It seems to me that the content of Yu Ren Dong's article "Bridging the Cultural Gap by Teaching Multicultural Literature" applies mostly to Esperanza Rising, if we are considering the books we have read thus far.
My reasoning is this: Dong's article, like the article we had read previously, conveys the importance of the teacher not only instructing students in the way of multicultural literature, but also opening up themselves to make room for their own learning. The students in Dong's course learned that the best way to teach such literature was to strip away a reader-response attitude, so that students did not merely discuss what they had read in terms of their own individual perspectives. Instead, they agreed that a cultural-response discussion was best. Students should read in terms of the separate cultures conveyed in the book. However, the teacher or facilitator of the discussion might not always know about the cultural at hand. Sometimes, it might be more than beneficial to reach out to a minority student who might better understand, and might be able to explain more thoroughly what the characters in the book are experiencing. Thus, the student becomes the teacher.
I think that it would be difficult for a minority student to inform a class on the struggles of the African slaves, as in Copper Sun. While it is more than beneficial for the students to reach out and attempt to understand Amari's cultural, I don't think that any of the students or the teacher, if he or she is a minority, could give first hand experience. Harry Potter and Twilight are excluded from such discussions; we could claim that wizards and vampires are different cultures, but my bet is that no one has any experience on that either, and the only cultural lessons that could be taught are those of tolerance.
However, I do believe that a lot could be learned from Esperanza Rising. While the story takes place during the Great Depression, many minority students could probably contribute to Esperanza's perspective, especially if they had immigrated themselves. In today's America, Mexicans are quickly building up our population, and it is very likely that many immigrants or children of immigrants are present in most of today's classrooms. By teaching Esperanza Rising, teachers are not only providing a stretch away from the same old European-American literature for the minority students, but are giving these students a chance to teach their fellow classmates.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Copper Sun, Harry Potter, and Twilight: are these texts beneficial for students in a classroom?
To begin, I will reiterate a tad bit my thoughts on Sharon Draper's Copper Sun, as it relates to the article "But, is it Good Enough to Teach?" As I mused before, Draper's depiction seemed unrealistic and without a full knowledge and understanding of the Africans that were kidnapped into slavery. I stated, with the hope that no one would misinterpret my feelings as being cold-hearted, that while we saw the victimization of the mistreated Africans, we, as an audience looking for a new perspective, were not provided with an accurate depiction of another race from another country, another culture, another spirituality. The characters in Copper Sun, it seemed to me, had thought processes and understandings of situations that seemed to similar to my own, when I feel that Amari and her fellow kidnappees would probably see the world (and America) as something much different. Additionally, I felt that I had learned very little about Amari's (and thus Africans') lifestyle and culture.
For these reasons, I'd argue that this book is NOT good enough to teach, unless maybe if it were taught to a much younger audience that perhaps would have trouble seeing the world from a perspective completely different than their own (and the ethicality of teaching young students from multi-cultural perspectives is a completely different argument). The article from the Brannon and Greene argues digging deeper into a diverse reading selection for students; while teachers should be comfortable with what they are teaching, they should be able to take risks and perhaps learn new things about the material. They should choose literature for their students that perhaps cannot be easily substituted by a more apt work; they should teach literature that can truly enhance a student's understanding of the world around them. Even more importantly, a teacher should worry about teaching all races and all cultures about each other. A teacher should not teach Copper Sun simply because there is an African American student in the class. Additionally though, the teacher must also understand that not only are the white students in the class to learn about the horrors of slavery, but African Americans must also get something out of the book; and perhaps they should get something out of it more than the cruelty of white Americans, but something about their history, about the culture of their ancestors. And, in my opinion, Copper Sun does not offer that.
I've ranted about Copper Sun's pragmatism in the classroom for quite a while now, and unfortunately I don't feel as opinionated about Harry Potter or Twilight. To me, these books are strictly entertaining. I don't feel that there are any overpresent themes to discuss or analyze. I think that many adolescents are attracted to these books because they can relate to new parental problems of Harry and Bella; they can understand the pressures of tranferring to a new school, whether it be more fantastical like Hogwarts or a regular ole' high school in the rainy town of Forks. They can understand an annoying bully like Draco, or having a crush on someone who seems out of your league, like Edward. So, obviously, there are themes and lessons to be learned in these books. But, they seem more personal and less academic.
Relating this to chapter 12, though these books are popular, they are easily replacable if these are the types of stories that we are interested in teaching to our students. But, I see nothing new to teach. They are easy. The feminist arguments that can be addressed in discussing are almost too easy. If the article suggests that we take risks, shouldn't a teacher who perhaps wants to argue feminism with her students through literature choose a novel that is more beneficial and better written? The teacher should introduce a novel that the student perhaps wouldn't have read otherwise (it is very likely that an adolescent student would have already read Twilight), and should choose one that digs a bit deeper in the issue at hand. In the case of Twilight, the text doesn't help to facilitate discussion. An analytical discussion would only be a critical response to the almost sickening, lovey-dovey dependence of the otherwise stubborn Bella. It would be more insulting the book and its characters than appreciating it. There just seems to be better options.
For these reasons, I'd argue that this book is NOT good enough to teach, unless maybe if it were taught to a much younger audience that perhaps would have trouble seeing the world from a perspective completely different than their own (and the ethicality of teaching young students from multi-cultural perspectives is a completely different argument). The article from the Brannon and Greene argues digging deeper into a diverse reading selection for students; while teachers should be comfortable with what they are teaching, they should be able to take risks and perhaps learn new things about the material. They should choose literature for their students that perhaps cannot be easily substituted by a more apt work; they should teach literature that can truly enhance a student's understanding of the world around them. Even more importantly, a teacher should worry about teaching all races and all cultures about each other. A teacher should not teach Copper Sun simply because there is an African American student in the class. Additionally though, the teacher must also understand that not only are the white students in the class to learn about the horrors of slavery, but African Americans must also get something out of the book; and perhaps they should get something out of it more than the cruelty of white Americans, but something about their history, about the culture of their ancestors. And, in my opinion, Copper Sun does not offer that.
