Oppressive? Me?
Ahhhhh, yes, young adult literature. FINALLY we are talking about literature for kids that is accessible and relatable, unlike most of that Shakespeare garbage (unless, of course, it is transposed into a younger and more hip articulation - thanks Morgan for showing us all the magics of these videos). We as prospective future educators have got to make sure that our content is culturally diverse and accessible to our students to ensure that they get the most out of it. Consistently beating works into their heads that were written by old middle class white male authors does not make for culturally diverse pedagogy.
I have outlined my small-town, conservative high-school experience numerous times through various assignments and conversations with fellow members of the cohort, but I’ll re-up it here - growing up in a town of 1,500 people went exactly as you’d think it would. My upbringing was by-and-large white conservative in nature, as this small-minded frame of thinking was pushed on us students from the onset. I, for an extremely long time, was complicit and bought into these ideologies, and I’m not obtuse enough to ignore that I will carry that past with me for the rest of my life. This has invariably shaped and whitewashed my view on the world, and I work every day to correct myself not only for the benefit of myself but for that of my future students.
This is why literature is such an important subject and how it could be a powerful tool in rural areas like where I grew up only adds to the relevance of the content area. In my town there were no people of color - this fact was emphasized by the time we had “the one black family,” of which everybody made a point of referring to them as such. If we can teach culturally relevant and diverse young adult literature in our schools, it can provide these sheltered areas with perspectives that they would otherwise never be exposed to. While it should not be reliant on the notion that this exposure should start in the schools, it is important for the schools to practice this pedagogy regardless.
At this point it becomes clear how all of our assigned readings are interconnected - the first point of establishing culturally diverse content and practice within students may come with challenging the foundations of knowledge that students may have already established within themselves. It is in this regard that crisis learning within the students may not be the worst thing, but we must be able to manage it effectively in order to convey our points accurately and articulately. We must establish a literary community of practice to promote student learning and involvement to get the most out of our students. This will help eliminate the inherently oppressive teaching methods and ideologies that lay present within many of the conventional transmission theories and modes of teaching. This movement could start with something as little as diverse young adult literature being placed within the curriculum, but it can certainly blossom into something far greater. I personally was not exposed to any diverse literature until I entered college, and this should certainly not be the case for students moving forward.
Troy, I appreciate you sharing some of your background; it's clear that you've shared with the cohort before, but it was new to me. I also appreciate how you use that lens when processing your reading, thinking not just about how using inclusive literature will serve students of color and Indigenous students, but also how it's to the benefit of white (rural, conservative, etc.) students as well. I do wonder how you would approach inclusive lit in a manner that didn't "otherize" non-white communities and people.
ReplyDeleteI agree Troy. I think educators are doing a real disservice to students if they are not including authentic literature from diverse cultures into their curriculum. In a global age it is important to see, understand and respect different cultures, not only to improve yourself as a human being but to understand our constantly changing world. I grew up in a mostly white high school as well and a lot of the literature was really monotonous, and I didn't really receive more options until I started taking college-level classes. For someone who has lived in MN for 22+ years (in many non diverse settings), looking at different cultural perspectives has always been refreshing.
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