Thursday, May 22, 2008
concerning Nothing But the Truth
Reflect on the whole book. Why do you think things happened the way they did? Who is to blame? How do you feel about the characters that were involved? How do you feel about the ending of the novel? Did Miss Narwin make the right choice? Do you think Philip learned his lesson?
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I think the way things got so out of hand, was because they didn't handle the situation early. If Joseph Palleni had explained the situation to the reporter earlier, then the thing wouldn't have gotten so out of hand. Miss Narwin also should have put out her story earlier, but instead she just resigned. I think the ending of the novel is bad, and I think Phillip should have been punished. I do think he learned his lesson, but he should still be punished.
Things happened the way they did because everyone went around the truth. When the principal and school staff were talking about Phillip Malloy they always interrupted each other. In the end everyone got involved in it because they were exaggerating it and no one got to tell what really happened. The characters acted as if they were helping and defending Phillip but they were circulating and making it longer. In the ending Phillip gets send to a new school.I felt really sad for him because when his new teacher asks him to sing the national anthem, he doesn't even know the words for it. She didn't do the right thing because it was not even her fault. The school staff blamed it on her and made her resign. It was all Phillip's fault because he never told his parents what really happened and why he got suspended.I think Phillip did learn his lesson because in the end no one liked him in the school and he had to go to a new school.
"Nothing but the Truth" is one of the weirdest books I've ever read. I think the reason why all of these strange things happened was because of the way Phillip acted. He acted kind of lazy, stubborn, and sneaky. When you deal with such a person you can't expect good but only wierd things to happen, as they did to Ms. Narwin. Its definitely Phillip's fault. Even though Ms. Narwin suspended him for such an inane reason, the following events happened because of Phillip. Yet at the end Phillip couldn't even sing the National Anthem. From my point of view I think of him as one of those people who fight more for their dignity than what they believe is really right. He didn't even know the words but he never gave up! I feel like Ms. Narwin was being pretty unjust for the suspension. Because, who would get suspended for singing the National Anthem. Not only is it just singing its, the NATIONAL anthem. Thats almost like getting in trouble for saying the pledge of alligence out of the blue. I belive in the end Phillip learned his lesson. Even though he won this fight, he wasn't exactly happy about the result.
I think things happened the way they did because of several misunderstandings (people interrupting and not being specific) and also because Philip acted immaturely and was selfish. Philip is the main cause of this fiasco, but the school officials (Seymour, Doane, Palleni) are also to blame because they did not stand up for Miss Narwin even when they knew the truth. Ted Griffen also played a role in this by dramatizing Philip's plight and spreading the word through his speeches to get voted on to School Board. I despise Philip, who only cared about himself, and the school officials' decisions to forsake Miss Narwin. I feel sorry for Miss Narwin, too. The ending of the novel was absolutely terrible; Philip is crying at a new school that doesn't have a track team and Miss Narwin has fled to Florida to escape the unfair criticism she is receiving. Nothing gets any better. If I was Miss Narwin, I would have done exactly what she did; she made the right choice by sending Philip out of the classroom for disrupting and escaping to Florida to live with her sister. I don't think Philip really learned his lesson. He probably couldn't care less about how Miss Narwin feels. I think he was only crying at the end because he didn't get what he wanted; being on the track team and having friends.
I think things happened the way they did because no one really listened to each other and Philip didn't exactly tell the truth. Whenever someone was trying to say something that would have made everything make sense, they were interrupted.
I think Philip and other people such as Dr. Seymour and Dr. Doane were to blame. Philip is to blame because he was humming, but he claimed that he was singing in class. Dr. Doane and Dr. Seymour interrupted people while they were talking. I feel that the ending of the novel is very ironic and makes the whole point of the book clear. Philip didn't even know the words to the song.
I don't think Miss Narwin made the right choice although the school board sort of already made the decision for her. She should have tried to let them let her stay at school and teach some more. It also wasn't really fair for her because in the end everyone blamed her, but it was really Philip's fault.
At the end of the book I don't really think Philip learned his lesson. Instead of trying to clear things up, he just left it and ran away. He might have learned a little, but he probably doesn't really care. Even after everything happened, he thought things would be fine and normal and that he could just go back to Miss Narwin and get extra credit work.
I think things happened the way they did because of the way the first Harrison reporters phrased it, "boy wanted to sing out of patriotism but suspended". If the reporters had told the whole story, including Philip and Miss Narwin's relationship, things would have turned out very differently.
I think Philip Malloy is to blame. He was not really trying to sing the national anthem. Instead, he was just trying to make Miss Narwin angry and annoyed. Philip was indeed breaking the school rule of "stand at quiet, silent attention" and his patriotic rights were not violated.