I've ranted about Copper Sun's pragmatism in the classroom for quite a while now, and unfortunately I don't feel as opinionated about Harry Potter or Twilight. To me, these books are strictly entertaining. I don't feel that there are any overpresent themes to discuss or analyze. I think that many adolescents are attracted to these books because they can relate to new parental problems of Harry and Bella; they can understand the pressures of tranferring to a new school, whether it be more fantastical like Hogwarts or a regular ole' high school in the rainy town of Forks. They can understand an annoying bully like Draco, or having a crush on someone who seems out of your league, like Edward. So, obviously, there are themes and lessons to be learned in these books. But, they seem more personal and less academic.
Relating this to chapter 12, though these books are popular, they are easily replacable if these are the types of stories that we are interested in teaching to our students. But, I see nothing new to teach. They are easy. The feminist arguments that can be addressed in discussing are almost too easy. If the article suggests that we take risks, shouldn't a teacher who perhaps wants to argue feminism with her students through literature choose a novel that is more beneficial and better written? The teacher should introduce a novel that the student perhaps wouldn't have read otherwise (it is very likely that an adolescent student would have already read Twilight), and should choose one that digs a bit deeper in the issue at hand. In the case of Twilight, the text doesn't help to facilitate discussion. An analytical discussion would only be a critical response to the almost sickening, lovey-dovey dependence of the otherwise stubborn Bella. It would be more insulting the book and its characters than appreciating it. There just seems to be better options.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Copper Sun
My feelings for Copper Sun were quite mixed. I'm not sure that it is what I consider to be an accurate depiction of the scenario; I must question its authenticity. My reason is similar to problems I've had with many other multi-cultural books. The relationship between the cultures seems unfair in that the white man is always cruel-hearted and the victims are perfect. Now, I understand this sounds quite harsh, especially as I am a white American. But don't get me wrong-- slave supporting white Americans deserve all the blame and disgust that was targeted toward them in Copper Sun. And the Africans were completely victimized and treated unfairly to the most extreme extent.
The reason, then, that I'm somewhat turned off is by the almost-cheesy and unrealistic depiction of Africans that I saw in Copper Sun and often times see in other works of literature depicting any kind of racial cruelty, whether it be the African slave trade or the mistreatment of Native Americans. Let me explain myself with a paraphrasing of a line that threw me somewhat out of the story and made me laugh. When Amari first tells her mother of the white men that had been spotted, her mother speaks something along the lines of, "Now, we would never judge anyone by the color of their skin."
This is not to say that Amari's mother WOULD judge someone by the color of their skin. But that line was so cheesy and so targeted. It was like a moral lesson force fed to the adolescent audience saying, "Racism is wrong." Which, I think the book tells that story on its own. I just didn't think that the line was well-written in its lack of subtly, and I think it unrealistically depicts not just Africans, but absolutely any human being.
To remedy this, I'm not saying Draper had to include the faults of the Africans, but they could have been better portrayed. Adding to this lack of realism, I don't feel like I learned anything about African culture at all. With the exception of Amari's spirituality and the knowledge that she lived in a tribe, the Africans' personalities and thought processes didn't seem too far off from characters that we as readers are already accustomed to. For this book to have been truly multi-cultural, the audience should have finished the book having learned more about the African lifestyle. Instead, I felt as though I had just read about a girl who had already assimilated into an American life, albeit a slave life. She didn't know a thing about our country and our people--shouldn't she have been a little more confused about the most minute details?
That being said, I did enjoy the book for its entertainment value. It was a quick and easy read; I had no problem keeping the book in my hand for most of a day. However, I don't believe, for the reasons stated above, that it is the best book for a school setting when cultural studies is the goal on the curriculum.
The reason, then, that I'm somewhat turned off is by the almost-cheesy and unrealistic depiction of Africans that I saw in Copper Sun and often times see in other works of literature depicting any kind of racial cruelty, whether it be the African slave trade or the mistreatment of Native Americans. Let me explain myself with a paraphrasing of a line that threw me somewhat out of the story and made me laugh. When Amari first tells her mother of the white men that had been spotted, her mother speaks something along the lines of, "Now, we would never judge anyone by the color of their skin."
This is not to say that Amari's mother WOULD judge someone by the color of their skin. But that line was so cheesy and so targeted. It was like a moral lesson force fed to the adolescent audience saying, "Racism is wrong." Which, I think the book tells that story on its own. I just didn't think that the line was well-written in its lack of subtly, and I think it unrealistically depicts not just Africans, but absolutely any human being.
To remedy this, I'm not saying Draper had to include the faults of the Africans, but they could have been better portrayed. Adding to this lack of realism, I don't feel like I learned anything about African culture at all. With the exception of Amari's spirituality and the knowledge that she lived in a tribe, the Africans' personalities and thought processes didn't seem too far off from characters that we as readers are already accustomed to. For this book to have been truly multi-cultural, the audience should have finished the book having learned more about the African lifestyle. Instead, I felt as though I had just read about a girl who had already assimilated into an American life, albeit a slave life. She didn't know a thing about our country and our people--shouldn't she have been a little more confused about the most minute details?
That being said, I did enjoy the book for its entertainment value. It was a quick and easy read; I had no problem keeping the book in my hand for most of a day. However, I don't believe, for the reasons stated above, that it is the best book for a school setting when cultural studies is the goal on the curriculum.
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