Guidelines for Online Literature Circle:
Welcome to your online literature circle posting site. Please use the “post comment” below for this group’s discussion only. This space will give you and the members in this group an opportunity to express your own opinions about theories, research, and content. You will also be able to read each other’s comments and give feedback.
Directions:
1) Read the required readings, watch the documentary on Emmett Till, and listen to the Marilyn Nelson read the poem.
2) Complete the Google Doc (link above)
2) Post a reading response –below this post!!
3) Reading response entries should be at least 500-750 words.
4) Read all recent postings and give feedback (people in your literature circle group).
This is an opportunity for you to explore what you think is important, as well as, become active participants in your own learning by collaboratively problem solving and giving/getting appropriate feedback. This is your groups place to process meaning and develop understandings. Please feel free to respond to additional issues or questions that you feel are most relevant to your experiences and interests.
Reading a Poem for Emmett Till and the documentary The Untold Story of Emmett Till was a saddening experience for me. I had never before heard of Emmett Till (did history class fail me?) and so I was surprised to learn about how important his death was to the civil rights movement. I was also horrified to hear about how is killers got to go free when they were so obviously guilty. I really couldn’t believe how that could happen. I like to see the good in people and I know people are a product of the times they live in, but I just still can’t see how so many people knew the truth and yet accepted the lies. Emmett Till, his family, his community, his race, deserved to have justice.
ReplyDeleteI think that times were so different then, but then I think of Trayvon Martin and wonder if we really have come as far as we’d like to think.
The poem didn’t hit me as hard as the documentary did. The problem (?) I have when reading poetry is I become obsessed with trying to figure out exactly what the author means by each passage. I want to decipher poetry, to find a clear meaning in it. Really this is an impossible task because it can be so subjective. But the search for meaning makes reading poetry a sometimes frustrating experience for me. I wonder if my students sometimes feel this way too. I like to write poetry, to get feelings and ideas across in my own way. But I don’t really like reading poetry. I feel like I can almost get what the author is trying to say but not quite. The flowery language and differing sentence structures confuse me.
That said I thought there were some beautiful moments in the poem. I liked how the author brought in other historical events in US history along with Emmett Till’s story. I wonder way she chose to include these events as well. When she writes about September 11th, “Or at least let him die in a World Trade tower rescuing others, that unforgettable day” I wonder why she wrote this line. When I first saw she was bringing up September 11th I was really confused. What could that possibly have to do with Emmett Till? I took some time to really think it over, my brain trying always to find that elusive meaning, the concrete evidence. I think that maybe she wants his death to mean something, like the deaths of those who died on September 11th died as national heroes. Where Emmett’s death was not mourned by all when it should have been? So seemingly insignificant that it didn’t make it into my education experience at all? I wonder if that is what she is getting at with this line. Gives me something more to think about anyway.
Gretta,
DeleteYour response is so heartfelt and deeply thoughtful. A couple of things come to mind after reading your response.
1) "Did history class fail me?" You point to an important issue here. Whose historical perspective is being portrayed in our history classes? And if we only choose one perspective or one story to share who are we marginalizing and silencing by not sharing these stories? I struggle with these very questions myself.
2) Another point you made was with getting the meaning and the magnitude of the situation from the poetry reading alone. You pointed to how this might be difficult for your students because they don't understand the content in which the poem was framed. You also stated, "the flowery language and differing sentence structures confuse me." I think you are pointing to something important here as we think about being a reading and writing teacher. This is the whole point of a literature class for teachers and why another or multiple literature classes are often required by accreditation agencies and state licensing mandates for literacy teachers. If we (as teachers) don't understand the structures and elements that make up a particular genre we cannot help our students take meaning from them. For example, if we think about nonfiction (topic for next week) we know that many students struggle with reading nonfiction. They struggle because they don't understand how a reader of nonfiction goes about the task of making meaning from that particular structure.
