I believe it is sign of my growing maturity that I can admit when I am wrong. I know all of us make mistakes and missteps, I just hate to think that I make more than the next guy. Life is full of obstacles, challenges, mistakes. It is one thing if we make them of our own volition, recognize them, and try to make amends and recover. It is quite another if we struggle with obstacles thrown at us by other people. In this case, I am not talking about an assignment we weren’t expecting, a work task we don’t like, or a bad day of traffic were you might have saluted or been saluted by another driver in a manner that, perhaps, your mother wouldn’t have approved. What I am thinking about are the misdeeds that children and adolescents face at the hands of others.
Chris Crutcher is coming to the Vegas Valley Book Festival on Oct 15, 2016 and I couldn’t think of anyone I would rather hear speak to students, teachers, librarians, and parents about the challenges some (too many) kids face. As part of his visit Chris will be speaking on a panel about censorship. I know; it is a touchy subject. I continue, however, to have one abiding question about the censorship issues: Why do people spend time banning books instead of assuring the safety of children? I know they are not quite the same thing, but they are related. Many abused adolescents think they are alone, that it is their fault, or that they can’t tell anyone. Of course, from an adult perspective we can see that they are not alone, that it isn’t their fault, and, yes, they can tell somebody. Nevertheless, the topic is frequently silenced in arenas of their lives. Adults in school settings often just don’t talk about sensitive issues or do it inadequately. As a result, too many students live lives of quiet desperation. Books can help and Crutcher's offerings are a giant step forward.
Chris Crutcher is coming to the Vegas Valley Book Festival on Oct 15, 2016 and I couldn’t think of anyone I would rather hear speak to students, teachers, librarians, and parents about the challenges some (too many) kids face. As part of his visit Chris will be speaking on a panel about censorship. I know; it is a touchy subject. I continue, however, to have one abiding question about the censorship issues: Why do people spend time banning books instead of assuring the safety of children? I know they are not quite the same thing, but they are related. Many abused adolescents think they are alone, that it is their fault, or that they can’t tell anyone. Of course, from an adult perspective we can see that they are not alone, that it isn’t their fault, and, yes, they can tell somebody. Nevertheless, the topic is frequently silenced in arenas of their lives. Adults in school settings often just don’t talk about sensitive issues or do it inadequately. As a result, too many students live lives of quiet desperation. Books can help and Crutcher's offerings are a giant step forward.
Well, Chris Crutcher is their ally. For more than 30 years his stories have masqueraded in school and classroom libraries as fiction. Technically, they are works of fiction, but they draw from his experience working with children as a teacher and a child and family therapist. His Wikipedia page claims that “his books generally feature teens coping with serious problems, including abusive parents, racial and religious prejudice, mental and physical disability, and poverty.” I would suggest they cover even more themes including death, sexual relationships, perseverance, loyalty and friendship, and team work. While many kids feel stifled by the isolation, his novels often demonstrate that there are people who can help—other kids and adult as well. Chris is a master at sitting on a teacher’s desk at the front of the room dressed in a causal shirt, jeans, and sneakers while engaging an audience in truth. As horrible as the truth may be, it can lead to freedom and a release from the grip of horror; however that horror is evident in a given child’s life. I think we need to trust Keats again. “Beauty is truth, truth beauty,” –that is all / Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know. At times it might be disturbing to realize that children are reading about difficult situations—in any number of ways—but, just remember, there are children experiencing much worse. I have heard Chris explain that in some cases, as he writes he has to tone down the experience he creates so that people will believe it. Can you imagine?
  | Alexander Solzhenitsyn, in his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize in Literature, notes that Dostoevsky stated that “Beauty would save the world.” As Solzhenitsyn discusses both beauty and art he explains: “There is, however, a certain peculiarity in the essence of beauty, a peculiarity in the status of art: namely, the convincingness of a true work of art is completely irrefutable and it forces even an opposing heart to surrender.” I clearly remember as a senior in high school reading Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. I couldn’t have talked about, written about it, or even discussed it. I wasn’t prepared. I was, however, an avid reader and about a third of the way into the book I knew I was reading the greatest novel I have ever encountered up to that point in my life. It might have been from that moment that I knew reading would be essential to my professional life. Perhaps, teaching and reading has been an attempt to understand Crime and Punishment and the suffering that exists in the human condition. Most of our students are not ready for Dostoevsky or Melville or Faulkner or Morrison, but they are ready for Crutcher. He writes where they live, or, if not them, their classmates. Crutcher has the ability of the artist as Solzhenitsyn describes it “to be more keenly aware than others of the harmony of the world, of the beauty and ugliness of the human contribution to it, and to communicate this acutely to his fellow-men. And in misfortune, and even at the depths of existence or in destitution, in prison, in sickness – his sense of stable harmony never deserts him.” When students find Crutcher’s works they find Beauty and Truth. What more can you ask? |
The books in the slide show above are all linked to a brief description. Personally, I don't think you can make a bad choice. My three favorites Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, Stotan, and Deadline. Once again, it would be hard to overestimate the importance of Crutcher's impact in the arena of Young Adult Literature. He has continued to support others authors in remarkable ways. Immediately, I can think of three that I have either heard him support directly or who have talked about his influence--Matt de la Peña, Terry Davis, and Bill Konigsberg. Thanks Chris for pointing the way and as Aretha says: Rock Steady.
A Note or Two about Banned Book Week.
