EXPLORING GENDER AND SEXUALITY IN HIGH SCHOOL
ENGLISH LITERATURE
by
CHERIE BORDEN
Thesis Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
The Degree of Master of Education (Counselling)
Acadia University Spring Convocation 2011
© by CHERIE BORDEN, 2011
This thesis by CHERIE BORDEN was defended successfully in an oral examination on April 19th, 2011 The examining committee for the thesis was: _____________________________ Dr. Christopher Killacky Chair _____________________________ Dr. Susan Church External Reader _____________________________ Dr. Deborah Day Internal Reader _____________________________ Dr. Ann Vibert Supervisor _____________________________ Dr. John Guiney Yallop Head/Director This thesis is accepted in its present form by the Division of Research and Graduate Studies as satisfying the thesis requirements for the degree Master of Education (Counselling).
ii
This thesis by CHERIE BORDEN was defended successfully in an oral examination on April 19th, 2011 The examining committee for the thesis was: _____________________________ Dr. Christopher Killacky Chair _____________________________ Dr. Susan Church External Reader _____________________________ Dr. Deborah Day Internal Reader _____________________________ Dr. Ann Vibert Supervisor _____________________________ Dr. John Guiney Yallop Head/Director This thesis is accepted in its present form by the Division of Research and Graduate Studies as satisfying the thesis requirements for the degree Master of Education (Counselling).
I, CHERIE BORDEN, grant permission to the University Librarian at Acadia University to reproduce, loan or distribute copies of my thesis in microform, paper or electronic formats on a non-profit basis. I, however, retain copyright in my thesis.
____________________________ Cherie Borden
Author
____________________________ Dr. Ann Vibert
Supervisor
____________________________ Date
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction . . . . . . . . 1
Literature Review . . . . . . . . 7
Methodology . . . . . . . . . 13
Ethics . . . . . . . . . 17
CHAPTER TWO: THE TEACHER
Educators’ Understanding of Role and Responsibility . . . 19
Exploring Perspective and Experience . . . . . 20
Critical Literacy and Social Justice . . . . . 24
Youth Voice, Perspective and Understanding . . . . 29
Risk . . . . . . . . . . 37
Historical Context . . . . . . . . 43
Literacy Practices . . . . . . . . 47
Embedded Curriculum . . . . . . . 48
Book Share . . . . . . . . . 52
Connections . . . . . . . . . 55
Choice . . . . . . . . . 57
Whole Class and Small Group . . . . . . 61
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Support, Mentorship and Professional Development . . 63
Race Relations, Cross Cultural Understanding & Human Rights Policy 68
CHAPTER THREE: THE TEXT
The Text . . . . . . . . . 76
Searching for the Text . . . . . . . 77
Annotated Notes . . . . . . . . 84
Ordering Text from the ARL . . . . . . 94
Traditions of the Bookroom . . . . . . . 99
Protection . . . . . . . . . 104
Literacy Success . . . . . . . . 109
CHAPTER FOUR
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . 119
References . . . . . . . . . 125
Appendix . . . . . . . . . 130
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Abstract
This thesis employs a narrative research approach to examine how high school
English teachers engage and challenge issues of gender and sexuality using the
Nova Scotia Authorized Resource List. Research participants include high
school English teachers from rural and urban schools, librarians, school board
specialists and Department of Education employees. Themes that emerged and
are explored are divided into two broad categories: the teacher; the text.
Subthemes which emerged in the teacher include: educators’ understanding of
role and responsibility; exploring perspective and experience; critical literacy
and social justice; youth voice, perspective and understanding; risk; historical
context; literacy practices; embedded curriculum; book share; connections;
choice; whole class and small group; support, mentorship and professional
development; and, race relations, culture cultural understanding and human
rights. Subthemes that emerge in the text include: searching for the text;
annotated notes; ordering text from the ARL; traditions of the bookroom;
protection; and, literacy success.
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Acknowledgements and Dedication
This work is dedicated to the students whom I have had the privilege of working with over the past ten years. Their challenge to create a society in which all voices are heard and valued has inspired me to constantly examine my practice and beliefs. I would also like to thank each of the educators who openly shared their stories and experiences with me. These individuals seek to further social justice in their day-to-day lives and I am honoured to have spent time with each of them. I would like to thank Dr. Ann Vibert for her support, advice and encouragement throughout this process. Because of her knowledge and wisdom, I was challenged to embark on this journey. Because of her care I was able to complete this task. I also wished to acknowledge my beloved sister Charmaine and her partner Peter, and my colleague and friend Eva. You have provided endless support, feedback, edits and encouragement during this long process. Thank you for the clear examples of your love. Most importantly, to my partner Paul and daughter Stella. Thank you for always making space for us to talk and share what is in my heart.
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1
CHAPTER ONE
Chapter one outlines the research project and includes the introduction; literature
review; methodology; study participants; and ethics.
Introduction
This project investigates the experiences of educators who place social justice at the
center of their pedagogical framework in the English languages arts (ELA)
classroom grade 10, 11 & 12. Specifically, I examined the extent to which the ELA
curriculum materials enable and support English teachers to explore with students
representations of gender identity and gender presentation in the Authorized
Resource List. The research draws on the collective knowledge and experiences of
educators, library specialists, school board advisors and consultants. My intention
was to provide the reader with a deeper understanding of the pedagogical issues
regarding gender identity and gender presentation as demonstrated within the ELA
Authorized Resource List.
My interest in the study of gender and sexuality as connected to literacy practice
developed when I taught English in a Nova Scotia high school. While I no longer
teach English, my interest in social justice has continued as I currently offer support
to students as a high school guidance counselor. As I reviewed articles and
conducted interviews with a variety of educators to better understand literacy
2
practices and social justice work, I held a position as guidance counselor at a large
urban public school. Throughout my first year counseling, numerous stories were
told by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, questioning (LGBTQ) youth who
provided a constant reminder of why this area of research is vital. Throughout the
year, individuals have asked why I would conduct research in an area that has
already been ‘explored and figured out’ or in an area that ‘really isn’t all that
problematic?’ I respond to such statements by highlighting the stories of three
students:
Student Story A
The transitioning youth who struggles with coming to terms with an
emerging identity and questions where emotional supports could be found in
the public school. Questions emerged such as, ‘Which is the safe bathroom
to use?’ became part of our first conversation together.
Student Story B
The African Nova Scotian male who grapples with dominant presentations of
masculinity to which he feels pressure to conform. He struggles to come to
terms with telling his mother and close knit family that he is in love with his
best friend. He realizes at the beginning of his grade 12 year that he is gay.
3
Student Story C
The 17 year old forced to leave home for fear of physical and emotional
violence because of his sexuality from his brothers and father. He tells me
that he believes his teachers do not like him and for the third year, leaves
school without completing the semester.
As an educator, I believe we are responsible to acknowledge and support the
complex realities and varied experiences of students within our communities. To
assume this work is complete ignores the daily experiences of individuals who are
engaged in questions of identity, specifically, every learner within the public school
system.
My intention is to better understand the complex and diverse experiences of teachers
who believe issues of gender and sexuality are important in the high school English
classroom. As well, I wanted to explore the use of texts offered to these teachers by
the Department of Education and the school board in which they work, specifically,
the Authorized Resource List (ARL). As educators shared their stories, analysis of
actual text often gave way to conversations that centered on personal belief and its
implication for practice in the high school English classroom. As I conducted
interviews, it became increasingly clear that the stories told by classroom teachers,
literacy leaders, librarians, Department of Education and school board personal
reflected a collective story of a diverse community. The result is an interweaving of
4
perspectives that explore the practice and experience of educators interested in
literacy and social justice work.
Documents provided by the Department of Education in Nova Scotia were
instrumental in shaping my classroom practice. The documents also provided a
framework from which many discussions with educators emerged. The foundation
document for the English language arts curriculum offers “a vision of what the
learning and teaching of English language arts can become when well supported by
the education system and community and when strengthened by collaboration
among students, teachers, administrators and community members”
(Atlantic Provinces Education Foundation, 1994, p.1). It is upon this foundation that
grade level curriculum guides are developed. The foundation document provides a
framework “on which educators and others in the learning community can base
decisions concerning learning experiences, instructional techniques and assessment
strategies, using curriculum outcomes as a reference point (Atlantic Provinces
Education Foundation, 1994, p. 1). Within the learning environment, challenge is
essential for students to “experiment with language and try out new ideas”
(Atlantic Provinces Education Foundation, 1994, p. 38). Inquiry supports
investigating of language learning, both individually and as a learning community:
“such critical and self-critical perspectives become accessible to students in
classrooms where they know their own words are heard and respected and where
teachers are critically aware of and reflective about their own language use”
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(Atlantic Provinces Education Foundation, 1994, p. 38). Equity and diversity are
also key areas in the foundation document. In a learning community characterized
by mutual trust, acceptance and respect, student diversity is both recognized and
valued. All students are entitled to “have their personal experiences and their racial
and ethnocultural heritage valued within an environment that upholds the rights of
each student and require[s] students to respect the rights of others”
(Atlantic Provinces Education Foundation, 1994, p. 42). Within this framework,
students need opportunities to “critically examine different experiences and
perspectives within social and cultural contexts; examine ways in which language
and images are able to create, reinforce and perpetuate gender, cultural and other
forms of stereotyping and biases; understand, imagine and appreciate realities other
than their own; challenge prejudice and discrimination which result in unequal
opportunities for some members of society” (Atlantic Provinces Education
Foundation, 1994, p. 42). Within this context, the ELA foundation states that
instructional and assessment practices should “be free of racial, ethnic, cultural,
gender and socio-economic bias; recognize and address materials, resources and
experiences which exhibit racial, ethnic, cultural, gender and socio-economic bias or
which students, parents or teachers perceive to exhibit those biases” (Atlantic
Provinces Education Foundation, 1994, p. 42). Responsibility for such an
educational framework becomes the responsibility of the community, education
system, parents/caregivers, principals, students and teachers. It was my aim to
explore and examine the experiences of educators in their attempts to provide an
equitable and inclusive classroom in regards to presentations of gender and sexuality
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through the application of the Authorized Resource List (ARL). To better
understand the experiences of teachers in the ELA classroom, I examined specific
resource areas:
►Selection and application of the ARL for ELA 10-12 in classroom practice
►Department of Education (DOE) ARL selection
►Department of Education (DOE) Literacy Success
►Foundation for the Atlantic Canada English Language Arts Curriculum
Through interviews with ELA teachers, I have come to better understand the extent
to which ELA teachers use the ARL to promote critical examination of issues of
gender and sexuality. The English language arts 10-12 curriculum is shaped in part
by the Authorized Resource List from the Nova Scotia Department of Education.
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Literature Review
Everyone has the right to education. …Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among ... racial or religious groups.
--Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 26 Parties agree to the elimination of any stereotyped concept of the roles of men and women at all levels and in all forms of education...
--Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Articles 10 and 14
Parties agree that the education of the child shall be directed to: ... the development of the child’s personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential; the development of respect for human rights...; the development of respect for the child's parents, his or her own cultural identity, language and values.
--Convention on the Rights of the Child, Articles 28 and 29 Parties ... undertake ... to ... discontinue any ... practices which involve discrimination in education....; to formulate, develop and apply a national policy which ... will ...... promote equality of opportunity and of treatment in ... education
--Convention against Discrimination in Education, Articles 3, 4, and 5
Respect, equality and opportunity are the rights of every individual within Canada.
Within the public education system, many students, teachers, administrators, parents
and guardians work toward building a learning community where diversity is
celebrated and valued. Inclusive classrooms aim to ensure that students are
encouraged to discuss values and beliefs, educators challenge systems that are
oppressive, administrators take leadership roles on social justice issues and
parents/guardians participate in discussions and are acknowledged as essential
supports for their children. In such classrooms, social justice is central to the
curriculum, and the pedagogical practices of the teacher aim to be transparent and
8
reflect the diversity of the community. The English language arts classroom is
central to “providing a multitude of perspectives through literature [and] is an
effective way to help facilitate [student] engagement in self and social understanding
(Landt, 2006, p. 691). In his research regarding the construction and implications of
masculinities in schools, Martino (1999) examines the power of text as a vehicle to
examine hegemonic masculinities. Martino also explores how constructions of
gender affect those who are excluded. Yet, despite the work of social justice minded
educators, educational settings have often silenced and oppressed LGBT youth.
Shelby (1998) questions: “How do we know that the educational system is failing
these youth? The dropout rate for GLBTQY students is twenty-eight percent,
compared to the national Canadian average of only nine percent” (as cited in Little,
2001, p. 105). High school can offer youth the opportunity to examine and explore
their emerging identity and the text used in the ELA classroom likewise has the
potential to support students during this time of reflection and growth. According to
Moje and Dillon (2000), when critically examined, text has the potential to offer
powerful implications for identity.
The challenge of providing students with opportunities and resources to
question dominant presentations of gender and sexuality remains unanswered.
Despite the fact that “many texts and topics traditionally studied in literacy and
social studies classrooms, already deal implicitly with themes of masculinity,
femininity, and sexuality” the power of the approved English language arts (ELA)
curriculum to examine issues of gender identity and sexuality is unrealized
(Ashcraft, 2006, p. 214). Little (2008) comments: “GLBTQ adults, when asked
9
what would have made school a better experience for them, replied consistently:
‘any representation at all in school’ ” (p. 8). Curricular text can provide opportunity
to discuss gender borders of daily social experiences (Martino, 2007). Educators
who are dedicated to social justice speak explicitly to the constructions of gender
and sexuality and work to provide safe places for all learners to explore and examine
these issues. If educators remain silent, students who question gender presentations
and their implications do so independently and often without support from their
peers, teachers or curriculum materials and resources. The need for educators to
actively consider how students encounter texts is central to the development and
representation of young peoples’ sexual identities (Moje & MuQaribu, 2003). Bass
& Kaufman (1996) argue that all students can benefit from a richer and more
accurate presentation of society:
Students whose parent(s) or sibling(s) are gay or lesbian will be better
represented. In fact, everybody benefits, because “teaching tolerance
prepares students to interact more successfully in the world and helps
create a more enlightened society where diversity is embraced.”
(as cited in Little 2001, p. 107)
Along with texts that more accurately reflect gender and sexual realities, literacy
pedagogy calls for students to be participants in reading and writing activities that
draw from their own experiences (Atwell, 1987), and to engage in activities that
examine and critique these texts (Moje and MuQaribu, 2003). Educators must ask,
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“To what degree does the approved reading list reflect the diversity of students in
our classrooms?” “What is the underlying message regarding sexuality and gender
as demonstrated within the reading list?” According to Moje and MuQaribu (2003):
[Q]uestions of how to live as sexual beings are relevant to all youth
as they move into relationships in which they must make decisions
about everything from their position in a relationship to the level of
physical intimacy they want to pursue in it. (p. 206)
It is not enough to simply expose students to diverse ways of being; rather, exploring
sexuality through ELA curricular texts should also function as a way to engage
students in critiquing dominant discourses of masculinity, femininity, and sexual
orientation, thereby fostering critical multicultural curriculum (Ashcraft, 2006). A
wider view of the world as offered by literature can, according to Landt (2006):
Open doors to other cultures and introduce student to ideas and
insights they would otherwise not have encountered. Rather than
reading about cultures in a fact-filled textbook, students experience a
culture through the eyes of other adolescents. They get to see people
their own age meeting challenges and solving problems. Unfamiliar
aspects of other cultures-language, dress, beliefs- are less foreign
when viewed through the lens of familiar issues. (p. 691)
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For individuals who question presentations of gender and sexuality, schools have the
potential to be a powerful support in discovering voice and understanding
experience. Yet many LGBTQ youth state: “they often [feel] like outsiders in their
school, with 37% suggesting that they [hate] or [dislike] school” (Schrader & Wells,
2005, p. 2). Many LGBTQ students in ELA find themselves learning how to
recognize, value, and accumulate knowledge that locates them as outsiders and most
of their classmates as insiders (Van Leer, 1995). Under-representation in school
libraries and resources are felt by LGBTQ youth and is a major factor in their
constructed invisibility in schools (Schrader & Wells, 2005). It is important to note
issues of access specifically in regards to reference services, search terminologies
and collection holdings. Bias as represented in “cautions and warnings” as well as
“subject access and index terminology” plays a significant and determining role in
the accessibility of text (Schrader & Wells, 2005, p. 8).
LGBTQ students are not alone in their desire to understand and question
sexual identities and gender constructions. In Martino’s work, students clearly
articulate the need for critical examination of gender identities: “maybe they should
start teaching stuff that is related to us and that we need to know about” and “[t]here
has been stuff about don’t fall to peer pressure and stuff like that but that’s nothing
as deep as going into stuff about how you feel about being masculine to what is
masculinity. I’m not sure why we don’t have the opportunity” (Martino, 1999, p.
258). For students to have such opportunity to challenge and reshape their belief,
James (1999) describes an:
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environment of trust, openness and support in which one’s own
perceptions and feeling can be made properly conscious to oneself, in
which one can feel free to express and examine one’s fears and
aspirations, in which one can think through one’s experiences in
terms of a radically new vocabulary which expresses a fundamentally
different conception of the world. (p. 399)
Teachers who are committed to social justice attempt to provide a curriculum that
represents the classroom community and provide opportunities for caring supportive
classrooms to be developed and nurtured. We cannot be negligent in this regard, for
“if schools are to be safe, inclusive learning environments, then they ought to take
up issues of sexual orientation so (a) straight students learn about queer differences
and (b) queer students see themselves represented in the curriculum and instruction”
(Grace & Wells, 2001, p. 2). Cloninger (2008) offers a view of a classroom
community where students are challenge to cultivate a culture of care and love:
Because we had developed an environment that fostered loving
concern for all members of the class, the students were able to
comfort one another, support one another, and move from their self-
absorbed state to one of calm introspection. [W]e had entered into a
tacit agreement to respect one another, to listen to one another, to
show care for one another, and to leave room for one another.
