Why Can’t You Just…

“You’re such a girl.”

“Man up.”

“Tomboy.”

“Boys will be boys.”

“He’s a guy’s guy.”

These are just a few of the gender-based phrases that students hear throughout their daily lives. In Girl Mans Up, M-E Girard explores the concept of gender through the lens of a teenager, Pen, who doesn’t fit into a specific category. While she self-identifies as female, she doesn’t want to present herself to others in a traditionally feminine way. She has more in common with her male friends who play video games and flirt with girls. This has been true for as long as she can remember and the two people whom she could most count on for support were her older brother Johnny and her best friend Colby.

As a junior at a Catholic high school, Pen is ready to really start committing to who she is. She wears her brother’s clothes, cuts her hair, and starts to date a girl named Blake who wears lots of black makeup, sings in a band, and knows everything about video games. She doesn’t realize how much this will affect her close relationships. Her parents are Portuguese immigrants who feel that she is being disrespectful and is “not a good girl.” Pen also slowly starts to realize that Colby is controlling, misogynistic, and was really only using her to break the ice with girls that he wants to date. Her brother Johnny continues to be the one consistent person who understands her and likes her, not for who he thinks she should be but for who she knows she is.

Pen sums it up like this, “People should just be allowed to look in the mirror and see all kinds of possibilities. Everyone should be able to feel nice when they look in the mirror. They should at least be able to see themselves reflected in there…” (301).

Teenagers are dealing with enough searching for their own definitions of who they are. When we add the obligation to make that definition indisputably evident to everyone else, the burden becomes overwhelming. One step that many organizations are taking is having staff share their pronouns up front. This way, individuals are able to self-identify rather than giving others the chance to form their own conclusions. This might be a policy that schools need to take at the beginning of each school year. Teachers could ask their students to introduce themselves and share their pronouns right from the start.

Hi everyone, my name is Leah Cole and my pronouns are she/her/her. Just like Pen, the only one who gets to decide what I look like, sound like, or act like, is me.

Teaching Tolerance Social Justice Standards:

Identity 1: I have a positive view of myself, including an awareness of and comfort with my membership in multiple groups in society.

Identity 4: I express pride and confidence in my identity without perceiving or treating anyone else as inferior.

Justice 11: I relate to all people as individuals rather than representatives of groups and can identify stereotypes when I see or hear them.

Common Core Standards:

RL.1- Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.

RL.3- Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).

RL.5- Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.

RL.6- Analyze a case in which grasping a point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement).

You Are Enough

We know that young people often struggle to define their identities and their place within society. However, once comfortable in one’s identity, new challenges often arise. One of those challenges is feeling uncertain of whether you live up to society’s expectations of someone who is (insert identity here) . I am Jewish, but I am not particularly observant. Does that make me less of a Jew? I have always identified as female, but I don’t dress the way that other women dress and I don’t wear makeup. Does that make me less of a woman? The answer to both questions is no. But it took me a long time to figure that out.

Two books that communicate these concerns are the graphic novel Ms. Marvel written by G. Willow Wilson and illustrated by Adrian Alphona and The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Perez. In Ms. Marvel, Kamala doesn’t always feel like she fits the mold of “Muslim teenage girl” that  has been defined by her family and community. She also doesn’t see her looks as fitting in the role of a superhero, so when she starts to transform into Ms. Marvel she has white skin and blond hair. Eventually, though, she realizes that actions and not images define us.

In The First Rule of Punk, Malù has moved from Florida to Chicago and she is not particularly happy about it. Her mom, who she calls SuperMexican, is never completely satisfied with her daughter’s “punk” lifestyle. Her mom insists on introducing Malú as María Luisa and wants her to act more like a señorita. Over time, Malú discovers that there were some pretty punk señores and señoras in Mexican history and in Mexico today. She starts to embrace her entire identity rather than just pieces of it, and so do those around her.

Society at large communicates its expectations through the media and public systems. Our own social circles have standards that are communicated either directly or indirectly to us at all times. It can be hard for students to feel comfortable within themselves if they do not fit completely into those boxes and especially difficult if there are multiple boxes and just one individual. Books like these can help students to recognize that fitting into an identity group does not, or at least should not, require the loss of individuality.

