ALP Project Proposal #bookhenge

My ALP Proposal is still in its preliminary stages since it just started to come together yesterday. As it evolves, I'm sure it will change. Suggestions are much appreciated!

ECI 521 Action Learning Project Proposal

• Name: Maureen Cunningham

• Inquiry Question/Issue/Problem: Can YAL promote a better understanding of the classics?

Relevance of this Inquiry to Young Adult Literature and how it is supported by our

Waves of Change Theoretical Framework: YAL deals with many of the same issues as classical literature but in a more contemporary fashion that students can relate to. Based mostly on the schema theory, I question whether or not creating prior knowledge through YAL can foster a more sophisticated understanding of classical literature. I am also considering Pink’s notion of Empathy. Can students empathize with the characters and situations in classical literature once they have empathized with those in a YAL novel? How can readers make both textual and personal connections with classical literature by bridging it from YAL?

Project Design (what you intend to do, what aspect of the inquiry you will implement,

how you will evaluate your project, how will you collect student feedback . . .): I am meeting in a book club with students who read both Lord of the Flies and Nothing and getting their feedback on the following.

• A.      What connections can students make between LOTF and Nothing?

• B.      Does reading a more contemporary novel aid in the understanding of the classic novel?

• C.      Can students empathize more with the characters in LOTF after reading Nothing? Which ones and why or why not?

• D.      Should these two novels be paired? In what order should they be taught? Does reading the YAL novel first help to transition to the classic one?

My project will be evaluated based on qualitative data, specifically, student feedback.

I will meet in person with students to talk about ideas and collect data.

Project Multimedia Report (how you intend to tell the story of your project, including

what kind of artifacts you will keep and what type of documentation you will do.

If I can borrow a flip cam from NCSU, I would like to videotape our book club meetings, and use it as part of a video presentation for my final report.

Also, any issues related to school policies on media and privacy, security that you

have researched and will adjust for).  I will create a release form for students’ parents to sign to use their images in my video.

Good evening and welcome to America. Who traveled the farthest to get here tonight? Congratultions! You win the award. #bookhenge

I have never given much thought to awards like the Coretta Scott King or the Pura Belpre and what value they contribute to the literary world. I suppose I never much separated the art from the author. I love Maya Angelou, Amy Tan, Langston Hughes, and Lorraine Hansberry. The fact that they do not check off the box labeled Caucasian on the census form makes no difference to me. Their compelling writing of poetry, plays, short stories, and novels are the crux of the matter. While it is true that their unique experiences shape their writing and without these experiences their stories could not be told, is the same not true of all writers? Does ethnicity matter when it comes to exigent prose? Harper Lee is proof positive that one must not necessarily be African American to write a powerful novel about racial discrimination.

I do not believe there is any malicious intent behind the awards, nor do I believe that Aronson condemns the awards for their promotion of authors of different ethnicities. Much to the contrary, I feel that Aronson is trying to find equal footing for these authors, but if the basis of an award for literary quality lies within the writer’s birthplace, it devalues the work, the author, and the reader, thus creating bias, the very thing these awards set out to equalize.  Andrea Davis Pinkney does raise some valid points opposing Aronson’s argument, however. She reminds us that we don’t live in an ideal world and that three Newberys and a handful of honors in 79 years do not mark progress (2003). Perhaps without an initial push to expose multi-cultural books, they might not get the recognition they deserve. However, now that the genres have been established, it’s time to raise the bar and stop using race as a yardstick.

What place does ethnicity have in an award for literary excellence? Should it be the key criterion or should it even play a role at all? For all intents and purposes, awards like the Coretta Scott King extol the virtues of literature based on the author’s ethnic identity. This hardly qualifies as literary excellence. Certainly, there is no shortage of talented writers who are African American, Asian, Hispanic, or any other nationality, for that matter, so the notion of using ethnicity to denote the quality of literature does indeed seem peculiar.  “By insisting on testing the racial identity of its winners, the CSK shifts its focus from literature to biography. Your community, your ethnicity, comes before your talent.” (Aronson, 2003).  Since this is the case, the CSK award is judging the relevancy of background rather than the ability to weave it into a story. The question remains how to maintain the integrity of an award for literary excellence without exclusivity.  Perhaps Aronson’s conclusion is on the right path, “Keep the CSK, Belpre, and Asian American Awards, but honor content alone, not identity” (2003).

What the Heck Is YA Lit?

Sometimes random things pop up from the deep recesses of my brain like a flash mob of dancers in Times Square. For example, the phrases “Please don’t squeeze the Charmin; Mikey likes it, and you’re soaking in it,” along with the theme song from Welcome Back Kotter occasionally creep into my thoughts. This phenomenon happened to me while thinking about the definition of young adult literature. While trying to process its meaning, I recalled a Bible passage my cousin read at my wedding.

Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous, love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offense, and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people’s sins but delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes. Love does not come to an end.