The ending just pushed Philip even lower, as he complained of not being allowed to sing the national anthem, but when he was allowed to sing it Philip didn't even know the words.
I don't think Miss Narwin made the right choice by resigning because since Miss Narwin was right and Philip was wrong, but since everyone else thought it was vice versa, Miss Narwin just showed that she indeed needed to be "refreshed of American values" by resigning. By resigning she showed everyone that she was wrong, and she needed to take a break from teaching.
I think Philip learned his lesson. When he became famous in newspapers, talk shows etc. nationally, he did was not excited but instead quite depressed and indifferent to it all. I guess he regretted not apologizing to Miss Narwin because he wanted work to be on the track team, and even the track coach turned against him. At his new academy Philip admitted to not knowing the words to the song instead of making up an excuse like "I don't feel like singing."
I think things happened the way they did in the book because of Phillip Malloy. It is mostly Phillip's fault as he was the one who was disturbing Narwin's class and telling lies to his parents and the press. I think that the characters that were involved all had some part of play in the way things turned out. I felt the ending of the novel was interesting, as news would probably get out that Phillip did not know the words of the national anthem, and therefore had made a big fuss about nothing. I think that if any teacher were in Narwin's position, they would have done the exact same thing because Phillip was distracting many people in the class during a time when everyone is used to being quiet and listening to the national anthem. I think that in the end, Phillip learned his lesson because he was sad that most people in the school hated him and that Narwin hated him and had to retire as well.
Everything happened because people didn't listen to the stories of what others heard, causing misunderstandings. Also, many people, such as Philip, refused to say what happened completely, only sticking with what he thought. No one tried to talk everything out and compare stories. Everyone wanted to say what they heard, what they thought.
Everyone is to blame here: Philip for telling HIS version of the story, the principal and other teachers not entirely explaining what happened, Ms. Narwin for not taking the problem seriously in the beginning and clearing things up, and the press for trying to write an interesting story, not minding the real facts. The faults of one person passed onto another, and another, and another until they all collapsed into chaos and confusion.
The ending of the story was a bit sad. Philip just wanted to annoy the teacher simply because of a vendetta, and because of that, he caused such a big fuss and didn't get what he wanted either. He dragged a lot of people into this too: his classmates who liked Ms. Narwin, the press that didn't need to know about this, and Ms. Narwin, who just wanted to improve as a teacher. I think Philip should have tried to act more respectful to Ms. Narwin and put more positive effort into class, instead of trying to get her into trouble.
What choice did Ms. Narwin have? After this mess, who would want to hire her? The school itself didn't want her. The press would only continue to push and prod her to resign. Giving up her job was the only thing left to do.
I can't say that Philip learned his lesson, in the end. He still didn't want to talk about the problem with his parents, and tried to run away by going to another school, even though he knew his parents would have to use his college money. However, that exposed his lie. We can only imagine what happens to Philip after...
This book can show how just one tiny little seed of lies and problems can turn into a hurricane of disasters and misunderstandings that can ruin people's lives. I guess this shows that you should always tell the truth, or then it can cause unnecessary problems for you and others.
1) The people inside the story didn't even check if they got the facts right. Some of them didn't even try to listen to the truth. I think that is the reason why every thing turned out that way.
2) I think that it is all because of Philip that every thing happened the way they did, if he just told the truth in the very beginning or just say sorry to Ms. Narwin every thi9ng will be fine.
3) Some of the characters were very stupid and rude. For example, the vice principle, he could've just let Philip's mom ask her questions and find out about the truth. I think Philip deserves what he got in the end.
4) The ending of the novel is very ironic. Philip didn't get to a track team, since the academy doesn't have a one. and he was revealed that he didn't even know the words in the National Anthem. All this might have earned him a tiny bit of sympathy, but I think he deserves it. Because he didn't tell the truth and made a big deal about everything just because he THINKS that Narwin doesn't like him . 5) Although I do think that Ms. Narwin's choice is sad, but I think it might be the best for her right at that time. But it would be good that she forgive Philip or given him the extra work that he asked for when he asked for it. And of course i know that you can't just for give someone who made you the target of the whole country.
6) And yes, I think he learned his lesson good enough. And hopefully, he doesn't tell lies ever again.
Overall, I liked the book "Nothing But the Truth". It had a very clear message: the media can distort things. I think that things happened the way they did in the book because of the media and Philip's parents. It was Mr. Malloy's idea to talk to Jennifer Stewart; it was this that leaked the story to the press. I liked most of the characters in the book, but I think everyone would have been better off if Ted Griffen and Albert Seymour had stayed out of it. Griffen hyped up the story at the board meetings.By not supporting Miss Narwin, Seymour turned the whole country against her. I think that the end of the novel was abrupt, but the irony put a nice touch on the ending.I think that Miss Narwin made the right choice of retirement because this incident would have made her miserable to continue her teaching career. I think that Philip learned his lesson not to think that he will always get what he wants. In the beginning of the book, he was very cocky and overconfident. At the end, when he was famous, he didn't like the attention he was getting, and became more timid and withdrawn.
