My Professional Canon – Part 1

I’ve been working on a little thing lately, ok – it’s actually a big thing (no pressure): my dissertation proposal. The defense is quickly coming up and I’m having trouble narrowing down the texts I’m going to draw on for my humanities theoretical work around multidisciplinary thinking about children’s literature. Earlier today I was struggling with this and thought back to ALAN 2012 Conference when my good friend Teri Lesesne challenged us to think about our personal canons. At the time, I thought about this in terms of children’s and YA literature titles but this morning I realized that I could also think of the texts I’m selecting for this dissertation as my professional canon.

Even this wasn’t nearly narrow enough for me because I started thinking about teaching books, education books, research books… AGH then I refocused. (Thanks to my friend Laura Jimenez.) Children’s literature – this dissertation is focused on children’s literature.

So the question is, what books or articles do I want to include in my profession canon about children’s literature? Here are some questions I’m asking myself as I narrow down the list:

• what inspires me to think more deeply about children’s literature?
• what inspires me to want to actually write a dissertation about children’s literature?
• what helps convey the complexity of children’s literature in ways that I want to engage with as I write?
• I want to be sure and select texts from across disciplinary ways of thinking about children’s literature in Literature (English), Libraries, and Literacy (Education)
• I want to include pieces that are beautifully written, as well as those that are thoughtful, insightful, interesting and engaging.

I’m still working on it, but here is what I have so far:

Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg

I came across this book during a conversation with my colleague and friend Jon Wargo (@wargojon). Jon and I have both taught a course titled “Issues of Diversity in Children’s and Adolescent Literature” at Michigan State University in the College of Education. Jon is a fantastic teacher educator who does work around gender and sexuality in education (among other topics). He and I have had a number of conversations about labels, in particular the ways that he sees the “alphabet soup” of LGBTQ can sometimes be prohibitive in terms of how we think of ourselves and others.

As Jon prepares to teach a new section of TE448 focused on gender and sexuality, Bill Konigsberg‘s new book Openly Straight was suggested to him as a possible title over on child_lit (a fabulous list serv). Conveniently, I had downloaded it from NetGalley the day before and so I could start reading it immediately. I read it in 2 days (maybe 3), it was one that I didn’t want to put down because I became so invested in the characters.

Here are some initial thoughts about Openly Straight (no spoilers):

• the character development of Rafe. I LOVE character, it is my favorite literary element hands down. Rafe is complex and interesting. He is consistent enough that as a reader I felt like I knew him; but also changed and grew as the book went on in very believable ways.
• This book really made me think about labels; something that Jon has made me more aware of as we have worked together. I finished the book 3 days ago and I’m still thinking about how labels impact our perceptions of others as well as ourselves. When I teach children’s literature, I bring up these concepts to students and we discuss them in terms of representations in books. The fact is – the are SUPER complex and multi-layered. This book reminded me of that in terms of my own self and also in terms of societal labels.
• This book wasn’t all neat and tidy. There were times when I was uncomfortable because the characters were – I love this because it is real.
• I strive to have students in my classes read books that can serve as both mirrors and windows. This book did that for me. It helped me not only think about friendships, parenting, gender, and relationships (all in mirror ways); but it also helped me to think about “window” experiences of out students, single-gendered school experiences, and frankly, male perspectives.

I’m still “chewing” on this book. I want to read it again. Jon is reading it as well, as are some other friends and I can not wait to talk with others about it. If you’ve read it, please share your thoughts, ideas and ponderings…

Trusting readers, trusting writers…

I know I haven’t been here for a while. I’ve been writing and reading, grading and teaching, parenting and partnering: essentially living. But I’ve missed this space.

One of the reasons I pulled back from blogging is because I’ve been working on my dissertation proposal and, like many who have done or who are in the midst of this work, I am struggling a bit. Ok, more than a bit. I thought if I stopped blogging it would help me to focus more on my proposal, that I would somehow write more or be more focused or final my academic voice. Or something else.
I realized after returning from International Reading Association, that I love to talk about my work but that writing about it is much more of a struggle for me. When I’m talking to someone, I can immediately address questions that they have; or if I mis-speak, I can correct myself immediately. When I write – I have to trust my words and trust my reader. That is what is terrifying for me. I’ve been thinking about this as I’ve been sitting in my favorite coffee shop today.

