The Relevance of Canon Revealed Through Young Adult Literature: Building Bridges Between the Past and the Present

        Every year in English Language Arts (ELA) classrooms across the United States, teachers meet with resistance when they introduce dusty, old classics.  Students declare the heralded tomes of canon to be irrelevant to their modern lives.  Yet Hollywood has produced blockbuster contemporary adaptations of some of the very works students grumble about reading.  Teens flocked to the contemporary rendition of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew called 10 Things I Hate About You .  The movie has become a cult classic that also inspired a television series.  Likewise Clueless , the popular 1995 adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, is another box office hit that resulted in a television series.  Filmmakers have turned literary canon into a recipe for success in the teen market.  Clearly the messages of these stories still resonate with young adults.  The themes represented in classic literature were relevant yesterday, are relevant today, and will still be relevant tomorrow because they embody the very heart of the human experience.  Our challenge as educators is to help students connect with the core truths of these great works.
        Young Adult Literature (YAL) represents an opportunity for teachers to do for education what screen writers have done for the film industry, only better.  Much like the reconstructed classics on film, original YAL titles mirror the values and lessons found in classic works in fresh and intriguing ways.  By skillfully pairing classic novels with YAL titles, teachers can build bridges to connect students with great ideas and lessons from the past.  After students analyze and identify the central themes of a YA novel, they will be able to extend this knowledge to the same themes in real world events and in canon literature.  Joan Kaywell has written a four volume series entitled Adolescent Literature as a Complement to the Classics that addresses this very issue (2000).  The potential for these text-to-text connections is limited only by our ability to successfully pair canon literature with YAL so that students are able to see the relevance of the classic text being studied.
        Without necessarily identifying it as such, educators are using YAL as Vygotsky’s More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) to construct bridges for students to connect with issues and concepts in the realities of the past, present, and future.  Vygotsky, a Soviet psychologist and educator, believed that employing the use of an MKO in the learning environment would facilitate and even speed student acquisition of new knowledge (Packer, 2008).  One critical component of his theory is the idea that all new systems are infused with the features of those that preceded them (Levykh, 2008).  As such, we can learn a lot about today by taping into the knowledge contained within the MKO.  A great deal of controversy exists over whether or not Vygotsky intended the MKO, along with his concept called the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) in which the MKO and student collaborate to form new knowledge, to become the centerpiece of his constructivist learning theory (Guk & Kellogg, 2007).  Nevertheless, with the growing popularity of constructivist learning theories, the MKO and ZPD have become buzz words in modern education.  Because Vygotsky was unable to complete these concepts prior to his untimely death, they have remained open to wide interpretation.  However, it is widely accepted that the MKO can take a variety of forms both animate and inanimate provided it has the ability to help students reach new knowledge.
        Many educators are successfully using YAL, in the role of MKO, to help students gain new perspectives about history, social and political movements, and concepts such as justice.  In her 2002 article entitled. "Bridge" Texts: The Rhetoric of Persuasion in American Children's Realist and Historical Fiction, Leona Fisher states, “as symbolic tropes, bridges signify simple transitions, complex challenges, even impossible hurdles” (p.129).  The similarity to the MKO, who helps students make transitions, face complex challenges, and reach heretofore unattainable learning goals, is unmistakable.  She goes onto explain, using a rather complex music metaphor, how literature can become a bridge that helps students develop new understanding.  Fisher stresses that bridge texts must gradually move students from culturally learned perspectives to new understanding by systematically expanding the readers’ frames of reference.  In this way, YAL becomes a bridge to create understanding about social justice issues of the past and the present.  Fisher uses Judith Kerr’s When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit to help students gain new perspective about the Holocaust and Annie on My Mind, by Nancy Garden, to help students develop empathy regarding the struggles faced by gay and lesbian teens.  Similarly, James Landman, the Associate Director of the American Bar Association Division for Public Education in Chicago, advocates for the use of both classic and YA literature as a bridge to create new knowledge about justice and our legal system (2008).  Landman suggests using Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Louis Sachar's Holes, and J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series to discuss themes of injustice as well as the attributes of a just legal system.  He explains that, “by figuring out what is wrong with the law in Wonderland, students can gain a sense of how the law should function in the real world" (p.2).