The reason the book turned out the way it did was because people don't know how to listen anymore. They didn't want to hear the truth, although they claimed they did, and they only heard what they wanted to hear. The only stories they wanted to see was the one that would be the most dramatic, what they wanted to see. It wasn't about getting the truth, it was about causing a stir and making money. Everyone is to blame except Ms. Narwin and Philip. Ms. Narwin is a good teacher and was only getting fed up with Philip's disruptions, and Philip wasn't going out to warp the truth, he saw things the way he saw them. He didn't want to cause an national uproar, he just wanted to be on the track team. The characters of the novel really lack basic communication skills, especially the reporters and Griffin. I think that the students of the school were right for standing up for Ms. Narwin and trying to clear up the story.
The ending of the novel was really ironic, and I felt really bad for Ms. Narwin who will now retire. Ms. Narwin, a great teacher, was practically forced to retire due to a huge misunderstanding and that "patriotic hero" turned out not to know the words to the star spangled banner.
Ms. Narwin did have a right to make Philip go to the vice principal's office because he had disrupted class and she had already asked him to stop. not to mention that he was HUMMING disrespectfully. unfortunately, i do not believe that Philip learned his lesson, for he is still quite ignorant of what the changes mean, and how they're affecting people.
I think that no one person can take the whole blame for why things happened the way they did, as all the people involved had their faults. The whole problem was mainly caused by miscommunication, as the characters either refused to hear what the other had to say, or kept obstinately believed that they were right, and everyone else was wrong. I think the characters involved all acted very selfishly, and if they had tried to understand the problem better and communicate better, many things would be different, not for the worst. I like stories with happy endings, and this book didn't have one. What was interesting was the ending had a surprising twist that completed the story and gave a finished feeling to it, which I feel stories with unhappy endings lack. Miss Narwin made a selfless choice, in a way, which spared more trouble and problems than the original situation. Though she made the right choice for everyone, except herself, it was a brave move that should have showed everyone what a great person they were losing. I think that Philip started realizing his mistakes at the end of the book, as towards the end he started reacting to what was happening to Miss Narwin basically because of him. I believe Philip realizes some part of what has happened, but understanding will come with time.
I believe that the whole situation and disastrous results were simply because of people not letting others finish their sentences or telling what they in fact really witnessed. If only Dr. Palleni would have simply stated, "We do not have a rule against singing the national anthem, we have a rule against creating disturbances in class" and the reporter would stop interrupting him, such an uproar would have been stopped. If we all stated what we thought and respected what others have to say as well, Miss Narwin wouldn't have gotten hate mail and the scenario would have been calmed.
In my opinion everyone is to blame. Phillip in the first place for being irrational ("Why can't I sing?"), the school officials for being very vague and unclear as to what their disciplinary actions are, his parents for refusing to hear both sides of the story, and the general public as well.
My feelings about the involved characters were greatly varied. In the beginning we could all tell that Phillip was rebellious, but after the national uproar in which he was not fully responsible for (he really didn't want it to become so big) I found him obnoxious and a typical twit, especially when he tried to go back to Miss Narwin for extra credit. Phillip had just ruined the woman's career, and all he could think about was making the track team! I was not sympathetic at all to his plight, with the other students hating him. As for Miss Narwin, I just felt sorry for her. A mountain was made out of a molehill. Miss Narwin was unfortunately caught in the middle of the mess, and ultimately scape-goated as the "patriotism squashing" old hag. I believe that the other characters should have looked at both sides of the story. Phillip's supporters rallied on that he was just a young man being proud of his country, and yet he didn't even know the words to the national anthem? This ending was certainly ironic, and I believe Phillip finally felt the massiveness of what he had done.
I had mixed feelings about Miss Narwin's resignation. On one hand I had hoped she would ignore the haters; after all, everyone from the teachers to the students like her and really know the truth. On the other I feel that resigning was the right choice. I certainly would feel uncomfortable teaching under such harsh media scrutiny!
Overall the book was a lesson in human miscommunication. I enjoyed the story and the format it was written in.