I trust writers all the time. In the past two weeks, I read two books that are still with me. Living With Jackie Chan by Jo Knowles and Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg. They were so poignent and thought-provoking. (More on both of these books soon). If those writers hadn’t trusted me as a reader then I never would have had the experiences that I did with those books. This has happened to me over and over again as a reader. I’m comfortable with that role: reader. When I struggle with writing, I find myself wanting to read something and hoping that it will inspire me. I think what I really want to is to find some kernel of something that gives me insight into how it is that an author trusts themselves and their reader enough to actually put the words out there.

***DING DING DING DING***

That’s what this blog is for me. It’s me putting words out there. I don’t know who everyone is that reads this blog or what you think when you read it, but I put it out there. I hope that people read it and that it makes you think. You don’t have to think the same as me, just think something. And I realize that I need to keep blogging, that each time I publish a post, I’m trusting readers. And also I’m trusting myself a little bit more.

So thank you for reading. More soon…

The importance of process

I’m working with a writing coach right now, she is amazing. Something that rang eerily true for me while we were working this weekend was the fact that my past experiences with writing – and other types of creating as well – were largely about having a product outwardly validated. A final draft, a Bach Suite, a photograph, a test result.

I’m now working on my dissertation, which needs to be all about process. There will be a product, yes. But the focus of that product, the reason for it’s existence is a for me to communicate my process. Which, as it turns out, I don’t trust and hasn’t actually helped me to move my thinking forward. I’m working on these things but in the meantime, my realization got me thinking about the things that are publicly valued in our society – so SO many of those things are about product.

• Olympic Medals – or the more timely Final Four Basketball Championship
• the number of albums sold.
• Length of time on the best seller list.
• Test scores.
• Did I mention test scores?

I worry that with so much rhetoric and pressure on schools (translate: teachers & students) to put out strong test scores, everyone will lose sight of the process of learning. Do we need to know what we are teaching and if students are learning? Yes. Can process be included in testing? Sometimes. But I hope that we don’t lose sight of helping students develop and understand their own processes, including:

• Process of learning
• Process of creating
• Process of teaching
• Process of engaging

Introverts and class discussion

Thanks to @Liz_B over on twitter, I became aware of an article written by an extroverted middle school teacher titled, “Introverted Kids Need to Learn to Speak Up In School“. @professornana, @katsok, and @libbabray quickly commented on the problematic nature of some of her points, and I agree. I am an extrovert – hands down, no doubt. However, I am married to an extreme introvert who also happens to be a teacher.  I say this to acknowledge my familiarity with the concepts in very close personal ways.

This is a topic that I am constantly thinking about as a teacher in a discussion-based course. In addition, I primarily teach pre-service teachers who are going to need to stand in front of a class (some day) and express themselves. I teach from a common syllabus which means that across 7 sections of children’s literature we have the same grading structure and assignments – delivery and book choice varies. Participation is a significant chunk of their final grade. Over the course of 5 years, I have struggled with ways to not only encourage the introverts in my classes, but also to help the extroverts learn to stop talking and listen. Because ultimately it is JUST as important for the extroverted, talkative students to learn to stop talking and listen to others as it is for the quiet students to take a deep breath and share something.

Ultimately what it comes down to for me is that it is my responsibility as the teacher to create multiple ways for students to respond so that one is not privileged over another when it comes to determining a grade. At the beginning of the semester, I ask students to tell me about themselves as learners and how they tend to participate. I let them know that there will be times when I will ask the talkative people to stop talking and invite others to join in – however I don’t do this immediately. I use a combination of small group, partner, and whole class discussion. It is not uncommon that people are comfortable in smaller groups but not in the whole class.

I do things like have students write down their thoughts on post-it notes and hand them to me or exchange with each other. Writing down questions or thinking allows time for those who need it, and forces those who only want to talk to slow down and be aware of word choice. I create discussion boards for people to post their thinking and also use twitter. If discussion is about engaging with other people’s thinking, this does not always have to be done through talking. And I also don’t think it always needs to be done in real time in order for it to “count” the same. Ultimately it comes down to me as the teacher and what I privilege in the class. It would be far easier for me to require that everyone talk in whole class discussion. And could I “teach them” how to look at people and say ideas – yes.

