Keeping a global perspective on life can be difficult for adults, and it’s much harder for teens to keep up. Gohar Galyan tries to understand what’s going on in Tibet on pages 10-11, interviewing Tibetan teens and learning about Buddhism and China in the process.
• Before your students read the article, ask them “What is Tibet?” and “Why do you think this teen took the time to write an article about it?” After everyone’s contributed ideas, ask them to read Gohar’s piece and the related articles.
Discussion Questions
• How would their answers change now that they have read the article? Where is Tibet? What are the problems Tibetans face there? What has the Chinese government done to Tibet? How long has it been going on for?
• Who is the Dalai Lama? Why have there been two films made on his life? What are some of Buddhism’s principals, according to the Tibetans
interviewed?
• Why would rock and rap musicians participate in a fundraising concert for Tibet?
Essay Question
On pages 4, 5, and 7, teens write about the different ways they were affected by their parents’ divorce. Some exhibited obvious behavior, as Lindsay Spann details in her article, while others were more subtle and even destructive (Janet Barrera and Daniel Weintraub, respectively). Have your students read the three articles and answer the following essay question:
• What do the articles “Divorce Split My Life in Two,” “Friends Near the End” and “Am I too Fat?” have in common? Compare and contrast the teens’ stories and the roles their parents played in them. What would you say to these teens if you met them and why?