        In their 2005 article entitled Envisioning Possibility, Kornfeld and Prothro explain that the characters found in fiction offer examples for addressing the issues of the past, present, and future.  The characters in books serve as models for the reader to learn how issues might be resolved or how change can be achieved.  Although Kornfeld and Prothro do not explicitly connect literary models with Vygotsky’s (MKO), they are, in fact, placing the characters found in books in the unique position of helping students reach a level of understanding that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to attain.  In Beyond the Pale, Marc Aronson observes that books, in addition to individual characters, are capable of bridging the gap between the themes of yesterday and today.   Aronson goes onto to suggest, “one way, then, to bridge the generation gap is to write a book that is so true, so powerful, it captures the essence of adolescence, rather than the vagaries of growing up in one time or another” (p.88).  Not every YAL novel or central character is capable of bridging the gap between classic and modern literature, but the possibilities grow with every YA novel published. 
        Exposing students to high quality YA literature that bridges understanding and provides literary role-models is not enough.  Students must have opportunities to synthesize ideas and solutions presented in literature and to use it in the creation of new knowledge.  This type of exploration and synthesis occurs naturally within the ZPD.  Teachers must deliberately establish this constructivist environment, a laboratory of thought, if students are to apply newly gained knowledge.  
        In his 2009 article entitled Reading for a Better World:  Teaching for Social Responsibility with Young Adult Literature, Steven Wolk suggests applying Reader Response Theory and the use of essential questions to facilitate student creation of knowledge.  The essential questions are pulled directly from the texts being studied.  Regarding the use of essential questions he states, “unlike transmission teaching, these questions do not have single correct answers, so students are immersed into a classroom experience that values listening to multiple perspectives and thinking for themselves” (p.666).   Employed in combination with bridge texts and characters or novels serving as the MKO, Wolk’s use of Reader Response turns the classroom into Vygotsky’s ZPD.  In this space, students share their understanding of text to explore possible solutions to essential questions.  The collaborative nature of the process helps students to discover multiple solutions to relevant and meaningful problems.  Vygotsky suggested that this was a developmental process in which the individual moves beyond mere acquisition of facts to a level of knowledge creation that indicates a transformation of the architecture of the mind (Guk & Kellogg, 2007).  However, as Guk and Kellogg observe, it is difficult to prove that the social context of the learning environment or the MKO is responsible for the student’s intellectual growth.  Students may arrive in the ZPD prepared to receive, process, and synthesize information due to something outside of the learning environment and possibly completely within the child.
        Because YAL is popular with students and capable of presenting complex themes, it might be tempting to abandon canon literature altogether.  Wolk points out that our students need the historic perspectives offered in older texts.  “Citizens cannot make informed and critical decisions on civic matters from affirmative action and gay marriage to criminal justice and war without an understanding of past people and events. Knowledge of the past should help shape our opinions in the present and our vision for the future“ (p.668).  Canon literature offers a wealth of historic perspective on mankind’s ability to deal with the essential questions facing humanity.
        The literature clearly demonstrates that educators are successfully using YAL to connect students with history, modern social justice issues, and complex concepts.  Furthermore, as Kaywell, Landman, and Wolk illustrate, canon literature can be used to broaden students perspectives of these problems while informing them of past solutions as well as failures.  More than providing an avenue for connecting with issues and concepts, I believe that YAL provides the necessary foundation for students to connect with canon literature and derive pleasure from the experience.  Many adults can remember casting aside some loathsome text in high school only to discover decades later that it is a priceless gem.  Life experiences help us to recognize the fundamental truths represented in old, or even ancient, texts.  YAL, functioning as a MKO, is capable of bridging this gap in perspective as it bridges the other gaps previously mentioned.  Some may argue that one cannot prove YAL’s successful employment as the MKO, but I believe a long-term study would provide anecdotal evidence that would be difficult to refute.  As students detect familiar themes within canon literature, they will recognize the works as relevant to their lives and, therefore, as valuable.  Repeated exposure to classics paired with similarly themed YAL will help students acquire life-long appreciation for the wisdom expressed by our predecessors.  As Wolk eloquently writes,  “We need to help young adults understand that between those covers is the world past, present, and future and the emotion and complexity of the human condition. As educators, we need to help students to see that inside these provocative books are stories that can help us to better understand ourselves, who we are and who we want to become. And by doing that within a community of learners we can help students (and ourselves) learn to act to make a better world” (p.672).   
        The research I have done on the use of bridge texts and text-to-text connections is profoundly shaping my approach to literacy instruction.  During my secondary education in the late seventies and early eighties, novels were taught in isolation.  Sometimes students were able to connect with canon texts and other times the readings were viewed as a form of torture.  With the availability of high quality YAL, I can no longer imagine teaching canon classics without constructing a link with bridge texts to facilitate student learning and enjoyment.  Vygotsky believed that the MKO would help move students from a position of objects of history to one of being agents of history (Packer, 2008).  As an educator, I want to empower students to shape a better future.  YAL is one tool for making that desire a reality.