(p. 207)
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Teachers need to construct ELA curricula that reveal the LGBTQ presence and
realize that heterosexuality is assumed, and homosexuality and bisexuality are often
made invisible in contemporary culture (Blackburn & Buckley, 2005). School
curriculum holds powerful potential for intervening in the production of oppressive
gender presentations. As Connett (1996) observes, schools “have a considerable
capacity to make and remake gender…[schools] are a key means of transmitting
culture between generations…and can make a real contribution to a future of more
civilized, and more just, gender relations” (as cited in Ashcraft, 2006, p. 2151).
Methodology
How do some English high school teachers engage with students in questions of
gender and sexuality? What are the challenges and rewards of this approach to
English literature? How are some teachers able to sustain social justice work while
teaching literature and what are their experiences with the Approved Resource List
in doing so? Such questions emerged as I reflected on my teaching approach over
the past ten years. It quickly became apparent that my own experience as a
classroom teacher was an active part of the research process itself. I desired a better
understanding of the experiences of educators who actively challenged dominant
presentations of gender and sexuality.
In the aim of honoring the voices of educators, this research employed an informal
narrative approach. Shank (2006) describes the informal narrative approach as
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“accounts, often oral, that describe certain events or circumstances or affairs without
trying to adhere to any of the structural components we might find in more formal
stories” (p. 174). As participants shared stories of their experience, I asked them for
specific and concrete examples of their approach. I recorded each interview and
following that meeting, transcribed each interview directly from the recording. I
also kept detailed notes during each interview. Using the transcribed interview, I
identified two major themes; the teacher and the text. Subthemes also emerged.
Using the transcribed interviews, I identified keywords, which illustrated the themes
and subthemes. Finally, I created thematic charts highlighting supporting data and
illustrating the connections between each participant.
Educators often shared very detailed accounts of their experiences that subsequently
provided colourful and rich examples throughout the research body. The semi-
structured interviews with participants provided tremendous insight to the supports
and limitations that impact their work in the area of inclusion and equity. A semi-
structured interview “allows the interviewer some latitude in how questions are
asked, and in what order, but it is still the case that all interviewees are asked the
same basic questions. By standardizing the interviews to some degree, the
researcher preserves a degree of comparability across interviews” (Shank, 2006, p.
50). Interviews with school board and Department of Education consultants and
advisors provided a more complete picture of the resources and supports in place for
educators who engage in critical practices. Two Department of Education
employees proved to be invaluable with regards to information on literacy and social
15
justice. The interviews with librarian specialists helped to identify issues related to
resource collections for the language arts classroom. Half of the librarians
interviewed had teaching experience as English language arts educators. Their
insights to text selection, collections and resources provided further insight
regarding supports and limitations for educators who engage in critical analysis of
gender and sexuality as presented in the ARL for the ELA 10-12 classroom. The
interviews provided a rich collection of stories and experiences from which I drew
key themes to examine. Themes are categorized into two broad areas: teacher and
text. These two areas emerged as participants examined their own role and
responsibility and how they viewed the text available to them. Sub-themes capture a
larger picture of educator experience. Full transcripts were provided to participants
to provide feedback in order to transform their stories into written text that they
approved and considered accurate.
Five high school English teachers were initially invited to participate in this project.
Each of these educators had demonstrated through their work that they are interested
in issues related to social justice and literacy. I used a snowball approach to locate
other participants and began by contacting educators who demonstrated through
their practice an interest and dedication to social justice in regards to critiques of
gender and sexuality presentations. I worked with four of the educators at a high
school level. The other four individuals I met while working on projects or
committees related to social justice or literacy. Those interviewed were willing to
discuss their practice and experience in regards to critiquing presentations of gender
16
and sexuality within the ARL. I did post an advertisement for participants in the
local teacher magazine that is received by all schools in the study area. There was
no response from this advertisement. Those interviewed represented a variety of
experiences ranging from inner city to rural high schools.
Three library specialists were originally invited to participate. Two high school
librarians, one city based and one rural, were interviewed. I was not able to secure
an interview for a School Board library support specialist.
Four Department of Education employees were originally invited to participate.
Two of the original four resulted in interviews. Two additional interviewees were
located by the snowball effect, an English Programs Consultant 7-12 and a Literacy
Leader 7-12.
The methods that were undertaken to perform this research include: brief
preliminary interviews where the purpose of the research was clarified and the
participant informed of consent; in-depth open-ended interviews providing an
opportunity to complete interview questions; review of available documents that
relate to ARL and the ELA curriculum expectations and goals. Also, artifacts from
teacher classrooms such as lesson plans, assignments and materials proved essential
and were often explored during the interview. Interviews were digitally recorded
and transcribed by the researcher. Following the interviews, transcripts were
provided to each participant and opportunity was given for each person to make
17
changes to the written text. From the interview transcripts, data were coded and
analyzed in order to locate themes and patterns regarding how gender and sexuality
is presented through the ARL in grade 10-12 and subsequently explored in the
classroom. In an effort to honour educators as they presented their own stories, this
text includes substantial quotations and sections of transcripts. As much as possible,
the participants’ words appear in the text as direct quotations. Following the
completion of the thesis and its requirements, all audiotapes will be destroyed. The
study will be made available to each participant. All names have been changed
including interview participants and students noted during the interview process to
ensure the privacy is respected.
Appendix 1: Interview Consent Form for Educators Appendix 2: Interview Consent Form for Consultants Appendix 3: Proposed Interview Questions for Educators Appendix 4: Proposed Interview Questions for Consultants
Ethics
Approval to complete this research project was granted by Acadia University. Prior
to interviews, all participants received informed consent. Debriefing was provided
when requested and manuscripts were sent to all participants. Participants were able
to edit their manuscript as they deemed necessary in order to provide further details
and information or to clarify their interview. There were no risk or safety concerns
for any participants. While no compensation was provided for any participants, a
19
CHAPTER TWO: THE TEACHER
Chapter two examines educators’ understanding of their role and responsibility;
perspective and experience; critical literacy and social justice; youth voice,
perspective and understanding; risk; and, historical context. Literacy practices such
as embedded curriculum, book share, connections, choice, and whole class and small
group are also examined. Finally, support, mentorship and professional
development; and, race, culture, human rights and policy are considered.
Educators’ Understanding of Role and Responsibility
Classroom educators who participated in the interview process hold a common
belief that supporting student understanding and developing greater awareness of
gender and sexual identity is part of their role and responsibility. As educators
shared their stories of classroom practice, they frequently expressed ideas that are
central to their personal understanding of their position as a classroom teacher and
responsibility to provide appropriate and meaningful educational experiences and
opportunities. Often educators expressed a sense of desire to actively engage in
practices that support students thinking about identity and self. Along with an
intentional focus on social justice, educators noted the importance of developing a
culture of care and well being in their classrooms in order to facilitate conversations
that would support students as they explore their ideas and became vulnerable to
20
challenge. James (1999) describes the environment needed to challenge and change
deeply held beliefs as:
an environment of trust, openness and support in which one’s own
perceptions and feeling can be made properly conscious to oneself, in
which one can feel free to express and examine one’s fears and
aspirations, in which one can think through one’s experiences in
terms of a radically new vocabulary which expresses a fundamentally
different conception of the world. (p. 399)
Interconnected with fostering an environment that encourages and supports learners
to examine their personal beliefs and ideas, five themes emerged: understanding
cultural diversity; critical thinking and meaningful response; youth voice; risk; and
historical context.
Exploring Perspective and Experience
Cultivating greater understanding of oneself and others is a central theme explored
in many English classrooms and can be investigated using a variety of texts. Landt
(2006) examines the use of multicultural literature as students explore unfamiliar
and new experiences as well as providing a more accurate reflection of students in
the classroom. Landt’s (2006) examination of multicultural resources is parallel to
providing students with literature that reflects the diversity of gender and sexuality:
21
Literature can open doors to other cultures and introduce students to
ideas and insights they would otherwise not have encountered. Rather
than reading about cultures in a fact-filled textbook, students
experience a culture through the eyes of other adolescents. They get
to see people their age meeting challenges and solving problems.
Unfamiliar aspects of other cultures—language, dress, beliefs—are
less foreign when viewed through the lens of familiar issues. Fine
fiction, according to Mazer (1993), has “the power to transform our
understanding [and] allows us to enter into another person’s
experience and to feel it as if it were our own” p. viii
(p. 691)
As they describe their classroom practices, educators share the importance of
supporting students’ developing awareness, respect of diversity and, understanding
of how gender and sexuality can be informed by culture. E explains how, using the
short story The Friday that Everything Changed by Ann Hart, her grade 10 English
class explores the topic of gender construction alongside the need to acknowledge
and understand cultural differences and perspective as demonstrated by characters in
the story. E describes the class conversation prior to reading the short story:
We talk about the idea that the construction of gender is malleable
and changing and it is fluid depending on the perspectives of people,
22
and that some of the expectations of gender, male and female, vary
according to culture and experience. (Transcript E, ll. 13-16)
E further notes the diversity of student experiences with regards to their
understanding of gender and sexuality:
It’s very apparent that some students have some experience they have
previously discussed gender. It is also apparent that some students
have no experience and they have never heard the word and they
write it down and they are really unsure of what that is. And even as
we talk and someone is explaining it to them they are like, “Oh, the
sex of someone?” And so, then you are trying to clarify, “No it’s not
just the sex.” Ah then there are other students in the class, who have
experience with it and use the word sometimes before it is even
mentioned by me. (Transcript E, ll. 52-58)
As part of preparing to share a common reading text and to support students as they
consider their own beliefs and attitudes, E encourages students to exchange ideas
and support one another as they explore their diverse and varied understanding of
gender and sexuality. E uses Hart’s story The Friday that Everything Changed to
connect her students to a deeper understanding of gender and sexuality and at the
same time, make real the classroom conversation in which diversity is shown: “it
mentions or hints that this teacher had different opportunities because she was from
23
a different area and so that’s one of the things I try to bring up with students.”
(Transcript E, ll. 43-36). E is intentional as she shapes the classroom culture and
conversation to include recognizing invisible opportunity alongside the unique
experiences of the female character. She further describes how, after explicitly
modeling reading analysis to her class, students begin to select elements of the story
to deepen their understanding of diversity in experience:
They [students in E’s classroom] also parallel it with the boys and the
girls that play softball in the school. They [students in the text] don’t
really understand the game because they have a different perspective.
They haven’t really seen a baseball game. None of them have been to
one. They don’t have TV access so they can’t visually see it. They
haven’t read anything about baseball so they have really little
exposure. (Transcript E, ll. 41-45)
Through examining the experiences in the text, students in E’s class have the
opportunity to explore diversity. The entry point of the softball/baseball discussion
provides a safe space where students in E’s classroom have the opportunity to
consider what may be assume to be common knowledge or cultural practices (how
to play softball/baseball) may not be common after all. E also explains that the
story offers an opportunity to examine how individuals are valued at different
degrees as team members which is specifically shown in the school practice of
placing females in secondary roles as team members:
24
[A]nd so the teacher experiences, where she is from, females maybe
treated just a little different, she may have played or she did play
baseball at her old school. Where as at this school, the girls weren’t
included for main roles in baseball. They were asked to play outfield,
as a second rank position, not as a helpful position, not as a valued
central role. (Transcript E, ll. 41-45)
Supporting her class as they deepen their understanding of diversity, E connects
themes of gender and sexuality to the students’ discussion of culture, experience and
privilege. The students talk about baseball, cultural knowledge and individual value
while discussing the experiences of characters in the story. E is intentional as she
chooses Hart’s short story The Friday that Everything Changed and begins with
dialogue that shapes the focus of themes and sets the tone for respectful inquiry. She
is also aware that students need to see the analysis of text modeled by their teacher
and provides the class with clear direction, instruction and supportive techniques. E
noted that she examines this text early in the grade 10 year which helps shape the
culture of the classroom as one that holds an expectation of respect for diversity and
open discussion.
Critical Literacy and Social Justice
Throughout the interviews, educators explored intersections and connections
between critical literacy and social justice practices. Educators described critical
25
literacy as a practice that enables students to acknowledge multiple meaning from
texts and as a practice that supports learners as they develop skills to see how that
text has been shaped by societal factors and in turn is shaping the reader. Social
justice practices involve supporting students as they develop an awareness of
individuals and issues that may or may not have space (physical, intellectual,
emotional, social, and financial) in the classroom, school and greater community.
As we discuss the English language arts curriculum, C explains how she perceives
the disconnect between the practice and theory of critical literacy:
[T]he whole notion of critical thinking, is just, although it is stated in
the document (English Language Arts Curriculum Guide), we are just
really getting a push on it in the last couple for years. That whole
thing around research, thinking critically about what you are reading
and researching and those sorts of things, that is now just taking a
forefront. (Transcript C, ll. 205-209)
As practices around critical literacy emerge, C notes that social justice awareness
must be applied to the analysis of vast cultural and historical experiences:
Within the notion of critiquing things is that whole thing around
examining your culture and your traditions, examining your society.
And it is an examination not just of the issues of genderism and those
26
things but of everything that has in the past been marginalized and
what we do as a society to keep marginalized populations in place.
(Transcript E, ll. 209-212)
Movement to tie critical research skills with questions of power and control help
shape a classroom in which learners are asked to challenge cultural practices and
belief systems. In her research, Jones (2006) presents a framework for powerful
critical literacy: deconstruction, reconstruction and social action. In their analysis of
Jones’s work, Clarke and Whitney (2009) describe the first stage, deconstruction, of
critical literacy practice:
The first layer of interpretative work involves deconstructing issues
of power, perspective, and positioning in a text. While literally
deconstruction means to take things apart, what the students are doing
at this stage is to pull back layers of meaning. (p. 532)
MI demonstrates deconstruction as she describes a classroom assignment she calls
‘Democratic Citizen’ which combines literacy skill development alongside a critical
exploration of the world:
Every Monday I had this assignment called Democratic Citizen,
where students had to bring in a current world event that they would
discuss in class. It resulted in a great deal of debate and discussion.
27
They would bring in issues around the environment, politics and
world crisis. (Transcript MI, ll. 52-55)
MI fosters an environment that promotes discussion and debate by using current
world events in her English class. The second step in Jones’s (2006) critical literacy
framework involves reconstruction: “It is not enough just to deconstruct a text, but
we also have to give the students an opportunity to use this knowledge to create new
ways of thinking” (Clarke & Whitney 2009, p. 533). In MI’s classroom, students are
encouraged to rethink their ideas and assumptions and explore new ways of viewing
the world. MI extends the practice of viewing the world through a critical lens by
challenging students to question school practice and purpose. This challenge of
school practice reflects the third step in Jones’s (2006) critical literacy framework
that involves social action:
It is important that students see themselves in a larger world beyond
the walls of the classroom. It is for this reason that the final step in a
critical literacy exploration needs to be one that builds upon
deconstruction and reconstruction to connect to larger social issues.
(Clarke & Whitney 2009, p. 534)
While remaining within the school context, MI describes how she supports students
as they struggle to make real and significant the assignments and activities in which
28
they are asked to engage. Her encouragement to critically examine the purpose of
assigned tasks demonstrates the widening of critical investigation:
Find meaning in their learning, that’s what it is, find meaning in their
learning. And I talk to the kids the very first day of the semester
about this. And I said “You know how it’s like probably when you
get assignments from teachers and you do them but you don’t really
feel connected to them but you do them anyway and you do a good
job and you get your marks and you do well and you move on well
for me, I’m trying to figure why that disconnect is happening and I’m
going to try to give you things where that doesn’t happen so you end
up doing things that are, you know, meaningful to you.” (Transcript
MI, ll. 216-224)
Both C and MI support students as they make meaning of text and combine critical
and social justice practices. MI supports explicit discussion with her students
regarding educational purpose and encourages them to consider the implications for
their own learning. MI’s belief in critical and social justice does not end with
examination of text, rather, she applies the principles to classroom learning
opportunities and actively supports students as they question the role education plays
in their lives.
29
Youth Voice, Perspective and Understanding
Central to the values held by educators, the power and importance of student voice
was discussed by many interviewed. Educators shared stories of students’ voice and
perspective and provided detailed examples of how student voice is a central
element within their learning community. For these educators, student voice and
perspective is a powerful guiding force that shapes and directs classroom activities
and learning opportunities. While sharing her experience as a classroom teacher, N
demonstrates how she encourages students as they develop understanding of their
own voice in her classroom. While N is describing a situation with elementary
students, N is currently working with elementary, junior, senior high students and
educators. This story was included as it helps demonstrate N’s practice:
So, with just my classroom and my students challenging me, that’s
how powerful it can be with students and an individual teacher. This
was elementary 8 and 9 year olds, asking me about the curriculum
asking me why we are not, you know, talking about any famous
people of African descent. Now they’re challenging me, a person of
African descent, and they were 8 years old. And so it was up to me
as a teacher to go out and try to find pictures to try to find all of that.
(Transcript N, ll. 274-280)
30
N invites the challenge to locate materials that reflects a more diverse community
and encourages students’ questions and perspectives to shape the classroom practice.
Ingrid Johnston (2000) explores the creation of space in the classroom for students
to share their ideas regarding texts:
Making transformative curriculum changes in our classrooms entails
moving away from seeing literature teaching as a scene of possession
in which we, as classroom teachers, are the final arbiters of meaning.
It means opening up debates and dialogues with our students about
the international texts we bring into the classroom and about the
culture they reflect. (p. 145)
N is open to the diverse perspectives that learners bring to the classroom.
