Winner, Ellen; Karolyi, Catya von.  Giftedness and egalitarianism in education: a zero sum?
 NASSP Bulletin. Feb. 1998: p 47.

One the main focuses of my story is to show the plight of the gifted child.  For a long time gifted children went unrecognized and were placed in classes that did not provide the mental challenge they often needed.  This article recognizes the mental challenge required of gifted children and calls for classes to help gifted children develop their own abilities.  Winner and Karolyi also add in the end that without these classes, children may feel “isolated, bored, or unhappy.”  I wanted to challenge this idea with Barbara’s character.  She feels isolated and unhappy even though she is separated into gifted classes.  It is this isolation and labeling she receives because of her giftedness that prompts many of her social problems.

Kirchner, Jake. The web’s hip- hop future.  PC Magazine. Aug. 1, 1999: p 28.

 Another main theme in the story will be the Internet and the influence it is taking in our society.  This article relates young peoples’ increasing use of the Web- for entertainment, information, and communication.  Increasing human reliance on the Internet for just about anything is an issue I wanted to address because it seems potentially isolating and impersonal.  Statistics show that in two years we will see a 155% increase in children’s use of the Internet.  I wanted to bring the issue of children’s use because it seems unusual and deserving of skepticism.  This article states that we don’t think of the Internet as “an extension of the otherwise pervasive youth culture.”  The Internet has always been, supposedly, adult- oriented.  This is changing with increasing use by young adults;  this fact may mark a need for reformation on the Web.

Klein, Reva.  Naughty toys and dirty pictures.  Times Educational Supplement. Oct. 20, 1995:
p 20.

With this increasing use comes increasing exposure, and potential danger, for children.  This article relates certain ill- effects of the Internet on children.  Besides the pornography we all know is readily available on the Web, there is information on sex abuse, glue- sniffing, and auto-eroticism.  Besides these obviously negative aspects, there is information on social/cultural issues, such as racism and sexism.  As the WWW is totally open to any opinions, viewpoints, and worldviews, a child may often encounter sites promoting white power, male domination, or anarchy.  These are some of the issues I may choose to delve into with my story.

Lukefahr, James L.  Eluding pornographers, predators, and peddlers: Internet safety for
children.  Contemporary Pediatrics. Nov. 1999: p 141.

 Also concerning the accessible Internet is the realm of chat rooms.  Barbara meets most of her “friends” in online chat rooms and I wanted to expose some of the potential dangers there.  This article talks of the dangers of the Internet to children (and all naïve adults), and specifically addresses chat rooms.  Basically, there are crazy people in this world, and they can anonymously hang out on the Internet.  Young adults think talking online is exciting and new and approach it with excitement.  Lukefahr says children should be taught to approach chat rooms with caution, or possibly parental guidance.  Barbara does not have parental guidance, and although she does appear smart, her total isolation could lead her to make a naïve decision to have a friend.  This, as I see it, is a potential danger in the world of online chat rooms- hopelessness combined with easy access to online “friends.”
 
Schneider, Barry H.  A multimethod exploration of the friendships of children considered
withdrawn by their school peers.  Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. April 1999:         p 115.

Barbara is truly isolated from social connections.  This article explores the friendships of both children perceived as withdrawn, and children perceived as part of the group.  I was curious for my story exactly how Barbara would react to the friend I am going to create for her.  Would she be cold, attached, standoffish…?  Schneider reported in his study that children who were generally isolated generally had “greater closeness and helpfulness.”  The study noted that although there was less verbal communication, there was also less competition between the isolated individual and his/her friend.  This seems to deny what many studies say about the problematic nature of withdrawal, but it also gave me new insight into Barbara’s character.

Swiatek, Mary Ann.  An empirical investigation of the social coping strategies used by gifted adolescents.  Gifted Child Quarterly. Summer. 1995: p 154.

 The issues of giftedness and isolation arise in this article, two conditions which Barbara tackles with.  This article relates how, during adolescence, a young adult can be torn between the over-riding social normality of conformity, and the underlying maturity to follow their own path.  Gifted students usually suffer this dilemma most often.  This conflict creates unique challenges for the young adult: fitting in vs. being smart, for example.  This arises in Barbara’s life as well.  She is torn between her love of knowledge and her need for human contact.  I am not sure how it will end, but this will most likely be the brunt of the internal struggle.

