her for her outfit choices. However, Randy sticks up for her because he knows how hard it was for Susan to lose her mother. The group calls her a dyke and say shes extremely fat.
Susan asks her dad for nicer clothes and he tells her to look through her mothers old clothing.. This crushes Susan. Susan waits tell her father leaves for the weekend then looks thhrough the clothing. Tom is acting sketchy by leaving the house with a folded note. Susan asks him where he is going and he says to his friends house. Then tom says how can you sit in this house alone id go crazy. Susan gets very upset by this and after her brother leaves she says "Tom you werent alone... I was here."
This book keeps getting sadder. I feel so bad for the way Susan is being treated. Im glad no one in our school goes through what Susan has gone through!!

Flashback... "Moms Death"

Susan is only eleven and her brother Tom is only twelve. Its over spring break and her dad yells to them to get out of the house.
They take off running and go to Axle Park. On their way, they pass an ambulance headed towards their house. They find that Kale and his brother are in the park trying to kill a cat. This upsets Susan.
When the two return home, their mother is not home and their father never mentions her again...

This was an awful chapter to read. I feel so bad for Susan because she never got to say goodbye to her mother. I could never imagine losing my own mother... :/

Chapters 7-9

As Susan gets home from the first session, her cat is waiting for her in the window.  As she is trying to relax in her room, she gets a call from a boy that says she is cute and he wants to go out with her.  Susan takes it as a joke because it has happened to her many times before.  
Susan begins to tell Mr. Duffy, the principle, that she doesn't understand why the class is filled with real kids.  Mr Duffy doesn't understand why Susan doesn't feel real.  As they enter the second session, Mr. Duffy assigns the class seating so that they can get to know each other.  
Amber shows her true skin and insults both Brendan and Susan by not calling them by their first name but calling them him and her... 
Mr. Duffy assigns each student a partner and makes them have interviews to get to know each other.  
Susan begins to admire Randy as he stands up for Brendan when Kale begins to make fun of him.
As susan leaves the second session, Kale stops her and asks to borrow her phone but she says no and as she turns away, he pulls her hair and calls her a "Fat B****."
Not many people know about her mother having cancer a few years back and i think that it hurts her still.
Her mother dies of cancer.
I think that this is definitely like a regular high school because the school has so many groups that do not understand each other.  it bothers me too read about how people are treated just because they are not like everyone else...

The First Session...

In the first session with the principal, Susan is introduce to her "classmates." A boy named Randy Callahan, whose considered a major jock/hot guy in the school... A boy named Kale Krasner, who seems to pick on everyone... A girl named Tracy, who Susan seems jealous of because of her small weight... A girl named Amber, who is rude but yet mysterious... And finally Brendan, who is picked on for being gay... 

The session starts with each student introducing themselves. Then, a small fight breaks out over what justice really is. Finally the meeting ends and Susan is the first out because she doesnt want to be caught an made fun of. However, Brendan catches up to her and says he wants to talk to her and be friends. 

This book is sad because it is demonstrating what goes through a persons mind that has
been picked on or made fun of. However, i enjoy reading it!! I feel that many kids in high
school could relate to this book so far because we often dont know our identies in high school.

The first few chapters...

So far in Alt Ed, i have been introduced to several characters.  The main character, Susan, is struggling with people calling her FAT and always avoids people.  This i think i can relate to our school because i know people that are picked on for being fat or ugly or not cool enough.  I think this book is going to end up being sad because the main character has already said that she is depressed from being picked on.  The principle of the school they are in is setting up a group to help the students cope with what they are going through by talking to each other.  There is another boy in the book that can relate to the main character because he is picked on constantly for being GAY... its different and slightly upsetting to see the way these kids are treated because they are different...

The principal decides to hold sessions to help elminate problems in the school...