Blog #4

Wow! That is the first thought that comes to my mind when I think about how much I have learned from the materials that we read this past week. I, like so many of the readers Hade talks about in his article, gave rarely any thought to the deep, underlying meaning behind so many texts.  I truly only read for face value and now that I realize how many deep messages there are hidden behind texts used so commonly in the classroom, it makes me want to go back and read every one again to see my thoughts about it and how thinking critically has changed what I get from the story.

When Hade started his article with talking about the underlying message in The Lion King, my thinking really began. I had never really paid any attention to how there was a deep rooted message behind the fluffy Disney story of The Lion King. I realized that unless you think critically, so many key messages just pass you by. In my Culturally Diverse Lit. class, we discussed in class about stereotypes and a lot of those issues discussed reminded me of this. For example we talked about shows such as Hey Arnold that portrayed stereotypical images of characters. For example, Gerald is portrayed with the stereotypical afro and having a boom box with him all the time. I never really thought that I was thinking stereotypically when I watched this show, but now looking back on it I just assumed that was the “normal” traits that could be connected with African Americans. We also talked about how even in the media, with commercials, those stereotypical gender issues arise such as how many commercials relating to girls have the play kitchens and household items associated with them and the boys commercials deal with electronic cars, etc. So we truly are teaching these stereotypes to children from the time they are little and as the article pointed out, “reading isn’t natural, it’s learned”. (Hade 238). We need to learn how to teach to be more accepting and open to others and their views.

“Reading is inherently social and is dominated by culture. And the meanings we hold about race, class, and gender (many of which may be stereotypes) mediate how we interpret text”. (Hade 235). This quote goes to show that what students were brought up learning about beliefs is what they will ultimately bring to the text. Because of all the different backgrounds that students have, I think it is especially important that as a teacher we express the fact that not just one answer is correct. Students should feel comfortable enough to share their views on a subject and everyone in the classroom will be able to learn from each other’s views. I think being open to everyone’s ideas will help lead to more open thinking on issues. I also think that I need to step back and really think and analyze about what I will be bringing into the classroom from my background on these issues and I need to make sure that my views don’t override any other students. I want my classroom to be open to all ideas and not one overruling thought.

I completely agree with Hade when he states that “pedagogy must accommodate learning how to read race, class, and gender” (Hade 238). I think that in schools we discuss how these issues appear in our society but we never really go any deeper than that and actually teach about it, which I think needs to happen. I liked his suggestion of choosing novels in which these topics are not forced, but rather are integrated into understanding the story. Like anything, I think if you constantly push a certain idea and nothing else, students will get bored and ignore the point that you are trying to get across. The most effective way seems to discuss the issues and slowly bring more novels and materials that integrate these meanings into them.

I really liked how Hade talked about the importance of comparing two books and how this can help to better show the hidden messages in some novels. I think that comparing books is a great practice to incorporate into the classroom and that many projects and assessments besides the typical tests and quizzes can stem from that. Going with this idea, I learned a lot about the underlying meaning of The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein just by reading this article and how he compared it to another novel. I never saw the gender issue behind this story until Hade compared it to another novel. I thought that was amazing! I also liked how Hade talked about how many teachers express doubt about children being able to pick up on gender themes in a story. I often feel this way and wonder how my students will be able to pick up on issues of this complexity when I pass them by so often. After reading more of the article however and seeing how the students actually picked up on this issue and had a discussion about it when they compared the two novels, I was surprised! I think that I don’t give enough credit to the students sometimes and really learned that often they can handle a lot more than I think!!

Overall I learned a lot about this article and found it very interesting. I think one quote that summed up this issue of multiculturalism for me was “It isn’t a month or week of focused study on a particular group. Multiculturalism is a perspective we take on and struggle to understand, a stance we take to our reading that race, class, and gender matter in the way we interpret stories” (Hade 241). I think this expresses the issue completely. Also the statement “This is not an easy or safe pedagogy” (Hade 252) was important to me. Even though these issues may be uncomfortable to bring up and teach in the classroom because it is so different from the “normal” way of teaching and how we were brought up, we need to step outside the everyday box and think in new ways to make learning even more powerful for students. Like we discussed in class, sometimes pushing yourself to be a little uncomfortable can help you learn and ultimately become a better teacher. Isn’t that what we truly want?

In “A Class Divided” by Jane Elliot a powerful lesson on racism was taught which I really thought was neat, especially since it was so interactive with students and they didn’t even realize at first the power of what they were learning. The lesson really helped teach students a real life message that they still remembered years down the road which is what I would like my students to have. I want to be able to teach them information that they will remember and find useful! It was amazing to see that how after just a few days of being treated as the superiors or the inferiors, the students really took these roles on, which is how it works in society. It showed me that beliefs really are learned and it showed me how powerful learning is. This lesson really showed the power that racism plays in the world. I think that by doing an activity such as this one and pairing it with some novels that deal with the issues of race, you could create a successful teaching unit.

The novel To Kill A Mockingbird would be one example of a great novel to incorporate with teaching about any of the three issues of gender, race, and class. All three issues are clearly seen throughout the novel and you could create a lot of great activities with the story. The issues of class arise just by looking at the setting of the story. Taking place in Alabama in the 1930s in a small town, the novel talks about how in the town you are treated all depending on whom your parents are, who knows you since it is such a small town and how long you have lived there. This shows how class played a role. For teaching, you could even connect this back to the early times and how important class was then and maybe ask students if they think that class plays as big of a role in today’s society as it did back then. The issue of gender arises with Scout’s character. She is seen as more of a tomboy. She seems to face a constant struggle about who she really is. Though her Dad accepts her for herself, her brother Jem makes fun of her when she does act like a girl, so she is in a constant battle to find her place in the world. I think that a lot of teaching opportunities could come from this, especially since she is the narrator of the story. Students could write responses based on what they would do if they were in the characters shoes or it might be interesting to have students compose a letter to the character giving her advice on what she should do or connect with the character about a time that they experienced a similar event or feeling. Also, showing media clips dealing with gender issues like I talked about earlier would be a great real-world connection. Lastly, the issue of race is very prevalently seen. The main issue of the novel comes about when Scout and Jem’s father, Atticus, represents Tom Robinson, a black man, on trial for raping and beating a white woman. The children face many racial slurs and torments because of their father’s role in the trial. For teaching, you could teach about racial issues seen today and incorporate other novels dealing with similar issues. I think it is very important to make students aware of these issues and show them how they are still very present in today’s world. If we have students think critically about these issues, maybe their future will be a more accepting and open one.