Acknowledging its importance and power, she begins to reshape classroom materials
to more accurately reflect how her students view the world, and at the same time, N
supports their challenge of the limited presentations of culture and people. Their
questions of where images of people of African descent are and why they were
absent led N to locate materials that offered depictions of people of African descent
and to discuss this as a whole class. N does not reject the student perspective;
rather, she shares power with her students as together they examine who is missing
from the presentations in the literature and who is taking up the space in these same
presentations. N did not end this examination with simply providing the missing
images; rather, she encouraged her students to ask why such presentations may
31
occur. During the interview, C shared an experience she had as part of a diversity
day. As a school wide event, numerous teachers wore different t-shirts identifying
different sexual orientations. C took a t-shirt that identified that she was bi-sexual:
It was really good, I was close to my class, they said, “Miss you’re
too much of a priss to be a bisexual”, ha, ha, ha, I said, “Are you
saying I have to be less of a priss to be bisexual?” Aha, ha, ha, it was
really funny. So I said “Well why can’t prissy people be bisexual?”
So we started the conversation. So, well, then we all moved into the
circle and we talked about all these other things, they thought
bestiality was a sexual orientation, this was an English class right, so
we sat and talk about how that was not a sexual orientation.
(Transcript C, ll. 619-625)
Like N, C encourages openness with her class and supports students as they risk
sharing their ideas with their teacher and classmates. In this case, the t-shirt and the
school activity provided the framework of exploration and discussion for students.
Blackburn and Buckley (2005) explore the importance of discussions that focus on
gender and sexuality with students in addition to inclusion through literature:
Reading and writing are vehicles for thinking and feeling (Athanases,
1996), and discussions, both small and large group, can facilitate
thinking and feeling. Teachers must actively, honestly, and
32
intellectually facilitate these discussions (Epstein, 2000). Students,
in other words, should have opportunities to play active roles in
discussions, and teachers should listen intently to what their students
have to say (Hamilton, 1998). In terms of queer-inclusive ELA
curricula, discussions of same-sex desire need to be incorporated into
larger discussions of diversity. Discussions of family, relationships,
community, and discrimination can promote such incorporation.
Schall & Kaufmann, 2003 (p. 210)
In C’s classroom, students have the opportunity to explore and examine their
worldview. Through such examination, individuals face new concepts of and
ways of being in relationships with others. Such conversations offer students
the possibility to explore different perspectives in a safe and welcoming space.
The positive and supportive relationships that C cultivates in her classroom enable
students to feel that this topic and their questions are valuable to learning. With the
support of their teacher, students have the opportunity to voice their assumptions and
share their perspectives in an environment where ideas can be openly examined and
clarified. Like C, E recognizes the power and importance of supporting students as
they share their experiences:
I have had a person one year in grade 10 who seem rather mature for
a grade 10 student. And she considered herself to be openly bisexual
and she talked about gender to the class. And she talked about it very
33
knowingly and with a sense of authority on it. And so ah, being an
open student in a class, ah she discussed those concepts really clearly
and brought them to a language level that was what most grade 10
students understood. (Transcript E, ll. 86-91)
Creating a supportive learning community for students as they examine ideas related
to gender and sexuality means that students are in a position to learn from one
another. As E notes, the information reaches students in new ways providing a
different voice and another opportunity for students to understand. Similar to E, MI
provides space in her classroom for students to share their understanding and
perspective. MI describes the importance of supporting students to write their life
experiences. She strongly advocates that youth have tremendous and powerful life
experiences that should be integral to classroom learning:
Allowing kids to tap into their own experiences, because if they care
about what they are writing about and tell their own stories because
they all have stories they all have voices, obviously and, they will
become better writers in the process but that is secondary to being
just able to tell your story and get credit for it, what a gift.
(Transcript MI, ll. 311-315)
34
Both E and MI comment that, when supported by the learning community, learners
are willing to openly share their stores. MI describes her classroom and the open
conversations students participate in:
Students are openly talking in my class about their same sex
boyfriend or girlfriend and they tell other students about their life
openly. They bring it up in classroom discussions and they talk about
it with other students. Students need to see their lives reflected in the
literature that we use and right now that is not happening. I think
students need to have this available to them that is why I have looked
and searched for that representation. (Transcript MI, ll. 105-110)
Providing materials and writing opportunities that accurately reflect students is a
central practice of social justice. Students in MI’s classroom help to cultivate a
climate of respect for diversity by engaging in conversations that support all
learners. MI acknowledges that commonly used literature in high school does not
reflect the experiences of all learners in the community. To provide learners with
meaningful and appropriate materials, both MI and B search for resources that
reflect diverse student experiences and realities. Their practice of making available
multiple worldviews and offering learners the opportunity to examine and reexamine
their understanding is reflective of Landt (2006):
35
A kaleidoscope does not offer one true picture; it morphs and changes
at every move, proffering a multifaceted, prismatic perspective. That
is what I propose we offer to the developing minds of our students:
not a static, narrow vision, but a spectrum of perceptions and
possibilities. (p. 691)
As part of his work, B collects resources to add to the Literacy Success materials for
classroom use. The collection adds a variety of resources to English classrooms and
individual text are selected for their ability to appeal to students’ interests and
reading abilities. Educators have been invited from across Nova Scotia to examine
and select materials that they feel would offer new and unique reading opportunities.
B has also invited students from across Nova Scotia to review texts and make
suggestions on materials they would like to see in their classroom library. B
believes the connection to student experiences and knowledge is central to
promoting meaningful and empowering reading opportunities for students:
If students receive the resources [Literacy Success] and have the
opportunity to read them, they will say things like, “This is the kind
of resource that we need in the classroom because it is real, it talks
about real problems. I can identify with this because this is what is
happening to me.” (Transcript B, ll. 58-61)
36
To understand what he meant by ‘real’, B extended an invitation to attend a review
session with the XYZ team. The texts that were examined that day included fiction
and nonfiction as well as a number of magazine and image based text. Topics drew
from a variety of Aboriginal, ‘how to’ text, stories of animals and animal care, and a
large collection that explore youth experiences including divorce, self-harm and
relationships. B concludes: “Again, I just have to go back to knowing your kids,
and you would have to be able to look at each kid with a different lens and realize
where he or she is coming from.” (Transcript B, ll. 200-201). B values the
experiences students bring to the classroom and acknowledges it as an important tool
to which educators can connect. Becoming more aware of unique student
experiences can promote deeper sensitivity and in turn, help cultivate classroom
practices that promote personal connectedness and understanding of diversity.
These educators believe there is power in students’ voice, perspective and
understanding. They are interested in learning from their students and in turn
actively support students as they challenge community systems as well as
educational practices.
37
Risk
For educators and learners who participate in conversations of social justice, risk is
an important and significant factor and informs decisions that impact classroom
practice. Johnston (2000) notes:
Taking risks in text selection also means taking risks in now we
teach. By introducing students to contrasting literature that includes
non-western and previously marginalized texts, we allow them to
explore conflicts of identity and cultural representation in the
literature they read. We create opportunities for students to offer a
“resistant” reading of a canonized text and to explore dissonances and
ambiguities evident in contrasting texts. We allow for debates over
the aesthetic and sociopolitical aspects of literature that are unlikely
to emerge in classrooms where the focus resides on identification of
themes, characterizations, and figurative language in literary texts.
(p. 144)
Risk, as explored by the educators interviewed, can suggest both negative and
positive results and at times, these results can occur simultaneously and present a
conflict that educators must address. Many educators noted the difficulty in
balancing the results of risk as well as the challenge to support students as they are
faced with ideas that may be in conflict with family beliefs and values. C shares her
38
experience of supporting students as they examine their understanding of sexuality
and the challenges she faces with colleagues who express discomfort with her
practice:
So, so one girl actually came out in the class and we were talking to
her about it. Well, after, I had a meeting with the department head
who said, “You were putting those children, those kids at risk with
that conversation.” And I said, “Well why?” “Well especially with
that one that came out, you know, will maybe go off on an emotional
cliff and you know.” Just like something might trigger someone to
emotionally go off on the edge or something, “Maybe you could go
down and talk to the youth health nurse about it.” But that was
attitude, you know, you shouldn’t be talking about those things
because they trigger things, there might just be someone in the closet
that might just push them over the edge. (Transcript C, ll. 630-639)
C seeks the support of her department head after an emotional and powerful class
experience. She is seen as putting students at risk, in this case, life danger, by
supporting conversations of gender and sexuality in her English classroom. C’s
ability to support her students is seen by the department head as inadequate and
suggests the health nurse is better suited to such issues. C has cultivated a culture of
support and care for her students, and yet it is argued that the activity presented an
inappropriate risk for the class. Her intention as well as her ability to continue to
39
support students as they explore is questioned and deemed inappropriate by the
department head. In seeking the support of her department head, C experiences how
risk is determined to be unsuitable for students and educators when it involves issues
of gender and sexuality. While suggesting this discussion is dangerous for students,
it is C’s department head that enacts danger by framing the conversation in hetero-
sexist and homophobic expectations and beliefs. C’s department head perpetuates
fear and ignorance as students examine sexuality. Ultimately, it is hatred that would
rather students stay ‘in the closet’ then find support to come out. Although C’s
department head does not offer support, C is not discouraged. C describes how her
students respond to one another:
The kids were very respectful of one another, there were no pointing
fingers. I find when you start having those conversations with kids
they start actually showing quite a bit of respect for one another.
(Transcript C, ll. 639-642)
C’s belief that students are capable of respectful dialogue is reflected in Schall and
Kauffmann’s (2003) research: “children are capable of reading about and discussing
sensitive social issues such as homosexuality when the children are a part of a
classroom community that values dialogue and critical thinking”
(as cited in Blackburn & Buckley, p. 209). Risk is present both for the educator and
students in the classroom when making decisions on what information is private and
who is a safe and appropriate person to share with regarding one’s challenges and
40
emerging understanding of self. C describes the tension that she felt when she tried
to address student questions regarding gender and sexuality while feeling at the same
time less knowledgeable in the areas that students wanted to discuss. C explains
how students were not prepared to risk engaging on a personal level with the health
nurse with whom they had not built a relationship of trust and care:
I didn’t feel that I was knowledgeable enough anymore to talk about
it so I had the youth health center nurse come in and that was actually
a mistake, yeah, cause they shut down, yeah, you know. They were
really looking forward to coming in [and talking] and I wish I had the
knowledge myself cause I saw they wouldn’t talk, cause of someone
else coming in and you know kids at that age are very protective.
(Transcript C, ll. 659-663)
Students trust that C would engage with them and ‘shut down’ when another
educator enters their classroom. C had practiced open conversations and modeled
to her students that they were able to share their own lives and ask questions they
felt could not be asked in another space. The silence that resulted as the health nurse
attempted to step into C’s role demonstrates the amount of trust that C had instilled
in her students, which at this time without a relationship of trust, could not extend to
the health nurse. While invited by the classroom teacher, the presence of a nurse
may also suggest to students that sexuality is foremost a health issue. While C felt
she could not answer student questions, the students were disappointed that the
41
classroom dynamic had changed. The students were not prepared to share personal
and sensitive ideas with an individual they had not built a relationship with. Trust
between students and teacher is significant as it demonstrates the incredible bond
that occurs in learning spaces. Like C, E experiences the complexity of sharing and
risk in her classroom. She acknowledges the challenge that diversity of experience
and understanding in the classroom presents but concludes that respecting student
voice and making space for students to share with one another is vital:
There are experiences for students who, ah, may, may not have
discussed these issues and it brings emotion, for some students it’s
easy to discuss, it’s easy to agree or disagree, they are open to
discussion. And other students it may not be as safe because they
may have conflicting home values or religious values that you don’t
want to go against. You maybe want to suggest that, you may want
to suggest that there is room in the classroom for all voices, and that
in that voice we need to empower, or to maintain respect.
(Transcript E, ll. 110-116)
Risk in E’s class is experienced as a diverse group of students engage in
conversations that some find accessible while others feel challenged to participate in.
The challenge to participate may occur due to cultural, religious or personal reasons
or because they have not had the experience or opportunity in the past to explore
new issues. Johnston (2000) notes:
42
Another uncomfortable question that emerged was the effect that
consciousness-raising might have on particular students’ relationships
with their families who might not share their new awareness of
intolerance. Even when we attempt to create safe spaces in our
classroom to deal with questions of race and power, we may leave
students, [such as Andrea] vulnerable in their dealings with life
outside school. (p. 143)
E is sensitive to the degree to which student are asked to risk sharing of their ideas
of self and suggests that they need to be supported in their understanding and
learning:
Although they are mature and they are young adults, this is a time in
their life when these experiences are important. However, some of
them have very little practice or they have, they have very little
guidance in being responsible for their ideas and their language and
for how they express themselves sensitivity aware of others and the
other experience. And so that leaves the teacher, with what, I think,
is an opportunity to develop this respect through language and
discussion and public forum. (Transcript E, ll. 117-122)
E models responsibility for language and ideas and provides guidance when students
risk sharing. She is sensitive to the diversity of understanding in her classroom and
43
supports students as they learn to engage in critical and respectful conversations. As
students are encouraged to share their perspective and understanding of gender and
sexuality, the complexity of risk presents a tension that educators need to
acknowledge and address. How a classroom teacher promotes risk and what results
when the dynamics of the classroom are changed are seen in C’s experience with the
health nurse. While risk can foster tension among colleagues, students and their
families, for educators who choose to engage in social justice education, it is
necessary for personal and professional growth. In Boyd & Bailey (2009) a
newspaper editorial notes that: “[T]his is the active ingredient in all education: To
experience the collision-often violent-between one’s own view of the world and the
worlds view.” (p. 657).
Historical Context
Connecting text to contemporary life and current events is a practice noted by many
of the educators interviewed. Contextualizing literature widens student
understanding of who they are in the world and how this particular text has informed
and may still inform their world. Willinsky (2000) notes that teaching English and
holding an interest in the political and social context is interwoven:
But having an interest in that history is something of what it means to
be a teacher of English, something of what it means to participate in
44
both the traditions and the future of this passion for the language and
its literature. (p. 2)
To further develop the idea of context, Wendy Morgan (1997) writes of developing
geography of English. Kelly (2000) explains:
[T]his geography metaphor is useful because it provides a sense in
which position-where one does, and where one chooses to stand,
shapes perspective that is what one is able to see, to acknowledge,
and to envision. (p. 82)
C describes the experience of educators who are able to teach both what she terms
the concrete literacy analysis of a text together with a critical social perspective,
specifically a historical understanding:
Some of the younger teachers seem to have really been able to make
some very good connections with kids and they are able to draw real
life to whatever novel they are doing in the classroom. So it is not a
novel they are doing, it’s not about covering the novel. It’s about
going deep within the novel and understanding the social issues. And
some of the most powerful teachers, I think I mentioned this last
time, are those with a history background right, so they are able to
bring that whole notion of historical context to a population or how
this novel fits within an era and talk about the social implications of
45
that time to right now, so even comparing what’s going on today.
(Transcript C, ll. 242-250)
Drawing real life into a text is central to the practice of making meaning with
students and, for C, is just as important to the literary analysis of the reading.
English teachers can offer their students the practice of placing the reading in
context of other text, world events and people. C believes English teachers who
extend student learning to include analysis of history and culture will support
students as they place themselves within a historical framework and can work to
promote greater awareness of diversity and experience. She describes a teacher who
she believes is highly skilled at connecting literature to social and historical context:
I think of teachers in XYZ like JF, he was a master at it, you know.
He was a master at pulling out the social aspect of things. He also
had the history background and the kids loved him and he knew how
to connect it to their lives. (Transcript C, ll. 323-326)
Educators need support as they develop skills in connecting to historical context and
provincial conferences as well as professional development opportunities can offer
this support. C describes conferences that would support her quest for historical and
social understanding:
46
You could take your knowledge back and apply it to your novels.
What it was doing was creating background. So I can remember
coming back and having a lot of background knowledge that I didn’t
have before. There was another instance, I find a lot of the time the
October conferences for social studies teachers and English teachers
tend to go more about the social justice issues.
(Transcript C, ll. 386-390)
Connecting students to historical context to supporting learners examination of their
own assumptions and beliefs and offers the opportunity to place oneself within a
larger context. Promoting classroom practices that challenge students to become
more critically aware, sensitive to cultural diversity, and, further develop critical
literacy skills offers students the opportunity to become more reflective and engaged
in meaningful and thoughtful ways in the world. Cherland (2000) notes that the
inclusion of cultural analysis helps students understand that making meaning from
literature can be a fluid experience:
Meanings created in language, in these cultural discourses even the
meanings embodied in literature, are constantly changing, constantly
being negotiated and renegotiated. They are constantly in flux. They
can always be deconstructed, subverted, or taken apart. (p. 106)
47
Recognizing the power of youth voice and risk taking demonstrates the complexity
that educators must negotiate as they support student exploration of their own lives
in relation to literature. Supporting students as they contextualize literature helps to
foster an environment where students can re-envision who they are in relation to a
text as well as the text itself. Educators who promote social justice literacy practices
present a challenge to the learning community as they open new avenues of reading
and analysis.
Literacy Practices
During the interviews, educators shared a variety of literacy practices they believe
support the work of social justice in their classrooms. Embedded curriculum
provides students with materials that are available in the classroom yet are not in the
forefront of the materials used. Such materials help to cultivate a classroom culture
that draws attention to social justice issues in a subtle or implicit way. The practice
of book share supports students as they bring their own materials into the classroom.