 I’m not sure that this thought was so random though. Unlike the old songs and commercial taglines for which I can offer no explanation, I can connect the bible passage to YA lit. You see, the breadth of the definition of love reminds me of the ubiquitousness of YAL.

The Bible passage discusses attributes of love without nailing down a specific definition; much the same way we toss around the features of young adult literature without creating concrete meaning. While it is clear that YA lit can be defined as literature geared toward young adults, what does this actually signify? I look for lucidity and consistency, yet I’m not sure it exists. YAL is not something we can neatly compartmentalize. We couch the term in a way that lumps together all novels aimed at a single age group. Not only is the definition of YA lit problematic, but the definition of “young adult” poses equal trouble. “Historically the designation “young adult” is based on audience. Isn’t that odd? We define no other art form that I can think of by its primary audience. Paintings? No. Sculpture? No. Music? No. Audience is a moving target. We can’t even agree on what a young adult is, let alone what the literature is” (Roxburgh, 2004.) As Aronson sees it, “A book a teenager should read is any book” (p. 96). Well, that certainly doesn’t raise the bar as far as criteria go, does it? But Aronson does say that a young adult book is one that presents “art and ideas in a fashion that communicates especially well to teenagers” (p. 96).  O.k., now we have something to work with. A cross between the ideals of the art illuminatos and the moralists could well be a keystone of YA lit. Building on this notion, educators must determine what role YA lit plays in the English classroom. How much should educators concern themselves with the ethical message a book brings to a teenage reader? Aronson substantiates that researchers have not been able to confirm or deny that young readers are influenced by acts or language in a text, and apparently it is not much of an issue. To that end, we must trust that our students are mature enough to deal with adult subject matter and language. Compelling novels must provide some sort of transformation, no matter how small, to the reader--a new insight into something or a reframing of his or her original view. This makes perfect sense since we know that for learning to take place, students must undergo transformation.   

As English teachers, however, we must consider the pure intellectual quality of the writing.  Do we need to find a writing style that fits distinctly within canonical literature? I am inclined to say no. Teens want to read text with a sophisticated style of writing, interesting plots, and good character development. Perhaps the best way to integrate YAL into the English classroom would be to use it to try to create text-to-text connections. If we challenge students to make connections between “interesting” novels and traditional literature, for example, the themes of love and dreams in A Midsummer’s Night Dream could easily be connected to most YA novels, we can broaden the appeal of literature. By exposing students to YA and, well, let’s just call them less interesting novels, we can get our students to appreciate not only YA lit, but all lit.

The Literati Glitterati #bookhenge

As I reflect on the 2011 Melinda Awards, I find myself wanting to write a witty review flush with hip teen terms like shizzle  (Yes, I do know what shizzle means.), dope,  and the bomb, but the words won’t come, at least not as shrewdly and fluently as I would like. That’s because I was awestruck, not by the event itself, the tech-savvy production, the books, or even the authors, but rather by the readers. The members of the Eva Perry Mock Printz Book Club spoke with the passion, intelligence, and eloquence of seasoned readers--and they certainly are. But, how did they become accomplished readers? This question led me to an inquiry into my middle school-aged daughter’s perception of reading and literature, which went like this:

Me: What is your favorite book?

K: Huh?

Me: I asked, what is your favorite book?

K: Dunno.

Me: I though you liked Maniac Magee?

K: Yeah.

Me: Well, what do you read in English class?

K: English class?

Me: Language arts.

K: I just read Wait until Helen Comes.

Me: Did you like it?

K: I guess.

Me: What did you like about it?

K: I don’t know.

Me: What do you like about reading?

K: (silence)… I don’t like reading.

Me: Why not?

K: It’s boring.

Me: Don’t you like getting lost in a good book?

K: I don’t like getting lost at all.

Me: (in my head: The snarkiness comes from her father’s side.) What do you do when you text with your friends and spend hours on Gmail?

K: I talk to my friends.

Me: No you don’t. You read, and you said reading is boring.

K: Well, I read about myself.

Me: You can read about yourself in a book.

K: There’s a book written about me? (Sarcasm again)

Me:  There’s a book written about everybody.

This exchange, as brief as it was, started the old hamster wheel spinning. I realized that perhaps young adults who don’t like reading just haven’t been reading the right books. My daughter’s explanation made me wonder if one of the more important aspects of YA literary quality is for a reader to be able to find him or herself on the pages. If this is the case, is it the educator’s responsibility to choose the right novels for teens? The answer is likely yes, but how do we find books that appeal to all teen readers? Some of the responses from the Eva Perry bibliophiles included finding novels with good plots and authors whose voices resonate with their young readers. Certainly these things are important, but we must dig deeper to engage our students.

Examples of Literature As a Performing Art

Please listen to the voice thread in the right sidebar before viewing these videos. Feel free to comment if you like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em0VEUMv42w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwK2c0Myhzc