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I'm about to get fairly particular
about my school day - what I did in the classes and what I'm
planning for tomorrow. So, if you're not an English teacher,
this will probably not have much to offer.
This was a pretty regular school
day. We rumbled through a full five classes - and took the mandatory
one period lunch and one period prep. During that prep period
I polished off semester grades and exported the little demons
to the office. I think all correct procedures were followed;
I'm sure to hear about it soon if they were not.
The classes were good enough. I'm
in the process of introducing the concept of literature circles
to both the freshmen and the sophomores. So I had the sophs applying
four roles (Passage Master, Question Master, Word Wizard, and
Connector) to a selection from Frederick Douglass. They seemed
to go with it pretty well. I had them read Twain's "Notorious
Jumping Frog" tonight, and they'll meet in their circles
tomorrow.
I worked it differently with the
freshmen by assigning one of the roles to each student and then
reading them a story. So while I read, some were noting passages
to discuss, others were formulating questions or jotting down
unusual, tough, or interesting words. The fourth group was busy
making connections between the story and their own experience
of the world.
About that story, I read them "In
the Time I Get" from Chris Crutcher's Athletic Shorts.
Throughout the day a tiny part of my brain wondered whether
this was the best choice or not. You see, we're moving towards
a reading of Of Mice and Men. I've decided to lean heavily
on the theme of Friendship. It's a pretty dark tale. So yesterday
I had the freshmen thinking about What Makes a Friend a Friend?
And today I wanted to continue the theme simultaneously with
the lit circle introduction. Crutcher's story seemed a natural,
but it's hard for me to read without getting choked up at certain
spots. I try to transfer that emotion to the narrator's voice,
but if they watched closely they'd find some tears in my eyes.
My real concerns about the story,
however, had to do with something else. One of the characters
is gay and has AIDS and explains to the narrator in very direct
language how he got it. As I read that passage, we got many protesting
groans and "ewww" faces - mostly, but not exclusively,
from the boys. I kept a steady course by asking/stating, "Well,
you've been taught how AIDS is sometimes transmitted. You know
these things. But listen to this next sentence. It seems that
your reaction is also the narrator's." And I read on. I
think this surfacing of their own feelings - and their identification
with those of the narrator - is a very strong device. Crutcher
knows how many of his younger readers will react. He plans to
take us and the narrator on a journey towards compassion and
an understanding of real friendship's demands, to a place many
of us would not think we could go. The story is remarkable for
that dynamic. I didn't finish the story today but asked the class
to write a response for homework. I want to give them every chance
to reflect upon the experience, to vent if they need to. Tomorrow
will tell.
My reading of that story is no doubt
controversial. I brace myself for the possibilty of negative
reaction from parents. One kid said, "I thought this was
a Catholic school." I didn't want to pause for that discussion
just then, but I would certainly like to have it. Time will tell.
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