I think that in the book "Nothing But the Truth" ended the way it did because of the mistakes that people had make previously in the book. As the book went on, I noticed a lot of conversations of people who worked for public radios, TV shows, and newspaper and the people who were involved in Phillip's suspension. In these conversations, the public people never listened all the way to what Miss Narwin or Dr. Doane said. They always interrupted them and didn't let them finish. I think that this led to misunderstanding and hatred by Phillip's schoolmates agasint Phillip at the end of the book. I blame Phillip for the whole thing because he started all of this. If he had listened to Miss Narwin the first time or at least apologized when he was told to, Phillip wouldn't have been suspended and gotten his parents upset. If he listened to Miss Narwin, no newspapers or radio shows would have gotten involved and Miss Narwin wouldn't have had to resign from teaching. He would also have had no damage to his social life if he had followed the rules. I think Phillip's parents are way to over-protective and spoil their child too much. I don't think that they should always take his side at all times. If Mr. Malloy didn't go to their neighbor and the reporter, things wouldn't have gotten so big and the issue will pass by and soon be forgotten. I think Phillip should talk about his emotions more and stand up for himself. If he hadn't been so private about himself, he might have stopped Mr. Malloy from making such a big deal about the suspension. The school officials should have been more understanding and listened to Phillip all the way. Since the vice president didn't listen to Mrs. Malloy until the end, it caused a misunderstanding and a suspension for Phillip. I think the reporter and the radio host is a little obnoxious. If they had listened to both sides of the story, they wouldn't always be on Phillip's side and give Miss Narwin a hard time. If they were neutral, I think that things would have been a lot easier and less hurtful. I think that the ending of the novel was a little abrupt. It didn't answer all of my question. It fell like there should be more of the book, but the rest of the pages were ripped out. I think Miss Narwin shouldn't have resigned from teaching because it seems like Phillip's side of the story was true and Miss Narwin was backing down. However, if Miss Narwin stayed at the school and taught the kids, it would show the kids that she isn't afraid of what is going on because the story isn't true and Miss Narwin didn't do anything wrong. I think that Phillip learned his lesson. But he would have learned it an easier way if he had apologized to Miss Narwin and listened to the rules.
I think things happened the way it did because Philip's dad told him to stand up for himself. However, when he was "humming" the national anthem and got in trouble. His dad stuck up for him, and they were on his side one hundred percent. However, normal parents, would discipline their child. Also, everybody was twisting Ms. Narwin's words around and made her look like the bad person. Also, everybody else their had nothing to do with this situation, it was only the Malloy's family and the school's problem.
In my opinion, I think that if Philip's Dad didn't make such a big deal out of it, everything would be okay, except for Philip getting suspended. However, the reporter and radio cast had nothing to do with anything of this, and if they did, they would see it from both side of the story.
I feel bad for Philip and Ms. Narwin, but mostly for Ms. Narwin, because they only took Philip's side and they didn't even bother listening to Ms. Narwin's side of the story. They took Philip's side because they thought it was wrong to suspend Philip because he was singing the national anthem. However, the real reason didn't even get out. The real reason was because he was interpreting the class and i didn't like how Ms. Narwin was getting hate mails.
I personally didn't like the end of the book, because all of this trouble wasn't necessary and his parents even spent his collage money to go to a private school, just to make him happy. Also, he didn't even say anything to his parents; all he said was that he wanted to move.
I think Ms. Narwin did the right choice, because if i was Ms. Narwin i think I'd do the same.
I don't think Philip learned his lesson because he didn't face his problems. He just left, and hoped it gets away.
I think things went the way the did because everyone kept lying about what really happened. I think Philip is to blame because he should have just been truthful about why he was suspended. If he had told the truth, then all the newspaper stories and unwanted publicity wouldn't have happened. Ms. Narwin made the right choice by choosing to resign because if she didn't, then the district would just be using the Summer program to keep her away from teaching. In the end, Philip learned his lesson. It's really embarrassing to not know the words to a song you caused so much commotion about.
I think things happened the way they did because everyone had something to say, but they were always interrupted by someone else. In the beginning, Philip told his parents about the whole Star Spangled Banner story. He exaggerated so much that it kind of turned into a lie.
I feel that the whole problem wasn't only Miss. Narwin's fault. She didn't want Philip to be suspended. It was all the vice principal's fault. He made the no singing rule up. I think the superintendent and the principal are both messed up. They said that the announcement was to help Miss. Narwin out, but it was only about the budget. Philip is a very negative boy too. He was the only one who disliked Miss. Narwin. Everybody else loved her. Philip is to blame!
I think the ending of the novel wasn't very ironic. He only hummed the Star Spangled Banner. He never sang it. I think everyone twisted his words a bit. He said that he was only humming it, but Mr. Malloy told everyone that he was suspended for singing the star spangled banner. That's why I don't think that it was that ironic.
Personally, I think Miss. Narwin made the wrong decision. She should have put up a fight. It could've been her victory. She wasn't the bad guy in the book. The superintendent and the principal weren't on her side at all. If I was her, I would stay at that school just to bug them. She loved teaching too. She stayed at that school for such a long time.
