Touching Spirit Bear

9/3/2020

Nautilus Award Winner

Ben Mikaelsen

Mikaelsen, born in Bolivia, was one of six children in a missionary family who returned to Minnesota at the end of his 6th grade year in boarding school. Mikaelsen is an anti-bully speaker at schools around the country and shares how he was bullied in Bolivia for being white and in Minnesota for being different.

Mikealsen has written 10 novels which have earned 25 awards and many more nominations. He loves the research necessary for writing and shares pictures and stories from the adventures on his web page.

Finally, Ben's roommate for 27 years was a 750 pound black bear, Buffy, he raised from a small cub.

World Context/Relevance

In 2019, 20% of students in middle and high schools indicated they had been bullied on school property. Less than half of those students reported the bullying to an adult. Any adult. About 15% of students 12 to 18 years old said they were bullied online or by text in 2019.

StopBullying.gov defines bullying as "unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time." With the need for more access to digital devices due to online learning more students will be susceptible to cyberbullying, the use of technology to target, harass, or embarrass another student. KidsHealth offers some excellent information about signs of cyberbullying and suggestions on how to address it.

"The kid, Peter Driscal, was a ninth grader Cole had picked on many times before just for the fun of it. Still, no one ratted on Cole Matthews without paying the price. That day, he caught up to Peter in the hallway at school.

"You're a dead man," he warned the skinny red-haired boy, giving him a hard shove. He laughed when he saw fear in Peter's eyes.

Later, after school, Cole cornered Peter outside in the parking lot. With anger that had been brewing all day, he attacked him and started hitting him hard in the face with bare fists. Peter was no match, and soon Cole had pounded him bloody. A dozen students stood watching."

Synopsis

Cole is filled with rage and hate and has been stealing and fighting for years. His parents have always rescued him in the past, but when he smashes Peter's head against the sidewalk, causing permanent brain damage, Cole must choose between prison and Circle Justice. He chooses Circle Justice, a Native American tradition which attempts to provide healing opportunities for the offender, the victim and the community. In Cole's case, Circle Justice includes a year of secluded banishment on a remote Alaskan island.

Arriving at the island, Cole plans his escape but is mauled by a mysterious white bear of Native American Legend.

Learning Connections

Classroom Resources for Touching Spirit Bear; these resources include a WebQuest Activity, and an All-School Read plan, as well as vocabulary, poetry writing, and anger management lesson plans. Excellent set of resources.

Reading Guide, Harper Collins.

Become an Upstander: Bystanders to Bullying, StopBullying.gov

Bullying Prevention for Elementary Schools and More, WITS Foundation -- specific programs for children and families are also at this site

Ages: 12-18; 6th - 12th grades; 256 pages. Realistic fiction. An unrepentant teen delinquent is sent to an uninhabited island as part of a restorative justice practice.

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