When I first learned to read, I consumed books voraciously. I was on a first-name basis with the town librarian, Grace, and I would check out stacks of books as tall as I was. I can still picture the stool in our old library where I would stand to watch Grace stamp the due date onto my checkout card. My books were never overdue because I was always ready for a next stack just a few days later. In these books I discovered the wonder of Terebithia and fell in love with Teddy in Emily of New Moon. Through Number the Stars I learned about the plight of the Jews during the Holocaust, and after A Wrinkle in Time I found magic in everything around me. I'm currently reading Kelly Gallagher's In the Best Interest of Students. I like this book for several reasons. It gives easy-to-implement strategies, and it also philosophically addresses the strengths and weakness of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for Language Arts. Right now I'm reading about the writing standards, and it got me to thinking. I think our world needs more stories. One of the limitations of the CCSS is the lack of emphasis on narrative. According to David Coleman, one of the authors of the CCSS, people in the world don't value what we think or feel. Coleman writes, "What they instead care about is can you make an argument with evidence, is there something verifiable behind what you're saying or what you think or feel that you can demonstrate to me." Hence, the complete lack of attention on narrative reading and writing in the Common Core. I'm afraid that's a grave mistake. I posted earlier this fall about my attempts to teach my students to argue rather than rant. I agree that it's an invaluable skill in our world. We need to be able to back up our claims with evidence. I will not discredit the importance of argumentative writing and powerful nonfiction reading. However, doesn't it seem like our world is a little too caught up in being "right" rather than listening empathetically? Story changes the world. When I first read The Kite Runner, the only encounter I had with real-life Muslims was random interactions with a couple of students in college. Then I met Hassan and Ali. I wept during the difficult moments of that painful story, and I realized that friendships in every religion require great sacrifice and redemptive forgiveness. Before I read Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, I didn't fully understand what life would be like for a teenage victim of rape. Then I experienced life through Melinda's eyes, and it changed the way I view the reticent, hidden girls in my classroom. Holden Caulfield taught me about nonconformity, and Ed from Markus Zusak's I Am the Messenger made me want to dramatically impact the lives of those around me. I learned about bravery from Auggie in Wonder, and I will never be the same after walking in the shoes of Scout Finch and Owen Meany. Story changes us. Gallagher touches on this in his book, focusing on children's development of "theory of mind," or ToM, "a person's ability to understand the emotions, thoughts, beliefs, and intentions of others." Experiments by David Comer Kidd and Emanuele Castano (2013) proved that ToM is directly related the building of empathy and is fostered through fiction, particularly literary fiction. If I want my students to change their views of the world, we must be engaging with rich, meaningful stories. This happened in a minor way on the day after the election. To be completely honest, I toyed seriously with calling in sick on Wednesday. I was heartbroken and raw, and I didn't know how I could function in my classroom. But I did, and during English 2, we talked indirectly about empathy. We discussed the slut-shaming of Curley's wife in Of Mice and Men, a character we know little about. My more astute students picked up on the fact that she is never even given a name, instead referenced only as her husband's possession. Before my students left my room that day, some expressed a bit of sympathy for her isolation on the ranch, and others agreed we should never judge a woman's character based on what she wears. I could have given them a nonfiction article on the same topic, but story did the work more effectively. So that's where we go. In American Novel we are diving into To Kill a Mockingbird where I will once again try to help pull back the lens of gender bias and racism to reveal more understanding. In English 2 we march forward with Of Mice and Men where we will talk openly about our treatment of the marginalized and those who are "othered." And in their independent reading I will push students to read texts that make them think, that create the opportunity for empathy. Today this is how I try to change my world.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AboutTeach. Archives
September 2020
|