Journal #14: Romiet and Juleo

                Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the 9^th grade standard. It is the romanticized marriage and subsequent suicide of two infatuated, hormonal teenagers; the star-crossed lovers who will make most people of the modern day think “wherefore” means “where” and not “why?” I love this play, but only for the comedic value it has. There are many more plays by Shakespeare that I think substitute in nicely and work just as well as a replacement. I feel as though most High School teachers I had took Shakespeare way too seriously, and taught him seriously, when they really should have monopolized on his excellent sense of humor.

                Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy, but it is treated like a romance when it should really, truly be handled as a comedy. Romeo and Juliet are painted by pop-culture as the quintessential romantic couple, an ideal to strive for. So many songs sing about Romeo and Juliet, and so many television shows reference the young couple. You would think that it wasn’t the 9^th grade standard given how few people seem to know the real story. I would love to teach a Romeo and Juliet unit that handles it comically, perhaps going so far as having students act the parts with over-dramatization. I have no doubt in my mind that Shakespeare thought the whole idea was funny as he wrote it, mostly due to the fact that he has such a keen understanding of human nature and human behavior that he almost always wielded it for humor’s sake.

                All this aside, I think that Romeo and Juliet is important to teach. It is a part of our cultural canon, and gives us all something to relate to and understand because we all learned it as freshmen. I can’t imagine it not being a part of High School curriculum, it’s just so ingrained.

                

Journal #13: In The Name Of God

Horrific and eye-opening, In The Name Of God, takes me where I did not want to go. The last time I read an Islamic title (Palace Walk, by Naguib Mahfouz), I was spellbound, and it was no different here. Culturally significant and timely, this novel frightened me perhaps as much as it should have. It left me feeling weird, bad-weird, enlightened-and-scared-weird, and I’m not sure if I should be happy about that or not. I don’t want to think of myself as too conservative, but I would be extremely hesitant to have this book taught in my classroom. However, I think the fact that it is so uncomfortable is what makes it worth being taught in the classroom. Would students be ready for it, is my question.

Nadia gives us a look down the slippery slope from being a devout believer to a radical fundamentalist. It could happen to anyone who believed hard enough in something, who was afraid, and who was misdirected and led on by someone. It certainly doesn’t make its message in support of becoming a suicide-bomber, but it is believable. The fact that it’s believable is what makes it so chilling, the fact that it holds truth is what makes it so unnerving.

I’m torn, I know the sort of backlash that comes with a book like this, especially with the fear of ISIS beating down the doors, and talking heads like Donald Trump spout nonsense about banning all Muslims from entering the country until we “figure out what the heck is going on.” America is more afraid of an attack on American soil now than they were in 2007 when this book was originally released, and I only fear the climate will get worse. Parents who do not know the contents of this book will fear that we’re spreading Islamic propaganda, or that we’re sympathizing with terrorism. That is not the case with this novel, and as uncomfortable as it is to read, I think everyone probably should. Its warning message is too important to overlook.

Journal #12: Maus

Maus, by Art Spiegelman, is a great stand-alone work for helping reluctant readers get into reading in school. Struggling readers can feel like they are getting something deep out of this thick graphic novel, and will be able to have deep and critical discussion about its events and themes, as well as how the medium proves to be effective for such a tale. Maus addresses deep topics, utilizing a medium that is very accessible to all students. It doesn’t need to stand alone, however. Maus would be an excellent supplemental work, one that could be paired with another Young Adult novel with similar themes (for instance, “The Book Thief.”) The latter option is actually a great way to help promote cross-text discussion that addresses CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.7: “Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment.”

Being that it handles a lot of darker themes, including suicide and, well, Nazi-Germany, it would be important to talk to students ahead of time. Pre-reading would be important to make sure students have some historical background, especially because the cute pictures and animals might be misleading. Due to the fact that Maus handles a lot of heavy subjects and doesn’t necessarily paint Art’s father in a positive light, it could get some backlash from parents. I don’t know if parents would complain about a graphic novel being taught in class if they knew what it was about and the maturity level of it. It could also open up discussion about students’ own experience with some of the more personal issues.
What excites me most is that Maus would be a perfect as supplemental reading in a 20^th Century History class. It would certainly get students engaged in discussions about Nazi Germany. Not only that, but because it is actually based on a true story (unlike “The Book Thief,”) it makes it that much more poignant for readers. I would absolutely love to integrate this into a history course, even more than I would an English course. There are endless possibilities.

Journal #11: The Absolute Truth About The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is a heart-warming book about identity, acceptance, and the usual coming-of-age business. Being that this title is extremely controversial, I’d like to explain why parents are against it, and put forth a counter-argument to the dissenters who believe that this book is inappropriate for people the same age as the protagonist, Arnold.