Teaching Tolerance Social Justice Standards (both books):

Identity 3: I know that overlapping identities combine to make me who I am and that none of my group identities on their own fully defines me or any other person.

Diversity 7: I can accurately and respectfully describe ways that people (including myself) are similar to and different from each other and others in their identity groups.

Diversity 9: I know I am connected to other people and can relate to them even when we are different or when we disagree.

Common Core Standards for Ms. Marvel:

RL.2- Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.

RL.3- Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.

RL.6- Analyze how differences in the points of view of the characters and the audience or reader (e.g., created through the use of dramatic irony) create such effects as suspense or humor.

Common Core Standards for The First Rule of Punk:

RL.2- Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.

RL.3- Describe how a particular story’s or drama’s plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.

RL.6- Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.

Equal Members of Our Community

Often when we teach about community activism, particularly in the elementary grades, we use examples of adult advocates. However, there are many examples of young people who have refused to be silent when confronted with injustice. Claudette Colvin is an example of a young activist during the Civil Rights Movement (there are several children’s books about Colvin including a personal favorite by Phillip Hoose). More recently we have seen extraordinary activism by students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. These are just a few of the young people who are changing their communities and public discourse. In The Harlem Charade, by Natasha Tarpley, the age of the three protagonists is in no way proportional to their activism or their commitment to their community.

Jin, Alex, and Elvin are in the seventh grade when events in their community bring them together to respond to a mystery in their community involving an ill-intentioned city council member. These three are interesting characters themselves, particularly Alex who is trying to make a difference in her community without alienating her family or friends. Tarpley approaches issues of socioeconomic status and economic justice sensitively and without judgment. However, some of the most interesting characters are those that the three protagonists meet as they are attempting to solve the mystery. Art history, immigration, and family are all key topics in this book.

Reading The Harlem Charade could lead upper elementary and middle school students to do research about historical examples of community organizing. It might also inspire them to research their own communities and ways in which they can make a contribution. Children are some of the most passionate people who live in our communities and their ideas can –and do– lead to improvements around the world.

Teaching Tolerance Social Justice Standards:

Action 19: I will speak up or do something when I see unfairness, and I will not let others convince me to go along with injustice.

Action 20: I will work with my friends and family to make our school and community fair for everyone, and we will work hard and cooperate in order to achieve our goals.

Common Core Standards:

RL.2- Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.

RL.3- Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact).

More than a Moment

People tend to have vivid memories of where they were and what they were doing when specific historic events occurred. For my mother’s generation, one of those moments was the assassination of John F. Kennedy. For most of us who are old enough to remember September 11, that day or at least the moment when we first saw images of the planes striking the towers, will live in our memories forever. I remember being one of the last eighth graders to finish packing up after chorus to go to my next class when a group of teachers rushed into the room and turned on the TV. At that point, no one realized that this had been a planned attack, everyone was just shocked and saddened by the tragedy and worried about the people on the plane and in New York. Everything changed 17 minutes later when the second plane hit the South Tower.

As an eighth grader in Iowa, who had never been to New York City, my knowledge of these events came to me through newspapers, books, and TV news. I was heartbroken and a bit scared, but my experience on that day was filtered by distance from the actual events. No one that I knew was directly affected by the events of September 11. I didn’t smell the smoke, watch the towers fall out my window, hear the goodbyes of loved ones over the phone, see pictures of those missing posted on walls, or listen to the wheezing breaths of first responders years after their service had ended.

In Towers Falling, by Jewell Parker Rhodes, it is September 2016 and Deja’s fifth grade class is studying the events of September 11, 2001. This is the first Deja has heard of these events and she doesn’t understand why her father is so upset that she is being exposed to this new information. Although completely unaware, Deja is intimately bound to the events of September 11. Rhodes shows readers that we are all connected to each other, to collective grief, and to the values that were not destroyed on that day. People born in 90 countries died in the September 11 attacks, but 99% of those people were residents of the United States. On 9/11, it didn’t matter where you originally came from, whether New Jersey, India, or Japan; you were American. Tragedy does not need to be our only uniting force, though, and that is another message of this book.

The students currently served in K-12 schools in the United States do not have memories of September 11. Towers Falling is a helpful introduction to these events from the perspective of someone who did not witness them herself. Deja and her friends will invite our students to learn more about our history and unity.

