TRANSFORMING THE CLASSROOM THROUGH YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE

Thanks for tuning in on a holiday or over the holiday week. This week, the contributors are students from the University of Central Florida and are graduates students who were in a class with Dr. Elsie Olan. Elsie is fantastic and I had the joy of attending their class through a Skype session. They were kind enough to use this blog as part of their class and they had great questions. In the following post they share some of their reactions to teaching and reacting to Young Adult Literature.  I am issuing a brief trigger warning. One of the presenters mentions the work of Sherman Alexie. Many of us have used his work and I suppose some us might continue to do so with qualifications and broader conversations. Just, remember, when this work was done, their study was well underway before we knew about the situation. The situation deserves our attention and our firm, but calm academic response as we consider how we study art.

​TRANSFORMING THE CLASSROOM THROUGH YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE

The following students contribute: Jessica Margaret Adams, ​Ashley Antoniette Gecewicz, Duaa Lutfi, Jessica Mary Kirton, and Carly Mae Cravotta 

How can young adult literature increase reading motivation among middle school students by Jessica Margaret Adams

Scenes, motifs,
New ideas unfurled,
Use young adult literature
To experience the world.
 
Improve, inform
Understand your surroundings.
Society and culture
Knowledge is abounding.
 
See through the eyes
Of someone unknown
Let your thoughts take flight
And your dreams to roam.
 
Affect change you want
Don’t allow the past
To darken our future
And hatred to last.
 
Find what you enjoy
Always keep searching
So many opportunities
Are forever emerging.
 
Once upon a time
In a classroom on my own
I began to read YA novels
And I found my home.
 
Suzanne Collins created
A place, simply serene
A place I could find myself
My own self-identity.
 
This place that was created
Where I felt I could be
Nothing else, no one else
Just be me
Was only because
The author’s own life
Was spent understanding history
And looking back in time
 
Into crime, hatred, war
And how it can transform,
Change, hurt, maim
And also can inform.
 
This story reflects the author
And her own personal journey
With her family and her Dad
With their moving and their learning.
 
Battlefields and monuments
Places Collins knew well
Places she formed ideas
Experiences that would compel
 
The formation of her characters
The plot and the theme
The timing and the reactions
The creation of the scene.
 
The courage, the stamina
Of Katniss, my hero
The sheer rebel nature
My alter ego.

Picture is linked to a video clip.

​Her name was Katniss
Katniss Everdeen
So many similarities
Finally could be seen
 
Between my life
And the girl in the book.
She made me think
Take a deeper look
 
At what I believed
And who I thought I’d be
All shifting, changing,
Into what worked for me.
All shifting, changing,
Into what worked for me.
 
As Katniss ventured
out on her own
She stated, “Some walks
you have to take alone” (Collins 2010).
 
Truth and many parallels
Between the character and me
Between the inner struggles
Of her self-identity.
 
The struggle to understand
Where we fit in
How our frame of reference changes
From where we are and where we’ve been.
 
Suzanne Collins was an author
Who changed my frame of mind
Transformed my way of thinking
And my sense of self it refined.
 
Another novel
That inspired me
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Which truly set me free.
 
Scott O’ Dell created
A place I could escape
Where I could find myself
Allow my beliefs to take shape.
 
Push the boundaries, the norms,
Find what I believe,
Karana’s life as my guide
Her determination as my reprieve.
 
As she decided
What she would believe
How she would live
All she would achieve

 
I began to see
So much of myself
In the girl in the book
That had sat upon the shelf
 
The pages came to life
As I learned of true courage
To question what is true
 Free thought encouraged.
 
I realized then
I could choose on my own
I did not have to follow
What I had always known
 
I could decide something different
Something not the same
As those who were before me
I could affect change
 
I could stand up for those
Who deserve a place
No matter where they come from
No matter what their race
 
No matter what their color
nationality or creed
All that mattered
Was that we all have a need[1] 
 
To connect to be
An equal part of this earth
To be given a chance
From the instant we are birthed.
 
To be able to connect
To thrive on our own
But work together
To cultivate this place we call home.
 
Karana and Katniss
Showed me something strange
I could have courage, love, and hope
I could be the change.