References

Aronson, M., 2003.  Beyond the pale:  New essays for a new era. The Scarecrow Press, Inc. Lanham, MA

Fisher, L.W., 2002.  “Bridge" texts: The rhetoric of persuasion in American children's realist and historical fiction.  Children's Literature Association Quarterly, 27(3), 129-135.  Project Muse <http://muse.jhu.edu/>

Guk, I. & Kellogg, D., 2007.  The ZPD and whole class teaching: Teacher-led and student-led
interactional mediation of tasks. Language Teaching Research, 11(3).
DOI: 10.1177/1362168807077561

Kaywell, J., 2000.  Adolescent Literature as a Complement to the Classics. Volume 4.  Christopher-Gordon Publishers, Inc.  Norwood, MA.

Kornfeld, J. & Prothro, L., 2005.  Envisioning Possibility: Schooling and student agency in children’s and young adult literature.  Children’s Literature in Education, 36(3).
DOI: 10.1007/s10583-005-5971-2

Landman, J., 2008.  Using literature to teach the rule of law.  Social Education, May-June.
Stable URL: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb6541/is_4_72/ai_n29438671/

Levykh, M. G. (2008). The affective establishment and maintenance of Vygotskyʼs zone of proximal development. Educational Theory, 58(1), 83-101.

Packer, M. J. (2008). Is Vygotsky relevant? Vygotskyʼs Marxist psychology. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 15, 8-31. DOI: 10:1080/10749030701798607

Wolk, S.  2009.  Reading for a better world: Teaching for social responsibility with young adult
literature.  Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(8). May, 2009, 664-673.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27654329

Literature Review for the Bookhenge

Orange Houses Bookcast

This bookcast was created for the Multicultural Bookclub ECI520. It is based on Paul Griffin's The Orange Houses and was produced by Frederik Kruger-Ross, Micheline Aoun, and me. Hope everyone enjoys it. We had a lot of fun creating it. Bookhenge

YA Literature: The Promise of a Poorly Labeled Literary Genre

          Defining Young Adult (YA) Literature is difficult.  Publishers and book sellers would have us believe this is a genre of literature specifically for 12 to 18-year-olds.  But who among us really thinks of a 12-year-old as a young adult?  Most of the 12-year-olds I know are excited about becoming a teen on their next birthdays.  The fact is that the age range itself poses one of the biggest stumbling blocks when trying to define YA Literature.  Furthermore, what does this age range say about the millions of adult readers who devour popular YA titles?  In the end, I have to agree with Stephen Roxburgh's assessment.  Discussion of the intended audience of YA Literature gets in the way of defining it as an art form.  In The Art of the Young Adult Novel, he wrote that  "There is no difference between the young adult novel and the adult novel. There are distinctions to be made between them, but they are not different art forms" (2005, p.5).
          The Young Adult label may, in fact, do a disservice to this genre.  Labels can be a huge advantage to parents and teachers when trying to determine appropriate materials for the children they are guiding through the formative years.  Likewise, labels also lure those same adults with the promise of an easy solution.  On several occasions, when my busy life left me no time for the necessary investigations, I have made the big mistake of approving movies for my children to see based solely on the movie rating.  The YA label provides that same false sense of security.  Typically, a huge difference in maturity exists between the ages of 12 and 18.  Few books are able to successfully span that gap.  So why have a label that leads consumers to believe a wealth of such material is readily available?
          Our society, and most others, believes that adults have a responsibility to protect those not yet ready or able to protect themselves.  So, in that sense, I think there is a bit of the literary moralist living in all of us.  I am concerned about what my children read just as I am concerned about what they watch.  However, I am firmly against censorship.  At times, I've told my children "not yet" with regard to reading a book.  I value the teaching opportunities presented by good literature with challenging themes and recognize the need support my children in their efforts to grapple with such texts.  This includes making sure they are emotionally ready for the text and providing opportunities to discuss the text while reading it.  I carry the same concern and sense of responsibility into my future classroom.
          As Marc Aronson points out in his article entitled How Are Our Children Affected by the Books in Their Lives? (2004), books seldom influence children to behave in ways they don't want to behave.  His example is one to which every parent can relate.  Lovely bedtime stories often don't result in a sleeping child.  Were they that effective, hospitals would send new parents home armed with copies of Goodnight Moon.  That is not to say books can't produce positive results in our lives.   When I was 10 or 11,  I read The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew (1881) by Margaret Sidney.  At one point in the story, the Pepper children join forces to make raisin muffins.  After reading that passage, I went to our kitchen, pulled out Mom's Betty Crocker Cookbook, and made raisin muffins.  I was forever cured of my dislike of raisins.  I can think of a handful of similar examples that resulted from exposure to ideas represented in the books I read.  Interestingly, I cannot remember reading any book that produced a negative response aside from the occasional nightmare.  As an educator, I feel confident that students can read books for pleasure or for school without risk of being enticed into deviant or self-destructive behaviors.
          So, what should be the role of YA Literature in the English classroom?  Again, I have to return to this notion of YA  as art.  Art belongs in the classroom.  It informs us of the past and present.  It enlightens us as to the possibilities of the future.  Art engages us in a conversation about the most important issues facing humanity.  In Beyond the Pale, Aronson explains that, "Teaching young people about art gives them the ability to make something, a magic mirror that reveals more of themselves to themselves than they knew was there, and it gives them a connection to the great art and artists of the past, each of whom created another shard, another fraction of the reflecting glass" (2003, p.28)
          Teachers must sift through YA Literature in order to bring its masterpieces into the classroom.  The sheer volume of the genre makes this seem like an impossible task; however, organizations such as the Young Adult Library Service Association (YALSA) make the process less daunting.  As I've learned from the Eva Perry Mock Printz Club , our high school students are capable of helping us locate these masterpieces as well.  High quality YA Literature is a powerful bridging tool.   Aronson advocates the use of YA as a bridge to span the generation gap.  He explains, "One way, then, to bridge the generation gap is to write a book that is so true, so powerful, it captures the essence of adolescence, rather than the vagaries of growing up in one time or another" (2003, p.88).  A hallmark of the classic is the quality of timelessness.  In Adolescent Literature as a Complement to the Classics, Joan Kaywell demonstrates that contemporary literature can function as a bridge to facilitate understanding of literary canon (2000, Volume 4, Chapter 9).  The ability to expand the reader's understanding of the world is yet another indication of literary quality.  YA also has the ability to bridge understanding of cultures as Kaywell's book illustrates.  As the demographics of the American classroom continue to diversify, the value of YA will undoubtedly increase.
          It's a big job and an important one.  Turning our backs on the potential of YA Literature in the classroom would ultimately limit our students.  It is a far more exciting prospect to involve our students in discovering the classics of the future. 
bookhenge