Teaching Tolerance Social Justice Standards:

Justice 11: I try and get to know people as individuals because I know it is unfair to think all people in a shared identity group are the same.

Common Core Standards:

RL.2- Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.

RL.3- Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact).

RL.7- Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem).

 

Positive Role Models

We all need role models, whether we are 5, 45, or 95. However, role models are especially important when one is young and making decisions that will shape the future. Two important books for young readers that are full of positive role models are Stories for Boys Who Dare to be Different by Ben Brooks and She Did It! by Emily Arnold McCully. The subtitles of these books hint at social justice themes: True Tales of Amazing Boys who Changed the World Without Killing Dragons and 21 Women Who Changed the Way we Think, respectively.

McCully’s book introduces us to women who made changes to our political landscape such as Shirley Chisholm, Margaret Sanger, and Patsy Mink. Dorothea Lange, Isadora Duncan, and Gertrude Berg had powerful impacts on the arts. Many other women affected business and society for the better including Ida Tarbell, Ethel Percy Andrus, Alice Waters, Temple Grandin, and more. Each woman comes to life within these pages and each profile ends with a quote which allows the women themselves to sum up the legacy they wish(ed) to leave behind.

Stories for Boys Who Dare to be Different reminds me a bit of Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo. Each man or boy who is profiled in this book is described on a single page that is paired with a full page illustration by Quinton Winter. I found this book to be an extraordinary compilation of gentlemen from the famous to the little known. The stories of Iqbal Masih who saved over three thousand children from slavery before his death in 1995 at the age of 12, Rick Van Beek who completes marathons with his daughter Maddy who has cerebral palsy, and Nicholas Winton who was surprised at a talk show to see many of the adults he had saved from the Holocaust as children, all had me in tears. This shouldn’t detract from the stories of the many other men and boys covered within these pages, many of whom are equally inspiring.

As with many other books I have discussed on this blog, these two open up many new worlds for readers to discover. I imagine that students will be interested in following the stories of the women and men still living and working to change the world. Others will begin to research the impact that was made by those who are no longer with us. These books introduce readers to entire movements of social change across history. They are a great starting point for young researchers.

Teaching Tolerance Social Justice Standards:

Diversity 8: I want to know more about other people’s lives and experiences, and I know how to ask questions respectfully and listen carefully and non-judgmentally.

Diversity 10: I know that the way groups of people are treated today, and the way they have been treated in the past, is a part of what makes them who they are.

Justice 15: I know about the actions of people and groups who have worked throughout history to bring more justice and fairness to the world.

Common Core Standards:

RI.3- Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.

W.7- Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.

To Whom Does this Body Belong?

One of the most common topics in Our Stories, Our Voices edited by Amy Reed, is the use of women’s bodies for the pleasure of others. Twenty-one young adult authors write autobiographical essays about their experiences of being female in America. While there are many topics covered within this volume including immigration, racism, and homophobia; the topic addressed by the greatest number of authors is definitely the sexualization of women and girls.

There is such a strong juxtaposition right now of women who are saying “me too”
and “no more” and men who are allowed to remain in positions of power who have perpetrated acts of violence against these women. We cannot wait to teach boys and girls about gender equality and sexual objectification of either sex, it has to happen now. This is the time to make a statement as a society that every body belongs completely and solely to the individual that inhabits it. The body is something to be shared if, and only if, the person to whom it belongs gives complete and whole-hearted consent.

Several essayists point out that this goes beyond physical contact. Julie Murphy addresses this issue in her essay about weight, “Fat and Loud.” She says, “The reason why society–men especially– are so easily upset by fatness is because it’s a giant (no pun intended!) middle finger to every dude who thinks that the female body exists for nothing less than the male gaze” (137-138).

As our access to visual images of bodies grows wider and wider with TV, movies, and online resources, we need to be careful to teach children that the image of their bodies also belongs to them. How they look should not be defined or directed by anyone else. The other day, one of my students said to me, “You would be pretty if you wore makeup.” I was a bit taken aback by this statement and I believe my response was, “Thank you…I think.” I could have, and should have, said something like, “Well, I believe that people who are kind to themselves and others are beautiful and that we can all look different on the outside and still be pretty.” I hope that this teachable moment will occur again.