How can pairing classical literature & young adult literature affect student personal growth? By Ashley Antoniette Gecewicz

Back in the summer of 2009, my mother and I started to listen to an audiobook together on a long car ride. This was no big deal, it was something we frequently did. However, in that ride, little me had no idea what this book was about and was soon brought into a new world of heroes, monsters, and adventure. The book was an infamous young adult novel by the name of Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan and I became obsessed with the lore of Greek Mythology. It was unbeknownst to me that in a couple of months when I started ninth grade, I would actually be reading a little tale that some may know. The Odyssey. The connection I had was surreal. I knew ins-and-outs of the Gods and Goddess presented to me in my English 1 classroom, all because I happened to have picked up a book that was about a young 13 year old boy and his other 13 year old friends and became enthralled in the knowledge that surrounded me. This book took me to another realm and it made me want to be able to spread my knowledge of the literature that complimented Greek Mythology. This book alone was what sparked me to become a English teacher, all those years ago, and the fire still burns inside my soul today. 

As a young reader, I wanted adventure, of course, but I also wanted relatability in my readings. Yes, I knew that it was Fiction, but the characters were so real. The feelings the characters had were so raw and they were just like me. And that’s one of the most important aspects of Young Adult Literature. A student can read a book and look at a character and say “Hey! They’re just like me!” Young Adult Literature comes in many different genres and has many different themes, but the characters are the age of our teens, and they can relate to them and say that “They’re just like me!” and if that is not impactful, I don’t know what is.
           
Little did I know, I was pairing a young adult novel with a classical text, something that later in my life would become my focus of study in my academic career.
           
​Pairing young adult literature and classical text could have the same effect on students as it did on myself and that is data that is necessary. Not to focus just on their scores of tests but the effects on their personality growth and how their thinking changes through the course of said pairing. Students have the ability to understand the relation between texts, it’s one of the main things we, as teachers, teach them to do. 

For students to see how people of the past saw a concept and compare it to how those of today see it can enhance their understanding. For example, pairing 1984 (George Orwell, 1949) with The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins, 2008) to discuss dystopian literature or Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Sea of Monsters (Rick Riordan, 2006) with Odyssey (Homer, 8th century B.C.) in discussion of Greek mythology. YAL can be more interesting for students due to them being more recent and relatable than the original concepts written as classics. It will broaden their resources and understanding of the controversial topics that are addressed and bring them into the light to be discussed how the topics were seen in the past and present. The students of today do not live in the past, from social media presence to life in the classroom, they are about the here and now, so we should be adapting our techniques to adhere to the new age of students. However, when doing so, we should still be teaching them the past and where the original thoughts were retrieved; that’s how a pairing of classical literature and young adult literature would make due. Both in educational means, by teaching of the past and present, as well as the influence that there will be on student growth, pairings would be beneficial for all.

Inherent Worth of Culturally Relevant Young Adult Literature Novel(s)-by Duaa Lutfi 

Do you ever seem frustrated when you are connected to the WiFi, but your media is not loading? How about when you don’t have the WiFi password and you sit there hoping someone would mention it or display it? In both instances, you emotionally feel disconnected and physically detached to what is going on around you. Feelings consisting of impatience, frustration, panic, isolation, and fear of being shut out or left behind are starting to surface. What do you do?

​Now imagine that scenario above in a classroom of about 20-25 students, all with distinct emotional and behavioral abilities. Some students may confidently voice their concerns, others may silently sit there while hoping and praying they had magical abilities to disappear at that very instant. How can the teacher provide the necessary resources for ALL students to feel connected? How do we bridge the gap between students real life and the world they live in? How do we make learning substantial?

Teachers, educators, anyone relevant to the educational realm should come to the realization that we have diverse students with diverse learning needs and interests and we need to  utilize engaging, relevant instructional resources. We need to position ourselves to refrain from marginalizing our students in our classroom practices, mannerisms, and “all-inclusive” curriculums. We need to shift the status quo by teaching students how to fall in love with learning again and to become well-versed in the world around them. In order for us educators to do that, we need to invite the students to safe environments that are relevant to their lives; where all funds of knowledge are welcomed and appreciated. Now, where do we start?