If I Stay Here on the Edge

Here is my latest bookcast for Bookhenge inspired by Gayle Forman's novel, If I Stay, and Michelle Jewett's  January 2011 English Journal article entitled Between Dreams and Beasts: Four Precepts for Green English Teaching.

Slow Reading as Collaborative Art

Many years ago Robert Schwartz, Professor of Fine Art at Ohio State University, taught me that art happens in the mind.  The expression that follows is simply craft.  Some people achieve greater success with the craft than others, but all people are wired to create.  His explanation has profoundly effected the way I view others.  I find myself always looking for the outward expression of the inward art.

Based on Schwartz's explanation, I believe reading is a collaborative art form.  The creation of art tends to be a solitary activity, so the collaborative nature of reading as art is unusual.  The writer creates a story and produces text.  The reader decodes the text and creates meaning.  As such, the art produced by the author is not finished until it has been read.  Furthermore, each reader will create unique meaning by adding his or her perspective.  The process is limited only by the number of people who choose to read a particular book.  But is all created meaning, and by extension all reading, equally artistic?  No.

John Miedema, author of Slow Reading, makes a wonderful argument for the type of slow reading characterized by rapt attention usually reserved for pleasure reading.  He is clear that there are many ways to read slowly.  It is not the same for every reader.  However, when individuals are permitted to read at what Miedema calls a "reflective" or "voluntary pace", richer meaning is created.

Is reading at a slower pace reasonable in the 21st Century?  We are constantly bombarded with information that requires us to read.  Perhaps, a balanced approached is best.  Miedema points out that not all texts must be approached slowly.  But some should.  The choice of what to read slowly is at the discretion of the reader.  The reader will more thoroughly synthesize what is read, which will result in a more meaningful expression of the knowledge created.

So, what does this mean for the classroom?  I think it is important that educators not overwhelm students with copious amounts of reading.  At the same time, we must help them practice techniques to quickly and effectively scan texts for information.  A balanced approach is necessary and appropriate.
Students must be trained to read slowly and deconstruct layers of meaning.  Teaching active reading skills is one way to accomplish this.  Highlighting and making notes in the margins are simple active reading techniques.  Unfortunately, students cannot make use of these tools with school owned textbooks.  Photo copies can be used for short passages.  Another highly interactive form of reading is done through the use of e-readers and on-line texts that can be highlighted and annotated by the student.  Technology may actually help teachers to slow student reading and increase comprehension, synthesis, and meaning creation.
bookhenge

Nothing Scares Me

 

Nothing Scares Me is a play on words.  Find out why in my latest bookcast for Bookhenge.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson Bookcast

My first attempt at creating a video for Bookhenge.  I've got some timing issues and the title didn't transfer to the first slide as I thought it would.  Growing pains!