TITLE: Joshua T. Bates Takes Charge ? GRADE LEVEL: 5-6 AUTHOR: Susan Shreve, illustrated by Dan Andreasen THEMES: Conflict escalation, self-esteem, weighing alternatives, non-violent alternatives surprise, and bias SYNOPSIS: Joshua Bates is a fifth grade boy who has finally recovered from being held back in the third grade. He thinks his new year will go smoothly, even though his old enemy Tommy Wilhelm is still hounding him. Tommy and his followers have started a club called the "NO's" which stands for Nerds Out. A new student arrives at the school whom Tommy immediately brands as a nerd. Joshua has been given the unfortunate task of showing Sean, the new boy, around school. Tommy and his gang continually harass Sean, via insults, stealing, and finally tying him up in the tool shed of the school. Joshua finally "takes charge" at a school assembly where the principal announces that Sean is missing. He tells the principal where Sean is and tells the school about the gang. By exposing the gang, Joshua is able to regain his self-respect and the respect of his classmates.   QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTED ANSWERS: Q. Why was Joshua's self-esteem so low at the beginning of the story? A. He had flunked third grade, and while he was promoted to fourth grade in November, children were still putting him down. Also, his older sister Amanda was quite bright and took many opportunities to insult him about his retention. Q. Why was Tommy so eager to have Sean try out for his baseball team? A. Tommy was, essentially, a bully and was looking for a way to push Sean around. This is how bullies gain new power over others, by immediately taking charge of the new person and showing a front of self confidence to use as intimidation. They also use new people as a way to maintain power within their group. The group members see the leader using his powers of intimidation to push the other person around, and are visibly reminded of that person's power. Q. Why was Joshua upset at the prospect of having Sean as his art partner? A. Joshua was already being teased by Tommy and his group. He did not want to be harassed further, even though Sean had not been his choice. Q. Why did Joshua try to stay away from Sean at the end of the school day? A. He was avoiding Sean and the complications that his companionship would bring. At this point in the story, he is trying avoidance instead of conflict resolution. Q. When Tommy was trying to persuade Joshua to join the NO's, why did he resist? A. Joshua knew that the NO's and their persecution of others was wrong. He resisted them solely by avoidance, however, and did not (at this point) do anything to stop them. He also knew that he would get into trouble with his parents if he were to join a group like the NO's. Q. What did Joshua do when the accusatory note arrived at the principal's office? A. He defended himself, but did not tell the whole truth. The truth was that the NO's were responsible for Sean being harassed, not Joshua. Joshua told the principal about the things that happened, but would not tell who did them. Q. Why didn't Joshua tell the principal what had been happening? A. He was afraid that Tommy and the NO's would begin to persecute him. At this time in the story, Tommy was still trying to get Joshua to join in with the harassment. Joshua wouldn't do that, but he also would not bring any suffering onto himself. Q. Why did Tommy and the NO's tie Sean up and leave him in the shed? A. They were bullies who had fallen into violent ways of thinking and acting. They had dehumanized Sean and felt he should be treated in a less than humane way. Anyone who was outside their group was not considered worthy of their consideration or respect. Developed by Teddi Hayes, St. Adalbert School, Cleveland, Ohio.
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