Our Stories, Our Voices is an avenue for high school teachers to address cultural norms about a variety of issues including gender and sexuality. It is also a book that will hopefully inspire girls to tell their own stories and boys to reflect on their place within those stories.

Teaching Tolerance Social Justice Standards:

Identity 1: I have a positive view of myself, including an awareness of and comfort with my membership in multiple groups in society.

Identity 4: I express pride and confidence in my identity without perceiving or treating anyone else as inferior.

Common Core Standards:

RI.1- Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.

RI.2- Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.

RI.6- Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness or beauty of the text.

SL.1- Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

Facts and Their Interpretation

In order to make the difference between fiction and nonfiction simple for my students, I have been guilty of saying that fiction is something that the author invents and that nonfiction is factual information. After reading 1968 edited by Marc Aronson and Susan Campbell Bartoletti, I won’t be using that simplistic explanation anymore. In their introduction, Mr. Aronson asserts, “the heart of nonfiction is thinking: making a contention, a case, a story” (viii). Nonfiction is much more than a collection of facts. Two authors could state the same facts and end with entirely different conclusions based on how these facts are presented, organized, and interpreted.

This book is made up of a collection of nonfiction essays about the year 1968. Most of the authors were alive at this time and many of them write autobiographical accounts of their experiences during this globally turbulent year. Others write about events that they did not experience personally, but that they have carefully and meticulously researched. The essays range from stories of long-distance bike trips and their life-altering impact to accounts of the Prague Spring and its role in the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Kekla Magoon writes of the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy while David Lubar writes of stand-up comics and how they addressed social and political policies of their time.

This book is not particularly long (the essays end on page 161), but it is somehow epic in its scope. The authors capture the passion and pain of 1968 in a way that speaks to readers today. Middle school and high school teachers who are covering history and social change, point of view, or nonfiction text structures, will find a great deal to talk about with this book.

Teaching Tolerance Social Justice Standards:

Diversity 8: I am curious and want to know more about other people’s histories and lived experiences, and I ask questions respectfully and listen respectfully and non-judgmentally.

Justice 15: I know about some of the people, groups and events in social justice history and about the beliefs and ideas that influenced them.

Action 20: I will work with friends, family, and community members to make our world fairer for everyone, and we will plan and coordinate our actions in order to achieve our goals.

Common Core Standards:

RI.3- Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories).

RI.6- Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.

RI.9- Analyze a case in which two or more texts provide conflicting information on the same topic and identify where the texts disagree on matters of fact or interpretation.

RH.5- Describe how a text presents information (e.g., sequentially, comparatively, causally).

RH.8- Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text.

 

A Resolution Worth Keeping

I have never been the best at making, or keeping, New Year’s resolutions. However, this morning when I was looking at the books on my bookshelves, I noticed how many of them were books of poetry. These books actually made up a fair amount of my collection, which surprised me. I have always considered poetry to be a “reading weakness” of mine and its presence has certainly been lacking in my teaching. Hence, my resolution to include more poetry in my classroom. Many of my students are intimidated by long texts and I imagine that they will be motivated by poems that use just a few words to express such deep meaning (obviously I will not be starting with epic poetry).

Two of the poetry books on my shelves were recently borrowed from a local library and both of them fit in well with the theme of this blog. The first is For Everyone by Jason Reynolds. This book is one poem written in four parts that was composed for anyone who has ever had a dream. Really, that describes us all, which I imagine is why the title of the book is For Everyone. Mr. Reynolds is one of my favorite authors and has been ever since I first saw his Author Biography which describes him like this, “Jason Reynolds is crazy. About stories.”

The second library book on my shelf was One Last Word by Nikki Grimes which includes poems from poets of the Harlem Renaissance alongside those of Grimes. Each of her poems is written in a Golden Shovel form. I had never heard of this form (as I said, I am a bit of a poetry novice) and I was interested to learn that it involves taking an entire poem or a line from a poem and composing a new poem with each line ending with one of the original words. The end products created by Ms. Grimes are absolutely stunning.

I think that including more poetry in my classroom might be one of the resolutions that I am able to keep. It is, at the very least, one worth keeping.

