Claudia and the Genius of Elm Street! Part 1!

[road_baby]

So I started on this book and I was surprised that it wasn't totally boring. I know we're not supposed to like Rosie but I can't help it. I used to be in dance classes too and have to rehearse and do shows so I know what it was like. Of course, I only did dance and my mom wasn't a rabid stage mother. I remember loving doing shows because I got to

Comments

[metamorphstorm]

“‘How can a seven-year-old make Claudia feel so dumb?’ the tagline cries!” - ... I could make Claudia feel dumb, and I was probably the worst student in all but one subject. Thinking about it, though, I’m surprised kids like Myriah and Gabbie Perkins and Karen Brewer don’t make Claudia feel dumb.

Claudia used to be one of my favourite characters - I alternated between her and Mal just because I loved to write and did very well in English class but otherwise struggled to keep my grades from dropping below C- - but now she just annoys me. I’d understand it if she struggled with math, since pretty much everyone I know does (I sure do), or science (fascinating as it is, it’s not easy stuff), but to struggle with everything and to really not care, especially not enough to make a decent effort? I got lucky in the sense that my parents’ attitude was always, “Oh, well, we know you did your best; maybe next time, you’ll do better” and they were always willing to help me, but I was one of those stubborn kids that wanted to do it all myself and prove I was good at everything (I wasn’t, but that didn’t stop me from trying). I think that’s why Claudia stopped being one of my favourites ... I can sort of understand how difficult it must be to have a ‘genius’ older sister and straight-A-student friends (Kristy and Mallory have both been said to have gotten straight A’s, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Stacey or Shannon was also getting top grades) but at the same time, the fact that she seemed to expect her teachers to praise her pitiful efforts while daydreaming about what she’d wear the next day really bothered me.

Great start; I look forward to the other part(s)! :)

[road_baby]

I liked Claudia as a kid too because she was into art and clothes and had long black hair like I did. But I did always think she was pretty dumb and got annoyed by it. I remember in the bad luck book, I thought it was really irritating of her to be whining about going to the library. I mean, it's not like she was going there to study. She was gonna read about witchcraft for crying out loud. And I was the same. I was a bad student and didn't do my work but I still enjoyed learning. I loved to read all kinds of books and read about animals and science and space. It makes me feel like a parent, but it annoys me how much Claudia misses out on because she's set on not being like Janine.

[metamorphstorm]

It might be something she regrets when she’s older - especially when she realizes that her friends also got good grades. Unlike Dawn, Claudia seemed less likely to imitate others, but even so, at thirteen I was still trying hard to be exactly like the people around me.

I guess that the point of Claudia’s difficulties was that many readers could relate to her, but it wasn’t as well-done as it could have been ... people shouldn’t be shamed for having a learning disability, but the books kind of go the opposite way and shame people for being smart, especially people who dare to think words should be spelled properly. And the way the writers always insisted on saying that Claudia didn’t have any problems learning and that she was actually above-average mentally make it sound as though a learning disability would be something to be embarrassed about, but being sloppy and uncaring makes you ‘cool’.

I could never relate to those characters (Kristy, Stacey) who excelled at math or excelled at everything, but for a while I really related to Claudia, just because I tried hard to understand my schoolwork and still failed spectacularly - and then I got older and realized Claudia had never really tried, except in that one book where she’s accused of cheating. All in all, there are a lot of bad messages in Claudia’s books, not just “If you’re good at art, who cares if you can’t spell your own name? Your posters look great!” but also, “If you’re not great at something, don’t try to do any better or people will think you’re cheating,” and “If you think someone you know should try and improve something ‘basic’ that they suck at, you’re a terrible friend; Claudia is great and it shouldn’t matter to you if she can’t spell.”

I guess it’s sort of a sensitive topic for me because people have always suggested that my siblings and I have ‘learning disabilities’ (to use a light, blanket term) but our parents refused to have us tested because labels would make life more difficult. As a result, if I understand it all correctly, the teachers were more or less forced to give some of us remedial work, but because there were no labels for them to understand, they seemed to think we were stupid and/or lazy and treated us that way. I remember giving a difficult Social Studies course my best, and being pretty pleased by my work, but the teachers wouldn’t mark my assignments and instead told me to take easier classes, like gym.

... This turned out longer than I thought ... I'd say 'Sorry' but I guess I'm not, if I'm posting it anyway ... hehe.