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    Branded
    Branded
    Branded
    Ebook74 pages58 minutes

    Branded

    By Eric Walters

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    The principal announces that the school is implementing uniforms, and Ian finds himself caught in a conflict.

    Julia, the student body president and Ian's friend, wants Ian to devise a plan to fight the decision, but the principal is determined to convince Ian the uniforms are a good idea. Ian doesn't see the problem with uniforms and wants nothing to do with the issue, but while doing research for a social-justice class, Ian learns that the manufacturer of the uniforms is on the top-ten list in the industry for human-rights violations. When he tells the principal their clothing is being made in sweatshops using child labor, all he gets is a reminder that the penalty for refusing to wear the uniforms is expulsion. Ian finds himself caught in a whole new conflict—one with himself.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOrca Book Publishers
    Release dateMar 1, 2010
    ISBN9781554694488
    Branded
    Author

    Eric Walters

    Eric Walters is a Member of the Order of Canada and the author of over 125 books that have collectively won more than 100 awards including the Governor General’s Literary Award for The King of Jam Sandwiches. A former teacher, Eric began writing as a way to get his fifth-grade students interested in reading and writing. Eric is a tireless presenter, speaking to over 100,000 students per year in schools across the country. He lives in Guelph, Ontario.

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      Book preview

      Branded - Eric Walters

      Chapter One

      There are many causes for which I am prepared to die, but none for which I am prepared to kill, Mr. Roberts said. Does anybody know who said that?

      You, Mr. Roberts, Oswald said.

      Some of the class laughed. Mr. Roberts silenced them with a look.

      I told you I pay more attention in class than you realize, Oswald said. Even when my eyes are closed my mind is—

      Mr. Roberts aimed his look at Oswald and turned it up a half notch. That silenced Oswald midsentence.

      Julia raised her hand. It was Gandhi, she said, political activist and the man who gained independence for India.

      Very good, Julia, he said. But I expect nothing less from you.

      Thank you, she said.

      Julia and Mr. Roberts had a very polite relationship. Considering how it all started between them, this was a major step forward.

      Mr. Roberts had taken over as the new principal last semester. He wanted to make a whole lot of changes—changes that Julia, as the student president, thought it was her role to oppose. She tried to organize a school-wide walkout in protest and posted some rude comments about him online. He suspended her for five days.

      Even though they were polite—really polite—I got the feeling that Julia was waiting for an excuse to attack. Julia was like an elephant—she never forgot, especially something like a suspension. Before Mr. Roberts, she’d never even had a detention.

      Does anybody else wish to contribute something about Mahatma Gandhi? Mr. Roberts asked.

      I raised my hand, and Mr. Roberts nodded in my direction.

      Ian, he said.

      Gandhi defeated the English, who ruled India, by using passive resistance.

      What’s that? Oswald asked.

      He told people not to fight back against violence. He told his followers to absorb the blows but not strike out against those who were hitting them.

      A very hard thing to do, Mr. Roberts said. Many people think it takes bravery to fight back, but it takes even more bravery to not fight back.

      Oswald waved his hand in the air.

      Yes, Oswald?

      I’m a little confused, said Oswald.

      A little? Mr. Roberts asked and everybody, including Oswald, laughed. Oswald and Mr. Roberts had a strange relationship. It wasn’t particularly polite, but they both seemed to enjoy it.

      My apologies for the cheap shot, Mr. Roberts said. No offence.

      Hey, no problem. I’m confused because you’re talking about there being no cause worth killing for, but you were in the Marines…Didn’t they sort of train you to fight back and try to kill people?

      Mr. Roberts chuckled. They trained us to defend our country.

      And if that meant killing somebody? Oswald asked.

      I would have done my duty.

      I could imagine Mr. Roberts killing somebody.

      He probably wouldn’t even need a weapon. He was an ex-Marine, but he still looked like a Marine. He was tall and stocky and had a crew cut. I wouldn’t want to cross him—well, not again.

      We’d had a clash in the beginning, but it’s strange—I think he admired me for taking a stand against one of his policies.

      I greatly admire Gandhi, Mr. Roberts continued, but I think there are some things for which we must be prepared to fight against, die for, and yes, kill.

      What sort of things? Oswald asked.

      We need to fight oppression, terrorism and threats to our way of life, to protect democracy—

      Didn’t Gandhi create the largest democracy in the world by not fighting? I asked, cutting him off.

      Yes, he did. You seem to know a great deal about Gandhi, Mr. Roberts said.

      I’ve been keeping up with the reading, I said.

      Mr. Roberts’s social justice class had caused me to read a whole lot of things that hadn’t been assigned.

      Some people believe we should fight for what is right—even if that means breaking the law, Mr. Roberts said.

      It’s the moral duty of somebody to disobey a law he doesn’t agree with, I answered.

      Aaaah, now you’re speaking the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Mr. Roberts said. It could be argued that Dr. King adopted Gandhi’s principles and practices.

      That opened up a whole discussion. Other students added opinions and quotes and arguments. This class often went way off the assigned topics, but that made it even better.

      Besides, Mr. Roberts was the principal. He wasn’t going to get in trouble for not following the course outline. In fact, he created this course and insisted on teaching it. He said he thought every principal should teach at least one course to stay in touch with his students.

      Mr. Roberts was in constant touch with the students. He was always in the hallways, in the cafeteria, in the yard, at

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