Citing the profanity and sexual themes (including masturbation), parents across the country have gotten up in arms about the way it treats the behaviors of a 14 year old boy and his friend. They have also taken issue with the book’s depictions of racism, violence, bullying, and general religious irreverence (particularly anti-Christian themes). Written from the point of view of an American Indian, it is also said to reinforce negative stereotypes about native life. I have noticed, however, these complaints (usually) come from white people. That said, the author is an Indian who probably has more experience with the lifestyle than they do.

To the parents concerned about the material your students are reading, I’m about to rock your world. People masturbate, and children curse. It happens. Your kids probably do both of those things, and sheltering them from it is not exactly going to stop them. To say that this material being added to curriculum condones these behaviors also implies that Romeo and Juliet promotes marrying young and committing suicide, and that Lord of the Flies promotes children forming weird cults while running around on an island naked as a jay bird and murdering one another.

I would consider using this novel in my curriculum when I become a teacher. It is no worse than the other novels currently being used, (1984 has sex scenes, even a moment where the main character fantasizes about raping and murdering another character). In fact, it relates more to modern students than the other novels would, and certainly touches on themes that students deal with every day in their high school lives. I think the cultural importance of this story outweighs its “negatives,” as it has a lot to teach about friendship and acceptance. That, and it aggressively condemns alcohol abuse. What parent doesn’t want their children steered clear of abusing alcohol, especially when they know their kids will be going to college soon? Jeepers, that’s important.

Fangirl - Book Talk Selection

                                                                                            The Story

• Fangirl is a coming-of-age tale about an internet famous fanfiction writer by the name of Cath Avery (or as she’s better known in the Simon Snow fandom, Magicath.)
• Cath is a freshman at the University of Nebraska struggling to adjust to University life, especially when it comes to her crippling introversion and lack of writing experience outside of fanfiction.
• She also struggles with boys, again because she has little romantic experience outside of fanfiction.
• All the while she’s worrying about her extroverted party-girl twin sister Wren, her bi-polar father who is on the verge of an empty-nest meltdown, and the fact that her fanfiction needs to be finished before the last Simon Snow book is published!

The Characters

• Cather – The Protagonist:  Socially awkward and learning new things about herself all the time, struggling through her first year of college and with the social demands placed upon her.
• Wren – The Doppelgänger:  Cather’s twin who views college as a party. She is constantly going out and seemingly avoiding the sister she had been inseparable from all her life.
• Mr. Avery (Dad) – The Single Father:  Divorced and works in marketing, he is also psychologically unstable. Still absolutely loving and supportive, despite his weird quirks and staying up all night.
• Levi – The Love Interest:  All smiles all the time, he’s brilliant intellectually but a struggling reader. Indomitably optimistic and shines his light on everyone, especially Cath. She’s hopeless to resist.
• Reagan – The Roommate:  Scary, but in a good way. Helps Cather come out of her shell a little and proves herself to be a true friend time and again. Expresses her caring through tough love and bluntness.
• Nick – The Red Herring: The first boy Cath really notices, but proves to be nothing more than that. An excellent writing partner, however.

Why?

• Modern Coming of Age Romance Novel (Published 2013)
• Easy to Read and Extremely Relatable
• Great for Reluctant Readers! (7-12^th Grade)
• Depicts University Life and Social Situations Realistically
• Shines Light on Nerd Culture, Specifically Fanfiction Writers
• Addresses Relevant Modern Issues:
• Divorce and Abandonment
• Alcohol Abuse
• Psychological Disorders
• Introversion, Shyness, Social Anxiety, Escapism
• Sexual Awakening

In The Classroom

·         Fangirl  has a Lexile Level of 570, and could be taught to grades 7-12. Due to its content, however, it would be best suited for later grades and students who will be able to handle the material and content more maturely. That, and the protagonist is just beginning college, making the story more relatable for students preparing for University life.

• Realistic/Contemporary Fiction Unit – which consists of students writing journal entries on blogs, making predictions about what happens next, and ends with students writing their own “fanfiction“ about the characters in the novel.
• Narrative Unit – The book acts as a supplemental tale where students write personal narratives early in the unit that they can later “spin their webs around” to create something new, different, and fictional. All fiction starts with truth!
• Creative Writing Unit – Cath is an author struggling with fiction writing while taking a Fiction-Writing Class. The novel touches a lot on the writing process and even has examples of writing projects students could complete during the course of the reading (leaving a lot of room at the end for completing a final short-story!)

Obstacles

·         This book uses a lot of foul language, talks a lot about gay fanfiction, and deals a lot with burgeoning sexual desire. Alcohol (alcoholism), drugs, and smoking also make frequent appearances, though these are depicted as relatively negative. Parents are not painted perfectly, but Mr. Avery means well, despite needing to be taken care of as much as his children do.