The sharing of texts provides learning opportunities and promotes dialogue for
unique ideas and connections as well as demonstrates the value of individual reading
and exploration of text. Reading multiple perspectives offers a wider variety of
choice and demonstrates to learners that there are many ways of being and
interacting in the world. By incorporating student-centered practices into the
classroom, these educators demonstrate they value the personal contributions of all
members of the learning community.
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Embedded Curriculum
Visuals such as posters or pictures in classrooms present messages that are unique
from direct teacher or text messages. Visuals support independent conversation and
reflection that can engage and challenge the viewer/reader with new ideas. After
posting the visual, the teacher is no longer vital for interaction to occur but can, if
invited, participate in a conversation with students regarding the visual and its varied
and unique meanings to the viewer. One example of powerful visuals in high school
English classroom is the Youth Project posters. E describes the conversations she
overhears when students see and discuss the Youth Project poster for the first time:
What I will tell you does bring awareness in my class and I always
hear students comment, is having, there is a poster by the Youth
Project in downtown XYZ. And there is several, several pictures and
posters that they put out but I have one in my classroom. And I just
have a new semester of students in my class and kids always look at
that representation the kids point that poster out to other kids and
some do it and just say “Did you see that poster, did you see it?” And
some kids are giggling or laughing but I will tell you that probably
within a week to four weeks, most or all students seem to know the
poster is up and I think that speaks volumes too.
(Transcript E, ll. 169-176)
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The poster offers students the opportunity to consider diversity with regards to
gender and sexuality without explicit teacher direction or instruction. While some
students respond with laughter, E does not focus on this reaction. E believes that the
reading of the poster by the entire class within a short time is significant and
demonstrates student interest and desire to develop a greater understanding of
sexuality. E believes that the message of support for LGBTQ youth is presented
through the poster and its placement in the classroom. She comments on the duality
of implicit and explicit teaching in her practice:
I think it says that students will be supported who may or may not
identity with questioning their sexuality or exploring, or identifies as
gay or lesbian or bisexual and I think it says a lot without saying it as
the teacher. (Transcript E, ll. 180-182)
For this teacher, not ‘saying it as the teacher’ is essential when supporting
discussions of gender and sexuality in the classroom. Many educators describe a
connection between the development of literacy skills and social justice text that
support developing understanding in both areas. The Youth Project poster in E’s
classroom provides students with the opportunity to interpret the visuals and read the
text. They are challenged by the content and on occasion students engage in
conversations with one another and their teacher to better understand the message.
C explains the connection between literacy and social justice:
50
And what I notice about these teachers is that they take the literacy
techniques and they present them embedded within the context of the
novel or the context of the discussion rather then ok, this is
symbolism, pick out examples of symbolism in the text and
separating it out. And you see kids so engaged and at that age, as you
know, kids are so into justice right, they become completely engaged.
But it takes somebody who has a deep understanding of society who
has a natural interest in what happened in the world to bring those
aspects out. (Transcript C, ll. 258-264)
Fusing the development of literacy skills with growing social justice sensitivity
means that students deepen their ability to engage with text in more critical and
complex ways. E, discussing Hart’s short story, The Friday that Everything
Changed, illustrates that the text itself does not offer explicit themes or focus on
sexuality:
What’s interesting is that in that story, that story actually does not
discuss a lot about gender but it’s the opportunity in the past for
females and males in a small rural school. So although it may not be
considered a story that in depth explores the idea of gender and
sexuality because it doesn’t really explore sexuality at all, I think that
gender roles is a major, a major thematic issue and an opportunity to
51
explore without having gender construction placed on you.
(Transcript E, ll. 16-22)
E’s use of materials that offer students opportunities to examine themes and topics
connected to gender and sexuality is reflected in Farr (2000):
Especially effective, in my view, are works in which sexual
orientation is the background to a different theme. In Jana Rule’s
(1981) story “Middle Children,” for example, she treats the lovers not
primarily as lesbian but as “middle children” who learned early to be
caretakers of their siblings so that in middle age they buy a much too
large house and lovingly “adopt” the young men who rent their
rooms, bring their girlfriends over, and pour out their tales of woe to
sympathetic ears. (p. 210)
The fusion of social justice and literacy is a practice that these educators believe can
offer a complex and engaging experience for learners in a safe classroom
environment. The potential is great to develop social justice understanding and
sensitivity during explicit teaching moments, in the themes of a text or topic of
conversation, as well as during subtle teaching opportunities as demonstrated in the
Youth Project poster. The Youth Project poster offers student focused reading that
places the student and their individual response or engagement with the poster at the
center of learning.
52
Book Share
As we reflected on classroom practices, educators commented on the sharing of text
among students and why this practice is an essential element in promoting social
justice. The practice of book share supports students as they bring their own
materials into the classroom. The sharing of texts provides learning opportunities
and promotes dialogue for unique ideas and connections as well as demonstrates the
value of individual reading and exploration of text. As students were encouraged to
read for interest and specific learning goals, educators noticed how students engaged
in sharing the text. This observation prompted some classroom teachers to make
space for student text sharing in more formalized practices called book shares or
book talks. M explains:
Because if they are sharing a book they are reading with each other,
that opens a lot of doors with the rest of the class to see something
they would be interested in reading to see something even if it is just
a snippet of, “Well my book is about the Holocaust” and ok so then it
just broadens out. Even if they decide not to read the book I think it’s
just, making them aware of all the different things that are out there.
(Transcript M, ll. 341-345)
Broadening of the class experience occurs as the teacher and students support one
another reading different text and connecting the text to their lived experiences. Yet,
53
many students are not prepared to participate in discussions related to gender and
sexuality. Farr (2000) describes an educator’s experience as she challenged her
students to discuss sex in Alice Walker’s (1982) The Color Purple:
[S]he devised the strategy of asking the students to talk about why
they found it so difficult to discuss sex. What she found was that
they had been taught it was both an inappropriate topic for school and
an embarrassing one because it was so personal. And she soon
realized that they lacked a level of language that was neither clinical
nor moral. (p. 205-206)
Providing students with the opportunity to share and discuss ideas of gender and
sexuality in high school creates awareness and education. Students can examine and
explore new concepts and build vocabulary as they work in small groups to create
meaning and connections. Student interest determines if they select a text to read
after a classmate shares it. As learners select texts, they become empowered
decision makers in their education and build a community of learners who share
reading and life experiences through literature. Sumara, Davis & Iftody (2006)
notes:
Although engagements with literary texts are considered to be
private activities, many readers value opportunities to share their
responses to novels they have read with others who have read
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the same book (Beach, 1993; Iser, 1993; Sumara, 1996). It is this
act of sharing responses that creates opportunities for collective
learning systems to be developed. Within such systems, multiple
readers of the same text have opportunities to represent a diversity of
perspectives within contexts that allow these responses to interact
with one another. It is not surprising that, for many readers, deep
personal insight arises in the conversation about readings of a
common text (Lewis, 2000; Sumara, 2002). (p. 58-59)
Sharing of a common text does provide learners with the opportunity to exchange
ideas and insights. For, N and M, diversity becomes more present and vivid in the
classroom when students are encouraged and supported to read a wide variety of text
rather then a common text:
When we are reading a lot of variety, that when, so even if you just talk for 5
minutes about your book, that might, even though we might not have read
your book, the conversation about the ideas in general occurs, whereas if we
are all reading Catcher in the Rye, there are certain things are going to come
from that and that is great to discuss to but if we have 25 different things that
opens 25 different reasons to talk. (Transcript M, ll. 723-728)
Diversity in text selection stems from the belief that students need to have the
opportunity to choose reading materials for personal reasons and that choosing text
55
is a valued and central part of the classroom experience. It is a practice that
educators who value individual choice and freedom believe is central as they support
students connect individual experiences to the world. These educators are faced
with the challenge of supporting multiple texts and reading experiences in the
classroom and see this challenge as an opportunity for discussion and learning that
supports diversity.
Connections
Educators who support multiple texts for classroom reading also provide supports
for their students to make connections to new ideas and ways of being. B notes that
novels that are issue-based offer a beginning place from which conversations can
emerge. He believes that classroom supports need to be extended to include a
greater diversity of voices to aid students as they engage with resources:
Teachers certainly should be providing students with accessible text,
accessible texts that are issues based. It depends on what you, what
concept you are discussing in the classroom. If you have a concept
that you are discussing, this book or these books address this unifying
concept, but these articles, these essays, this, these people can help
you with those kinds of things. So to support the kinds of concepts
you are developing in the classroom through experts and other voices,
voices other than in the novel. (Transcript B, ll. 156-162)
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Educators noted that in some classrooms, the novel and teacher are depicted as
expert. B suggests that educators need to recognize their role as being one part of
the learning experience and that other voices on similar topics and themes need to be
invited into the classroom. The decentralization of the novel and teacher reflects
social justice practices as power is shared to include many voices and experiences.
B explains that when offering multiple texts it is important to support students with a
variety of learning opportunities:
We are hoping that when kids have the opportunity to read these
kinds of resources they are following up with some kind of discussion
around it with other kinds of, with professional groups, with other
voices so that at least they hear more then one side of an issue. So
that they hear several sides of an issue and then they can make up,
kids can make up their own minds about an issue.
(Transcript B, ll. 238-242)
Like B, E believes texts that support discussions of gender and sexuality are not
limited to the novel: “books come in various ways and various forms and so I would
suggest teachers are not limited to that.” (Transcript E, ll. 253-254). E specifically
notes “to include poetry or short stories or songs lyrics or you know, letting other
student explore these issues and develop the respect around those issues.”
(Transcript E, ll. 427-429). To teach in this way is demanding and requires
according to Johnston (2000):
57
an openness to different reading experiences and new literary
traditions. It often requires us to make selections of literature outside
our own reading comfort zone. It means willingness on the part of
the English language arts teachers to move away from teaching only
the canonized texts we ourselves read in school and to see ourselves
as experienced readers introducing unfamiliar texts to our students.
(p. 145)
Educators like B and E welcome a diversity of text for classroom use and do not feel
limited to the novel. Rather, multiple and diverse materials are used as students
examine ideas and perspectives. These educators face the challenge of moving
beyond literature and practices that are familiar and comfortable. Through this
experience, educators are able to share in the risk taking and vulnerability that they
asked of students in the classroom.
Choice
Providing multiple perspectives and choice in reading means that educators
experience resistance from some learners who are unable or unwilling to discuss
their reading choice or are not prepared or able to examine topics that other students
may raise. M notes that students have choice in which text they read in her
classroom and that students’ comfort and readiness is critical:
58
I think it is a choice, students have a choice. We wouldn’t say that
anyone has to read anything. It is allowing you to have a variety of
different topics you know and topics that are controversial or topics
that are you know, graphic in nature, I guess in some ways, and you
can certainly choose to do what you like with that book do what you
feel comfortable with. (Transcript M, ll. 551-555)
While providing choice in text selection is central to supporting a diverse classroom,
Cherland (2000) notes that asking students to reconsider their initial response to a
piece of literature offers support and challenge as they develop a broader
understanding of themselves and the world:
English teachers who are aware of these ideas will want to go beyond
their students’ initial responses to the literature they read. They will
want to engage young people in reconsidering and deconstructing
texts, so that multiple meanings for them emerge. Unable to pretend
that there is one right meaning for a text, and that a young reader’s
responses are natural and inevitable, teachers will want to provide
young people with literature that represents and includes a variety of
contemporary cultural discourses, and that will lead them into broader
readings of the world. (p. 106)
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Like M, E practices student choice in text selection and often engages students with
questions regarding why a selection has been made and what ideas and assumptions
that text may raise. When supporting students as they select text for reading
enjoyment, E experiences resistance as some students are not prepared to be
challenged by the issues raised during discussion of the text:
I saw a novel, a series of novels, unfortunately I don’t remember the
series name, but what I do remember is the picture, the illustrations
on the cover, the very highly sexualized images. It was an
independent novel chosen by a grade 12 student and previously
another student had another text from that series. Two different
covers for the same series and highly sexualized picture, ah picture of
ah, women depicted with very little on and focusing on areas like
breasts and legs. And the student is bringing it up to me as an
independent novel and so it is a highly sexualized cover of a woman
considered probably attractive. (Transcript E, ll. 534-541)
In this situation, E is faced with repercussions of supporting students as they make
independent reading selections. E engages them in individual book chats to clarify
why the student has made a selection. She offers students the opportunity to
examine with her the presentation of identity and image:
60
So when students bring this into me as a novel to read in class, I turn
it over to read the back, and I ask them how they choose the novel
and if they know the author and what interested them about the novel.
Both of my grade 12 students talked about the series, talked about
having the books recommended, talked about the author. And so
those are all thing I talked to my students about around choosing
novels. (Transcript E, ll. 543-547)
E is interested in how her students engage with the cover image and uses her private
conversation with the students to models how to question this representation of
female sexuality. E invites the students to participate in the questioning with her:
I asked them questions about what they thought of the image on the
front. And the first student said, “What do you mean?” And I said,
“It is sexualized”, and they said, “Yeah the book has a lot of drama”
and the other student, “What do you think of the cover?” And she
smiled again and really didn’t take up the comment.
(Transcript E, ll. 548-553)
While choice in selection of reading materials is important, E acknowledges the
difficulty in supporting choice of text with her students. She acknowledges that
students may or may not be prepared to have discussions regarding their choice of
text. To support students in their choice, E provides safe, private conversations
61
where students can consider critical questions regarding their text selection.
Students are invited to engage in questioning of the cover image, for example, and
while they may or may not be ready at that time, the dialogue to examine the
representation has still occurred and can be re-visited by the student.
Whole Class and Small Group
All educators raised questions surrounding the practice of whole class novel and
literature circles. Educators voiced concerns with the limitations of the whole class
novel approach as well as the limits that whole class novel studies present. While
many educators use class novel studies, often literature circles or Socratic circles
were the preferred practice of the educators interviewed. M believes that movement
away from a prescribed novel study towards multiple texts provides a sense of
freedom and empowerment for both student and teacher:
But I would say as we move away, not every school is, but as we
move away from feeling like we have to do 5 novels and everyone
reads the same one I think that is going to allow us to have that
freedom to have a lot of different kinds of text and do the same kind
of skill building and critical analysis. (Transcript M, ll. 146-149)
Many educators echo M’s comments regarding the pressure to conform to the
practice of using whole class novels. Tension occurs for the classroom teacher as
62
they work to expand their curriculum and practice within a school system that has
promoted whole class reading as an expectation and norm. M also notes the
freedom for discussion and examination that smaller group studies provide. Like M,
E supports literature circles as a practice for novel studies and connects this practice
to student voice:
I think literature circles is a good format, it is a middle ground
between having the class novel and having the independent novel. I
think that maybe when you have literature novel and an independent
novel you will have more success with students being able to discuss
and sit in groups together and bring up issues of concern by them and
generated by them and maybe what they want to bring attention to.
(Transcript E, ll. 488-492)
Providing students with the opportunity to encounter small group and independent
reading provides diversity in the experience and supports students as they share with
one another. E further comments that using whole class reading fails to take into
account the diversity of student experience:
Personally, I feel like I haven’t found a short story that deals with
explicit discussions around students identifying as GLBTQ. I haven’t
come across a text or I haven’t used a text with a whole class
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considering that the whole class isn’t in the same area of learning.
(Transcript E, ll. 403-406)
E’s practice of small group reading supports students as they examine their own
experiences and belief systems in relation with the text. For these educators, large
group readings do not provide the same opportunity for engagement that is available
in small group settings. These educators look to provide a safe space for their
students to experience challenge and growth which they feel can be better achieved
in small group structures.
Support, Mentorship and Professional Development
Educators who engage in social justice work need both professional and personal
support to continue to be effective in their practice. Often feeling uncertain and at
times isolated in their experience, educators describe how they cultivate a supportive
and caring professional and personal community that enables them to continue their
work. Support of this nature is challenging to locate but, as some of these educators
explain, it can be found within a school community. Peer support and mentorship
are vital to educators who desire to live and practice in reflective and critical ways.
E questions where to locate support when difficulties related to social justice work
arise in her classroom. She notes the complexity of student learning and reflects on
the pressure she feels regarding conversations that are difficult and challenging:
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And at times I think some teachers may feel like I have in the past,
that you are not sure where you go with that. Like do you take those
issues to your vice principal? Some of them yes I do. Do you take
the emotional experience to a guidance counselor in a school to help
talk and build strategies on how to build these experiences and how to
acknowledge what is happening and how to, how to led the students
in gaining more experiences and more opportunity to improve? Or
like some teachers may feel, do you shut it all down?
(Transcript E, ll. 137-143)
E’s struggle to identify where to locate support is a common experience for
educators who engage in social justice work. She describes her experience when
support for her classroom practice is needed:
I think it depends on the, the relationship you have with the guidance
counselor. If it is a guidance counselor that you have previous
relationships with and it’s professional, the guidance counselor may
take you up very seriously and engage you. Sometimes, the guidance
counselor is very busy and has appointments and so the window of
opportunity is small or limited and they might not have that moment
when you are available to explore what you want. I think sometimes
they can write your name down and come back to you but you think
and feel you need the support more immediately and maybe
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sometimes you don’t. But I personally felt that in the past that I want
to talk about this now or I don’t want to leave the day without
debriefing this with someone. (Transcript E, ll. 150-159)
The realities of a busy high school often result in disconnection between staff. E
recognizes the pressure placed on her colleagues and feels that she must balance this
pressure with her own needs and those of her students. The practice of debriefing
for classroom teachers can be helpful in working through difficult situations and
challenges. Mentorship provides educators the opportunity to work with a more
seasoned or experienced individual. Similar to the immediacy that E noted, C
believes that for mentorship to be effective “it has to be happening right in the
moment, embedded in the moment in the culture of the school” (Transcript C, ll.