Strategies that teachers often use to help them become better readers of nonfiction are to show them how nonfiction is structured, so that they can read it strategically. Even at the college level when I tutor students who are struggling with passing the Praxis I Reading portion (often made up of nonfiction passages). I am surprised that they do not understand that they need to read the sub-titles and captions to help get the main idea. Many are surprised when I share with them the common structure of nonfiction (i.e., ideas are often sequenced and in chronological order). I share with them language that signals them, as a reader, when the author is comparing and contrasting. I show them how to map ideas in the reading to show how the author is linking subtopics that relate to and follow the main idea. I can't tell you how many times I have had a 21-24 year old tell me, "Why didn't anyone tell me this before?" Because once they understand how the writing is structured they can read the reading in a purposeful manner. This has a direct impact on their ability to write as well.
This very long winded example that I have given you is true for any genre. We need to know as teachers how particular genres are structured, share this secret with our students so that they can be much more purposeful in the process of reading. For many people this is intutitive, but for struggling readers it is not. We need to give them the road maps for navigating particular genres.
In addition, as you alluded to, we need to give them the background knowledge to understand the context of the reading.
What you've touched on with your own discovery with reading the poem is what many students stumble upon in not only poetry, but other genres as well.
I hope I haven't taken your groups conversation astray with particular attention to the process of reading, but what you've highlighted in your comments is what many of our students struggle with every day. We as teachers often sing out about providing a love of literature and finding the joy in reading, but we need to give them very practical road maps, so that they can navigate their way to a felt significance with a piece of literature.
Tying into Greta's remarks, I found a lot of agreement with her and some disagreement.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason I was lucky enough to have been well informed and read from an early age. I've known the Emmett Till story since about middle school age. And, I'd have to say that my history and social studies education was very good. I was also fortunate to have teachers of literature who challenged me and put even more books and poetry into my hands when I had mastered assignments. I'm still very grateful to these teachers.
History, literature, and other classes do fail students regularly. In reading the stories of Emmett Till and Melba Pattillo Beals, I'm disappointed to see these and other courageous actions and sacrifices so wasted by a country sinking into the lowest common denomiator and into such apathy.
I would hope in teaching literature to help guide students to be able to pursue higher level thinking, to wrestle with a thought or concept and chase it down all the rabbit-holes where wisdom goes. Critical thinking is becoming a rarity, and it's not coming from most schools. Too many teachers seem more interested in infusing their own opinions and agendas into their students, at the cost of teaching critical thinking. Even teachers sincerely trying to teach literary awareness must have a tough battle against the tide of media overload that bombards students' minds.
I have to say I can't go along with the Emmett Till/Trayvon Martin comparison. (Will this land me in the dean's office?)
Unfortunately, the media agenda behind this comparison has become a clear and ugly thing, with twisted facts and falsehoods now coming to light. It's been tried in the headlines before it will ever come to court. Sharpton, Jackson and others wade in with other agendas. I just feel that much in the culture, Black and White, is so unworthy of the sacrifices of the genuine civil rights heroes of the past. Instead of an honest, reasoned analysis of the facts, we find everyone entrenched in slogans and hatred.
Greta, I too find the reading of poetry at times so engrossing due to the many allusions found and trying to figure out what the writer meant by certain lines. The poem of Emmitt Till is LOADED with them and I actually found myself paying more attention to the phrasing than the content. Does that make any sense?
ReplyDeleteI, too, have known about Emmitt for a while. In fact, I teach his story as a pre-reading activity to To Kill A Mockingbird. There are several other examples of extreme violence and racism that came from this time period and they were influential on Harper Lee as she formed her story of Tom Robinson. His story never fails to draw strong emotions from my students. They are shocked things like this were allowed to occur.
I'm going to have to echo Tony's comments of Trayvon Martin. I don't think we can compare the violence and hate with which Emmitt was killed and tortured to the situation in which Trayvon Martin was killed. All the facts aren't out, and they seem to be changing, but it doesn't seem he was sought out and targeted the way Emmitt was. Emmitt was the victim of a hate crime. Trayvon's doesn't appear to be the case. I totally agree with bringing this comparison is unworthy of the sacrifices that the civil rights heroes made.
