Timely Texts: A Variety of Genre Exploring Current Issues
Help me give my students experiences to see characters that look like them (mirrors) or ones different from them (windows) through graphic novels, nonfiction, and fiction.
These current times of living through a pandemic have allowed for much reflection and a new approach to teaching and learning. The death of George Floyed had brought the conversation of racism to the forefront of our discussions, and literature is a way to help students to explore the topic.
In American Literature class, we begin the year with a discussion on what American literature is and whose perspective the narrative/history they read in school is most often told through, which is a white perspective.
Several of my students were a been (one on the panel) a part of a Virtual Town Hall in our town about racism. Others have joined peaceful protests. As a teacher I want to do better with providing them an opportunity for rich, important class discussion on race in class this fall (virtually or face-to-face). Books allow for this. And my students deserve the opportunity to talk about it.
My Project
Two enormous events are impacting students at this moment: the Covid-19 pandemic and systemic racism.
Many want to know more about racism and how come it still exists.
These books will help with conversation. For instance, Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You will provide a backdrop for discussion in American Literature class. The graphic novel Fights: One Boy's Triumph Over Violence shows the struggles of growing up in violence and overcoming it, while the other graphic novel The New Kid focuses on Jordan, one of the few kids of color in his entire grade, which sometimes happens in this school, as it is over 80% white.
These titles will serve mostly as window books for many so they can understand others who do not look like them, and mirror books for some. The plastic gloves and hand sanitizer are for the safe handling of materials when we return to school.
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