456). Daily workload expectations mean that educators have little time or
opportunity to reflect on classroom experiences independently or with a supportive
colleague. As she seeks support in her department, E describes how educators have
opportunity to gain insight into their own practice regarding social justice:
When one of the other grade 12 teachers was using The Color Purple,
she wanted to know how the department head dealt with issues of
sexuality in the novel. The department head said she does let
students know there are issues of a sexual nature in it and if the
students aren’t comfortable with it then it’s a choice. And so this
grade 12 teacher did that and said that in her class and a student spoke
66
up and said, “Well, what are the issues we could have around it?’
(Transcript E, ll. 493-499)
Sharing with colleagues provides educators the opportunity to examine their own
assumptions and beliefs. In this case, the educator assumed students might have a
particular response to the text. Through discussions with colleagues, these educators
begin to realize their own assumptions regarding learners and sexuality in text. For
educators to reflect with one another on strategies and best practices, issues of time
and opportunity must be addressed. M explains:
What will really change practice is collaboration and talking together
and coaching and having a coach be a part of the process to really
make change. So one of the things we need to really start to focus on
for wider scale pd [professional development] is that ability to build
in conversation and teaming when you go back [to your own school].
(Transcript M, ll. 79-82)
According to the educators interviewed, large-scale professional development does
not often provide time for reflection or meaningful conversation. Educators are left
with the responsibility to apply new theory and to consider the implications for their
practice in isolation. M continues:
67
We can all watch or even participate to some degree in pd sessions,
but very few people even though they have good intentions, actually
go back and make large school changes to their practice. So that is
almost disheartening in a way. But at the same time we need to start
putting in the ability for those people to make it easier for them to go
back and have those conversations that they might normally not have
or sort of push forward a little bit to the people who might not have
them naturally. (Transcript M, ll. 82-88)
B describes the professional development that is provided to classroom teachers who
receive the Literacy Success resources as a beginning point from which educators
can create new links and resources for use in the classroom. While support is
offered during the professional development session, time constrains may limit
educators in their search for connectedness. On a daily basis, educators need
opportunity and support to integrate new learning and practices into the culture of
their school and classroom. B notes:
In our pd we include a discussion of the kinds of resources we are
providing to the schools so that teachers know what is within. So that
they can prepare to decide how to deal with it when they get it in the
classroom and if there are links to make links to someone who is
authority or an expert we will certainly make that connection. And
through the Internet and through other means of communications and
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media, teachers know there are all kinds of supports available.
(Transcript B, ll. 226-231)
For the educators interviewed, holding discussions on texts and materials is a first
step to the professional and personal support required. E’s practice of network
building with supportive colleagues provides professional and personal support as
she explores issues of gender and sexuality in her English classroom. M believes
more time for reflection and exploration to apply new practice is needed for
educators. To support teachers like E and M, B offers links to secondary resources
and encourages and challenges educators or explore and expand on their use of
materials.
Race Relations, Cross Cultural Understanding & Human Rights Policy
As educators discussed their experiences many commented that more support in the
area of professional development is needed. In my own experience as a classroom
teacher and guidance counselor, N has provided me with professional development
in the area of race, culture and human rights (RCH). In her efforts to support
educators who value race, culture and human rights work in schools, N offers
professional support that educators may use in their classroom as well as a number
of professional resources and guides. N describes her work in the last two years:
69
Each year what I tried to do is have a theme. So, my first year it was
on African Heritage ‘cause that is what people wanted. Last year it
was on sexual orientation and we had, I had speakers in and people to
talk about, you know, incorporating it into the curriculum.
(Transcript N, ll. 28-30)
N explains that while professional development is offered to educators, more
education and opportunity to understand the RCH policy and meaningful
connections to curriculum documents is needed:
I have met with all principals in the board to talk about, that their
teacher and staff should be incorporating this from P-12 in everything
that they do and that is really just starting. But I think people are
making it more high profile. We have always had an RCH policy for
about 14 years, so it is really about building on the expectations, so it
is an expectation for the outcomes. But also within our board, so
teachers should be doing more, but we have to provide more training
for them to really, to be, be comfortable and also to have knowledge.
(Transcript N, ll. 36-42)
Building of expectations and skills to connect RCH policy with curriculum practices
is occurring for some educators. As stated by the classroom teachers earlier, N
points to the need for more training and opportunity for critical reflection. Without
70
further training and awareness, a lack of integrated, reflective and meaningful
dialogue will occur surrounding the complex issues of diversity. N further notes that
the RCH policy offers a sense of credibility when resistance occurs:
There may be some resistance, and also we have schools where
administration may not be [supportive] as well and that is why
sometimes I receive calls and have to go back over the policy which
is really our framework. Sometimes it is community or parents or
guardians that do not have those beliefs and wonder why and ask
questions “why are you doing that?” And again the credibility that
they [educators] do have again is to go back to the document of the
RCH policy within the board and also the Racial and Equity policy
from the DOE, which is in the outcomes, and we do have to teach to
the outcomes and diversity is there on every level.
(Transcript N, ll. 198-205)
By developing greater awareness of the RCH document, N believes that educators
will gain strength in their practice and ability to appropriately and confidently
respond to those who are resistant to social justice work. N further explains that
educators face many new initiatives that put extra pressure and demands for their
attention:
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There are a lot of demands now put on. We have assessment, we
have a lot of other issues you know, safe schools, we have so many
things that you know, impact on the schools day to day that now this
(RCH) is coming to the forefront of, you know, we have to look at
what we are doing. (Transcript N, ll. 364-368)
N acknowledges that educators experience many demands regarding RCH policy
and practice. As she works to support educators in the area of RCH, she reflects on
her efforts to connect this policy to curriculum and draw these areas of interest
together:
Working with program facilitators has been a real asset. I’m no
longer working in isolation in the sense of working and that was just
so wonderful especially when we did the workshop because there was
literacy, a math facilitator and literacy coordinator, that did it with me
and we did it for that reason to show what we are all in this together
that we are program. What happens sometimes when your dealing
with social justice or RCH or whatever, it’s all about me, but it’s not
all about me, I can’t do it on my own, they see it, “Oh that’s N over
here and that’s literacy over there”, but we have to bring it together.
(Transcript N, ll. 549-556)
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Unifying social justice together with curriculum policy mirrors the classroom
teachers who bring together social justice with literacy development. C notes the
difficulty for educators to connect RCH to curriculum professional development:
It’s fragmented in that we are trying to, we’re trying to create those
inferences for teachers, but it’s how to do it so that it’s embedded in
other things. What do I mean by that? Ok, right now for instance
literacy is the big pull at the senior high level, we also want to know
that we are dealing with issues of diversity but you can’t have pd
dealing with issues of diversity and the literary piece over here it’s
just to overwhelming for teachers, so how do you bring the two
together? (Transcript N, ll. 338-344)
C further describes the fragmentation between RCH and curriculum policies:
It’s at that place right now, that very beginning level right now and of
course, we have done a lot around our policies, our anti-racism
policies and our harassment policies and human rights policy. It’s a
discussion around there but it is not really linked to subject matter.
It’s a sensitization, culturally competent I guess is the new term for it
but it doesn’t really come together as a whole yet.
(Transcript C, ll. 370-374)
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The fragmentation that both N and C note occurs as educators attempt to remove
social justice from curriculum. According to many of the classroom teachers,
making real connections and drawing on students lived experiences means a fusing
of social justice and curriculum.
Educators who were interviewed demonstrate a deep commitment to student growth
and development. They are dedicated to the belief that each student is the key figure
in their learning experience and work diligently to foster learning spaces that
promote respect, care and critical reflection. Educators who value social justice
beliefs incorporate a wide variety of practices including multicultural and historical
awareness. Intentional practices and methods support students with clear and direct
messages regarding equity and diversity. As they explore learning, youth voice is
central and powerful in the classroom. As such, risk exists in the learning
environment for those who choose to engage in challenging and often difficult
conversations. For many educators interviewed, professional support from
administration as they engaged in social justice work is limited or absent. Educators
must ask why tension exits when seeking support from administration. How are
educators able to engage in challenging oppressive educational practices when in
some cases, those in leadership positions do not offer support or direction? As they
create meaningful learning experiences, educators tie literacy and social justice
issues together. In connecting literacy to social justice, educators and learners can
examine issues in a context that has value in a personal and significant way. When
literacy is separated from the larger social, historical and political context, students
are challenged to connect learning to their own lives. Members of the learning
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community seek wider collections of reading choices and work in a collaborative
style to share materials, ideas and encourage one another. In doing so, all members
of the learning community are valued contributors of knowledge demonstrating a
respectful team approach to classroom practice. Diversity in the style of text as well
as the study method is common in these classrooms. By exploring multiple texts in
a variety of methods, learners have the opportunity to share different strengths, to be
exposed to varied educational practices and outcomes and be challenged by others in
the learning community. The learning environment is rich with dynamic discussions
and contains diverse materials to explore and challenging critical reflection in which
to engage. Respect for each member of the learning community is the goal and
members work towards creating safe spaces in which to share.
To support educators and learners as they create equitable learning spaces schools
must provide greater support and direction both within the English language arts
department as well as from school administration. Developing a culture of care and
well being is central to social justice work. This culture must take account of all
members of the learning community including students, educators, administration,
support, custodial staff as well as guardians, parents and community members.
Issues of social justice must be present for all members of the school community.
By sharing the learning environment, schools can develop greater respect and
awareness of difference for all members. For schools to succeed in creating safe and
inclusive learning environments, greater support is needed for individuals who
engage in critical literacy and practice. Schools need to develop opportunities for
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community learning so that families and individuals can participate and be
represented. Administration needs to take greater leadership in creating learning
opportunities for professional development that connects subject and social justice
issues in order for schools to become caring supportive environments for all
members.
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CHAPTER THREE: THE TEXT
Chapter three explores the text: searching for the text; annotated notes; ordering text
from the Authorized Resource List; traditions of the bookroom; protection; and,
Literacy Success.
The Text
For many English language arts educators, the text is central in supporting students’
exploration of self and diversity. Discussions on appropriate materials highlight the
complexity many educators feel as they seek to develop best practices, respond
sensitively and thoughtfully to student needs within the expectations of their
curriculum guides and school-based department direction. Educators discussed
uncertainty and frustration as they work to provide students with meaningful text.
At the same time, educators also noted that the Authorized Resource List (ARL)
offers a sense of comfort as an established collection available to support the
curriculum. Searching for materials on the ARL often presents challenges to
educators who note that access is limited by the search functions of the ARL
database. Some of the annotated notes that the Department of Education provides
reveal assumptions and beliefs that have the potential to influence text selection. For
example, while the exploration of masculinities is a theme in Lord of the Flies
(Golding) the annotation does not indicate this in the notes. In the notes for The
Sledding Hill (Crutcher) information on themes that are absent are provided;
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profanity, sexual acts, violence, drugs or alcohol use. Ordering of materials from the
ARL presents its own set of challenges for educators. The removal or censorship of
some Literacy Success texts by educators’ impacts learners as the integrity and
diversity of material is compromised by the removal of materials deemed too
controversial. The removal of texts by administration creates disconnection and
isolation as some educators feel they are not able to question authority. Educators
shared their experiences of the bookroom and the practice of selecting both approved
and non-approved materials for their classroom use. Lastly, the impact of the
Literacy Success collection on classroom libraries is examined.
Searching for Text
Access and acquisition of appropriate materials are essential to ensure the integrity
of curriculum and of meaningful student exploration. Much time and attention is
given to collecting materials as educators prepare lessons and programs that meet the
academic, personal and social needs of the classroom community. For English
teachers, the Approved Resource List (ARL) is an integral collection from which
texts are ordered. The importance of the ARL is illustrated in the abundance of
approved texts from this list in English department bookrooms of those interviewed.
The ARL texts have undergone the bias evaluation procedure and are purchased with
funds allocated to English departments annually. Nevertheless, despite the central
role that the ARL plays, accessibility of the ARL is a challenge many educators
noted. Search functions and the organization of the ARL system limits the
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identification of text and presents a barrier for educators as they attempt to locate
resources for their classrooms. Schrader and Wells (2005) note access challenges
for libraries:
[A]ppropriate subject access and index terminology are also
important accessibility factors. Clyde and Lobban (2001, 27) noted
that library catalogues often fail to assign a subject heading such as
"Homosexuality—Fiction". When this omission occurs titles of
interest to LGBTQ students remain invisible on the shelf -–and in the
closet. (p. 8)
As she describes her experience with the search engine for the ARL, M
acknowledges that some texts will be overlooked due to inadequate subject
terminology:
I guess that I would probably miss many good books and I would
probably miss the opportunity to bring those into my classroom and
maybe even struggle to find that myself because I don’t feel like it is
a very easy task. (Transcript M, ll. 284-287)
M’s struggle and frustration to find appropriate text, coupled with the realization that
choices are limited due to a decision to omit appropriate subject headings, is
common among those interviewed. M also discussed concerns with the terminology
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of the catalogued titles of the ARL. B responded that he was aware that educators
find searching the ARL catalogue tedious but that identifying the text with specific
heading is not possible at this time. I asked B if ARL texts are categorized to ensure
appropriate and accurate search results, he responded:
No we don’t categorize them.
Why?
Well because there is just so much out there, we are looking at the
whole audience and we are tying to create an eclectic collection.
(Transcript B, ll. 274-276)
The ramification of making an eclectic collection is that some subjects are rendered
invisible. As educators are unable to locate subject specific items from the ARL
catalogue, students do not receive the diversity of resources that are available to
them. The current organization of the ARL collection means that a search for text
with specific content is a challenge to conduct and the result is often inappropriate
and limited. B describes what educators may experience as they search the ARL for
texts specific to the themes of gender and sexuality:
Well, we know the content of the resources, we know that these
particular resources deal with young people who are homeless, and
these particular resources deal with issues of sexual orientation, these
resources deal with, others who are teens. Ah, if you go to the ARL
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and put in a key word like sexuality you should get a listing of the
resources that deal with some aspect, you would have to discern
which of the ones would be appropriate for your reading or for your
students reading, you know. If it is a book that deals with suicide,
somewhere in the annotation the word suicide should appear. And so
when you put that word in, the books that deal with suicide should
pop up, gender issues etc. (Transcript B, ll. 278-288)
In their review of Canadian Libraries, Schrader and Wells (2005) note that:
[I]n many cases the LGBTQ content "was being disguised in subject
headings such as prejudice, identity, interpersonal relations,
friendship, female friendship, and best friends–fiction" (137).
However, even when LGBTQ content was accurately identified, the
subject terms were inconsistently applied, for example, sometimes
"gay men" was used, sometimes "bisexuality" and sometimes
"homosexuality" (137-138).
(p. 20)
Annotated notes, as seen in the Literacy Success materials, require accurate and
consistent descriptors to improve search results. B explains:
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It’s somewhat antiquated it does sometimes work. You have to be
right on with your selection that is one of the things that I’m working
on right now is to make more sense to the kind of descriptors that are
out there so that when teachers are looking for resources, I don’t
know, conflict a student is having because of drugs or something, you
can put something like that into the system and it will give you the
books on kids and drugs where the topic is kids and drugs. We are
trying to do that right now because we know it is not very, it is very
insensitive. (Transcript B, ll. 290-297)
For many educators, locating text from the ARL that can support classroom
discussion on topics that are relevant and meaningful to learners is a challenge. B is
faced with the challenge of providing meaningful text within the confines of an
insensitive search system. Many educators note that they are often unable to
navigate the system to obtain these materials. B is aware that educators experience
challenges as they search for meaningful and relevant text:
It doesn’t give you what you look for all the time, I have a different
system and when I put the words in they usually pop up. Teachers, I
know are having a hard time finding resources in that way. You need
to know the title of a particular resource you are looking for. If you
know the specifics of the resource then you can check it out. Other
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then that we are working on it and that should be happening pretty
soon. It is under review. (Transcript B, ll. 298-307)
As many educators search for materials in a thematic approach, subject search for
thematic materials would be most appropriate and effective. The limitations of the
search function for the ARL impacts educators as they endeavor to locate materials
that reflect the interest and learning needs of their students. In her practice as
classroom teacher, department head and literacy coach, M shares her experience of
trying to provide materials such as a picture book to a senior high classroom:
You know what, I was just looking at picture books the other day on
the list and I guess there is, well you have the list, and when you open
that up, and I think there is an annotation for each book, I guess what
that would it mean through is, your clicking on each text you don’t
know, there is no search mechanism for it. (Transcript M, ll. 233-236)
Annotations provide basic information on a text as authored and edited by
Department of Education staff. As M explains, considerable time is required to
review each annotation to be considered for class inclusion:
So I think that that is problematic, the list is problematic. Even when
I put a search for picture books I only end up with a few I know there
is way more of them. I emailed B and said, “Is there any way I can
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search for them?” because he is a real advocate for picture books and
he said, “No.” Ha, ha, ha, ha. (Transcript M, ll. 266-269)
M further explains the inconsistencies of using a keyword search to locate text:
You can search only if that word is in the annotation of the blurb, and
sometime it is and sometime is isn’t. So for example we have some
money to spend and I really wanted some picture books in senior high
but some picture books can go from, you know, grade P-12 and are
wonderful and some just don’t work and again you physically need to
see the book. It is not even enough to see the blurb because some of
the blurbs on picture books for example are focused you know on
serious subjects, you know racism or historical periods and you think
it would be good for senior high but when you look at the book is too
young for, to be taken seriously by high school students so that
doesn’t even help me in this case. (Transcript M, ll. 238-246)
The current search engine provided to locate materials on the ARL presents barriers
to educators as they search for appropriate and meaningful text to use with learners.
