For my class right now, my students are reading Out of the Dust. It's a depressing book, and if I remember correctly from four years ago, it doesn't end on a thoroughly happy note. Mark and I were reading it together in the car on the way to Baton Rouge, and he asked, "Why do we have to read this depressing book?" That's what reminded me of how much my students from four years ago disliked this book. I think only a couple of girls in my class kind of liked it. I actually really like the book. It's beautifully written in free verse. It communicates deep meanings through a sparse amount of words.
Well, wouldn't you know, as soon as I introduced the book last Monday, one of my students blurted out how much he hated this book, and how horrible and depressing it is. I'm pretty accepting in listening to students' opinions and questions, but it is my personal pet peeve when students hate on a book before most of the class has even begun to read it. Also, middle school students are so prone to "group think". So if someone strongly and openly disparages a book, it diminishes the rest of the students' ability to appreciate the book. Every time a student does this, I firmly tell them that negative comments in front of the whole class about the book in question are not allowed. If they want to talk to me or email me about it personally, that is fine. Or if they want to write about it in their journal after we finish the book that is fine, also. I want to make sure the students know that they are entitled to their opinions, but they should be respectful about how and when they express their opinions.
Anyway, thanks to Mark's comments when we were reading the book, I was armed for just such a comment. I had a cartoon ready in my power point about depressing books, and I asked the students why it might be beneficial to read a depressing book. My students gave some great answers. Here are the reasons I had on my power point:
1. Books with difficult circumstances make us grateful for what we have.
2. As we read books with excruciatingly painful situation, we can be encouraged by what the characters are able to endure and know that when we face hard times, we can endure/triumph also. Their perseverance can inspire us.
3. There are eras when most people face tremendous challenges. There are regions of the world where most people face horrible hardships. Books can take us to other eras or places and allow us to walk in their shoes. We can learn what NOT to do and what to do by their examples.
4. Reading books like these cause us to be more deeply thoughtful and sympathetic towards others and the trials they might be going through.
It's been really helpful to have had my own children in my class for so many years because I have been able to hear honest input from them about what we're doing in class. If Mark hadn't already commented on his distaste for this depressing book, I probably wouldn't have been ready for the reaction I would face last Monday. I loved that I was armed and ready! I also made a point of bringing out the different sound devices and structure the author uses in the book in order for the book to read in a more poetic way, even though it doesn't rhyme or have a particular meter. We read several pages together, and we looked for these unique elements as a class. On the way home, Mark told me he could tell that some of the kids were getting into looking for the poetic devices, and he thought they will enjoy it more as they keep looking for them. I hope so. He also said that some of the kids were still complaining about the book on their way to history. On the bright side, I guess at least they are talking about a book.....
During my first couple of years of teaching, I didn't care if students liked the book we were reading or not. Maybe I still shouldn't care, but I want them to at least be able to see something laudable about each of the books. However, some people just tend to be more negative and maybe it's more important for me to teach the students how to successfully critique a book instead of making blanket statements that they don't know how to prove. If they are going to say they don't like a book, maybe I should try to help them to explain why they don't in more precise terms. I need to challenge them with questions about which story elements they feel are lacking. Or maybe I should require them to say exactly what they would change in order to make the book better. I need to work on drawing the students out more in general.
One of Kath's English teachers actually came out and said she didn't like one of the classics they were supposed to read for class. The kids said, "If Mrs. __________ doesn't like it, then it must be pretty bad." It's a classic!!! Beloved by many people, including me! I saw some posts on facebook about how horrible this particular book is, but I was encouraged to see that two or three girls were independent and actually defended the book! I was pretty disappointed in this teacher and felt that she really did the kids a disservice by coming out and saying that. Maybe she backed up her negative opinions about the book, but when I asked Katherine what her teacher said about why she didn't like this book, Kath said her teacher just said it was dumb. I hope that's an exaggeration.
Every summer, I do quite a bit of reading. I think it would help me in learning how to discuss/critique books more proficiently if I read online discussions about the book after I read it or maybe read the author's comments about the book. I've also wanted to be in a book club for a long time, too. One of my friends told me I should start one. I'll keep ruminating on that.
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