Jean, I teach 9th and 10th grade English and Reading for 9-12 graders in an urban school and share your struggle. There are several conclusions I have come to. First of all, school is an academic environment and I argue my students can read the more objectionable books at home or on their own time. I have over 1100 books in my personal classroom library and most of them are considered high interest for adolescents, especially young men. My job is to introduce them to the various genres of books (I read little snippets of the different books available to them) and set them loose. I also provide 5-15 minutes at the beginning of each class to read their self-selected books. This allows me to opportunities to share with them other works by either same author or authors with similar writing styles. Second, they need to learn, much like the language they use, there is a time and place for everything. How I speak to my family is not the same as how I speak at school or at the university where I am teaching classes. There is a casual conversation and a formal conversation. I only allow formal conversation in the classroom. Keeping that in mind, makes it easy to translate that argument into the rationale that there are school appropriate books and those that are not school appropriate. Furthermore, many of my students would be very uncomfortable with explicit sex, violence, and language, all of which are what I consider objectionable. There many high interest nonfiction books that have hooked the most apathetic of students when their interests have been tapped. Third, if they argue the only books they are interested are the ones that have objectionable material in them, they are grasping at straws and aren't going to read anyway. In my experience, those who want to read books that are "keeping it real" for them are those that want validation that the self-destructive choices they are making (choosing to become part of the culture of drugs and violence that surrounds them) are "normal" and then they won't have to feel guilt or question those choices. That life may be normal for a small segment of our society, but it will not help our students make less risky choices by giving them the idea it is normal for the rest of our society. Every year, several of my students tell me that EVERYONE is in a gang, EVERYONE is involved in violence, and so on. Well, everyone isn't, just many of the people they know and by including those lifestyles in literature selections for them to read, you are telling them it is acceptable and normal. I have big issues with any teacher sending those messages. I believe a large part of my job is exposing my students to the world outside of their limited exposure. There is an entire world outside of our town and I want my students to assertively choose where and how they will fit into it and not just do what they see around them. They may still choose that in the end, but it won't be because they did not know there was something out there that was a better fit for their personalities and strengths. Somewhere between objectionable and Shakespeare, there is a wonderfully wide range of amazing books that students can explore, read, and enjoy.
I am sorry this is so long, but I am really passionate about this topic and truly believe this is an inroad we can use to help our students break out of negative cycles and can be one of the tools they can use to reshape the way they see themselves and their futures. I know this from personal experience. My 11th grade English teacher was the first person EVER to tell me I was smart and should go to college. No one in my family even graduated from high school and I was told that I was NOT going to college. I was not smart enough and they weren't spending the money on something as foolish as school. I now have my MA and not only teach in high school, but also teach adjunct courses at the local university. So, I know from personal experience that a teacher planting seeds of change CAN, in fact, completely alter a child's lifetime course. Oh, she also took me to my first opera and told me there was a whole world outside my home and that I should be part of that too. I would have always felt outside those worlds without her telling me I belonged there too. Maggie ________________________________________ From: mosaic-bounces+mnayerm=waterloo.k12.ia...@literacyworkshop.org [mosaic-bounces+mnayerm=waterloo.k12.ia...@literacyworkshop.org] On Behalf Of jeanhamil...@comcast.net [jeanhamil...@comcast.net] Sent: Sunday, August 07, 2011 9:22 AM To: mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Subject: [MOSAIC] Young Adult Book Selections For all you high school teachers out there--how do you feel about independent/ classroom library book selections for teens? I find teens like to read books that keep it "real." Keeping it real may sometimes mean objectionable material. It is my task to order books for the "at risk" students in our building who are not earning proficient scores on the state tests to ENCOURAGE reading. The "objectionable" books are the absolute ticket, yet I struggle with defending them. These students will not be "turned on" to reading by handing them the classics--yet, it is always my goal to get them there. I have found that beginning with books they find relevant to their lives gets them reading and helps them build confidence in their reading ability ; at that point, they are more willing to take the journey with me into the more traditional readings like Gatsby and really get it. I would love to hear your thoughts on this sticky issue. Thanks, jean _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive NOTICE TO RECIPIENT: This communication and any response to it may constitute a public record, and therefore, may be available upon request in accordance with Iowa public records law, Iowa Code chapter 22. _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive
