Disclaimer to Begin: If any teacher is offended by this post take a step back and reflect on why it is being written. Don't be offended, use it as constructive criticism on a system that may be flawed.
I recently read the book Night by Elie Wiesel. I had never read the book previously, though I was supposed to in high school. In a recent blog post about the book I stated that I am glad I waited to read the book, as I feel like I got more out of it now than I would have in high school. The book, to me, was much more than a book. It evoked emotions I didn't really know a book could evoke. At times I was angered, saddened, depressed, enlightened, inspired, and frustrated. More imporatantly though, Night is not just a book, it is Wiesel's life, his account. The book itself is horrifying, but the story is real. I found myself thinking about how this book would be great to discuss and share, so that is what I did. I discussed my reading with people and shared my reading and new-found learning with the world. I felt it was the best way to honor such an important book from where I sat. That is, until I spoke with Erin Olson.
Erin works as an instructional technology consultant with a background in English language arts. We have similar backgrounds and current occupations, though there really is no comparison to the genius of Erin. If there is one ELA person out there I would love to teach with more than anyone it's Erin. I could go on and on, but let's get back on track. Erin and I were discussing how certain literature is taught in schools and were laughing back and forth, as well as sharing horror stories. We were specifically talking about the book Night, as I had just finished reading it.
Now, it's no surprise that copy machines still run constantly in schools, printing off worksheets, packets, quizzes, and tests. Learning that schools are teaching novels like Night is great, until you find out how many teachers are teaching the book. Night is arguably one of the most powerful works ever written. The imagery and symbolism are enough to brag about, but it's so much more than that. Upon seeing the way teachers are subjecting their kids to this book, well, is an injustice to the book. I am by no means saying there is a right way to read a book, but when you strip down something, like Night, to vocabulary, quote memorization, and simple recall of facts/events I feel students may miss the point. The students are not to blame though, it's the design of the learning experience. Take a look at this unit plan for Night: Unit Plan. That unit plan, and many others that you find on sites like TeachersPayTeachers are reading checks. It's the illusion of engagement, The one linked above, in particular, has some discussion (only for the sake of a unit test though), zero extension outside the book, and at one point has an activity labeled "Interpretation" with questions that are not really open to interpretation. At one point a question is asked, "Did you enjoy reading Night? Why or why not?" I can only imagine the many students responding to this question having been told how to read this book through the lens of endless vocabulary, memorization, and recall.
I remember in late elementary school starting to read the Harry Potter series. Those books will forever mean a lot to me. They inspired me to continue reading and are one of the main reasons I am an avid reader today. They were powerful books for me, and still are to this day. I dread the day when an English teacher begins stripping those books down to vocabulary definitions, memorization, and recall. Erin and I fear that day has already come, though, as seen by this unit. What are we doing to students? What are we doing to literature? I fear Shakespeare would scream Elizabethan profanities if he knew how a majority of the nations English teachers were teaching his works. How do students see meaning in works like Night when this is how they are taught it? What does their perception become of a man like Elie Wiesel and of an evil event like the holocaust? You are limiting their perception of these to words with dictionary definitions and questions like: "What was the setting and the year for the first section of the book?", or having them complete activities like: "Use words from the word jumble page and have students spell them correctly".
I wouldn't be so critical if this was a minority of what we are asking students to do, but that's not the case. And that's not the case with many novels. Whether it is Night, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harry Potter, Of Mice and Men, or "Romeo and Juliet" these works are being taught in a way that takes away meaning, purpose, emotion, and power and replaces it with recall. How sad. I know so many great teachers, and I hope they recognize their strengths, and I am not saying a teacher who teaches this way is a bad teacher. I am simply saying, it might be time to change our methods and start honoring these authors better for their works of art.
Erin and I have a plan (it was her idea though). We want to try and see what Elie Wiesel, Harper Lee, and J.K. Rowling think about how their works are being taught, or better yet, what are their hopes, wishes, requests, and desires for the teaching of their books? What do they hope students get to do with the reading of their books and what do they hope these students might gain? I know this post has centered around Night, but it goes much farther than that, which is why we put the calling out to the other two incredible authors. We need this post shared, re-shared, and pushed out all over to spread the word. We know this may end up a complete failure and we may forever wonder what these great minds think about this issue. Perhaps they don't care. I think this issue is deeper than their books though, because it really is about education and how we are potentially failing our students. So, if one of those three, or any other published author is reading this, please weigh in on the conversation. My email is schmiaah@gmail.com and Erin's email is eolson@aea8.k12.ia.us. We would love to hear from you and potentially set up some sort of virtual meeting to discuss this and how we can start to change this. Our voices are small, but collectively we can be heard. And what English teacher wouldn't love hearing from Wiesel, Lee, or Rowling? Even it is to bash on their teaching methods. Happy reading folks and please leave a comment if you feel so inclined.
Last year we had Immaculee Ilibigiza, survivor of the Rwandan genocide speak to our students. (She also has a book). Instead of just talking about the speech afterwards, a fellow teacher drew a small square on the tile and had eight students pack into that space for the class period to demonstrate how Immaculee spent 91 days in hiding with seven other women. How powerful! We need more examples like this when teaching topics, especially tough topics. I guarantee students remember that exercise, but they would not have remembered a worksheet.
ReplyDelete