I'm not sure however that too many teachers are not trying to teach critical thinking. I don't see so much of the passing of agendas on to students in the high school as in the college setting. Teachers of literature have so much material to cover for these blasted tests that it's hard to get "in depth" a lot of the times. Don't get me wron;, it is being done; it has to be done, but some teachers just choose not to go there as a means of survival for themselves or pure laziness. I've seen both. We have an English dept that is divided between those that want to and those that don't care or want to work that hard.
Teresa's comments about students not knowing how to read non-fiction text is a critical one. We are in the process as a dept to work on the new Core Standards that are being adopted across the country. There is a TON of non-fiction text standards and our curriculum was sorely lacking! It is also something we as a HIGH SCHOOL are trying to address so that the solution doesn't have to lie solely with the English Dept. since most of the non-fiction reading is done in Social studies, science and math. This is a task all of us must take up.
While I think we got kind of away from the literature this week, this discussion has been enlightening and thoughtful! Thanks group! See you Saturday! :)
And please don't get me wrong, I think what happened in the Martin case is tragic. I just don't think it rises to the level of Emmitt Till.
DeleteGoing off of what Tony said, I really hope to teach my students to pursue higher level thinking, think for themselves and make decisions/opinions based on knowledge they have learned! It sounds SO simple, but it is SO not....Back in my elementary school days, unfortunately I NEVER learned about Emmett Till, not even in middle school. It was in high school that i was shockingly presented with such a story. I went to a predominantly (98%) white elementary school, when I was in 6th grade we moved to Philadelphia my middle school was 50% hispanic 25% black and 25% white (roughly)...whole new world for me! I LOVED that I got this diverse experience and it has truly made me the person that I am today and I am beyond thankful for that! Going back on topic, I thought that Emmett's story was extremely tragic, disgusting, all of the emotions that everyone has listed already...but, we CAN and HAVE learned from such a tragedy. I believe that THIS is a point that we need to teach our students, that we can LEARN from these types of wrong doings and the Martin case. I also do not think that it is at a level to be compared with Emmett's tragic murder, but like Jennifer said I do think that he was sought out and stereotyped because of race. To this day, I know people that are very close to me and I hate to admit it, but my own father is openly racist. He has had some very terrible experiences with blacks and just as the Marilyn Nelson wrote in "The Wreath for Emmett Till" .."forget much of that racial memory. No: I remember, like a haunted tree." I am NOT defending my dad's racism by any means but I do understand that his experiences have made him unable and mostly unwilling to forget and forgive the race as an entirety. I have actually dated outside of my race a few times and one of the guys was my long term boyfriend....I experienced racism like I never had before. If I went to family functions with him many of the family members wouldn't speak to me because I was WHITE, if I ever went to the mall, out to dinner, the gym with him we were OPENLY STARED AT. I am not writing this for sympathy or shock value, just for a different perspective and something that I am very passionate about. I wish memories (particularly all of the tragic ones) could be erased, but the reality is THEY CANT, and as educators we have to teach our students to LEARN from them and try to move beyond the grudges/prejudices. Developing an understanding of where someone of a different race might be coming from, or where their prejudices may have started and even been ingrained in them is extremely important. My ex-boyfriend told me that many of his elderly family members were told NEVER to trust a white person, so they were just going off of what they were told their ENTIRE lives, my dad was told the same about "negroes" as his grandfather and father called them. I don't agree with either of these points of views but, I understand them and I understand that the society I have grown up in (philadelphia) is MUCH different than it was NOT too many years ago! I hope that I can help to teach my students to be accepting, understanding, and knowledgable about differences!
ReplyDeleteJori, what an interesting perspective you give on this topic!! Thank you for sharing that with us. I agree with you....it would be nice if we could erase memories, but since we can't, the best we can hope for as educators is to teach our students learn from the past and hopefully develop some tolerance or others.
ReplyDelete