Abby Newkirk

ED 113, Dr. Parker

Integrated Essay
December, 2013
Wholehearted

Strive for balance, know your students, think deeply during learning and reflection, but
think quickly and sharply in the moment. Through readings and discussion in class and
experience at my school placement this semester I have found that living up to these values is
essential. While it is easy to let thoughts like this branch out in many different directions that can
become overwhelming, "to be wholehearted is to be so committed to an idea or project that we
can overcome fears and uncertainties in an effort to make meaningful personal and professional
change" (Farrell, 2004 p. 12). This quote, taken from Ferrell's "Why Reflect?" chapter, provides
a grounding for the wide range and considerable depth of reflection I have undergone this
semester. Having this foundation allows for creative thinking and decision making in teaching
that aims for a curriculum that is meaningful for students and inspires learning.
There is a balance in teaching between deep reflection, in which vulnerability is active,
and the practical elements of everyday lessons. This essay will pull together a sampling of my
thoughts, ideas, and reflections based on this idea of wholeheartedness in connecting practical
elements of ELA curricula with these greater goals of teaching.
The NCTE mission statement and beliefs create an overarching goal for teaching in a
multicultural society. It states that, "through critical, self-reflexive practices embedded in our
research and our teaching, we can work against racial, cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic
inequalities by creating humane classrooms where students and teachers learn to use language
and literacy in critical and empowering ways." (NCTE, 2005). This very explicitly and
succinctly lays out an objective that requires practice in a practical way, through teaching
methods, as well as an insightful way through personal and collaborative reflective engagement.
Achieving this mission requires facing fears and taking on challenges that could be avoided. I see
this often at my placement school, where teachers discuss rigor, value beyond school, and
discussing student work in team meetings. It is the choice to embrace those challenges that
makes learning meaningful.
One of the most powerful areas of thought and discussion I have encountered this
semester is the tackling of tough topics and conversations. In multicultural and empowerment-
based education, it is irresponsible to avoid discussions about race and racism, religion,
sexuality, dialects or language, and the many categories of inequality students deal with in their
lives. In terms of the eight beliefs from NCTE, I feel that they are written in a very useful way.
They can be used as actual guidelines for unit, lesson, and full year planning. It seems like a lot
to keep in mind, but if, in planning, I am constantly checking in on these beliefs it will become
more automatic.
Reading and discussing Redd and Webb's text, A Teacher's Introduction to African
American English: What A Writing Teacher Should Know, connected these ideas of
empowerment and validation for students in the English classroom to very tough, cultural
conflicts.
If AAE is a dialect of English, the differences between AAE and Standard English may
not be significant enough to account for most of the difficulties that AAE speakers have
encountered in English classes. If so, we must look elsewhere for the major sources of
their difficulties, such as pedagogical practices as well as teachers' attitudes toward AAE
and toward the students who speak it. (Redd and Webb p. 11)
This is where wholeheartedness is most important. Critical reflection on whether or not our
personal interactions with students is morally sound according to personal values is challenging.
I am especially drawn to thinking about this with middle school where there is a tricky balance
between, just getting the rules, routines, and habits down and tackling big social justice, cultural,
and emotional issues. Additionally, middle school is a time where students are beginning to learn
writing and writing skills for high school. It becomes difficult to see where and when it is
appropriate to correct details and patterns in students' writing that comes from AAE when the
main goal is sometimes based on getting certain ideas across and understanding paragraph
structure. "Because of academic constraints and teachers' reactions. Many AAE speakers are
afraid to draw on their native rhetoric in school, even though its musicality, concrete imagery,
and vivid storytelling can strengthen academic writing" (Redd and Webb p. 50). I would never
want students to miss out on the original objective because correction of dialect in writing got in
the way. It is clear to me, through discussion in class and by observing my mentor teacher, that
as important as it is to use the grammatical detail to show that AAE is a linguistic dialect or full
language, when thinking about empowerment in the classroom, it is rhetorical features are most
valuable. They are what students can use to build confidence, creativity, and critical thinking.
yet, it also feels important to work with the idea of writing in a way that is different from speech,
in any dialect.
One thing I have been inspired me to contemplate a lot about this semester is the variety
in types of texts I would not normally have thought to use. Both in my placement school and in
class, texts like graphic novels, young adult lit, picture books, and short, non-fiction readings
have opened my eyes to many different options and creative ways to meet common core
standards in the classroom an engaging way. Text read in class have launched my thinking about
ways to reach the NCTE mission statement while working toward common core standards and
making tough conversations available.
A text like, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston makes use of AAE in
a way that allows for empowerment as well as discussion about different forms of writing and
when to use standard English. It is a challenging text and having something that uses AAE be a
prestige in the classroom creates a sense of pride that is necessary for a supportive multicultural
classroom. This novel carries a wealth of opportunity to incorporate AAE discussion into themes
presented in the text relating to the contrast of power, racism, and sexism, and how this novel
plays with the levels of that. Particularly in how characters, like Janie, speak in AAE but still
hold power. In the moment just before Janie reigns power over her second husband, Hurston