Teaching Tolerance Social Justice Standards:

Identity 4: I feel good about my many identities and know they don’t make me better than people with other identities.

Diversity 10: I can explain how the way groups of people are treated today, and the way they have been treated in the past, shapes their group identity and culture.

Common Core Standards:

RL.4- Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds (e.g., alliteration) on a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama.

RL.5- Analyze how a drama’s or poem’s form or structure (e.g., soliloquy, sonnet) contributes to its meaning.

What Can be Repaired

We know as educators that trauma has lasting effects. The physical signs may disappear, but emotional scars can last a lifetime. In Lucky Broken Girl, Ruth Behar tells her own story of trauma in childhood that still affects her today. Lucky Broken Girl won the 2018 Pura Belpre Award for its portrayal of the Latino/Latina cultural experience.

Ruthie Mizrahi’s family came to the United States from Cuba in the 1960s after Castro came to power. They settle in New York City in an apartment complex that hosts immigrants from all over the world. In this book, Ruthie befriends people from Belgium, India, Mexico, and the United States. This is truly a multicultural story. The primary focus of the book is on Ruthie’s long recovery after a car accident. She is confined to her bed for close to a year and struggles to maintain the positive perspective that she originally had when arriving in the United States.

Ruthie struggles to see the world as a safe place after her accident. She only begins to recognize her own strength with the help of family and friends who are also new immigrants to this country. By helping Ruthie, they also start to see themselves in new ways. This book highlights many cultural identities and traditions that all come together to support Ruthie in some way. Late elementary and middle school classroom teachers might use this book to challenge students to learn more about their own identities and those of others.

Teaching Tolerance Social Justice Standards:

Identity 1: I know and like who I am and can talk about my family and myself and describe our various group identities.

Identity 3: I know that all my group identities are part of who I am, but none of them fully describes me and this is true for other people too.

Common Core Standards:

RL.2- Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.

RL.3- Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact).

RL.4- Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes.

RL.6- Describe how a narrator’s or speaker’s point of view influences how events are described.

W.3- Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.

Speak Up

One of the most commonly quoted portions of the Gettysburg Address describes our government as one “of the people, by the people, for the people” and we have had many reminders of what it looks like to stand up to and for this system of government over the past few years. In 2017, Time Magazine’s people of the year were the silence breakers of the Me Too Movement. This year, journalists were honored as guardians of truth. Other individuals on the short list this year were March for Our Lives activists who, even though many are not out of their teens, made sure that their voices were heard.

In Same Sun Here, an epistolary novel written as letters between River Justice in Kentucky and Meena Joshi in New York, two voices speak out against what they believe is unjust. Silas House writes the letters from River’s perspective and Neela Vaswani writes Meena’s letters. The back and forth between these two characters is at times amusing, as when Meena shares the experience of shaving her legs for the first time and River’s response is that she should never write about hair, anywhere, ever again. At other times, it is poignant, such as River’s description of a protest that he attends against mountaintop removal or Meena’s loss of her grandmother in India.

This book is not just a wonderful introduction to young activist voices, it is also an example of how important it is to get to know people whose experiences differ from our own. Meena and River connect over a love of words, family, and community, but their individual experiences of these similar ideas differ tremendously. Through learning about each other, they learn a lot about themselves.

Students in late elementary school or middle school will be clamoring to participate in a pen pal program after reading this book. They will probably also be more aware of issues affecting their own communities after getting to know Meena and River. Silas House ends his acknowledgements section by saying, “To everyone who has read this book, thank you for spending time with us. Now, go do good.” That is exactly what this book inspires us to do.

Teaching Tolerance Social Justice Standards:

Diversity 6: I like knowing people who are like me and different from me, and I treat each person with respect.

Diversity 9: I feel connected to other people and know how to talk, work and play with others even when we are different or when we disagree.

Action 16: I pay attention to how people (including myself) are treated, and I try to treat others how I like to be treated.

Action 19: I will speak up or do something when I see unfairness, and I will not let others convince me to go along with injustice.

Common Core Standards:

RL.3- Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact).

RL.5- Explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas fits together to provide the overall structure of a particular story, drama, or poem.

RL.6- Describe how a narrator’s or speaker’s point of view influences how events are described.