Through most of my reading of When Everything Feels Like the Movies (WEFLTM), I must say I wasn’t too sure as to how this book pertained to my role as a teacher. Although I found the book hard to put down, I wasn’t able to fully wrap my head around how reading about a teenage boy’s fantasies would help me in my career. However, after giving myself a chance to reflect upon the book, while pairing it with other readings including Why We Must Read Young Adult Books That Deal With Sexual Content and discussing the role, or even importance, of sexual-content-filed books for teenagers, I have come to realize that teacher’s must all be prepared and aware of discussion surrounding teen sexuality.
Educating students about safe sex is critical. There have been many debates regarding the intent and appropriateness of talking about sexuality in schools, particularly since the change in the Sex Ed curriculum for public schools in Ontario. However, these readings have also made me realize the importance of teens not only understanding safe sex, but also having resources such as teen fiction novels that provide very raw and true representations of teen sexuality. The book WEFLTM can be used as an outlet, a safe space or a site of exploration for teenagers. This novel, although sometimes overly graphic, can be a useful piece of information to any type of reader. An adult can read this book to better understand the thought process and emotions that teens experience in their everyday lives. Also, straight teens can read this book to better understand the difficulties gay teens go through on a regular basis; this novel is a small window into the life of someone else, as with every novel. Although it does not have a happy ending, this book is an important avenue for understanding other people’s experiences. Finally, a gay teen and read this book feeling that they are not alone. Of course, not every LGBT teen will relate perfectly with the main character. Some may find him vulgar, a misfit or too attention seeking. Regardless of his downfalls, this character is real. Jude goes through some struggles that all teens go through and others specific to him, his family life, his gender and his sexuality. It is important to see that although much of this book focused on his fantasies, romantic relationships and sexuality, there was so much more to the character that everyone can relate to. I also found it interesting how the author decided to use Hollywood as an escape for Jude. He was able to replace the torment in his life with fame; agony to stardom. I find that this form of escape portrayed by Jude not only contributed well to the basis of the story, but also helped the reader understand some coping mechanisms teens use in order to free themselves of what feels like unbearable situations. I found this method of storytelling helped Jude through his journey, helping him realize that there is more to life beyond high school. I also feel the Hollywood façade contributed to the reader feeling that much more deeply for when Jude was murdered. I know that regardless of how the story was told, I would have cried reading the last chapter; nonetheless, I think the genuine hope that Jude felt through the use of this superstar script for his escape from his personal and social agony made his downfall even more heartbreaking. When I was researching other resources to support this novel for our multiliteracy group, the first theme that can to mind was LGBT teens and bullying. The next theme was how family dynamics affect the teenage experience. Although this book is seen in a sense as overtly sexual, sex was one of the last thing I considered or got from re-thinking about this book. This process has allowed me to reconsideration the true meanings behind the text. As mentioned, sex and sexuality are a critical component to the book and are sufficiently discusses; nonetheless, I think it is critical to understand how the individual character and all of his life experiences and relationships shaped his story.
1 Comment
I found Kevin Arnett to be a very powerful and strong person from the film Unrepentant. While watching the movie, I was overwhelmed with sadness by the things that have occurred and kept secret over so many years. As a Canadian, I felt ashamed that so many horrible acts are a part of our past and continue to go unrecognized. I am happy some progress has been made through the truth and reconciliation act, but I can blatantly see that so much more has to be done and yet, there will never be enough done to correct the mistakes of our past.