While presently developing a system that is more user friendly, the current system
retrieves titles with inaccurate and inconsistent results. Educators who face time
constrains must navigate a system that is archaic and insensitive. Furthermore, the
annotations offered on the ARL often do not provide sufficient or reliable
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information for educators searching for materials that would support the needs of the
student community. As such, purchase of new materials presents a barrier for
English teachers who are taxed for time and reluctant to commit the limited financial
resources to items that cannot be confirmed on topic or subject that would require
further investigation.
Annotated Notes
Annotated notes (appendix 5, 6, 7 & 8) on the ARL are intended to provide an
overview of curriculum materials available. Annotations are authored by the
Department of Education and are intended to aid educators locate materials for
classroom use. To better understand annotated notes, four examples are listed below
from Lord of the Flies (Golding), Bad Boy (Wieler), The Sledding Hill (Crutcher)
and Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare). Lord of the Flies (Golding) and Romeo and
Juliet (Shakespeare) have been selected as they were noted among classroom
teachers as texts that have a long history in English classrooms and have the
potential to support discussions of gender and sexuality in the classroom. Bad Boy
(Wieler) was selected for the detailed annotated notes that are provided. The
Sledding Hill (Crutcher) was selected for the language used in the annotation. The
full appendix has been condensed below to demonstrate the annotated notes for each
text:
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Lord of the Flies
Publishing Date Not Provided, Listed on ARL 1975
Annotated Notes: None Entered
Romeo and Juliet
Published 2009, Listed on ARL 2008
Annotated Notes: Oxford School Shakespeare is the well-established series that
helps students to understand and enjoy Shakespeare's plays. Each text is complete
and unabridged with corresponding notes alongside the text for easy reference, a plot
summary at the beginning of each scene, and detailed notes on the characters.
Each play is supported by a range of class work activities and examination practice,
as well as background information on Elizabethan England. "Romeo and Juliet"
remains one of the most accessible and popular of Shakespeare’s plays for secondary
students the world over. Weaving actual lines from Shakespeare's play into a
narrative text, this version serves as a wonderful introduction to this timeless tale.
Bad Boy
Published 1989, Listed on ARL 2003
Annotated Notes: Hockey is the only game worth playing in the rough-and-tumble
prairie town of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. When 16-year-old A.J. Brandiosa makes
the Triple A team of his dreams, he can hardly believe that his life is finally coming
together. Then he learns a dark secret of his best friend and teammate. "Bad Boy"
deals with the tentative nature of teenage sexual identity, and the perceived threat
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that homosexuality poses to a culture dominated by a masculine social image. The
mature theme of this book may offend some readers; however, its narrative strength,
and the sensitive way the topic is handled identifies "Bad Boy" as an important
resource to add to the classroom collection.
The Sledding Hill
Published 2005, Date Listed on ARL Not Provided
Annotated Notes: "The Sledding Hill" is a novel with a highly entertaining plot. It
has no profanity, sexual acts, violence, drug or alcohol use. It takes direct aim at
censorship. This story of Eddie and Billy— who is, in fact, dead—allows the reader
to consider the issue of intellectual freedom.
The annotations are intended to offer information to educators as they search and
select text from the ARL. Lord of the Flies (Golding) and Romeo and Juliet
(Shakespeare) are texts that educators discussed at length during the interviews.
Both texts present themes that explore and question social expectations and
representations of gender and sexuality. Considered to be a traditional class study
by many educators, these texts examine sexual identity and cultural expectations as
well as issues of violence, power and masculinities. Despite their graphic and
explicit content, annotations for these texts do not state their thematic content as
seen in the annotations for The Sledding Hill (Crutcher) or Bad Boy (Wieler). The
annotations for Bad Boy (Wieler) and Sledding Hill (Crutcher) present a warning or
cautionary note; Bad Boy (Wieler) provides information on content that is included
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in the text and a warning for maturity, The Sledding Hill (Crutcher) provides
information on themes that are absent from the text suggesting that content of
profanity, sexual acts, violence, drug or alcohol use may be of greater concern than
themes that actually occur in the text. During the interviews, educators reflected on
why texts like Lord of the Flies (Golding) and Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare),
which contain profanity, sexuality, violence and drug/alcohol use, are felt to be less
threatening compared to texts like Bad Boy (Wieler) and The Sledding Hill
(Crutcher). In their examination of school based and public libraries Schrader and
Wells (2005) found that:
[W]hile many of the selected titles were reviewed and most of them
were commented on favorably, there was still considerable reviewer
ambivalence noted. For example, "cautions and warnings" were often
included in reviewer’s descriptions, in some cases the books were
cast as "problem" novels, or they were simply described as a means
to an important life lesson. Based on the study’s findings, Rothbauer
and McKechnie concluded, “A tension seems to exist between the
desire to provide access to gay and lesbian fiction and to serve gay
and lesbian teens and other young adults who might be interested in
this topic, and the difficulties potentially associated with providing
material that might be regarded as sensitive or inappropriate by others
in the community” (14). Based on these findings the researchers state
that clear, concise, and unbiased book reviews play a significant and
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determining role in responsible collection development by school and
public librarians. (p. 18-19)
The annotations provided for text on the Literacy Success list offer a warning or
cautionary note. To understand how such warnings and cautions are developed, I
asked B to explain the process of text selection and the decision making for
warnings:
Any of the student resources that go into the schools have to have
been read by at least 5 teachers, they are not going to read cover to
cover. In most cases someone will do a deep reading and talk to
people around the table about it and they will look at pieces of it and
discuss some of those kinds of things. So, at least 5 teachers have
had the opportunity to scan a resource to look at the resource. And of
course, if there are words in there, the f word is in there, that’s kind of
a red flag to say ok, we are going to have to put a language warning
because perhaps if it deals with depression and suicide we would
have to put a warning or a cautionary note to just say, you know, for a
mature student. It’s because the teachers know that there is a content
of that the novel could be offensive to somebody or somebody might
be sensitive to a part or issues. (Transcript B, ll. 100-110)
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Along with language warnings, content that is deemed graphic in nature or
emotionally challenging for some readers is noted and a caution is added. E
comments:
You and I have talked about warning for books, and I wonder if the
warnings, like, who are the warnings for? This is a sensitive piece of
material but I think that the warning is there because maybe if you
know of a student who is having difficulty encountering literature that
is presented in the class because it clashes with their culture it can be
very upsetting for them and it can be very difficult and very
emotional. (Transcript E, ll. 412-417)
According to some of the teachers’ interviewed, the annotated notes are intended to
assist educators as they select texts to support students. For educators who are
interested in providing texts that deal with issues regarding gender and sexuality, the
annotated notes offer the opportunity to locate specific texts to meet these needs.
The warning notes can also provide assistance to classroom teachers as they make
reading suggestions for their students. For those who are hesitant or resistant to a
text, B explains that the annotations are provided to support educators and students
as they make informed decisions regarding reading materials:
If there’s something in the book that maybe, I don’t want to say,
offensive, but is issue based, then we will add a note suggesting the
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content of the resource requires a mature reader that there would be
language ah, issues, that students would have to be able to cope with
that. Just some kind of message to let teachers know, that the books
have not, are not sanitized. (Transcript B, ll. 92-96)
For E and B, annotations offer support to educators who sensitively practice text
selection for students who may not be ready to encounter materials that conflict with
their personal or cultural beliefs. While annotations can offer support to teachers
and students to make informed decisions, the annotations and cautionary notes have
also developed as a response by educators who are resistant to the themes and topics
presented in the text. B explains:
We have done that (annotated text notes) because of the backlash,
because of the kind of things that come back that teachers say and
principals say, “We didn’t know that these books were the kind of
books that you were recommending for classroom reading”.
(Transcript B, ll. 82-84)
Some educators are resistant to materials that seek to address issues of gender and
sexuality, drug and sexual abuse as well as self-harm and suicide. The exact texts
that have been removed from classroom libraries are unknown as no data has been
made available on this topic. While B and the educators interviewed were aware
that some materials had been removed from the Literacy Success collection prior to
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being given to a classroom teacher, there has been no formal investigation on which
titles were removed or why. Whelan (2009) examines school library censorship and
refers to the removal of text in collections as self-censorship:
But when it comes to self-censorship, it’s almost impossible to
quantify because no one is monitoring it or collecting stats, and
there’s no open discussion on the subject. We most often hear about
it through anecdotes or if someone is willing to fess up. “In a way,
self-censorship is more frightening than outright banning and removal
of challenged material,” says author and former librarian Susan
Patron, because these incidents tend to “slip under the radar”. (p. 27)
Many questioned why such resistance was prevalent in schools. Grace and Wells
(2001) ask:
Why are we [educators] so fearful? There are some common elements
to our fears that include: 1. Lack of knowledge about GLBT people
and same-gender families; 2. Worries that discussing GLBT
relationships means talking about "gay sex" at school; 3. Fear of
parent reactions; 4. Worries about administrative concern and lack of
support; 5. Religious and/or moral objections of parents and the
community at large. (p. 2)
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M questions why some educators resist particular texts and suggests that instead of
removing particular text, conversations and guidance around text choice should be
practiced and modeled:
But I guess again, it surprised me to hear from B and other people,
that they got these calls from principals or teachers saying, “I can’t
believe you sent this book out.” And their answer is always I think
it’s a choice. Students have a choice. We wouldn’t say that anyone
has to read anything. It’s allowing you to have a variety of different
topics you know and topics that are controversial or topics that are,
you know, ah graphic in nature I guess in some ways and you can
certainly choose to do what you like with that book, do what you feel
comfortable with. But I know that some of those books have, out of
those collections, have just been taken out entirely and that I guess it
surprises me I guess because I think it is one thing to say “I am not
going to teach that to my whole class” you know “I’m not
comfortable with the n word on the page or the f word.” “I’m not
going to.” You know, I totally agree. But I don’t know I would say I
wouldn’t put that book up on the shelf so that another student can
take it, if I know that book, then I could sort of counsel them to you
know, “Oh I see that you are looking to read this” and have a
conversation about you know, “I just want to let you know that…”
and try to set up some kind of teaching that seems appropriate around
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the setting or what they are going to run into so that the student can
then make that choice whether they want to read it or not.
(Transcript M, ll. 548-564)
In the same way that annotated notes provide some guidance to educators as they
select texts from the ARL, educators like M offer students conversation and council
as they select text for personal or classroom reading. Her belief in student choice
and individual freedom in text selection promotes a classroom environment where
students are empowered to select reading materials that are significant and
meaningful to them.
Annotated notes offer support to educators as they help students to make informed
decisions regarding their reading selections. Annotated notes also allow some
educators to limit and cull the collection prior to entering a classroom. B explains
that the annotations are provided to support educators in the classroom as they
prepare appropriate topics and themes. At the same time, censorship is practiced as
educators can remove materials they choose from the collection. Boyd & Bailey
(2009) state that:
Censorship occurs when published or shared works like books, films,
or art work, are kept from public access by restriction or removal
from libraries, museums, or other public venues. Though challenges
or outright censorship in our school libraries or classrooms often
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transpire out of the noblest of reasons- most often with the idea of
protecting young people from something that someone finds
offensive – the ALA sees attempts to censorship, nonetheless, as
attempts to restrict someone’s “right to read, view, listen to, and
disseminate constitutionally protected ideas” (ALA, 2007, Who
Attempts Censorship? section). We find such censorship of reading
or viewing of materials in middle and high school classrooms
disturbing and unjust to the rights of both students and teachers. (p.
653)
Ordering Text from the ARL
Searching the ARL presents challenges and questions for educators who attempt to
bring diverse materials into their classrooms. Educators describe obtaining
resources using two key methods; (1) ordering text from the ARL; and (2) receiving
text from the Department of Education Literacy Success. Literacy Success texts are
sent in large collections to schools and are to be distributed to teachers for classroom
libraries. Many educators claim that selected texts from the Literacy Success
collections were removed prior to classroom placement. According to the teachers,
the removal of these texts occurred after review by administration, department heads
and classroom teachers. Other classroom teachers shared that the Literacy Success
collections were being held in a central location and teachers were asked to sign out
parts of the collection for small group readings such as literature circles. Such
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controlled handling of the Literacy Success collection could be considered a
response by schools to require approval prior to use. Controlled handling by
administration also results in placing limitations on collecting resources by other
methods, primarily from the book bureau order.
As educators discussed collecting resources, they often described the difficulties and
frustrations they experience as they endeavor to order and purchase new texts.
Classroom teachers shared a wide variety of experiences in text acquisition,
including whole department discussions and decision making, while others described
individual lists submitted to a department head for review. Each educator’s
experience is unique and varied depending on the style and degree of administrative
management and involvement. Some educators describe a sense that they were not
partners in the process of text selection and purchase. Other educators described a
collaborative practice of text collection. E describes her experience in the process of
ordering books:
Ah, my experience with books and the ARL is that a percentage of
the money is set aside or allocated in the funds for ARL books and
those books are selected in our school with teacher input around what
is required in our school. However, often times the money is very
limited so it maybe what books are short of that we need to buy more
to make a set. Sometimes it’s we have an extra 100 dollars, what 4 or
5 books would you like to buy with that? So teachers feel very
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limited with the amount and the types they are able to ask for.
(Transcript E, ll. 229-235)
E shares the difficulties experienced by teachers who attempt to offer a broader and
more diverse text selection to their students. She notes that while her suggestions
may be welcomed, the final decision to order class sets despite the desire to offer
smaller text studies is shaped in part by financial limitations and administrative
control. Educators feel pressure to replace and refresh whole class sets as a response
to the limits set by copyright legislation. E continues:
We spent our money on new copies of Lord of the Flies to replace old
ones because of lack of class sets. Some new books around essays
were brought in because our essay book was considered an older
book and there was only one class set and we have 5 grade 12 classes
so it is not enough, so there’s a lot to photocopy.
(Transcript E, ll. 237-240)
Educators are dependent on limited financial resources to provide materials for
students. For some, materials are collected with the purpose of supporting whole
class studies and as noted previously to complete a class set:
Often times, teachers are directed towards what resources are
available that are from ARL. And the list that would vary from
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school to school depending on your budget and what you bought.
And so when your buying often times it’s around necessity of
finishing a class or creating a collecting, cleaning up a collection,
like, having a collection that you can bring into a class and to
eliminate photocopying. And so it’s not really the conversations
around what subject or ideas that are being covered rather, do we
have books to cover essay? Do we have short stories? Do we have
good poetry books? And so ah, I would say the conversation around
the ARL is what do we have and what can we afford? And so where
it isn’t a large budget the experience of buying books is limited itself,
it’s limiting. (Transcript E, ll. 357-366)
Educators are challenged to balance the demands of department and learner needs
between ordering materials for small group study and materials that meet the
restrictions of a department photocopy budget. M explains the financial support
offered by the 5% allocation does provide some opportunity to order books that are
not on the ARL but adds that the time constrains and responsibility of completing
the Bias Evaluation Instrument may deter some teachers from ordering these books:
The issue is often if I want a book that is not on there, that 5%
allocation to me has never seen to me all that advantageous, so it is
not a very great deal of money. It is more of a pain around ordering
them and doing the bias and you know things that, people think of, is
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it worth it? You’d have to be pretty passionate about getting that text.
(Transcript M, ll. 140-144)
Fear of challenge may keep educators from purchasing materials that are not on the
ARL or offered in the Literacy Success collections. Boyd & Bailey (2009) note that:
[M]ore experienced teachers are apt to teach in ways that allow them
to “avoid a hassle” and less experienced teachers are very likely to
make “safe” choices, especially in their selection of literature- even
when they know that such decisions and choices make them less than
the excellent teachers they desire to be. (p. 659)
For the classroom teachers interviewed, ordering text listed on the ARL presents
many frustrations and challenges. While some educators are included in discussions
regarding text collection, others feel excluded from the decision making process and
believe they have little input in the selection of texts. While the ARL offers
materials that can be used by classroom teachers, the funding that is provided to
purchase additional resources is minimal. Often used to replenish texts that have a
long history in the classroom, the funds, according to some educators, are used for
whole class studies of more traditional text as demonstrated in E’s example of Lord
of the Flies (Golding) or essay anthologies.
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Traditions of the Bookroom
Bookroom traditions refer to texts that, according to one educator, seem to have
always been in the shelves of the English department bookroom and hold a place of
high regard as an essential corner stone in English language arts curriculum.
Tradition also refers to the practice of whole class novel studies and the expectation
to cover specific titles and a particular number of novels in a semester. During our
discussions, classroom teachers share how these traditions shape their practice.
Often questioning the expectations imposed on them, many educators feel confined
by traditions while acknowledging the power that they seem to hold. CA, a past
classroom teacher and high school librarian, shares her perspective as she sees
classroom teachers select traditional text:
Because in schools there might be 20 copies or 40 copies of Lord of
the Flies in the bookroom and the teacher goes and that is what is
there for the teacher to use so that teacher uses the same text. Or, the
teacher has been teaching Lord of the Flies (Golding) for the last 20
years and doesn’t want to change his curriculum because that’s what
he’s been teaching. (Transcript CA, ll. 136-139)
In this case, CA believes that the whole class novel study of Lord of the Flies
(Golding) primarily occurs because it is a readily available text and because it is well
known to the teacher.
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In response to this practice, Appleman (2007) challenges the use of text in the
English classroom simply because they are considered traditional:
Sometimes students don’t love what we have loved, and that has to be
ok with us. The Catcher in the Rye (Salinger), A Separate Peace
(Knowles), The Scarlet Letter (Hawthorne), even that nearly sacred
text of the high school literature canon, To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee),
won’t always engage, inspire, captivate or even be tolerated by
today’s students. And so in the interest of keeping our classroom a
viable space for student engagement, we have to consider whether
some of our literary chestnuts may be too anachronistic, or precious,
or irrelevant to offer to adolescents in the twenty-first century.