Why kids don’t like very smart girls.  USA Today.  Jan. 1992: p 5. (author unknown)

 This article helped me to decide whether or not I wanted my character to be a male or a female.  After I wrote in Barbara, I started to have doubts, and thought I might like writing a boy more.  When I came across this article, I knew Barbara had to stay Barbara.  Although the article is brief, it relates how very intelligent girls tend to be the least popular in school.  It notes that gifted boys play and socialize more often than gifted girls, and still perform well academically.  Gifted girls are viewed as “humorless, competitive, and too honest.”  This is a horrible position for smart young women to be in, and I wanted to point this out in my story.

A Modern Supermom.  Ebony.  May 1995: p 24 (author unknown)

 This article relates a “supermom,” a mother who works full- time, is single, and finds time for her children.  The working single mom is an issue in the story of Barbara and I wanted to find a new perspective on the issue.  In this day, the idea of the supermom is exalted and admired (instead of looked down upon, as witnessed in this article).  Barbara’s mom seems to have no issues with her parenting ability, although Barbara sees the matter differently.  This article points out the issue when it runs through the daily life of Pamela Amos.  She wakes up, fixes breakfast, takes Chris to school, works until 7:00 pm, comes home, fixes dinner, does the dishes, laundry, checks Chris’s homework, spends quality time with him until his bedtime at 9:00 pm.  The fact that this article exalts this mother as a supermom,  yet she probably only spends 30 minutes of “quality time” with her son makes me question the praise.  I wanted to examine this issue in my story.
 

Bibliography (Books)
 

Blume, Judy.  Forever.  Pocket Books: 1996.

This novel creates a love story of maturation between two young adults, Katherine and Michael.  They are in love and Katherine faces the decision of whether or not to become sexually active.  She chooses to do so, and Blume candidly reports on Katherine’s feelings before and after the decision and how the decision has affected Katherine and Michael.  I love this story because it brings honest issues in young adulthood to the forefront.  In many young adult novels, taboo issues are ignored, such as sex drug use.  These are things that young adults think about, though.  Barbara undergoes exposure to these issues through the Internet, and I want to make them as honest as possible.  Blume has a way of being so honest that the issue is no longer taboo, just life; I wanted some of this influence in my writing.

Card, Orson Scott.  Ender’s Game.  Tor Books: 1977.
Ender’s Game is a sci-fi novel about a child genius, Andrew “Ender” Wiggin.  In the future, the government is trying to find a way to ward off an attack by hostile aliens.  To do this, the government creates an “army” of highly intelligent children whom they can train.  Ender is chosen from his family.  When training and learning in space, he finds himself completely emotionally isolated and alone.  Although he does have friends (he is highly respected in the army), he shares no common ideals with the superficial world around him.  This book examines the plight of the gifted child; they are taken from their homes and separated from the rest of the world (literally).  This separation only serves to make Ender alienated and depressed.  This type of isolation, based on intelligence, is the same type of isolation I am examining in my story.  This novel also examines technology and its role in futuristic society (which I am also doing).

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. LB Books: 1951.
Salinger examines, in a two-day period, the alienated life of a cynical young adult.  The life of Holden Caulfield mimics that of Barbara in their negative attitudes towards the everyday events of life.  They both suffer societal isolation.  They both have troubles with their school systems.  They both look at their parent(s) with suspicious eyes.  Salinger writes with the heart of a young adult living in an uneventful, yet thoughtful frame of mind.  This realism and ability to observe are both key in my story about Barbara.  They are not common in young adult fiction, but they are very effective in portraying the reality of young adult life.

Zindel, Paul.  The Pigman. Bantam Books: 1983.

The Pigman is the story of two very isolated and bitter young adults trying to find their place in the world and an understanding of life.  John and Lorraine are good friends who function and relate to each other outside of the circle of “normal” life.  They agree on what’s wrong with people and how the world would be a better place, but often play the role of harsh criticizers.  John’s mother is a little crazy and highly detached from her son, similar to Barbara’s mother.  John and Lorraine, like Holden Caulfield, are very realistic, if not common, young adult characters.  They are connected through their isolation and bitterness, which is another theme with may be worked into Barbara’s story (with the introduction of the new character at the end of chapter one).