I think the fact that Christian institutions were behind all of the agony caused in residential schools helps uncover the reality that religious institution are not innocent, no matter how much we wish they were. I think Westernized communities like to think of Christianity as a peaceful religion, often viewing other faiths as harsh or cruel; however, as a Christian, and especially as an educator, I think it is necessary to continuously re-evaluate ourselves and the role we have played in contributing to some terrible histories and realities people are faced with, particularly in the aboriginal community. If I was Kevin Arnett, I hope that I would fight for the same cause with such passion for the truth. However, I think I would go about it in slightly different ways, particularly if the issues were discussed in the setting of the classroom instead of a church. Firstly, I think, as a white woman, it is my time to simply sit and thoroughly listen to the experiences of First Nations Peoples. Of course, I do think Kevin’s work as an ally to First Nations peoples is important and in some ways necessary, but I also think that there is a time for white people to just stop and listen to others, without being at the forefront of change for that particular group. I think the film was extremely powerful, but I find it would have been even more important and powerful if the main focus was not on a white man, but rather on the First nation peoples themselves. Also, if I was in a classroom faced with these issues, I think I would try to work more within the system to generate change. I think the fact that Kevin was able to stick to the truth, regardless of personal consequences, was admirable; however, as a teacher, a major influence in children’s lives, I feel I could make more of an impact if issues and truths were discussed directly in the classroom through an open and understanding dialogue between all members of the class. I hope that if these issues are presented in my classroom I would not shy away from discussion, as exposing our past and being honest is the only way to make progress toward the reconciliation that is so crucial. The readings of this week focused specifically on issues surrounding race and gender inequality found in all societies around the world, and how these prejudices or discriminations work within and between each other to shape a person’s experience. Being able to understand how these aspects of human experience interact on a personal and professional level as teachers is extremely important. Personal and social beliefs based on race, gender, religion and all other hierarchical perceptions will usually play a role in student, teacher and community interaction and understanding in classrooms. It is therefore important as a teacher to recognize how differences between students can positively or negatively affect their time at school.
The first reading I read was What It’s Like to Travel as a Black Women. This article was written by black women discussing her experiences travelling to different parts of the world. One thing I found extremely interesting is how in certain situations, her skin colour contributed to her feeling invisible (for example, when a friend said “no one goes” to a market that was very popular in the black community), while in other situations, she was too visible, and for extremely biased and inappropriate reasons (another example being when she went to Spain and was mistaken as a prostitute). This article really emphasized how different people are able to experience the same thing (in this case, travelling) in such different ways based only on their personal characteristics and identities. As a teacher, it is critical to take into consideration how student’s experiences will vary because of differences between the students. Every child will have a different past and will be affected by things differently in the classroom. Therefore, teachers should remain sensitive to individual experience while promoting positivity and understanding between the students in the class. A teacher should also be aware of who they are and how society’s pre-determined and skewed perception of who they are shapes their own experiences. This sensitivity, however, should not be mistaken for lowered expectations of weakness. Students should be pushed to express their best selves in and outside the classroom while growing to be aware and respectful toward others’ personal identities and experiences. This concept of reflecting upon personal experience in a world full of intersecting beliefs is seen in more detail in the second reading, I wouldn’t want to be a woman in the Middle East: White female student teachers and the narrative of the oppressed Muslim woman. This piece speaks mainly to white female teachers entering the teaching profession and their perception of patriarchal structures around the world. More specifically, the author feels that white women tend to use the narrative of oppressed women in the Middle East as a contrast to their own lives in order to diminish any personal experiences of patriarchal oppression in the western world. In a society where people are placed in concrete binaries or ‘us’ and ‘them’, Muslim women are seen as the ‘other’, lesser group in comparison to white women. This can, in turn, remove attention from the other powerful binary of men and women, while creating negative and unequal space between different women. These binaries are so harmful as they are always created in order to benefit one side. In a binary, one group is always superior, leaving the other group to be seen as the ‘lesser’; less deserving of opportunity, less important, less ideal. The author of this article suggests that white women must consider their role in western patriarchy instead of harmfully comparing themselves to women with other forms of intersecting differences. In a way, it is almost as if western women make themselves feel more liberated by putting other women down instead of facing the true issues at hand. I found it important that the author clarified that she was not arguing that Muslim women were not oppressed; rather, she was arguing that female oppression occurs in all areas of the world, in all races and in all classes, and that no discrimination should be avoided by focusing on other groups. I found this reading very interesting and the author brought up points that I as a white female teacher have not had much opportunity to consider. As I was able to clearly see in the first paper, personal experience and “social positionality” play major roles in personal experiences and perceptions of the world. As mentioned, it is important to consider social differences when reflecting upon the student experience. Nonetheless, it is equally as important to consider that a teacher’s knowledge is also structured on their position and experiences. This will, just as equally, play a major role of student-teacher, teacher-teacher and teacher-community interaction. As a white female teacher, I must reflect on my position and my experiences and realize how they shape me and the way I teach and interact with others. Only then can I authentically present ideas, build relationships and better understand societal norms and individual perceptions of the world. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
November 2015
Categories |