2025 Educator Book Study- The Glass Castle
May 6 - 27, 2025
Notice
Thank you for participating in the 2025 The Glass Castle book study. If you have a PPID number, you will receive hours through our PD system. Book study certificates were sent out on 6/8/25 to all other participants who have completed all work (including written work for Zoom sessions they did not attend).
If you did not receive a book study certificate (and do not have a PPID number), please check your email to see what written work still needs to be completed.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Thank you,
Lisa
Hello!
Welcome to The Glass Castle book study! Below is information about meeting dates and the Zoom link. I will also send you calendar invitations.
If you have any questions, please email me at ekruse@tiu11.org. It is the best way to get in touch with me.
Meeting Dates:
May 6th -
Session 1: “A Woman on the Street” & Part I: “The Desert” (Chapters 1–2)
Pages: Beginning through approximately page 70 (depending on your edition)
Themes: Early childhood, nomadic lifestyle, parental philosophy, first signs of dysfunction
Discussion focus: Walls’ tone, the family’s values and dysfunction, resilience in the face of poverty
May 13th -
Session 2: Part II: “The Desert” (continued) & Part III: “Welch” (first half)
Pages: From about page 71 to ~page 160
Themes: Growing awareness of family instability, deeper poverty, education, emotional development
Discussion focus: Changing perspectives as Jeannette matures, breakdowns in family structure
May 20th -
Session 3: Part III: “Welch” (continued)
Pages: ~page 161 to ~page 220
Themes: Teenage years, increased responsibility, coping mechanisms, plans for escape
Discussion focus: The children’s agency, the emotional toll of poverty, the contrast between siblings
May 27th -
Session 4: Parts IV & V: “New York City” and “Thanksgiving”
Pages: ~page 221 to end
Themes: Independence, success and guilt, reconciliation, reflection on family
Discussion focus: What success means, love vs. obligation, growth and forgiveness
Zoom Information: Join from PC, Mac, iOS or Android: https://paiu.zoom.us/j/93100387535
Or join by phone:
+1 305 224 1968 or +1 309 205 3325 (US Toll)
Meeting ID: 931 0038 7535
I can't wait to see all of you!
Lisa
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Facilitator: Lisa Kruse
Limited to 15 participants
Jeannette Walls’ 2005 memoir The Glass Castle details the joys and struggles of her childhood. It offers a look into her life and that of her highly charismatic yet frequently dysfunctional family. The book begins with her riding in a cab in N.Y. City and seeing her homeless mother digging through a dumpster.
In The Glass Castle, Walls describes growing up in the desert of the American Southwest and then in a West Virginia mining town with her three siblings and the brilliant, unorthodox, irresponsible parents who manage at once to neglect them, love them, and teach them to face their fears.
The story is at times harrowing and at times hilarious as the children go without food and indoor plumbing yet are encouraged to read Shakespeare and dream of the beautiful glass house they will all one day build. Despite all her hardships, Walls develops the determination to leave West Virginia on her own at the age of sixteen, move to New York City, enroll in Barnard College and eventually become a well-known columnist for New York magazine and MSNBC.com and a television personality.
Format: Zoom Meetings (Link will be shared after you register on TIU 11 PD Tracker)
Book Study Meeting Dates:
May 6, 2025 (7-8 pm)
May 13, 2025 (7-8 pm)
May 20, 2025 (7-8 pm)
May 27, 2025 (7-8 pm)
How it works:
Check out the book from the library or purchase a digital or hard copy
At least two weeks prior to the first session, an email will be sent to registrants with the Zoom link and a syllabus with chapter assignments for each meeting.
Read the book as outlined in the syllabus prior to ZOOM meetings and be ready to share your thoughts and ideas in the flexible discussion format.
If you cannot be present for a ZOOM meeting, you will be required to provide a written summary of the session’s content in order to receive your hours. This is intended to be a synchronous book study with opportunities for discussion amongst colleagues, as such participants are expected to attend a minimum of 3 live sessions to obtain course hours.
A certificate with your 15 credit hours will be issued upon completion of the book study
Registration closed on 2025-05-06