writes,
There was some good-natured laughter at the expense of women Naw, Ah aint no
young gal no mo but den Ah aint no old woman neither. Ah reckon Ah looks mah age
too. But Ahm uh woman every inch of me, and Ah know it. Dats uh whole lot moren
you ckin say. You big-bellies round here and put out a lot of brag, but taint nothin to it
but yo big voice. Humph! Talkin bout me lookin old! When you pull down yo
britches, you look lak de change uh life... Then Joe Starks realized all the meanings and
his vanity bled like a flood. (Hurston, 2006 p. 79)
Overall, this book deals with power in relation to race, class, and gender. The prominent Theme
of speech versus silence in the book could be used as a basis for discussion about speech versus
silence in the classroom, and for the students in their own lives.
Young adult literature, such as The First Part Last by Angela Johnson, provides an
interesting dichotomy to Their Eyes Were Watching God. Johnson uses unexpected characters
such as Bobby to draw attention to stereotypes. He is a black teenage boy who is caring and
reflective. Not only is this aspect of his character non-stereotypical, but additionally he is a
middle class, well educated black male teenager who speaks primarily in standard english.
When I walk past my moms room, I miss her. I walk to my room, put Feather in her crib,
which pisses her off and makes her scream, and then I look around my room and miss me
(Johnson, p. 35). This type of literature is useful in connecting with students in a modern context
and playing with stereotypes that they are familiar with. This is how the text can be used to
tackle conversations about race and class and typical ways that they are represented in
literature.
Using texts like the heroic crown poem, A Wreath For Emmett Till and the graphic novel,
Vietnamerica inspired me to think about classwork that connects literary analysis to issues of
social justice in our society. This is shown done frequently in my placement school and it is clear
that students are easily engaged with captivating literature that is based on a history and society
that they know personally.
A Wreath for Emmett Till is an extremely unique and beautiful piece that fully
encompasses all of the NCTE beliefs. An entire unit could be spent on this text as it is rich and
complex. It provides opportunity for lessons in poetic structure, literary devices, and historical
contexts. The strict form became a kind of insulation, a way of protecting myself from the
intense pain of the subject matter, and a way to allow the Muse to determine what the poem
would say (Nelson, 2005). The extra information Nelson gives in the beginning and the end
provides ample support for any reader to fully understand the poem itself, as well as many
greater messages she is sending. This book is a political act, and a strong one. It takes a single
dramatic historical event and brings it to life through connections with a range of literature, more
historical and current events. Like a nation sending its children off to fight/ our faceless enemy,
immortal fear,/ the most feared enemy of the human race (Nelson, 2005). Nelson strategically
uses the literary device of allusion to show that from Shakespeare, to President Roosevelt, and
literature to horror movies, everything is connected by the same issues. It brings in the
opportunity for a wide range of educational experiences from art, to primary resources, and to
personal reflection.
Using a graphic novel like Vietnamerica in conjunction with historical, non-fiction texts
as a creative way to bring literary analysis to non-fiction work. It frequently says things like, of
course, no one thought life would improve just because one occupier was being replaced by
another" (Tran, 2011). Or, "We see now that we have the luxury to sit back and dream about
what could have been" (Tran, 2011). Comments like these provide opportunity for reflection on
why history, and learning non-fiction really matters. This text would, of course, be supplemental,
but the visuals are a very tangible and engaging way of engaging in historical events. It
incorporates themes like value of all cultures, race and socioeconomic inequalities in different
cultures than the classroom is immediately connected with.
In thinking about all of these strategies with the texts used in class, I have been searching
for a way to include Tom Romanos methods of teaching writing into an english class that also
emphasises other technical parts of writing that I feel are important. He expresses very strong
opinions about writing instruction like, "Too often, writing instruction is designed not to set
students free, but to shackle them, whip them into line, restrict their movement, make each like
the other" (Romano, 1987 p. 5). Thinking through ways to use less conventional texts as a means
for students practice finding a voice, experimenting with different types of prompts, ideas, and
forms of expression are crucial to combat this. I have, however, come to realize just how
difficult it is to find balance in how structured tasks or work, while provide freedoms and space
for decision making and growth in order to learn from experience.
In the reading on defining multicultural education Gorski speaks to the same goals as the
NCTE. He says, "a dedication to providing educational experiences in which all students reach
their full potentials as learners and as socially aware and active beings, locally, nationally, and
globally" (Gorski, 2006). The most important part of thinking this way, and having these
objectives, is the daily grind of how to make it happen. This semester I have discovered the irony
of the incredible importance of planning with an innate need to always be prepared for plans to
change on the spot. Every day is entirely new and it takes remembering that to stay creative,
open, and determined. To be an effective multicultural educator I must be in a constant process
of self-examination and transformation (Gorski, 2006). I have realized that for now this idea of
being wholehearted constantly being in a position of vulnerability under the confidence that this
vulnerability is essential to reaching goals as a teacher. Jim Burkes captures this dichotomy
between vulnerability and growth when he says, "you will always gain some kind of trust,
benefit, or more responsibility when you do something on your own, even if it is teaching
something to yourself" (Burke, p. 133). The ability to remain open and reflexive with
challenging topics, both in what and how they are taught fosters the strength it takes to make
meaningful learning and personal growth.