Crash....crash....crash......

Reading and Comprehension in Crash by Jerry Spinelli: An Analysis of the Important Balance of Athletics and Intellectual Development in American Sporting Culture

The important quote taken from Spinelli’s commentary on the predominance of American sporting culture is defined through the main character, John “Crash” Coogan. John has earned the nickname “Crash” because he embodies the primal physicality of the all-star athlete at his middle school. When Spinelli writes: “On the football field I don’t run around people, I run through them. Life is football” (Spinelli 83). Of course, Crash is very popular, but he finds a counter-cultural force in Penn Webb, a vegetarian and pacifist Quaker. Crash constantly makes fun of Webb, but he soon learns that brute force does not equal power or genuine respect by his peers. Spinelli provides a young adult forum for disabled students to connect with Webb as the victim of Crash’s initial crudity, but more so, to understand how he transforms into a compassionate person that respects intellectual and/or creative people. This is one way in which Spinelli writes well in that he shows a subtle awakening in the Crash character as  means of forging a balanced view of intellectual and athletic respect in the student reader. In regards to the primacy of sporting culture often trumping intellectual development in American popular culture, disabled students might find a role model in Crash as a person wiling to let go of rigid stereotypes and to learn to respect others characters, such as Webb, that enjoy reading and participating in sporting events, such as track and field.

The reaction of disabled students to the bullying experienced by Webb from Crash is one that would certainly bring up emotions of anger and frustration. In this regard, I would implement a strong character driven analysis of Crash and Webb by the students to understand both sides of this athlete/intellectual duality:  “I think aloud and demonstrate how I analyze a character’s decisions and motivation [and] make personal connections to a conflict” (Elliot and Dupuis 32). This is one key factor in character analysis, which can bring down the stereotyped barriers that have been conditioned in student behavior. Spinelli is utilizing the characterization of Crash and Webb to break down dualistic mindsets, which can be merged and diversified in a polarized learning culture. In the classroom, this can be a very important tool in stimulating intellectual growth and respect even though sporting culture appears to dominate most American learning environments. Through the changes that Crash experiences in the book in respect to artists and creativity, classroom analysis of sporting culture can become more balanced in the school’s culture. Certainly, I do not intend to trump one activity over another, but the predominant American sporting culture can be equalized with an increase in student vigor to read and find diversity in the comprehension process.  By respecting both aspects of athleticism and intellectual pursuits in reading education, Spinelli’s young adult novel can help to encourage disabled persons at the middle school level to understand the importance of all facets of schooling environments.