I think Philip did not learn his lesson. All he did in the end was run away from his problems. The whole thing happened because of him. He always thought that he was right and never listened to what Miss. Narwin had to say. He did all that, but in the end, he didn't face the problem.
Reflect on the whole book. Why do you think things happened the way they did? Who is to blame? How do you feel about the characters that were involved? How do you feel about the ending of the novel? Did Miss Narwin make the right choice? Do you think Philip learned his lesson?
First, I think things happened the way it did because of lack of communication and misinterpretation. When the interviewer called the superintendent, principal, vice principal, and teacher, they all responded differently, so the interviewer didn't know whether there really was a rule against singing the national anthem at that school.
I think the blame should go to 4 people: Phillip, Narwin, Pallini, and Jake Barlow. First is Phillip, because he caused the whole incident by not following the teacher's instructions. Second is Narwin, because she misinterpreted the singing as a rude disruption to the national anthem. Third is Pallini, because he did not properly explain things to the interviewer, and fourth is the talk show host, because he spread this issue to all of the US.
I feel that all of the characters are just accusing each other and not helping each other to solve this problem.
The ending of this novel was a bit sad, because it ruined two lives and an entire school. Ms. Narwin, a fully capable teacher, is pressured to quit because of it, and Phillip doesn't get what he wants. All of his friends now hate him, his dream of being on the track team is shattered, and he is now spending college money to go to a school he doesn't like. Also, because of this incident, the school doesn't get their budget, so they are practically ruined too.
Ms. Narwin didn't make the right choice to send Phillip to the office. She should have just stopped it there and told him the reason why he shouldn't sing.
I don't feel that Phillip learned his lesson either. He probably is just feeling angry and sad that this happened to him.
1.I think that it happened this way so that Phillip would learn his lesson.
2. I think Phillip is to blame, because of his selfishness, Ms. Narwin, who isnt a bad teacher at all, turns into the most hated person in the US. If Phillip had just improved his grades and not argue, this would have never happened.
3.I really think that Phillip is a snotty boy who is very arrogant and self centered. He exaggerates too much. It didn't only hurt others around him, but it also hurt himself. All the students in the class witnessed what happened in class that day and most sided with Ms. Narwin. Ms. Narwin was a poor victim of Phillip, she was just trying to do her job. When they said "a moment of silence" Ms. Narwin had to respect that and tell Phillip to be quiet.
4. I didn't really like the ending. Ms. Narwin is still the most hated woman in the US. And Phillip didn't learn his lesson, because he ran away from the problem again.
5. I did not think Ms. Narwin chose the right choice. She should have fought back because it wasn't her fault in the first place. If she really did love literature, she would have argued back instead of retiring.
6. I think he did learn his lesson in the very end of the book. He needed to be put on center stage and embarrassed to admit what he did wrong.
Nothing But the Truth expressed a conflict developed from a group of people that all had their own views and opinions on one particular event. And they each refused to accept the truth.
Things happened the way they did because every character only wanted to believe what they thought was right, which lead to misunderstandings and twisted stories. For example, Philip's parents and Jennifer Stewart made it seem like the whole thing was Ms. Narwin's fault and that the reason for Philip's suspension was because he was being patriotic. Some of the other characters, such as Albert Seymour and Joseph Palleni, didn't really get a chance to express their side of the story, which was that Philip was causing a disruption several times in class which resulted in his suspension.
I think everyone in this story is at fault for this mishap. Philip was wrong in disobeying the teacher, Miss Narwin was wrong in assuming that Philip was "singing" in order to cause a distraction and to somehow "mock" her, Jennifer Stewart only wrote about Philip's side of the story and made the school look bad, Albert Seymour used Miss Narwin's letter against here to get her resigned, etc.
I feel that the characters weren't really open and willing to hear the others' opinions on the issue. If they all had just listened to each other instead of cutting in and expressing their OWN opinions, they would've figured out the real reason why this whole thing even started.
I liked the ending of the novel and I thought it was very suitable for the story. Philip's final words, "I don't know the words," showed that in reality, all of this drama occurred because of a misunderstanding of each other's words. He wasn't even singing the national anthem. He wasn't even being patriotic. Everyone was wrong about all the details of the story.
I personally didn't like Miss Narwin's choice of resigning and moving to be with her sister. I think she should've fought a little more to get her side of the story out to the public and to show that she was right in some ways. It seemed like she easily gave up and I think she could've somehow persuaded the public if she had stayed and ignored all of the hate-telegrams.
I think Philip did learn his lesson. He was blaming the whole thing on Miss Narwin and at the end, I think he realized that a lot of it was his fault as well. He probably also learned how serious a misunderstanding like that could turn out.