(p. 146)
While not advocating for a removal of traditional texts simply because they are
traditional, CA suggests that schools need to reevaluate the current selection and use
of text and find relevant, meaningful materials and resources that reflect students
lived experiences:
I really think we need to look serious, to seriously look at what can be
added to that book list and then to make sure we start to see them
provided to the schools. Ah, and you know back off, off some of
these, some of these, not the modern classics, they are still doable,
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there is still a place for them ah, but I do think we are missing a
whole raft of books that have been published in the last 20 years, we
are just not using them. (Transcript CA, ll. 139-144)
CA points to the tradition of using text like Lord of the Flies (Golding) as one that
seems to offer comfort and control for some educators. She challenges this practice
and notes that while still having a place in the English language arts classroom,
literature that is current and reflect the needs and experiences of students should not
be ignored. Lord of the Flies (Golding) presents a challenge for many educators.
While themes of power, violence and identity are available for examination, some
educator’s question why this book is valued above other available texts. Like CA,
M reflects that choosing text based on availability is problematic to those who aim to
connect students to readings that are more suitable and relevant to their academic
and personal learning needs:
That hinders you. So sometimes you end up doing things you don’t
love or you don’t think, or may not be suitable for this group of kids
but there are 60 of them sitting there. (Transcript M, ll. 152-154)
Choosing text simply on the basis of availability means the academic and individual
needs of students becomes a secondary consideration. For educators who are
interested in issues of social justice and supporting students as they examine issues
of gender and sexuality, texts need to reflect student need and interest while
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providing a relevant challenge from which students can further develop literacy
skills. Appleman (2007) examines relevancy in English language arts classrooms
and notes:
What students do in school needs to feel important to them, and they
need to feel important in doing that work. This feeling of importance
is not merely a truism when it comes to adolescence. It is perhaps the
central core of our work with them. Constructing significance in their
work is not simply a matter of having them read more contemporary
texts. It is a matter of creating and re-creating fresh and unrehearsed
opportunities to make discoveries about texts, about language, about
the world, and about themselves. (p. 144)
As she advocates the use of texts to create relevant and meaningful learning
opportunities, M further questions the practice of positioning the novel as the
cornerstone of the English classroom. She explains that a shift is needed to provide
new opportunity for discovery:
So I think again if we can start thinking about what is it we want
students to be able to do in their reading then it does not matter what
book they have to give or take, I mean, I think we can start to push
beyond just a long text as the corner stone of our English classroom.
(Transcript M, ll. 162-164)
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Educators question the intention behind text selection as they search for meaningful
materials. Moving past the expectation of the novel study, educators can better
support students as they share a wider and more diverse selection of materials.
Questioning the traditions of the bookroom, M reflects:
Why do we need to feel we do 5 books in a semester? I mean, who
says this is the way? It is handed down from generation of
department head to generation of department head. That’s how we do
it. This is what our course outline looks like. And I was the same. I,
whoever told me this is what we do? And I felt like if I didn’t do 5
novels, I say this off the top of my head, I’d say if I didn’t do this
many of them then there was something wrong that I was not doing
what I should have. (Transcript M, ll. 165-170)
Pressure to conform to long-standing practices of English teaching is questioned by
educators who seek to expand learning experiences and opportunities. M
acknowledges her participation in practices that seem to place numerical
expectations and subsequent burdens on educators and learners. Bookroom
traditions represent a controlling force that many educators experience and attempt
to resist. In their attempts to broaden the materials in the classroom, educators are
often faced with tensions that exist between their goals of offering diversity of text
selection and what is actually available to them. Often, the number of text available
as opposed to the social and emotional needs of students takes precedent. For
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educators who strive to challenge inequities, traditions of the bookroom are at odds
with their personal and professional goals.
Protection
Throughout the interviews, many classroom teachers shared that the Authorized
Resource List is not central to their decision making process yet acknowledge that
the list shapes what materials are available in the learning community. The list
informs educator decision-making process in a secondary, yet, powerful manner.
The ARL and its application for classroom use is expressed by E:
I think that I have very limited experience with the ARL, because I
would only use the ARL in my school to buy books, I wouldn’t use
the Approved Resource List to suggest literature to students so
therefore what is that list for? What, those are the questions, what is
there for, who is it there for and how is it to be used? (Transcript E, ll.
312-315)
For E, the ARL offers little support to her or to her students when selecting texts that
are personally meaningful yet it is from this list that texts for her high school English
classroom are ordered:
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Maybe for me it’s not just looking for what’s on the ARL. Because
maybe how I have felt, how the reading list is used for myself and my
school is really not about classroom teaching. It’s not really, it’s not
really motivating or inspiring my teaching. It’s not really informing
what I think is ah, part of the outcomes necessarily. Sometime you
use it and sometimes you use others pieces that may or may not be on
the Approved Resource List. (Transcript E, ll. 429-434)
Many educators shared that materials that meet the personal and learning needs of
their students often do not exist on the ARL. However, educators acknowledge that
the ARL offers a sense of protection as the Department of Education and School
Board support these materials. As educators reflected on their use of the ARL,
issues of safety and support for texts were often explored. Educators raised
concerns that negative feedback or backlash from school or community might occur
when choosing text both on and off the ARL. E notes:
It’s not actually a promoted list amongst high school teachers given
out that they make sure they cover or use I don’t think in my
experience it doesn’t seem to be that way. It is more, to me, a part of
the political aspect of school, this is what we say is ok if you’re going
to buy a class set, we recommend these, these are approved. So its
kind of like a safe guard or protection. (Transcript E, ll. 315-319)
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In E’s experience, the ARL presents clear guidelines for text purchase. This is in
contrast to text purchase that reflects the social, emotional or personal needs of
learners. E identifies the protection and control as decisions on text collection occur
in her school. E notes:
Protection for the teacher to say that these books have been explored
and these are approved by your school board. So if you’re doing a
novel that is not on the list you need to have perhaps parent contact,
perhaps you need to have discussions with your department head or
administration at your school. (Transcript E, ll. 325-328)
For E, choosing text outside the Authorized Resource List is necessary when
supporting students. When she chooses text outside the ARL, she feels pressure to
seek the support of her administration as well as gain permission from parents. M
further explains that backlash for controversial text occurs even with materials that
are on the ARL. When the Literacy Success arrived in schools, M explains that
some principals and teachers rejected and removed text they considered
controversial. It appears that the materials are censored prior to being placed on the
ARL and again when the ARL texts arrive in the schools. The classroom teacher
can also decide which text may be available in the classroom. Selections or removal
of texts by administration or classroom teachers are completed without a formalized
rubric for selection or de-selection, it is based on personal values. Boyd & Bailey
(2007) ask:
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If books are challenged and disappear from the curriculum, who will
teach students to think about and question the status quo when what
passes as the norm is privilege for one group at the expense of
another, or when denigration of people from diverse backgrounds so
routine that man does not even seen it? (p. 657)
Literacy Success materials have been made available by the Department of
Education yet these materials are at times rejected by educators within schools. M
notes:
So if I put a book on my shelf that is about homosexuality right, I
don’t have a problem with that, but you know, so my other students
who come in a say, “What’s this book?” They take that home, parents
are upset, principal says you shouldn’t have that book and in fact
there are lots of principals who, in that last set of Literacy Success
that have come out, have said to teachers or teachers have said to
principals, “We don’t want this book”. (Transcript M, ll. 534-539)
Removal of materials from the ARL creates further gaps on the collection. Little
(2001) notes:
It is not only what youth see (i.e. anti-Queer violence) but what
they don’t see. While homophobia creates bias and potential
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violence, heterosexism “results in an absence of gay and lesbian
positive images and a deafening silence about the homosexual
reality, a serious problem for the ten percent of students who are
lesbian and gay” (Brisken, 1994, p. 4) (p. 3)
M and E experience tremendous challenge as they attempt to provide their students
with diverse materials. Materials that are on the ARL and those that are not are, at
times, a source of confrontation and backlash. M reasons why some educators may
choose not to challenge the resistance:
I think that there are so many reasons not to push the envelope.
Right? That’s the thing, right? You got parents, you got principals,
you have students who may respond poorly. Let’s face it if you stick
to the tried and true and it is all sort of bland, I mean, you’re not
going to get a lot of conflict so maybe that is what it is.
(Transcript M, ll. 566-569)
For some educators offering materials that do not disrupt dominant ways of being or
practices means that they will avoid conflict with students, parents and
administration. E notes:
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The ARL seems to be comfortable, more comfortable with texts that
are, I’d like to say that, it seems to be more comfortable with text that
are comfortable with mainstream middle-class values.
(Transcript E, ll. 343-345)
A particular value system exists and is reflected in the ARL by titles that are
accepted in the Literacy Success collections. For many educators who include other
forms of learning materials, the result means engaging students in meaningful and
relevant topics and subjects. At the same time, inviting other forms of learning
materials into a classroom can result in conflict and resistance from those who are
not willing or able to engage in new ideas and re-evaluate their personal values and
assumptions of others.
Literacy Success
Throughout the interviews, teachers explored how Literacy Success materials are
working to support diverse and multiple learning opportunities. Literacy Success is
a Nova Scotia Department of Education initiative established in the spring of 2000.
According to the Department of Education, Literacy Success draws on key
components: time, student and teacher resources, professional development and
specific and explicit assistance to those students who required a higher level of
support in becoming successful, fluent readers (http://ayr.ednet.ns.ca). During the
interviews, educators predominantly referred to Literacy Success as the materials
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provided by the Department of Education to support reading and literacy. E explains
the difference with student involvement and engagement with the Literacy Success
texts:
But I think with the Literacy Success 10 and 11 books, students are
encouraged to constantly look at them and explore them. Where as
textbooks are not inviting and they are usually purchased with large
amounts of money they are usually very expensive. They are used
for a number of years and not all of the book is used, some is used
and some is left not to be used. Where as Literacy Success 10 and
11, I think, I think there are some books that are better used but I
think all of those books are opened to be used constantly. (Transcript
E, ll. 292-297)
Like E, B comments that the Literacy Success texts seem to provide relevant and
meaningful literature to students. B notes the Literacy Success texts include issues
of sexuality and reflection of self as well as a deeper awareness of societal diversity:
The resources that we have would perhaps deal with individuals who
are questioning their sexuality, dealing with issues in society and
hopefully towards the end of the novel have come to terms with their
own sexuality and hopefully have resolved the kinds of problems that
they had in the beginning of their story. Some of them are
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biographical of people who have struggled because of who they are
and, have come to terms with wherever they are and how they can
deal with society or maybe how society is going to deal with them.
(Transcript B, ll. 46-51)
B explains how educators may use the Literacy Success texts in their classrooms.
B’s practice reflects students’ choice and promotes exposure to multiple and diverse
materials. He encourages classroom teachers to explore the application of the
Literacy Success texts in a variety of ways:
These particular texts will highlight all these issues and it is our hope
that teachers will be somewhat familiar with the resource, that does
not mean he or she needs to read everything that’s in the collection
but at least know some of the issues in here when they introduce the
books to the kids. They might let them know, “Here’s a particular
book written from the perspective of a 15 year old. He was having
some struggles, it’s about suicide, he attempted suicide, you know, if
you can, if this sounds like it’s for you, you might want to read it, if
not, you might want to stay away from it”. But those texts should
stimulate further discussion just around books in general and around
issues in general of a societal nature. That is not to say, that, you
know a teacher might pick up one that he or she really likes and just
do his or her own book talk around, because there’s an issue that he
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or she feels comfortable with. It’s about feeling comfortable with the
issues and I think that there are a lot of teachers who would prefer
just to let the kids deal with them and you know what, I think that the
kids are doing that on their own. When I had the kids in last week,
they were reading things that were quite mature, and they were
having table discussions on their own. (Transcript B, ll. 124-138)
B acknowledges that some classroom teachers may not feel prepared to explore the
Literacy Success text in-depth with their students. He notes that despite this,
students are able to explore the issues presented in the text alone or within their peer
group. B continues to explain why some educators are having difficulty with the
Literacy Success text:
We’ve had quite a few, ah, responses from teachers and principals
who are not supportive of the resources that go into the classrooms
because they deal with language. Some of them may deal with sex
and we try to make sure that it’s not explicit sex. A lot of them deal
with issues of a controversial nature and there are just some teachers
out there who are just very uncomfortable with it and they can’t deal
with it. They would prefer to do, you know, Lord of the Flies
(Golding) because it is safe and only violent. They’d prefer to do
Gatsby (Fitzgerald), they’d prefer to do The Chrysalids (Wyndham),
because it’s Science Fiction and it doesn’t deal with issues that are,
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you know, out there. Anything that’s, anything that is a non issue
seems to be ok, but when it comes to a couple of words, a situation,
you get the feedback, such that you know, “Why are you putting texts
in to schools that deal with whatever?” “How can you possibly feel
comfortable putting this into the hands of students?” And the
response is just, as I said to you, we are dealing with real world issues
and kids need to know what is happening. It’s, it’s beyond video
games, if they can deal with the kinds of video games that they are
dealing with, and some teachers support those kinds of things in their
classroom, then they can deal with the written word.
(Transcript B, ll. 63-78)
As a classroom teacher, MI describes her experience sharing text from the Literacy
Success collections. MI, like B, challenges the censorship that can occur in
classrooms:
Some concerns have been raised by some teachers regarding the lead
team and have suggested we send a letter home to parents at the
beginning of the school year outlining the texts and the nature of the
books that they may contain adult themes and some controversial
issues. I have really struggled with doing that. I wonder why we
need to tag that on to the list? I mean, we don’t do that for other
books and I have not yet had any problems with students or parents. I
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say this is what the text is about, for example the Kite Runner
(Hosseini), and if you don’t want to read it you don’t have to.
Students can drop a book if they choose to do so.
(Transcript MI, ll. 74-82)
For some educators, the Literacy Success materials offer greater choice in reading
and an opportunity to share the experience of text selection with their students. E
explains:
So you see there is a difference in the traditional approved text in the
book room, and teacher’s knowledge of the text, here students are
bringing the text to the teacher. Usually when a teacher takes a book
from the bookroom they know it, Literacy Success means students
may know it before teachers. (Transcript E, ll. 262-265)
For E, choosing text does not present a power struggle; rather, she believes this is a
partnership in which students can bring their knowledge into the classroom.
Literacy Success offers students relevant and meaningful materials to use in their
daily classroom experience. Students are able to choose the materials that meet their
personal and learning needs. Individual choice and freedom reflects student-
centered practices and encourages learners to bring their own knowledge and interest
into the learning environment. Literacy Success materials are used by educators to
promote greater variety in reading, connections to other materials and extension of
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knowledge. While some educators feel uncomfortable with some content in the
Literacy Success resources, learners need to have greater exposure to meaningful
and relevant resources and topics.
While under review, the current search program for the Authorized Resource List
that is available presents barriers to appropriate and meaningful resources.
Educators who search the ARL face the daunting task of sifting through each title in
order to find content that would be appropriate for classroom use. Once a resource
is located, educators may experience insufficient information regarding that resource
leaving them in the uncomfortable position of choosing a text of which they are
uncertain.
Annotated notes intend to provide information to educators as they make selections
of materials for the classroom. However, the annotations are inconsistent in both
coverage of all listed text and in providing contextual information. We must ask,
what is the benefit and limitation of cautions and warnings on the approved resource
materials? Why are cautions and warnings noted for particular materials and
themes while others material and themes go unnoted? While the intention for the
annotated notes is to provide information for educators as they make selection, we
must ask what is the unintended result for this action? In some cases, annotated
notes are used to reject or remove materials that would other wise be available to
learners. Further research and data must be collected on the specific text that are
rejected or removed and why. At this point, no information on this issue is
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available. Censorship of materials in the English language arts classroom creates
barriers to materials that are needed for all learners. Fear of backlash and disregard
for other experience means that learners do not have access to the wide range of
resources they require. More conversations with learners need to take place during
text selection and throughout their reading experiences. This practice guides text
selection in a more meaningful and respectful way then when texts are simply
removed.
Ordering materials from the Authorized Resource List and using the 5% allocation
funds can provide learners with new and diverse materials. However, the decision to
replace or refresh whole class novel study of more traditional text often takes
precedence over leaner needs. To challenge this, schools may be asked to use a
percentage of their funds to locate materials that reflect the student body and address
their needs in a meaningful and thoughtful way. Furthermore, English departments
must continue to question and reflect on methodology including the use of the novel
study as the cornerstone of the English classroom. It is important that the whole
department engage in questions of methodology as it could support a collaborative
and connected team approach for educators and work to erode the isolation that is
felt by some in the department.
Educators face the tension of providing meaningful and relevant materials to
learners from what is available in the schools, often traditional or canonical
literature. Many educators interviewed felt that while they were not advocating
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removal of any particular text, they did feel that greater variety and use of diverse
materials is needed in schools. Interestingly it was Golding’s Lord of the Flies that
most educators discussed. This novel has, among others, themes of gender,
sexuality and masculinities yet the exploration of these themes seems limited. We
must ask why educators who hold this novel as a cornerstone of the English
language arts classroom, shy away from exploring these topics? Using the supports
of the Race Culture and Human Rights department, educators may benefit from
examining the text in a professional learning community with the intent of exploring
issues of gender and sexuality. This modeling approach for educators may provide
needed examples of how to combine literacy and social justice practice.
The ARL is a powerful guideline from which materials are ordered for student use.
Educators need to challenge the limitations of the ARL and expect that it would
contain resources that learners may find meaningful and reflective of their lives and
experiences. While not promoting the ARL in an explicit manner, educators are
directed to select materials from the list for purchase. This means that the ARL
offers a code of being which is presented in the materials available on the list.