I do ask them to look at each other (not me) when they are discussing books. However, I will also stop and ask those who have been talking to take a break. I will say things like, “If you have shared something in the last 10 minutes, I ask you to not share for the next 10 minutes and to concentrate on listening to other’s ideas.” I sometimes have students that are desperate to talk, if that is the case, I encourage them to write things down when they feel the need to talk.

All of this means that I need to be very conscientious and meta-cognitive not only about what I am doing during a discussion, but what other outlets I am setting up. If I were to only focus on helping everyone be more extroverted, it would be easier – because that is how I am and also because it is blatantly obvious when someone participates what they are thinking. But to me participation is about their thinking, how it develops, and how they engage with other ideas.

Is it easier to do this when everyone talks – yes. Is it the only way – no.

Link

I love the Slice of Life writing challenge hosted by Ruth Ayres and Stacey Shubitz over at Two Writing Teachers. It is a great opportunity to not just think about teaching writing but about being writers ourselves. The challenge starts in March, but as they point out in this post, now is a great time to think about having a friend join you and starting a blog if you don’t have one already.

Last year this challenge

• helped me to blog more which…
• helped me to rediscover my own writing voice which…
• helped me make progress on my practicum which…
• I ultimately went on to finish and defend.

This year I’ll be focusing on blogging more in general about teaching and reading children’s literature as well as working out thoughts about my dissertation.

Quote: On Childhood Reading

I love quotes, especially the ones that make me think or reflect in a way that I haven’t before. I also love the ones that remind of why I do the work I do, parent the way I do, or work the way that I do. I’m going to start sharing some of my favorites here.

Here is the inaugural quote post:

“The books you read as a child brought you sights you hadn’t seen yourself, scents you hadn’t smelled, sounds you hadn’t heard. They introduced you to people you hadn’t met, and helped you to sample ways of being that would never have occurred to you. And the result was, if not an “intellectual and rational being,” then somebody who was enriched by the knowledge that their own particular life only occupied on little space in a much bigger world of possibilities.” – Francis Spufford, The Child That Books Built, p.10

Link

The Youth Media Awards, including the Caldecott and Newbery Awards, will be announced in a few hours. Last year I was able to attend the awards in person for the first time. I got up early to be one of the first in line. This year I wasn’t able to attend but I will still be listening to the live webcast. I’m thrilled that my daughters have a snow day today and will get to listen in with me.

The awards always spark much discussion among many of my children’s lit and teacher friends. Monica Edinger - 4th grade teacher, blogger, & author – wrote an insightful post over at Nerdy Book Club, Top Ten Things You May Not Know About the Newbery Award. As a former committee member, she shares some insightful thoughts.

 

 

The Raven Boys

I just finished The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. It was quite an enjoyable read. Earlier this year I took Eldest daughter to hear Maggie speak at our local Schuler Bookstore. I hadn’t actually read anything of hers, but my daughter wants to be an author and so I take to her as many author talks as I can. I had started reading The Scorpio Races prior to the event so I would have some sense of Stiefvater’s writing style.

I loved The Scorpio Races, particularly the way that Stiefvater incorporates elements of mythology into her fantasy story. This is the same thing that I love about the amazing series The Immortal Secrets of Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott. She has done it again with The Raven Boys, bringing in psychics, ley lines, and ghosts – Stiefvater has created characters that are trying to make sense of themselves in their own world as well as intangible dimensions. And this woman does her research – she talked about going to Scotland and getting lost looking for a ley line in the foggy mist with her mother and sister.

I also love that she wrote female characters that aren’t weak or dependent on men. They interact with them, yes – and there is a bit of romantic tension for those they like it. But Blue, her mother, and her “aunts” aren’t reliant on men for either their income or their identifies  They are not treated badly, and are not looking outside themselves to define themselves. For this an other reasons – I’m looking forward to the next book in the series. I’m also looking forward to sharing it with my preteen daughter.

Book Choice: Talking the talk – pt. 2

Yesterday I wrote about my 12 year old daughter wanting to read The Perks of Being a Wallflower and how it pushed me to “talk the talk” of book choice with my own kids. Today’s post continues with a reflection on a similar event with my younger daughter.