In the book,"Nothing but the Truth", there was a lot of misunderstandings between the argument about Philip Malloy. I think things would've gone better or smoother with the argument if the people would just listen to each other, and then comment because a lot of times, they don't even let one another finish talking before they get interrupted by someone else. Ms. Narwin was arguing that Philip broke the rule of silence during announcements. Others were saying that there was no rule that anyone wasn't allowed to sing the National Anthem. There were two arguments going on at one time, and was revolving around one person, Philip.
I would blame everyone who was involved in the argument except Philip because to resolve an argument, you have to listen to what everyone says and then comment or argue against theirs. Everyone one thought that they were on the same page, even though they weren't, so that's what made the argument worse.
I feel sorry for Ms. Narwin because people said she was one of the best language arts teachers and she retired because of all the things that made it seem Ms. Narwin was a bad teacher. Philip was a nice boy, but he doesn't really think very much. Getting so many people involved in what used to be a small argument, and then turned into a huge argument, was strange. I don't think that the argument should have gotten to the newspaper. I think it went too far.
The ending of the novel was quite strange. How could Philip forget the National Anthem when the whole argument was about singing the National Anthem? I don't think the ending was very good because when Ms. Narwin retired, it was partly because of the argument about Philip singing the National Anthem.
In a way, I think Ms. Narwin did the right choice of retiring. I still think that she shouldn't have retired because Ms. Narwin was a good teacher and a lot of students liked her.
I don't really think Philip learned his lesson because when the whole argument was about him singing the National Anthem, and then thinking that if he appoligized to Ms. Narwin, he could raise his grade.
I think that things happened the way they did because of lack of communication. Whenever somebody was trying to explain the situation to somebody else, they were always interrupted, and the whole message was misunderstood. For example, when Mrs. Malloy was trying to explain what she thought of the situation to Dr. Palleni, he wouldn't let her finish.
I think that this whole mess is Phillip's fault, because he kind of bent the truth when he told it to his parents. He told them that he was suspended for humming the national anthem, so they thought there was a rule against that, which resulted in the huge uproar. The truth is that he was suspended for not being quiet, but because he made it sound like it was Miss Narwin's fault, the whole thing got out of hand. I also think that Dr. Palleni is to blame, because Miss Narwin tried to stop him from suspending Phillip, but he did anyways. Also, he was the one that didn't make matters clear. He didn't inform the principal of the action, and he wouldn't talk to Jennifer Stewart, the news reporter. Dr. Palleni wouldn't listen to anybody, and he did what he thought was right, even though it wasn't really.
I feel sorry for Miss Narwin, because the whole nation blamed her for Phillip's suspension, even though she told Dr. Palleni not to suspend Phillip. Also, the nation thinks that Miss Narwin was a bad teacher, because she got Phillip suspended for singing the national anthem. The truth was that she was just following the rules, and since Phillip was being disruptive, she decided to send him out of the room. She had no idea that this simple action would result in national uproar.
The ending of the novel wasn't very good, because it doesn't say how everything turned out. It was also kind of sad, because Phillip didn't really want to move away. It was only because everybody at school was mad at him for getting Miss Narwin fired. Also, the teachers were kind of hating him too. I feel kind of sorry for him.
I think Miss Narwin was doing the right thing by sending Philip out, because she was just doing what she thought was right. It was Phillip and Dr. Palleni that blew things out of proportion. None of it was really Miss Narwin's fault.
I think Phillip learned his lesson about how something you can't control the truth and it gets out of hand.
I think that the things happened the way they did because of the media. The whole story was misinterpreted by the media. News reporters tried to juice up their articles by claiming that Phillip was "singing" loudly, while the whole time, he was just humming along with the tape. It spread throughout the country with in a few days' time, leaving mixed feelings, such as accusations. It then became the district vs. the media and the public.
I blame Phillip for all the upset. Many people will side with him, with the argument of having rights and being patriotic. But examining the actual event will show you that Phillip did not sing the song to be patriotic. Phillip is very braggy, boasting, and always caring about himself. I believe he doesn't care at all about having patriotic pride or rights. He was probably just trying to get attention. Maybe, from Allison Doresett. The reader will never know the real reason. But chances they were not for patriotic cause.
I believe that many characters in the book sided with the district, but acted as if the opposite, with Phillip. For example, Ted Griffen, had mentioned the incident in his speech, saying he will put this "unacceptable" behavior to a halt. But I believe that he only used that to ensure voters that he himself was the best candidate in the election. He saw an opportunity to win a race and attention, and he took it.
I thought that the ending of the book was very unfortunate for the reader to left not hanging, but confused. The reader would probably liked to have had other questions answered, such as, "What happened to Phillip or Narwin in the long run?" Now, when I see in a store, a book titled Avi, the book will be put back on the shelf.
I believe that Narwin made the right decision. I would want to move away from that unorganized district ASAP.