Existing literature and numerous field notes have demonstrated the impact and power of Young Adult Literature novels or YAL and their merit in the field of education, classrooms, and students personal lives. These canonical and modern day novels have been seamlessly integrated across content area curriculums and have deemed paramount results among student emotional, cognitive, and behavioral levels, as well as, language acquisition. While the integration of YAL is critical in a classroom, it is imperative to note that these novels should be aligned with the cultures and relevant to the diverse learning backgrounds existing within a classroom. It is equally important to note the accessibility of these culturally relevant texts for students so that it becomes “…easier to bridge the students’ worlds with the world of the text” (Alsup, 2010, pg. 147). Teachers at times fail to validate our students’ cultures by not providing culturally relevant texts, which in return affects their abilities to be engrossed in the reading material and associated learning performances (Alsup, 2010, Hayn, 2017). If the students are not able to see the connections between the themes salient in these novels and their real worlds, these novels will not have the potential to change their lives (Alsup, 2010, pg. 13). These relevant novels can feed into students’ funds of knowledge about the world, society, their personal identities and journeys, etc. When students read about the stories of others, they are better able to make sense of the world around them and be more equipped in handling issues from different angles. Each canonical young adult literature novel has various cultures, societal pressures or issues, character structures, etc. that can be conduits to meaningful dialogical interactions among students. As the students read about different cultures through a lens other than themselves, they are able to properly question other cultures (motives, taboos, religion, etc.) and clear misconceptions in a safe setting. Literacy performances in conjunction with proper discourse and action yield to real world implications, where students voluntarily want to get up and correct the issues at hand (Alsup, 2010, pg. 58).  Teaching Young Adult Literature Today: Insights, Considerations, and Perspectives for the Classroom Teachers (2017) by Judith Hayn and co-authors, Jeffrey S. Kaplan, and Karina R. Clemmons, bring forth ideas of the educators Barbara A. Wards, Deanna Day-Wiff, and Terrell A. Young in their chapter on Civil Rights and Social Justice. These authors further rationalize that teachers “...need to promote students to be upstanders rather than bystanders…” and as a result of reading being an interactive process, ‘meaningful action’ takes place (pg. 144). Not only do students need to be involved in culturally relevant novels and materials, the concept of critical reflectivity is also significant (Alsup, 2010). Students need to gain the expertise of expanding the novel themes and character experiences beyond their scope and being able to “...see the similarities in a seemingly dissimilar situation” (Alsup, 2010, pg. 213). Essentially, the goals of [culturally relevant] YAL should successfully “...help teen readers work through problems in positive, life-affirming ways” (Alsup, 2010,  pg. 210). Now, how do we implement such rich resources?

There are numerous strategies to successfully  integrate YAL in an English Language Arts classroom. In this case, I will use The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo as an example to demonstrate possible implications.  The Alchemist is about a young shepherd boy named Santiago who has a dream of a hidden treasure. Throughout the novel, he goes on an adventure to seek his treasure and discover his True Legend or calling. Along the way, he meets some interesting characters and learns a few valuable lessons. One excellent way to teach this novel is by closely examining each character by deconstructing and problematizing their attitudes and beliefs, diverse cultures and mannerisms, perceptions and experiences, and/or influences upon the novel’s protagonist. Another example would be to model and practice Wonder Talk, consisting of reflective questions such as I wonder...? What if...? Have you ever...? (Hayn, 2017). Following this Wonder Talk, it would be essential to transition students lens from self to world and allow them to critically analyze the actions of the characters or events occurring in the novel.  In these examples, students are reading, writing, and discussing the text, hence actively transacting with the text, instigating their cognitive and emotional intelligences.

​Teachers should always find ways to motivate and excite their students; to instigate their thirsts for learning every day. Integrating YAL is a multifaceted avenue worth exploring, implementing, and creating in order to yield productive, self-autonomous students.  

A Matter of Genre by Jessica Mary Kirton

“Good reads.” “Page-turners.” Books you simply cannot put down. What are these mystical reading experiences everyone buzzes about, and where are these magical books? As a child, I observed that my family loved books and my teachers did too. Oh, I how I wanted a glimpse into this wonderful world of storybooks! Oh how I tried to taste it for myself! But, my experiences were always the same: Reading was boring. Apparently, I was locked out of this wonderful book-world. And, eventually I accepted it.

Despite my ability and eagerness for reading, I never read more than I absolutely had to. Then, in my early twenties, I finally had a different experience after a friend told me about a “memoir” she was reading. A biography? No. A memoir. My friend described an author who wrote a personal story, a real account of something that actually happened to him. How fascinating, I thought! Renewed in the hope of finally discovering a good book, I set out to read this memoir, A Boy Called It. It was my first discovery of an actual “page-turner.” I read in the bathroom. At stoplights. Even while pumping gas! It was all so elusive before, but I finally found a book I could not “put down.” To this day, the only books I willingly and happily commit myself to are memoirs.

As a new teacher, personal reflection is an important part of my reading identity. Not only to stimulate self-awareness, but with the larger view of sharing literature with young adults as a way to help them overcome barriers. Consider the results of a national survey: Reading capability does not necessarily lead to engaged reading. In other words, just because students are good at reading does not mean they will enjoy and look for opportunities to read. To connect my personal reading experiences with my research on Young Adult literature, I ask:  How do my personal reading experiences shape me as an English teacher, and what does my literacy research tell me about adolescent student readers?

