I really loved the discussion of Young Adult literature in Teri Lesesne’s chapter “Of Times, Teens, and Books.” Lesene describes an expansion of differences in characters by color, by location, by interest, by religion, by sexual orientation, and suggests that these varied characters allow more teens to “use books both as a mirror or as a window”(Beers, 72). I really appreciated the idea that books can be used both to help students see a reflection of themselves, and also help them to access worlds and issues that fall outside of their own experiences.
As I was reading this chapter, I thought a lot about how Lesesne’s ideas could apply to the discipline I’m interested in teaching-social studies. I think using works of fiction in social studies classes can help students access the historical events and eras they are learning about. The personal, emotional quality of a novel can serve as a hook- engaging students in a story that makes history more tangible. I have experienced this in my own history classes. For example, last semester I took a course about Women’s history in the United States since 1890, and the syllabus included three novels- Edith Wharton’s House of Mirth, Willa Cather’s My Antonia, and Julia Alvarez’s How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents. Each novel allowed me to immerse myself in the history and to gain a deeper, richer understanding of the historical context. The stories served as concrete examples of the larger themes and trends we discussed in class.
I also liked the idea of using books with multiple narratives in adolescent classrooms. Lesesne suggests that multiple narrators force students to ask questions about what is true and what is reliable, and I think that asking those questions is a very important element of literacy! Also, I think books with multiple narrators help students see the many perspectives present in every situation- an important skill in social studies and an important part of analyzing historical events.
I think these ideas about YA literature resonate with Elizabeth Birr Moje’s article about how literacy instruction can be a part of learning in different subject areas. Literacy skills and instruction can be a natural addition to subject area curricula, and can even enhance subject area learning.
This point by Lesesne really resonated with me as well. I feel that oftentimes, we don’t address the fact that most canonized YA literature simply doesn’t reflect the varying perspectives and experiences of a vast majority of adolescent students, in spite of the fact that there exists a diverse selection of YA literature out there.
When protagonists represent individuals coming from different race, gender or socioeconomic backgrounds or sexual identities, the narrative inherently addresses these issues and their real-world context. The standard YA character is white and heterosexual. Because these dimensions of his/her identity are not explixitly explored, we as an audience assume these characteristics to be universal. This is highly problematic because it fails to present narratives that are relevant to students’ lives. Not only is it important for teens to relate to the characters that they read about, but it’s also important to expose them to characters that might not be so similar to them, but every bit as representative of actual people they may or may not know. Because kids have access to information about and from all parts of the world, the books they read should address and illuminate the many complexities they’re grappling with.
This begs the question: where does ‘classical’ YA literature fit in? I think that classic novels are still important, just as standardized tests are important for practical reasons. But if we want students to experience long-term and important understanding about the things they learn, we must encourage them to broaden their worldview by reading YA selections that present a range of perspectives.
Like Kate, I too found the ‘Taboo Topics’ section really thought-provoking. I feel like we have to acknowledge that nowadays, teenagers know more about the world than did teens of past decades. Because they have greater access to information, they probably have more questions that need to be answered, or at the very least discussed. YA literature has the potential to do this. This only leads me to wonder: it’s easy to say that we should introduce our students to literary alternatives such as graphic novels and novels offering different perspectives, but how will we address the likely backlash from parents and administrators who won’t approve of such ‘unorthodox’ reading content?
I also found the idea of using young adult literature as a mirror and window to be a very effective teaching method. Often times students complain that what they are learning is not relevant to them and they have trouble connecting to certain things such as history. By reading historical fiction, it gives students a character to relate to and also allows them to see things through a historical lens.
The multiple narrative idea not only teaches students about point of view and other literary elements, but it also urges them to search for various sources of all information. This will be useful to them when reading about the news and other current events so that they can form their own opinions instead of getting a skewed sense of the information based on one author’s views.
I am wondering what you thought about Lesesne’s ideas in the section titled “Taboo Topics”. It ties in to the multiple narratives element you brought up. When talking about how characters have experiences that relate to the current generation of students, Lesesne says, “…we give teens with those same emotions a safe context for discussing how ‘those characters’ feel without having to admit they may be describing themselves (75). By students sharing personal stories indirectly, the teacher can learn more about the backgrounds of his or her students, while creating a somewhat therapeutic atmosphere for some students.