I don't think Phillip learned his lesson. He still believes he can break rules like that, and claim he is being "patriotic." That,I believe is unacceptable.
I think that the whole thing happened because people weren't listening to each other and they only thought got evidence of their version of truth. If the vice principal had listened to Ms. Malloy at the parent-teacher conference then it would have been resolved right then and there.
I think everyone has played a part in the rapid downfall. If the parents and teachers listened to each other, Miss Narwin spoke up, or the principal, the vice principal didn't think that it was all going to quiet down, then maybe the conflict wouldn't lead to such dramatic ends.
I feel really bad for Miss Narwin, because a lot of people think that she's a really nice teacher. She didn't do anything wrong like Phillip and his parents(and the whole country) though she did. I feel that Phillip is funny, but he is very egotistical. I understand why some kids hate him for making Miss Narwin withdraw in the end. Everyone else was just stupid enough to believe the story that the news reporter wrote. Jake Barlow wouldn't listen to anyone that thought that it wasn't the whole entire story, even though those people were right.
The ending was really sad, Miss Narwin moves away and Phillip goes to a new school. The whole thing was quite ridiculous, and ironic. After all that the newspaper said about getting kicked out for singing the national anthem, he didn't even know the words to the song.
I don't think that Miss Narwin made the best choice, because in this way, it was like admitting that she was wrong. She backed down and basically ran away from her problems. I could understand that,but it probably would have turned out better if she had stayed. She had a lot of supporters at the school and she could try to get another newspaper to publish her side of the story.
I think that Phillip finally learned his lesson, because it was one of those lessons that you never forget. Phillip probably will accept the fact that some teachers are more like him more than others.
Reflect on the whole book. Why do you think things happened the way they did?
Many of the unfortunate things happened, like Ms. Narwin getting kicked out of the school, because of miscommunication, misunderstanding, and misinterpretation. Also, the press was involved. That's ALWAYS bad. ^^
Who is to blame?
If I had to name one person, I'd say Philip, for "warping the truth" and what really happened. But actually there were many people to blame. The press is always one, but individuals like Dr. Doane, who would interrupt a conversation before he got to know the whole picture, what the other person thought, were to blame too. The talk show host, Jake Barlow, was also to blame (along with the rest of US) for saying all these mean, hurtful, and untrue things without knowing the whole picture. The original reporter should've asked Ms. Narwin on her opinion, but the media gets its money from startling news and information, so... yeah. The one person involved who was least to blame was probably Ms. Narwin, as for she only wanted to help, but couldn't get her voice out on what happened. Originally she didn't even want to suspend Philip. There is not one specific person to blame, instead many - up to the whole US!
How do you feel about the characters that were involved?
I feel that Philip should grow up, and stop running away from his problems and expect them to get better. He's already ruined Ms. Narwin's life along with his parents and his own. We also see the power of talk shows and the press and how they affect our lives. I believe Philip's parents are too protective, or else Philip wouldn't have turned out like this - unable to face reality. I think that Allison is actually a nice, sensible girl and has a right of being angry with Philip. Philip also bases how he thinks of people too much on first-impression. Basically Philip should "grow up."
How do you feel about the ending of the novel?
The ending of this novel was similar to The Giver's, as for the fact that it's open-ended with no specific, "this is what happened later" or "everything went back to normal" ending. With this book, I believe the ending fit, for it was pointless to write more unless Philip learned his lesson or something, but if Avi wanted to write more it should be in another book. The ending fit in my opinion.
Did Miss Narwin make the right choice?
I think Ms. Narwin made the right choice, because she'd get kicked out of the school eventually with the public all criticizing her.
Do you think Philip learned his lesson?
No, no of course not! Philip in my opinion hasn't changed, and will probably run away from his problems all his life, until he grasps the effects of his attitude. Philip is still "childish" and definitely didn't learn his lesson.
I believe that this small situation was made into a huge controversy, because the people involved were playing a giant game of telephone. It is a known fact, that when you tell someone a piece of information and they relay that information to someone else, that it will be a slightly different story. In the case of Phillip Malloy, he swapped the word humming for singing, and told the reporter that the reason for his suspension was because he was singing, not the true reason, that he was causing a disturbance. I do believe that it is mainly Phillip's fault, but not entirely. He didn't really know what he was getting himself into, when his dad asked him to talk to the reporter. And of course, reporters are infamously known for re-wording and changing the story a bit. So from article after article the story twisted itself bit by bit, in Phillip's favor. I feel bad for the school district, and all of the authorities at Phillip's school, because they were not expecting the situation to escalate to this level. His principal, Dr. Doane, didn't even know about the situation, until she was interviewed by the first reporter. I think that all of the school authorities that were involved, should've had a meeting and straightened out what really happened with each other. Because, it made them sound disorganized and like bad administrators, because they had no idea what the other was saying. I enjoyed the end of the novel, because Phillip got atleast a little bit of what he deserved. By being embarrased after the whole controversy he'd caused, for not knowing the the lyrics to the national anthem. Even though his parents allowed him to switch schools I just kind of wanted him to suffer for what he'd done to Miss Narwin, and the entire school in fact. I do believe Miss Narwin made the best choice he could, with her situation. And I half believe that Phillip learned his lesson, by switching schools, it makes it seem like he just runs away from his problems and he could exaggerate stories still. I am glad that people did respond to him negatively though, to give him a taste of the embarrasment he's caused other people.