Three essential beliefs present from both my lived experiences and my research.

1) The simplest observation: I avoided reading because I flat-out did not enjoy it. This fact is so simple it hardly seems worth stating, but the implication is: If we want students to read, they ought to read for enjoyment and not just to get information. 

2) My long awaited “discovery” of reading was a matter of genre. It follows then, students should be exposed to a variety of different kinds of books and have the freedom to make choices about what to read.

3) It is important to consider how I learned about my favorite genre. Not through a book report, no! At long last, my renewed motivation sprung from a conversation I had with a friend. It follows then that students need the opportunity to talk about what they are reading in class. 

The hope of students being able to make real connections with in-school reading assignments means sharing selective power about the texts themselves. As teachers, we know which students are struggling to find a book or which ones are only pretending to be engaged.

One memoir novel proving to reach thousands of adolescent readers is The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Alexie, 2009). This is a coming of age, autobiographical fiction novel by Sherman Alexie and includes illustrations by Ellen Forney. The story is told in the form of a diary and is narrated by the protagonist, Arnold Spirit Junior, or “Junior,” a Spokane Indian. Junior goes to school and lives on the Spokane Indian Reservation near the town of Reardan in Washington State. He was born with water on the brain, survived a life threatening brain surgery at six months of age, and was plagued by many secondary health conditions due to the resulting brain damage; nevertheless, against all odds, Junior develops into an intelligent and ambitious young man.

But, growing up on the Spokane Reservation, or “the “Rez,” is an incredible struggle for Junior due to his family’s poverty, alcoholism, and general prejudice toward whiteness. The crux of his dramatic story centers on his powerful decision to leave his high school on the Rez at age fourteen and commute to an all-white high school in a neighboring town twenty-two miles from the Rez. Although a brave choice, it proves to make life even more difficult as Junior struggles to find acceptance at his new school and to win the support and validation from his community on the Rez. While Jr. lives on the Rez and goes to high school at Reardan, he is torn between two different worlds, two separate identities, and worse- he is an outcast in both circles. Through friendship, Junior finds at least some answers to his dilemma in a surprising insight about his own identity and that of “others.”  
       
In an article published by the Wall Street Journal, Sherman Alexie (2011), true to his honest form, responds to those concerns:
​
And now I write books for teenagers because I vividly remember what it felt like to be a teen facing every-day and epic dangers. I don’t write to protect them. It’s far too late for that. I write to give them weapons–in the form of words and ideas-that will help them fight their monsters. I write in blood because I remember what it felt like to bleed (p. 4).

All American Boys for All American Students by Carly Mae Cravotta

Every teacher’s goal is to reach each and every single student sitting in their classroom. Every teacher yearns to hear the string of words, “I love reading” or “This novel is good,” or even, “I checked out a book from the library.”  Every teacher’s ideal day consists of captivating their most reluctant readers through relevant curriculum entangled in an engaging lesson. But how can educators entice even the most detached students, begging for something authentic and raw to reel them back in? The most marginalized and disenfranchised students’ education can be salvaged through the relevancy and applicability found in young adult literature (YAL). All American Boys, co-authored by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely, embodies an exemplar young adult (YA) novel to implement in a high school English Language Arts (ELA) classroom. With the ever-changing demographics of the United States, classrooms across the country are pleading for a diverse book like this that can be advantageous for students’ achievement.
*insert Carly image (a) & (b) here

The chapters toggle between the perspectives of the two protagonists, Rashad and Quinn, as they grapple with a single act of police brutality from different perspectives, from different races. The dualistic and authentic nature of the voices afford this novel to simultaneously function as both a mirror and window text for students. Students can either see themselves in one of the characters or are learning the idiosyncrasies of a person from an unfamiliar background. Powerful and contemporary themes attract even reluctant readers: providing authentic learning opportunities to explore social justice issues. Readers are then propelled out of the classroom and back into the real world, connecting their unprecedented experiences with the novel to their own lived experiences. The interaction with the text builds upon their perceptions and corrects any misconceptions of people from different backgrounds.
​
As the United States remains a polarized nation, the classroom discussions and activities infused with this novel could evolve the divisive discourse surrounding the themes of police brutality and racism to a more unifying forum. Since these issues in the novel are prevalent in current society, teachers can incorporate authentic writing experiences and texts pairings to connect the novel to the real world.