It seems important to talk a bit about diversity and banned books at the same time. We point to five articles that discuss diversity in YA literature. They are all different; one is a twitter feed that accompanied an NCTE Chat. The small comments in the tweets are interesting and suggest a number of people worth running into at NCTE. The first article points to a startling fact: the number of multicultural books published has remained at no more than 10% over the last 20 years. BUT, on average 75% of recently challenged books are diverse, and, using the #WeNeedDiverseBooks definition, nearly all of ALA’s top ten most frequently challenged books of 2015 are diverse.”
Literacy & NCTE: The Official blog of the National Council of Teachers of English
http://blogs.ncte.org/index.php/2016/09/whats-wrong-diversity/?roi=echo4-36245334792-90917589-07b3f05ca377a3ed28aee83749c87efc&utm_source=2016-08-09+Members&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Inbox
Literacy & NCTE is a blog that promotes a conversation on diversity and the discussions that inform the topic.
Black Girls’ Literacies
https://storify.com/NCTEStory/september-2016-nctechat-black-girls-literacies?roi=echo4-36245334792-90917590-48854b81c7defdf51c09022fa756f89d&utm_source=2016-08-09+Members&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Inbox&
Black Girls’ Literacies is a blog post that’s hosted by several female bloggers promoting the idea of literacy for females of color, both Black and Hispanic
No Longer Invisible: How diverse Literature Helps Children Find Themselves in Books, and Why It Matters
http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/CC/0261-sept2016/NoLongerInvisible.pdf?roi=echo4-36245334792-90917591-8b7a905cadc97eeaa71a792d9d705e8f&utm_source=2016-08-09+Members&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Inbox
This post discusses YAL and the conversations that are taking place on kids and diversity in literature.
Taking the Risk to Teach Diverse YA Books
http://blogs.ncte.org/index.php/2016/09/taking-risk-teaching-diverse-ya-books/?roi=echo4-36245334792-90917592-21f83b3a0972d99d874d1c592299d3ad&utm_source=2016-08-09+Members&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Inbox
It is an interview with Jennifer Buehler, a YA literature expert, and Ms. Jennifer addresses the theme of Banned Books and teaching with diverse YAL. She points to key components that are mandatory in promoting and teaching YAL and the theme of students or kids that are outside the dominant culture.
Teaching for the new Majority: A TC institute reimagines education for racially diverse classrooms
http://www.tc.columbia.edu/articles/2016/september/teaching-for-the-new-majority/?roi=echo4-36245334792-90917594-5f0613eba2b2404717a8b30590f39c6b&utm_source=2016-08-09+Members&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Inbox
This site highlights many educators, comments or criticisms, and conversations that are taking place on the subject of diversity and educating students of color.
Literacy & NCTE: The Official blog of the National Council of Teachers of English
http://blogs.ncte.org/index.php/2016/09/whats-wrong-diversity/?roi=echo4-36245334792-90917589-07b3f05ca377a3ed28aee83749c87efc&utm_source=2016-08-09+Members&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Inbox
Literacy & NCTE is a blog that promotes a conversation on diversity and the discussions that inform the topic.
Black Girls’ Literacies
https://storify.com/NCTEStory/september-2016-nctechat-black-girls-literacies?roi=echo4-36245334792-90917590-48854b81c7defdf51c09022fa756f89d&utm_source=2016-08-09+Members&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Inbox&
Black Girls’ Literacies is a blog post that’s hosted by several female bloggers promoting the idea of literacy for females of color, both Black and Hispanic
No Longer Invisible: How diverse Literature Helps Children Find Themselves in Books, and Why It Matters
http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/CC/0261-sept2016/NoLongerInvisible.pdf?roi=echo4-36245334792-90917591-8b7a905cadc97eeaa71a792d9d705e8f&utm_source=2016-08-09+Members&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Inbox
This post discusses YAL and the conversations that are taking place on kids and diversity in literature.
Taking the Risk to Teach Diverse YA Books
http://blogs.ncte.org/index.php/2016/09/taking-risk-teaching-diverse-ya-books/?roi=echo4-36245334792-90917592-21f83b3a0972d99d874d1c592299d3ad&utm_source=2016-08-09+Members&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Inbox
It is an interview with Jennifer Buehler, a YA literature expert, and Ms. Jennifer addresses the theme of Banned Books and teaching with diverse YAL. She points to key components that are mandatory in promoting and teaching YAL and the theme of students or kids that are outside the dominant culture.
Teaching for the new Majority: A TC institute reimagines education for racially diverse classrooms
http://www.tc.columbia.edu/articles/2016/september/teaching-for-the-new-majority/?roi=echo4-36245334792-90917594-5f0613eba2b2404717a8b30590f39c6b&utm_source=2016-08-09+Members&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Inbox
This site highlights many educators, comments or criticisms, and conversations that are taking place on the subject of diversity and educating students of color.
The books highlight above are listed in one source in the document below as the most frequently banned books of 2014-2015 (http://bannedbooksweek.org/node/831). The banned book issue seems more important than something that can be contained in a week. At Dr. Bickmore’s YA Wednesday we realized that many people would be writing about this issue in ways that would be richer than we could do in a single post. If you teach YA literature, English methods courses, or have a secondary class of your own, these resources (in the document below) can provide you with information that can address the issue until Sept 2017.
| banned_book_week_09.26.16.pdf |
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