Posted By: Cheryl Snyder Reid
Posted On: November 18, 2017
I teach World Geography/History at the middle school level and read Ma Yan's diary to determine the extent to which it lends itself to complementing course content. I believe it could be readily used to support students in examining issues discussed in social studies: role of government within a society, social mobility, use/misuse of natural resources (prairie grasses), discrimination against girls/women across the globe, and cultural norms (role of family, relationship between generations, value of the collective vs individual).
On a readability index, the book is rated at a 5th grade reading level and since it is composed of diary entries it can be easily divided into short daily reads or jigsaw sharing assignments. It is an easy read for middle school students, but rich in content. In her simple diary, Ma Yan reflects deeply upon her family's poverty, her struggle to succeed academically to bring pride to her family, and her desire to provide a better life for her parents and fellow villagers. Also, the author uses descriptive passages that can be used to develop a young reader's literary senses: "Every day she (Ma's mother) and other women who have gone to pick fa cai (prairie grass) walk with their eyes on the ground, their backs bent to the sky. How many mountains has she scaled this way?"
While reading about the struggles and hopes of this Chinese schoolgirl, I would challenge my students to explore the work of charitable organizations similar to the one that published this diary, to go to bed one time without eating (sadly some are familiar with this experience), and to develop the habit of collecting pencils that are carelessly left on desks, hallway floors, and outdoor walkways and add them to our classroom's pencil box.