http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/issues/overview.html
My goodness. Why not just call it what it is: psychological tactics able to subvert an individual's control of his own thinking, behavior, emotions, or decisions. Wait. Let’s just insert ad here instead:
Dear White and Walker: I feel as though I’ve been having this conversation for the past 9 months. It haunts me. Kid culture is often scrutinized, deemed as illegitimate, etc. but honestly; it may be the secret to lasting educational success..if we ever give kids some credit. Instead of trying to stop this irrepressible force (remember Sisyphus?) let’s meet them half way. Let’s see…engaging students and making text more accessible/relevant by reading Poe’s The Raven only, or pairing the text with watching The Simpsons “The Raven” Treehouse of Horror, Season 2: Episode 7F04. Hmm…I hope I get this answer right.
We can either ignore, feign knowledge of, simply close our eyes and cover our ears to the fact that kids say shit, fuck, and damn, or we can bring in a copy of the latest and greatest rap song (oxy moron?) and dissect why an artist felt the usage of selected words to be effective or necessary, what they accomplish, how they convey meaning, intended audience, etc. Let’s tally shall we? Critical thinking…check. Validation of students and their culture…check. Textual analysis…check. New/critical literacy…check. Stepping/thinking outside the box/comfort zone for everyone..check. Making lessons relevant and connective to lives…check. Totally engaged/interested students…check. Coolest fucking teacher award…check. Awesome. Whooda thunk Tupac could have provided all of the above? Nah. These kids would rather read Faust.
Okay, okay. I didn’t stumble upon an English major, it wasn’t accidental, nor was my desire to become a secondary English teacher. I heart the cannon. It’s just that I am also a student (please don’t read to me from your PowerPoint), have been one for 20 years almost non-stop (please show me and do something new..I’m dying here), and I’m a realist. Noooo. I am. My favorite book is Moby Dick. When most people hear that they vomit a little bit in their mouths. It’s okay..I get it’s not for everyone. Different strokes for different folks I think it goes. I realize that not all of my students are gonna be like yay! 300 pages of whaling! even though there is so much more going on in that book than harpooning…I just get that there has to be more for some kids. I am willing to accept that not all students in my class are going to be English majors, and that some are going to downright detest it. I cannot brush this off as simple ignorance (or can I? ☺ No.) I have to reach out and pull those other kids in. I’m not saying down with the cannon and staple curricula..I’m sayin get with the times folks. Deal with it and be smart about it. Play some Tupac. Show some Simpsons. Please. I believe the money word is access. Cha ching.
This goes for toys too. Although I am an adult..I suppose…I still am very proud of my collection of marbles and bouncy balls. Yes, yes, thank you. They are divinely displayed in Mason jars around my house, and not one fellow adult who has entered my abode has not commented on their awesomeness. Old people still like toys. If old people still like toys, how do you think age appropriate, suggested age and recommended for ages aged people would respond to toy usage and the like in the classroom. Probably pretty well. What? We’re finger painting in art? We’re using building blocks in design? Magnetic poetry in literature? Sweet man…this sucks less. Well, then..that’s half the battle. Making it suck less. I think they call that engagement. That’s two money words. Maybe I won’t have to wear that paper sign after all.
6 comments:
agreed. i think half the battle IS making it suck less. i can't tell you how often i skip a class because i know the lecture is going to be nothing more than the textbook copy-and-pasted into a powerpoint. in high school, i called out my statistics teacher for doing this, and though i may have gone a little far telling him he was the worst excuse for a teacher on the planet, i maintain that as a seventeen-year-old girl i would've done a better job teaching.
last time i was at my parents' house i found my old box of POGS and was in heaven for the rest of the weekend!
Erin-
I always love reading your blog posts! You have definitely found your "voice" and your posts are always entertaining! I, too, still take pride in some of my toys as an adult, but unfortunately, they tend to follow the pop culture. I also take pride in the few enduring toys that I took with me from my parents house to my apartment :-)
Seems like you, Erin, would be in a great place to combine an appreciation of canonical works (can you help me with the Scarlet Letter as I've never been able "dig" that one) with the popular and emerging. Go for it!
I just don't think I could teach "The Raven" without The Simpsons. Why the heck would you? It's not like everything in school has to be fun and good times, but as my grandfather used to say "I would never deny a kid ice cream." If you can give kids fun and good times in a way that helps them learn about Moby Dick or whatever you're teaching, don't deny them that.
I agree there is value in dissecting language usage in pop culture. Unfortunately, parents and school boards can stifle that sort of exploration (and put a teacher's job in jeopardy). Parents/board members in my district got bent out of shape about the book The Giver, and a faction of them have a small fit over Harry Potter and anything 'magic' related. It's important to know the climate that you are working in before you get too adventurous. New teachers can create problems for themselves if they don't properly research the area's politics/religiosity.
P.S.
I just wanted to say that I have a student in my 9th grade honors class who you would just adore! Her spring break reading was Moby Dick, and loves reading the classics (at 15!). In fact, she has mentioned that she doesn't have any interest at all in the current novels that are written these days and would much rather spend her time reading texts from the cannon... How often do you find a kid like that??
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