Can I Teach That? (eBook)

Negotiating Taboo Language and Controversial Topics in the Language Arts Classroom

Suzanne Linder, Elizabeth Majerus (Herausgeber)

eBook Download: EPUB

2016
170 Seiten
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (Verlag)
978-1-4758-1478-1 (ISBN)

Infos

Can I Teach This is a practical guide for courageous teachers. It tells engaging stories and presents hands-on strategies to help teachers build the case for why they should be allowed to have the kind of classroom conversations about controversial books and topics that they want to have but are worried they will get in trouble for having.

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Can I Teach That? Negotiating Taboo Language and Controversial Topics in the Language Arts Classroom is a collection of stories, strategies, advice, and documents collected for teachers who are using or plan to use materials or implement policies they know may be controversial. It is for any teacher dedicated to engaging their students in the complex, challenging, and rewarding activities of reading and writing, for any teacher committed to speaking honestly with students. For any teacher, period. Because when we decide to work with young people, when we commit to sharing books and ideas that engage their hearts and minds, when we strive to get adolescents to think critically and write honestly, we open ourselves up to suspicion and critique from someone, somewhere, no matter how above reproach we feel our materials and strategies are. Few language arts teachers will experience a full-blown challenge to the content of their curriculum, but many may self-censor or suffer through awkward and challenging conversations with colleagues, administrators, parents, and other members of their community. This book is for those times when teachers are called on to defend and legitimize their use of controversial material in their classroom--material that they know reflects students' reality, even as it makes adults uncomfortable and fearful about their inability to protect children from that very reality.

Autor

Suzanne Linder taught English, Social Justice, and Gender Studies at University of Illinois Laboratory High School for 17 years. Along the way she traveled with students to Mississippi, Greece, and Italy, converted a car to run on waste vegetable oil, produced–with students–a documentary on what it means to be labeled gifted, and mentored a student led writing center. She currently serves as the Director of Academic Programs for the Education Justice Project and works as a teacher consultant with the Fab Lab, a community makerspace at the University of Illinois. Elizabeth Majerus has taught Language Arts and English at the middle school, high school, and college level. She currently teaches English and Creative Writing at the University of Illinois Laboratory High School, where she is head of the English department. She is an avid reader of challenging and challenged books.

Inhalt

PrefaceSuzanne Linder and Elizabeth MajerusChapter 1. Don’t Shy Away from Books About Tough Issues Jabari Asim Chapter 2. Teaching the Banned Books ProjectStephen E. RayburnChapter 3. A True War Story: Addressing the Real ObscenitiesSuzanne LinderChapter 4. Creative Profanity: Strong Language in Student WorkElizabeth MajerusChapter 5. Defending Arnold’s Spirit: Battling a Big Book Challenge in a Small TownAmy CollinsChapter 6. Challenging Homophobic and Heteronormative Language: Queering The Merchant of VeniceStephanie Ann SheltonChapter 7. From Canon to “Pornography”: Common Core and the Backlash Against Multicultural LiteratureLoretta GaffneyChapter 8. The Fine Art of Defusing an N-Bomb: The Challenges of Navigating Racially Charged Language in the (Majority White) African American Literature ClassroomMatt MitchellChapter 9. Too Close to Dead: Addressing Racist Language Head-On in the African American ELA ClassroomJalisa BatesChapter 10. Libraries Unfiltered: Increase Access, Grow the Whole ChildFrances Jacobson Harris and Amy L. AtkinsonAppendixA Telling your own True War Story assignmentB Uni High Materials Selection PolicyC A List of Resources and Case Law for Book ChallengesD Sample discussion questions to begin queer examinations of The Merchant of Venice E Poetry Reading Assignment About the Authors

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 11.7.2016
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Schulbuch / Wörterbuch ► Schulbuch / Allgemeinbildende Schulen
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Pädagogik
• Themenwelt: Wirtschaft ► Betriebswirtschaft / Management ► Allgemeines / Lexika
• Schlagworte: teaching controversial topics
• ISBN-10: 1-4758-1478-X / 147581478X
• ISBN-13: 978-1-4758-1478-1 / 9781475814781