I want to extend Heffernan's article into my own
teaching life by trying to talk more about the Critical Literacy lesson I
created.
In my lesson, the teacher presents a situation of a
social problem or social ill. The teacher presents this as something they see
as a problem that they can find a solution for, but teacher does not present
solution. The teacher asks students for ways teacher can possibly solve this
problem within their own means. The class then listens to a TIB podcast about
an individual solution to a large social problem. The teacher asks students to identify
another large problem. The teacher really probes- why is this a problem? Why
does this make you angry? After having them write them/call them out for the
class, the teacher assigns 1 social problem to each table, asking them to find a
solution that the students could actually do to counter that problem. The students
share out solutions, teacher facilitates feedback and discussion and then the class
listens to another podcast example.
This is my first attempt at creating a hard-hitting,
take-on-real-world-issues lesson. I first thought of this idea a while ago as a
way of beginning a conversation with students about the realities of the world.
Then, through our work in the program and listening to teachers, I wondered if
maybe these lessons weren’t necessary because students may already be aware of
these realities- the world is not fair being the biggest one. However, when I’m
planning this with my classroom in mind, I realize how difficult taking this on
will be- I have students who are dealing with divorce, death, eating disorders,
suicide, gun violence, parental abandonment, along with all the usual problems
teens have to deal with. I also have students who really have no idea about how
harsh the world can actually be. This wide swath of experience is a good thing
in the long run, but it means that students will have very different reactions
to this lesson.
This lesson is my way of creating access to solutions
for inescapable real world problems. I’m trying to follow Janks’ model of
Domination, Access, Diversity and Design from “A synthesis for critical
literacy education”, with special emphasis on the Design part. When students
identify these problems, see a personal approach to these problems modeled by a
“This I Believe” author, then brainstorm together a personal approach, I’m
hoping they’ll realize there are ways to combat issues like poverty, racism and
classism that are small and manageable. Hopefully, students will feel empowered
to take on these societal ills after gaining these insights, and will address
them in their TIB papers.
Awesome resource - bookmarked. When you talk about the social problems you want your students to address, do you envision them discussing global issues or more local or even personal issues they may experience personally? Any topic sounds fascinating, but I was just wondering how you had planned this out - and if you're looking for students to consider their impact globally, or be able to discuss social issues that relate to their lives. Do you have any recommendations for particular podcasts you've listened to that you really liked? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI think this sounds so awesome, Casey. It is a lesson that is so deeply relevant to students' lives as they are living them right now. You have a point when you point out that the lesson is risky due to the wide array of student experiences that you may end up dealing with. However, I think that these differences in experience could result in some really fantastic learning experiences for your students. I also appreciate the fact that this is a very dialogic lesson. Your role seems to be that of the questioner rather than the answerer. I really like how you are having students generate the topics that they will end up discussing for the rest of the hour. This seems like a good way to draw students in, get them engaged, and keep them engaged for the entirety of the class. Let me know how this goes!!
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