This post was written by 起点传媒member Vikki Orepitan.
As a novice both to聽 and to the summer book study, 聽I wanted to come in under the radar鈥攁nnotate my book like the English nerd I am, read a few posts, like a few comments, look up suggested books and articles, and add to my ever-growing 鈥淵ou-Need-to-Read-This鈥� list.聽
However, as my family would say, 鈥淲ho, you?鈥� Since I鈥檓 not usually one to stand at the back, quietly observing.聽
The first week鈥檚 reading and discussions challenged me. I love literature鈥攃ritical analysis and Socratic seminars were activities I actually enjoyed in high school, and when I love a book, it鈥檚 a forever love!
I also love teaching English鈥攑lanning and writing lessons, discussing complex topics, teaching the writing process (not grading essays though鈥擨鈥檓 not a monster), and that moment when my students really get something. The pinnacle, however, is one small, coveted phrase: 鈥淢rs. O, I actually liked this book.鈥� Did you hear it? The angelic chorus?
BUT鈥擨鈥檓 a secret book snob. I know, I know! All reading is good reading. And I want to believe that! But it鈥檚 a struggle.
In my class, I refer to literature in two categories: Real Lit and Junk Lit. Real Lit means texts that you need to unpack, that have layers, that speak to the human condition. Junk Lit is mostly comprised of those free titles on the Amazon e-books list鈥攜ou read them fast, but never tell anyone, and they have catchy titles like, Southern Peach Pie and a Dead Guy (yes, that is a real book that I did really read, and it was hilarious!). I encourage my students to read anything they want, for fun, in their free time. In spite of this, I鈥檓 not a particular fan of the canon.聽
I鈥檝e been known to refer to the canon as 鈥渢hose old dead white guys,鈥� and in my classroom I endeavor to show that 鈥渓iterary鈥� doesn鈥檛 necessarily mean old or white. I teach a female, POC-heavy syllabus. I include Shakespeare, but he is taught alongside Chimamanda Adichie, Jhumpa Lahiri, Sonia Sanchez, and Amy Tan.
So when I approached Workshopping the Canon, I did so from a place of pretty substantial bias, with these聽 questions:聽
1. Why are we still so focused on the canon?
and
2. Why does 鈥渨orkshop鈥� always have to mean YA?
Mary Styslinger and my peers in 起点传媒Reads 2019 helped to answer these questions for me:
- Many campuses require these texts. Reading the canon allows students to be a part of a national educational conversation. Canonical texts represent universal themes and teach specific important English skills.
- YA appeals to our audience鈥攖een and preteen students. YA presents diverse characters, societies, and ideas. YA can be literary鈥攑resenting ideas and language that needs to be unpacked, discussed, and analyzed. Most importantly, YA are texts that students want to read. Styslinger suggests workshopping as a way to 鈥淸bridge] the gap between out-of school and in-school reading. [Teachers can] partner those texts students are supposed to read with those they are more willing to read, and everybody wins.鈥澛�
In the TALK activity, we had the opportunity to share our experiences with the workshop model and pose any questions we had. The opportunity to pick the brains of so many educators is invaluable! I got great advice from an AP Language teacher about how this format could work in an AP setting, and I also had the opportunity to read about how other teachers use or have adapted workshop to suit the needs of their students.聽
In the MAKE activity, our facilitator, Lisa Fink, asked us to, 鈥淭hink about a text you teach around which you can build a unit focus. List the text, unit focus, and essential questions. Add ideas to those submitted by others.鈥� In Workshopping the Canon, Styslinger suggests that rather than simply planning units around a specific text, 鈥渨e [should] select a unit focus that allows for multiple texts, voices, ideas and perspectives to be explored within an array of reading and writing workshop structures.鈥� Now this is right up my alley!
At the 起点传媒Convention in November, I attended some panels with my teacher partner that have completed revamped our curriculum.聽We鈥檝e moved to units based on Critical Race Theory (CRT) inspired by our conversations during the 鈥淭eaching the Canon in 21st Century Classrooms鈥� roundtable discussions.
Combining CRT with the 鈥渕irrors and windows鈥� concept explored by both and and by the movement, we鈥檙e attempting to build units that focus on not only race, but the power of storytelling and what is gained and lost depending upon the perspective of the storyteller.
I believe units like these maintain the spirit of Styslinger鈥檚 work. Styslinger herself applauded teachers for their 鈥渇ocus on social justice鈥� in the MAKE discussion. I like that MAKE forces us to think practically鈥擶hat fits this unit? Does it meet my state standards?鈥攁nd I love that Workshopping the Canon聽provides so many pairings for our most frequently taught texts.
Writing new units is hard work, and Styslinger is helping us out!
At the end of the week, what struck me most about the TALK, MAKE, and TAKE process and my discussions with other teachers was the diversity in the classroom descriptions鈥攕ome teachers work with advanced or honors students exclusively, some with students with learning disabilities or low reading abilities, some have students who live in geographically or culturally isolated environments鈥攖he needs of our students are different, and that made me realize no tool is one size fits all.
Workshopping the Canon provides examples and suggestions that I鈥檒l need to adapt to make work for my classroom demographic, which the 起点传媒Reads teachers and Mary Styslinger are showing me is entirely possible!
Vikki Orepitan is a 9th grade Pre-AP English teacher at Cinco Ranch High School in Katy, TX. This year she was awarded the Mercedes Bonner Leadership Award by TCTELA (Texas Chapter of NCTE) as well as the 起点传媒Intellectual Freedom Award for publicly opposing her district鈥檚 ban of Angie Thomas鈥檚 novel, The Hate U Give. She has taught multiple levels of English as well as Ethics (Civics) to students in Abu Dhabi and in Texas in grades ranging from 7 to 12. Inspired by her childhood teachers, her college instructors, and her mentors, she wishes to empower educators (and students) to challenge injustice and model leadership in their communities.