I think things happened the way they did because Philip was really selfish and instead of going to Miss Narwin and asking for the make up work, he thought it would be better to try and make a scene.Even then, the whole story could have been different if only Philip hadn't kept lying about everything. I think Philip is mostly to blame, but Dr. Seymour and Dr. Doane were also to blame because instead of listening to both sides of the story, they tried to just blame Miss Narwin so that they could stop all the bad publicity and lessen the blow of the budget cut.
I feel really sorry for Miss Narwin because she was forced to resign even though she had never done anything wrong to start with. It was never her fault but it was her that everything was blamed on. But I also feel sorry for Philip, because I don't think he meant for all that to happen.He just wanted to get back on the track team. One of the saddest things to me was that even after everything that happened, he couldn't be on the track team.
I didn't really like the ending although I could understand the irony of it.
I think that Miss Narwin made the wrong decision because by resigning she convinced most of the world that she did in fact need to be re-taught.
I do think that Philip learned his lesson because although most people would be excited to have so much publicity, he seemed more upset than happy.
Things got way out of hand because the problem was not treated early enough, and the problem developed too quickly for people the handle. Everyone that had to do with this book, all had different opinions, or took one side of the argument. The staff and a couple of students was all on one side, and the Philip Malloy side was everyone else. I do not think that Miss Narwin did not do the right thing because she was the one who made Philip exit the room. None of the reporters had her side of the story. I absolutely think that Philip learned his lesson by not making things a big fuss or problem.
Things happened the way that they did due to the lack of communication. Everybody in the story had their own opinions, views, and interpretations of what happened. Every single character seemed to have a different version of what they considered the "truth" and inevitably things got a little out of hand. The characters all believed what they wanted to believe, and this resulted in a big misunderstanding. In the beginning when Philip told his parents the story of his suspension, he wasn't telling them Ms. Narwin's side of the story. He was just telling his version of the truth. This seemed to be serious trend throughout the whole story.
In my opinion everyone contributed to the problem but the one person who really stood out for me was, Philip. He was the person who started the whole thing. I think that he was selfesh, untruthful, and manipulative. He was the reason for the suspension, not Ms. Narwin. He didn't follow the rules and I think that he totally deserved what he got. If I were Ms. Narwin, and I had warned Philip multiple times to stop disturbing the class, then I would have done exactly what she did. I felt that Philip was also the cause of the issue leaking to the media. I feel that if Philip hadn't twisted the story so much when he told his parents, then the whole thing would have blown over eventually. I thought that it was incredebly childesh for Philip to belive that the reason he was failing english was based solely on the fact that Ms. Narwin hated
him. It seemed that throughout the book Philip always found a way to blame everything on others. Whether it was that Ms. Narwin hated him or simply that he "didn't know." Nothing was ever his fault.
I didn't like any of the characters except Ms.Narwin. I felt that she was really genuine and that she really did have a passion for teaching and helping students succeed. I felt really bad for her and I was on her side throughout the whole book. On the other hand, the rest of the characters were all very selfish. They all just had to jump in and tell their sides of the story, leaving no space for the truth.
I relly liked the ending and I felt that it was really funny and ironic.It was really suitable for the story and I felt that it was a perfect way to end the story. Everyone seemed to be on Philip's side when he brought up the whole idea of wanting to be patriotic. The whole story kind of grew on that idea.After all, he just wanted to sing the National Anthem and express his undying love for his beloved country. In the end when you find out that he never even knew the words it was so shocking. It just shows how big something can get if not properly handled. It turned out that no one had there facts straight and they were all wrong about the incident.
I personelly didn't agree with Ms. Narwin's choice of resigning and moving away. I was totally on her side and I felt that she should have done more to get her side of the story out. When she almost got her story out but it was dropped, I was sure that she would find another way to stand up for her rights. When she failed to do so, I have to say, I was a little disappointed. She just gave up and ran away and that was a little cowardly.
In the end, I do feel that Philip learned his lesson. I think that he realized that most of what happened was his fault and that he was to blame for his actions not Ms.Narwin. He also learned that there are consequences to everything and that he can't just get away with being untruthful. He realized just how serious a little misunderstanding can get.
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