My youngest daughter is 8-years-old and in the third grade. She recently finished listening to all the Harry Potter Books. She enjoys reading, though not as voraciously as her older sister. She knows what she likes and doesn’t like. If it is a choice between not reading, and reading something that she isn’t crazy about – she will choose not to read. However when she gets excited about a book, gets really really into it – look out. That’s what happened when she discovered HP audiobooks. She listened to all of them in less than 2 months, we talked about the characters and the stories. We also watched the movies and compared them to the books.

Last week she had a sleepover with one of her best friends who happens to be in fourth grade. Friend has read The Hunger Games and was telling Youngest how amazing it was, and that she just had to read it. I want to say first, that I love that they were talking about books. When friends recommend books to other friends (kids, teens, or adults), it can be one of the most powerful motivations to read.

So Youngest comes home SO excited because she wants to read The Hunger Games. She has asked in the past, but I think it was more to both imitate and annoy her older sister (who has read the book). This is an important part of the story – Eldest insisted on numerous previous occasions, that it was “not appropriate for Youngest to read”. After what seemed like the tenth time she told me, I sat down with Eldest and told her about my belief in readers choosing their own books. I reminded her of the time that she wanted to read Hunger Games. And I told her that ultimately, me saying “no you may not read that” is a form of censorship. That censorship and selection are something I teach my students about because of how strongly I believe that there are not book “rules” that work for everyone. That it was not her responsibility to decide what was appropriate for her sister (or anyone else) to read. Ironically two weeks later, Eldest wanted to read Perks of Being a Wallflower, written about in yesterday’s post.

Back to Youngest, who by now had asked every day for a week to read The Hunger Games. Youngest is a my sensitive one who has felt empathy for others from a very young age. She is the child who cries when other people get hurt. I had definite reservations about her reading The Hunger Games right now. But she was so excited about it, I didn’t want to squash that excitement. I was also genuinely concerned about how she would respond to the killing scenes in the arena and the fact that people were forced to watch it on tv. Part of me just wanted to say, “No, you aren’t ready, you may not read that book now.” But I realized as she and I sat at the table together I needed to talk the talk of book selection with my own child.

And what do I tell parents and my own students to do in these situations? Start by asking the child about why they want to read that particular book. She was excited about the adventure aspect, mostly she was excited to read something that her friends had read so that she could talk about it with them. Ok – where to go next? I described the general plot to her, the conversation that followed went something like this:

Me: Honey there is killing in this book. You don’t even like it when people get hurt.
Youngest: I know that mommy, Friend told me. She also said not to throw the book across the room when a character you like dies. Because it doesn’t change anything and you’ll get in trouble.
Me: Well, that is good advice. I want you to understand what kind of killing and hurting is in this book. It isn’t like Voldemort. There kids killing other kids because adults make them. And people are forced watch it all on tv.
Youngest: People watch? That’s yucky. <BIG PAUSE>  But it’s still a fiction book, it’s fantasy. I know that means it didn’t really happen.
Me: That is true, but I also know that when someone is injured, it makes your tummy hurt. I’m worried that if you read this book your tummy would hurt a lot and make it difficult to enjoy the story. How about I read a page or two to you, and you can see what you think. If you still want to read it, then we’ll do it together.

I read her the passage where Katniss realizes that she’s had her first kill. She remembers Rue being killed and realizes that the boy she killed has family that watched it happens and wants her to die.

She looked at me with her big blue eyes and said, “Mommy I really want to read it, but I think that it would make my tummy hurt.” Then I went and pulled some other fantasy, adventure books off the shelf for her to try out.

My point in sharing today’s story (as well as the one I posted yesterday), is to illustrate the ways that I had conversations with my daughters about these books. Did both situations work out the way I had hoped? Yes, because we had conversations, they had voice, and ultimately made their own decisions. As I write this, I’m imagining someone reading and thinking, “What if Youngest had decided she still wanted to read The Hunger Games?” That is a fair question.

We would have read it together. Not parallel like I did with Eldest and Perks of Being Wallflower (we read it at the same time but on our own). With Youngest, I would have insisted that we read it out loud together, so that I could have discussions with her about things as she experienced them. And it might have been fine, she might have loved the book. But, what would have been important is sharing it together and her knowing that I trust her to know herself as a reader.