I was struck by two things after this week’s readings: first, that reading and writing have the potential to be absolutely transformative in students’ lives, particularly when experienced in meaningful ways during their adolescent years. At the same time, however, I was also struck by how, as a teacher, I won’t be able to introduce students to the transforming power of literature without practical classroom management and lesson-planning strategies.
I appreciated, then, that Teaching Culturally Sustaining and Inclusive Young Adult Literature and the chapter from Reading, Writing and Rising Up covered both sides of our role as teachers; both the transformative power of literature itself, and the practical aspects of implementing transformative reading and writing in the classroom. In TCSYAL, the author interviews Erika Sanchez, prolific writer of fiction, poetry and journalistic works, and author of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter. I loved reading transcripts of the interview, as I don’t often see “interview-style” writing in academic literature. Additionally, her story was an amazing window into how literature and writing changed her life as an adolescent. For Sanchez, reading and writing were ways to understand, and at times even escape, some of the difficulty of growing up as a bicultural teen in Chicago. I really resonated with some of her experience; I was also a teen who used reading and writing to understand and escape my world. Similar to Sanchez, the experience gave me an appreciation for the healing power of literature, and also for how important it is to show adolescents how to harness their voice through reading and writing. Often, however, I feel like teens are underestimated in their ability to think, process and ask complex questions about the world when in fact they have amazingly complex perspectives and important things to say. Sanchez seems to concur, saying, “Young people should be encouraged to question the world they live in. They want to make it better and shouldn’t be treated as unintelligent or not concerned. They think about so much and so deeply, and they need to space to do so and be encouraged” (Rodríguez, 2019, p. 221). I agree with her sentiment, and one of my main motivations for getting into teaching is how much I believe in the value of young peoples’ perspectives. I also appreciated how, even though Sanchez talks about the challenges of her life growing up, she also emphasizes how important hope is as well. “It’s equally important to write about hope and triumph. I wanted to leave the reader with a sense of hope. That’s important to me. The novel is for young people. I want them to see a light at the tunnel; that, despite everything, there’s a possibility for a better life” (Rodríguez, 2019, p. 221). Sometimes I’ve noticed that, in the pursuit of exposing students to transformative literature or applying critical lenses to reading, we as teachers may focus so much on what is ‘problematic’ or ‘wrong’ about the world that we forget to cast vision and give hope for what life can be! I’m not advocating for a reductionist or ‘rose-colored-glasses’ approach to the world, but I also think Sanchez’ point about hope is crucial. With all of Sanchez’ ideas, however, I’m realizing more and more that I also need practical ways for helping introduce students to transformative literature. Ideas and theory are great, but without practical implementation I think they tend to fall short of influencing our day-to-day life in the classroom. Enter Linda Christensen’s book, Reading, Writing and Rising Up. After introducing her teaching philosophy, she provides a number of helpful reading and writing strategies that not only develop skills but also connect deeply to students’ own life experiences. In particular, the “Read-Around” Strategy for building students’ confidence in reading out loud, combined with personal opportunities to connect with their own life through writing “Name Stories” or “Childhood Narratives,” (Christensen, 2000, p. 37) would be amazing ways to connect some of Sanchez’ ideas about the importance of adolescents’ thoughts and actually have them show up in the classroom. She also details some of her experience with the literal practicalities of classroom discipline and management, which I think also play an important role in creating an environment where students’ creativity can thrive. Resource Link: Teacher Tips - Teaching with Love & Logic This ‘vlog’ run by longtime teacher Aaron Rodgers (not the football quarterback) is a really helpful resource on TONS of teaching topics. He did a vlog on a classroom management tool called “Teaching with Love and Logic” that provides helpful options for teachers looking to provide discipline in helpful, positive ways. The section on "Discipline: No Quick Fix" at the end of Christensen’s article reminded me of what a helpful tool this has been for me in the past. References: Christensen, L. (2000). Reading, writing, and rising up: teaching about social justice and the power of the written word. Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools. Rodríguez, R. Joseph. (2019). Teaching culturally sustaining and inclusive young adult literature: critical perspectives and conversations. New York, NY: Routledge.
1 Comment
Steven Rohrich
10/21/2019 05:34:07 am
It is pretty easy to get carried away with the negative, especially when right now when college teaches us to unlearn high school and teaching classes teach us to unlearn how we were taught. Material is constantly categorized into good and bad. So congrats on focusing on the positive! I thought that the read around was maybe "too" positive. I understand it is meant to build students up and inspire other students to write, but students also need to learn how to deal with critical feedback and constructive criticism. Perhaps it is too early to have students in a certain grade offer that up, but then the teacher should be sure to be including those notes on the student's paper.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AboutM.Ed English Ed. candidate at the University of Minnesota. ArchivesCategories |