Committee for Children Blog

Schooled

by Gordon Korman
Reading level: Grades 6–9

At age 13, Cap (for Capricorn) knows how to spell barometer and psychedelic, how to build a Foucault pendulum, and how to grow plums. But he has no idea how to read the social map of the traditional American public school. As one of only two remaining members on a remote alternative farm commune, Cap is homeschooled by the other, his grandmother, Rain. When Rain is hospitalized, Cap must temporarily join a culture of an entirely different hue: that of Claverage (a.k.a. C Average) Middle School. He moves in with a social worker, to the mortification of her terminally cool teenage daughter, and begins his education anew.

A Lifetime of Schooling

On his first day, Cap witnesses a fight between two students: “I was horrified. I’d read about physical violence, but this was the first time I’d witnessed it in real life. It was sudden and lightning fast. Wild, vicious, ugly.” Cap’s classmates are as bewildered by Cap as he is by them. The difference is, they have the tools to deal with anyone who veers from the mainstream: practical jokes, bullying, and/or sympathetic distancing. All Cap has are his nonviolent values and his honest naïveté. Strangely, almost miraculously, these qualities are the very things that render him almost impervious to the designs of the chief tormenters in the school. After all, if the target doesn’t even know he’s the butt of a joke, what’s the point? Still, it's not easy for Cap to fit in, and he takes on a lifetime of schooling a just a few months.

Although author Gordon Korman occasionally uses stereotypes and plot resolutions so over-the-top that Schooled may seem like a suburban fairy tale, his message is powerful and effective. Cap is appealing in his sincerity, and readers will be reassured to see him hanging onto his principles even as he finds his own channel in the mainstream.

Social and Emotional Lessons in Schooled

Gordon Korman’s use of alternating points of view is an excellent way to allow readers to understand the same scenarios from multiple perspectives. A discussion of the dynamics of these roles will help readers step (momentarily) outside their own places in the social hierarchy of early adolescence. Some starter questions:

  1. In some ways, Cap is like an alien landing on earth. How would your school and lifestyle be perceived by a visitor from a different culture?
  2. Hugh Winkleman is the school’s “primo nerd, bar none” until Cap comes along. Their relationship is complex; Hugh knows what’s in store for Cap, and empathizes, but he is also relieved to be bumped from his social slot. How does his behavior reflect these confusing layers of feelings?
  3. Zach Powers is the big man on campus, captain of the football and soccer teams, and lead persecutor of Cap. What happens when he doesn’t get the predictable response from his victim?
  4. Naomi Erlanger starts out a full participant in the campaign to put Cap in his place, but grows increasingly uncomfortable with her part as she gets to know him. What does she believe she has to lose if she pulls out? How does she manage anyway?
  5. Is anyone in the story truly a bad person?

Emilie Coulter
Book Reviewer
Committee for Children