Materials deemed not appropriate for the ARL, even if they reflect the lives of
learners, are rejected.
Literacy Success offers presentations of diversity to learners and the opportunity to
independently explore issues relevant to youth. Literacy Success requires that
educators trust that learners are capable to make selections and explore topics and
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content that they, the educator, may not be familiar with. Literacy Success places
the learner in a central place of facilitating their learning process and promotes
powerful messages of youth voice and choice. Educators must continue to seek
resources that reflect the lives and experiences of all members of the learning
community. For schools to become more inclusive and supportive communities for
all members, educators need to challenge the limitations of the resources available,
question the censorship that is imposed on particular materials and continue to
support one another in collaborative learning communities.
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CHAPTER FOUR
Conclusion
In examining the varied experiences of learners one must ask how does the English
language arts curriculum materials support learners as they examine issues of gender
and sexuality? And, what are the experiences of educators who aim to challenge
dominant representation of gender and sexuality? The educators interviewed capture
the complex and diverse experiences of individuals who believe discussions of
gender and sexuality are critical in high school communities. Together educators
and learners must strive to create safe learning environments where members can
receive and provide support as they examine the world, the word and their lives.
Creating an environment of trust is vital as educators and learners examine personal
belief systems and engage in critical enquiry. Educators need to model respectful
discussions and provide classroom activities that allow individuals to explore issues
relevant to their diverse communities. Critical literacy skills develop as the reader
examines the relationship between themselves and the text. Through critical
literacy, learners can be challenged to consider questions of visibility and power.
Many educators interviewed expressed that literacy practices need further
development with regards to discussion of gender and sexuality as these topics are
underrepresented in many English language arts classrooms. Discussions of power
and privilege and the impact on individuals must be explored and examined. To
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create engaging learning environments, educators need to make use of relevant and
meaningful teaching tools and reference current world events and historical context.
Youth voice is central to the development of a respectful leaning environment. To
create this learning community, power must be shared thoughtfully and
appropriately with all members. Learners must be encouraged and supported to
challenge social expectations and to examine diverse realities. Educators can model
critical thinking practices through a variety of pedagogical practices and resources.
Collaborating educators and learners create safe environments for all members
enabling individuals to vocalize ideas and learn together. Creating environments
and opportunities to share experiences is a critical and central feature of classrooms
where social justice is valued and practiced.
Educators who examine issues of gender and sexuality can offer learners a diverse
picture of human experience. By using a diversity of texts, educators challenge
learners to examine the diversity of human experience, privilege and power.
Educators can encourage learners to share personal experiences and make
connections between the texts presented and their lives. To support the risk that
learners take, educators strive to develop appropriate conversations that model
respectful interactions. These educators have belief in the learner’s ability to
support one another in vulnerability and risk taking.
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To provide meaningful connections, educators may consider positioning literature
within a historical, social and political context. Through this practice, learners can
appreciate richness and complexity of materials available to them. As learners
examine texts and context, they experience how interpretation of the text is informed
and shaped by social and political elements. Such pedagogical practices aim to
examine presentations of gender and sexuality and to encourage learners to
interconnect social justice and literacy practices. Learners would benefit from being
exposed to a greater variety of materials, resources and guest speakers creating a rich
environment for learning. Lastly, to develop a more equitable learning community,
educators and learners need opportunity to share and work together to ensure all
voices and experiences are valued.
As meaningful collaboration develops, educators can explore diversity in classroom
through practices such as book shares. Book shares can take place in formal and
informal learning environments and provide opportunity to exchange text, ideas and
interpretations. Such learning-centered practices further reflect the sharing of power
that educators and learners endeavor to foster within the classroom that values social
justice. The resulting classroom community can be strengthened and a network of
care and support can emerge.
When choosing texts, learners must be challenged to critically and thoughtfully
consider the selection of materials and should be supported and respected for their
choice. Educators can encourage critical examination of text and engage students
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through challenging conversations and model critical literacy. As learners select
specific text to examine, educators can provide multiple learning opportunities in
whole class and small group studies. Literature and Socratic circles provide learner
centered educational experiences. While educators may continue to practice whole
class novel studies, it is important to also invite other forms of exploration using a
variety of text and materials into the learning community.
An area of concern identified by the educators interviewed is appropriate and timely
professional development and professional mentorship. Locating meaningful
professional support regarding literacy and social justice is a challenge for many
educators. Further research is needed into the relationships and issues of power that
exists among educators. Themes of power, control, fear and intimidation at times
emerged throughout this study. In creating a team approach to education, more time
for reflection and collaboration during meaningful professional development is
needed. This may provide professional support for educators who aim to connect
curriculum and social justice.
Educators focused their interviews on the Approved Resource List (ARL) and
Literacy Success. As they shared their experiences, they expressed frustration
regarding availability and access. Specifically, educators identified the limitation of
the search function and organization as being inconsistent and inaccurate. While
under review, more attention must be given to the accessibility of the ARL and
efforts must be made to address educators concerns. Furthermore, the terminology
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applied to the annotated notes present barriers to locating appropriate text.
Educators reported that the keyword search provides inconsistent results and is
challenging to navigate. A review of the key word search may prove useful as it
may highlight areas of concern. A librarian who is trained and skilled in creating
search programs would be the best choice to complete this review. It was also
reported that annotations applied to texts are authored and edited by school board
staff creating perceived gaps in the collection. Furthermore, warning or cautionary
labels on specific ARL titles make visible the subjects or themes deemed
problematic by school board staff. A librarian may also review the annotations and
efforts to complete the gaps in the collection can be made. For many educators,
ordering texts from the ARL presents additional challenges and frustrations. The
controlled handling of the literacy infusion collection limits educators as to the
materials available. With limited resources, educators note that control and power is
held by administration in text selection directly impacting the learning experience.
Educators must question the control that some administrators practice regarding the
resources placed in the classroom. No data on the censorship of materials exists at
this time and further research on this topic is needed.
I am very thankful for the opportunity to have engaged in this research project.
While extending beyond my original intentions and expectations, this process has
presented me with valuable teaching and learning lessons. I feel I have a greater
understanding of how dedicated and open-minded teachers use any material to
engage and support learners. My hope for this work is that educators and decision-
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makers will consider the practices explored thus recognizing the need for text to
reflect the diversity of all learners within our classrooms and communities.
This research experience has allowed me to examine a variety of classroom
practices. As learners are supported to engage with meaningful texts, classrooms are
transformed into relevant and powerful learning environments. The practice of
creating inclusive classrooms is central to social justice practice and frames learners
and educators as equal partners in the learning experience. As learners identify
themselves as central to their learning experience, meaningful and restful
relationships emerge. Educators who practice reflective and thoughtful engagement
demonstrate that learning environments can be collaborative, challenging and
transformative for all participants.
This research process has shown that students are central to the ELA classroom.
Learners have the power to challenge educators to rethink intentions and
expectations. Learners desire to engage in critical thought and seek supportive
educators and environments. Through this process, I have met committed educators
who are dedicated to assisting learners on this journey. It is evident that many
educators seek connectedness with colleagues and would benefit from meaningful
and appropriate professional development. Lastly, my hope is that educators who
participated may benefit from this experience. In turn, a more informed and
reflective teaching practice may develop.
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Appendix 1: Interview Consent Form Interview Consent Agreement I agree to participate in an interview conducted by Cherie Borden, a master’s graduate student in Counselling at Acadia University. I understand that Cherie will interview me and will ask me questions about my experiences as an English Language Arts grade 10-12 educator. I understand this research project seeks to investigate the experiences of educators who place social justice at the center of their pedagogical framework in the English Languages Arts (ELA) classroom grades 10-12. Specifically, the focus of the study is to examine the extent to which the ELA curriculum allows and encourages high school English teachers to take up and discuss with students non-dominant representations of gender identity and gender presentation in the English Language Arts Authorized Reading List. The research will draw on the collective knowledge and experiences of educators, library specialists, and school board advisors and consultants. I understand that the researcher, Cherie Borden, intends to explore and examine the experiences of educators in their attempts to provide an equitable and inclusive classroom in regards to presentations of gender and sexuality within the Authorized Reading List (ARL). Through interviews with ELA teachers, Cherie aims to examine the extent to which ELA teachers find the ARL helpful in promoting critical examination of issues of gender and sexuality. I agree to allow the researcher to tape record my interview. I understand that I may refuse to answer any question in the interview and that I may withdraw my participation at any time without penalty. I have been informed that an individual, who will be employed with my permission to complete this task, will transcribe the recorded interviews. This person will sign an Oath of Confidentiality. If I am uncomfortable with this, Cherie will transcribe the tapes herself. The audio recordings will be stored in a secure location. Other than myself, only Cherie will hear the audiotapes or read the transcripts. These recordings will be returned to me if I want them, otherwise they will be destroyed. I will be provided with a draft copy of the report. I will have an opportunity to read, verify, comment on and contribute to the report if I wish. If I do not wish for certain information to be used in the report, it will be removed. I understand that if Cherie wants to use the material in ways other than for the purposes of her thesis, I will be asked for permission at that time.
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I agree to voluntarily participate in this interview and I understand that I may withdraw my participation at any time without penalty, in which case I will retain ownership of the material. I understand that there will be two different interviews and that each interview will last no longer than 90 minutes. If I wish further information about this study, I may contact Cherie Borden (902) 444-9249 or Dr. Ann Vibert, Thesis Supervisor, (902) 585-1489 at Acadia University. Date:___________________________ Name:________________________________________________________(please print) Signature:_____________________________________________________
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Appendix 2: Interview Consent Form Interview Consent Agreement I agree to participate in an interview conducted by Cherie Borden, a master’s graduate student in Counselling at Acadia University. The information gained from this interview will be used to better understand the lives, experiences, and challenges faced by teachers working to promote critical awareness and inclusion in the area of gender and sexuality, particularly in the field of literacy education. I understand that this project seeks to investigate the experiences of educators who place social justice at the center of their pedagogical framework in the English Languages Arts (ELA) classroom grades 10-12. Specifically, this research will examine the extent to which the ELA curriculum allows and encourages high school English teachers to take up and discuss with students non-dominant representations of gender identity and gender presentation in the English Language Arts Authorized Reading List. I agree to allow the researcher to tape record my interview. I understand that I may refuse to answer any question in the interview and that I may withdraw my participation at any time without penalty. I have been informed that an individual, who will be employed with my permission to complete this task, will transcribe the recorded interviews. This person will sign an Oath of Confidentiality. If I am uncomfortable with this, Cherie will transcribe the tapes herself The audio recordings will be stored in a secure location. Other than myself, only Cherie will hear the audiotapes or read the transcripts. These recordings will be returned to me if I want them, otherwise they will be destroyed. I will be provided with a draft copy of the report. I will have an opportunity to read, verify, comment on and contribute to the report if I wish. If I do not wish for certain information to be used in the report, it will be removed. I understand that if Cherie wants to use the material in ways other than for the purposes of her thesis, I will be asked for permission at that time. I agree to voluntarily participate in this interview and I understand that I may withdraw my participation at any time without penalty, in which case I will retain ownership of the material. I understand that there will be two different interviews and that each interview will last no longer than 90 minutes. If I wish further information about this study, I may contact Cherie Borden at (902) 444-9249 or Dr. Ann Vibert, Thesis Supervisor, (902) 585-1489 at Acadia University. Date:___________________________ Name:________________________________________________________(please print) Signature:_____________________________________________________
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Appendix 3: Proposed Interview Questions for Educators I am suggesting a series of interview questions to be used as a guide to help frame our discussions and provide some consistency between the interviews. However; they are just that, guidelines. I hope that you will feel free to discuss other issues that you feel may offer some insight into your experiences as being an English Language Arts educator in the Nova Scotia public school system. QUESTIONS: Background 1. Please list the materials you selected from the Authorized Reading list. Why did you make these selections? 2. In your opinion, how do ARL materials support the examination of different experiences and perspectives regarding gender and sexuality? Do presentations of gender and sexuality impact your selection process? How? 3. Throughout your teaching experiences, how has your ARL selection changed? In your opinion, what factors may have influenced your ARL selection? 4. Foundation documents require teacher to model critical and reflective practices to their students. How are you able to achieve this goals/value? Can you provide specific examples? 5. In your classroom, how do you examine language and images that create, reinforce and perpetuate gender stereotyping and biases? 6. In your opinion, how are students able to use the ARL to understand, imagine and appreciate realities other than their own in regards to gender identity and presentations of sexuality? 7. In your opinion, does the ARL provide instructional practices and materials that are free of gender bias? Explain. 8. In your opinion, what role(s) does the HRSB and DOE play in supporting teachers who would like to understand and examine issues regarding the presentation of gender and sexuality? 9. In your opinion, what is your role in providing students with diverse presentations of gender and sexuality? Can you provide an example of how you engage students critically regard presentations of gender and sexuality?
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Appendix 4: Proposed Interview Questions for HRSB/DOE consultants I am suggesting a series of interview questions to be used as a guide to help frame our discussions and provide some consistency between the interviews. However; they are just that, guidelines. I hope that you will feel free to discuss other issues that you feel may offer some insight into your experiences as being an employee of HRSB. QUESTIONS: Background 1. Please tell me about yourself by providing a brief sketch of your role and responsibilities for the Halifax Regional School Board or the Department of Education 2. In your opinion, how are ARL materials able to support the examination of different experiences and perspectives regarding gender and sexuality? 3. In your opinion, are teachers able to examine language and images that create, reinforce and perpetuate gender stereotyping and biases? Explain. 4. In your opinion, are students able to use the ARL to understand, imagine and appreciate realities other than their own in regards to gender identity and presentations of sexuality? Explain. 5. In your opinion, does the ARL provide instructional practices and materials that are free of gender bias? Explain. 6. In your opinion, what is needed to provide teachers with the supports that would allow them to critique and question presentations of gender and sexuality more effectively in their classrooms? 7. In your opinion, what role does the HRSB and DOE play in supporting teachers
who would like to understand and examine issues regarding the presentation of
gender and sexuality?
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Appendix 5
To further understand the annotations, below is a sample of annotations in the ARL:
The Lord of the Flies
NSSBB #: 20570
ISBN: 9780571084838
Title: Lord of the Flies (paperback)
Supplier: Atlantic Book Ltd.
Published:
Price: $8.39
Language: English
Origin: O - Other
Notes: None Entered - 04/01/2002
Components/ Authors:
Lord of the Flies (paperback) - Adrienne Shard
Resource Type:
Student resource
Approved: Subject Grade
Level Category Guidance Qty
Date Listed
Date De-Listed
English Language Arts/English/Communications/English/Communications 12
12 Fiction 1:4S 12/1/1975
English Language Arts/All Disciplines/English 12 12 Fiction 1:4S 12/1/1975
136
Appendix 6
Romeo and Juliet
NSSBB #: 25411
ISBN: 9780198321668
Title: Romeo and Juliet, 2009 Edition
Supplier: Oxford University Press
Published: 2009
Price: $12.66
Language: English
Origin: O - Other
Notes: Oxford School Shakespeare is the well-established series that helps students to understand and enjoy Shakespeare's plays. Each text is complete and unabridged with corresponding notes alongside the text for easy reference, a plot summary at the beginning of each scene, and detailed notes on the characters. Each play is supported by a range of classwork activities and examination practice, as well as background information on Elizabethan England. "Romeo and Juliet" remains one of the most accessible and popular of Shakespeare’s plays for secondary students the world over. Weaving actual lines from Shakespeare's play into a narrative text, this version serves as a wonderful introduction to this timeless tale.
Components/ Authors:
Romeo and Juliet, 2009 Edition - William Shakespeare
Resource Type:
Student resource
Approved: Subject Grade
Level Category Guidance Qty
Date Listed
Date De-Listed
English Language Arts/English/English 11
11 Drama 1:S 7/8/2008
Oldest date listed 1989.
137
Appendix 7
The Sledding Hill
NSSBB #: 24321
ISBN: 9780060502454
Title: The Sledding Hill
Supplier: Atlantic Book Ltd.
Published: 2005
Price: $6.13
Language: English
Origin: O - Other
Notes: "The Sledding Hill" is a novel with a highly entertaining plot. It has no profanity, sexual acts, violence, drug or alcohol use. It takes direct aim at censorship. This story of Eddie and Billy— who is, in fact, dead—allows the reader to consider the issue of intellectual freedom.
Components/ Authors:
The Sledding Hill - Chris Crutcher
Resource Type:
Student resource
Approved: Subject Grade
Level Category Guidance Qty
Date Listed
Date De-Listed
English Language Arts/Advanced English/Advanced English 12
12 Fiction 1:6S
138
Appendix 8
Bad Boy
NSSBB #: 23114
ISBN: 9780888990839
Title: Bad Boy
Supplier: Nimbus Publishing Ltd.
Published: 1989
Price: $6.27
Language: English
Origin: C - Canadian
Notes: Hockey is the only game worth playing in the rough-and-tumble prairie town of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. When 16-year-old A.J. Brandiosa makes the Triple A team of his dreams, he can hardly believe that his life is finally coming together. Then he learns a dark secret of his best friend and teammate. "Bad Boy" deals with the tentative nature of teenage sexual identity, and the perceived threat that homosexuality poses to a culture dominated by a masculine social image. The mature theme of this book may offend some readers; however, its narrative strength, and the sensitive way the topic is handled identifies "Bad Boy" as an important resource to add to the classroom collection.
Components/ Authors:
Bad Boy - Diana Wieler
Resource Type:
Student resource
Approved: Subject Grade
Level Category Guidance Qty
Date Listed
Date De-Listed
English Language Arts/All Disciplines/All Courses/Initiatives
10 4:C 11/1/2003
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