• Administrator Response – I can imagine very little push-back. This is no worse than many of the YA books commonly placed in curriculum, and by no means does it glorify the partying college lifestyle. The morals are sound, and it relates well to students. The merits outweigh the issues listed above.
• Parent Response – Due to the way parents are depicted, as well as the homosexual fanfiction fantasies, the sexual tension, and strong language, parents might find this book a little controversial.
• Student Response – The book is large (434 pages), and appears daunting, especially when students discover this is a romance novel. After the initial eye-rolls and groans of dissent, however, I know students will get involved and enjoy Fangirl.

Journal #10: Readicide

While reading Readicide, by Kelly Gallagher, I couldn’t stop being reminded of I Read It, But I Don’t Get It. There are a lot of similar themes in both of these books, and they both had a lot of interesting tips about how to get students interested in reading. Some of the methods were similar as well. What stood out to me, though, was in Chapter 4 and talking about the “Sweet Spot” of not over or under-teaching a literary text. This stuck particularly with me because I saw myself in his daughter Devin, thinking of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as a “Lousy Classic.” I saw the merit in the book, but it was chunked apart to the point that, by the time I got to the scenes with Tom Sawyer, I was right alongside Mark Twain with wanting it to end already. In retrospect I loved the story up until the parts with Tom Sawyer, but I digress. The point is, I’ve been a part of the system that over-teaches literary text. I’ve also been in classes that hit the “Sweet Spot,” and cherish those books to this day.

                I’ve never had experience with an under-taught text, I’ve only ever been exhausted by To Kill a Mockingbird, Hamlet, and Huckleberry Finn. The thing I found so striking is that it mentioned Grapes of Wrath being assigned without a direction, without a purpose. This again brought me back to Tovani’s instructions for how to help poor readers. When students have a purpose for reading, they’re more likely to be engaged in their reading and enjoy it. Reading becomes less of a chore than a real learning experience. It becomes a puzzle, a scavenger hunt for information that serves your purpose.  Giving a student purpose lets them know what they should look for, it helps them frame their ideas and guide their active reading and internal questions about the text.

                Readicide discusses how “teaching to the test” is one of the major factors that kills reading. In his book Teaching Adolescent Writers, this is his conclusion about writing as well. We should be teaching students, not tests. Yes, assessment should exist, and it should reflect what students should know, but schooling shouldn’t be like a factory. The factory model of school is soul-crushing, and squelches the love of reading and writing.

Journal #9: I Read It, and I Get It

In Cris Tovani’s I Read It, But I Don’t Get It, she brings up a lot of important points about the complex nature of reading. It isn’t just about knowing how to read words, it’s about communicating with the text to produce meaning. It is true that all of us have experienced reading without comprehending, utilizing only the voice in our heads that Tovani described as the adult voice in Charlie Brown “Wahwah, wah wah!” I’m guilty of skimming or letting my mind wander sometimes, but like she said, good readers catch themselves and put themselves back on track. When students cannot derive meaning from text at all, it is our job as teachers to intervene and model good reading strategies to help students become good readers.

Tovani uses many great examples of students’ roadblocks when it comes to reading comprehension, and addresses every one she brings up with great ease. She doesn’t just have one way to address the problems either, she has lists of alternatives. These are easy to implement, but require a lot of commitment from the teacher. Teachers have to admit their own flaws and show that they don’t always know the answers, that even good readers don’t get everything the first time they read something.

This reading kept reminding me of Pedagogy of the Oppressed and a book by Kelly Gallagher called Teaching Adolescent Writers. All three of these books deal with humanizing the teacher and the students. Both Gallagher and Tovani talk about not simply teaching the curriculum but teaching the student. It is much less about assigning work than it is about making sure students leave your class with practical skills that will help them in the real world. Even if you can’t get to all the assigned curriculum, it’s more important that the students have the skills they need to succeed. Students need to see the real-world connections of their school work and the intersectionality of their classes. This is why all teachers, not just English teachers, should take responsibility for making sure students are literate and able to read and write properly. We can’t just let those students fall behind and stay behind.

When I tell my family I’ll be helping students learn how to read, they often tell me that I’m going to be a High School teacher and thus, the students should already know how to read. They don’t seem to realize that there are students in High School who are simply poor readers. This book and Readicide both illustrated that a large number of High School students just don’t have the level of literacy they should. The schools are failing them because it’s expected that they should already know how to read properly. It’s been made so easy to get through school without actually reading that “fake reading” persists well into college in some cases. Tovani admitted that she herself fake read in college.

I Read It, But I Don’t Get It was an eye-opener.