Let’s Start a Revolution

This week we read two books and two articles:

• Revolution by Deborah Wiles

• March: Book One by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell

• “Democracy’s young heroes: An instructional model of critical literacy practices” by Vincent Ciardiello

• “Social Justice Literature and Writing: The Case for Widening Our Mentor Texts” by Emily Smith-Buster

So, as you can see, we had a pretty heavy subject to read about this week. Civil rights, social justice, protests, and racial discrimination. While I have dealt with some personal challenges this week that made me slow down and read in small sections, it actually turned out to be beneficial for me to not read all at once!

As I read Revolution, I realized that being from the south, I have actually learned a lot more about the civil rights movement and the racial discrimination our country has, than I realized. I was surprised by little, but appalled by all. I was not aware that Mohammad Ali had changed his name, been arrested, and stopped fighting to stand up for his rights as a black man. While I don’t follow sports, that is something I feel I should have known. The book, Revolution, by Deborah Wiles is a narrative story in the point of view of a young white girl and a young black boy growing up in the 1960s in Mississippi. At the times, Mississippi was one of the states that made it’s own laws, and did not cooperate with the federal laws that were being put in place. The story alternated in perspectives between Sunny (a young white girl), and Raymond (a young black boy). It also is broken up by ads and primary sources from the time period that relate to that section of the story. This book is PERFECT to read with older students, because it provides primary sources RIGHT THERE, that you can research and look into as a class as you read through the book. I plan to teach elementary aged students rather than middle school students; however, some of the primary sources are 100% appropriate to use with young students. The narrative part of this book could also be used as a read aloud for 5th/6th grade students and still be completely appropriate content-wise. For many students, it is hard to hear the things that our fellow Americans have been through and what our past fellow Americans have inflicted on others. However, it is one of the most important parts of the social studies curriculum.

As I was reading March: Book One, I realized that I had never read a graphic novel before! Sure, I have read a few short comics, but never a full book. After getting used to the structure, though, I really enjoyed the story. The sit-ins were a huge part of the civil rights movement and helped African American citizens gain equal rights. This book gives a very engaging, fun way of looking at the content. There are a few very small dialogue bubbles that use a derogatory, very cruel name for black people. While it was part of the way they were treated, it would be hard to allow even upper elementary to read this book without parent permission. While that language is accurate for the time period, it is important to stress to students that it is NOT in any way okay to use that language now.

Smith-Buster discusses in her article, “Social Justice Literature and Writing: The Case for Widening Our Mentor Texts”, that we need mentor texts for students to begin to make a change for social justice. If students are exposed to pictures, videos, books, poems, newspaper articles, etc. that discuss social justice issues, and if the teacher is able to connect those texts in a way that creates a unit of study, children can identify with the different genres and begin to discuss verbally, and in writing, their own thoughts on the issue. It is highly important for our students to becoming advocates for the social justice issues that surround them. If we do not teach students these skills, then we will end up with a population of Americans who do not know how to stand up for themselves in a respectful and positive way. Unfortunately, we have a rather aggressive population of people right now in America that do not always approach their social justice issues with respect and dignity. It is our job as educators to not only model in our own behavior the way to stand up for a social justice issue, but also through other forms of text.

Lastly, Ciardiello discusses in his article, “Democracy’s young heroes: An instructional model of critical literacy practices,” that there are five practices we can implement in our classrooms that will help students most effectively go out into the world and stand up for their cause. The five are:

(1) Examining multiple perspectives

It is important for us as teachers to help students understand that there is more than one side to every issue. Teaching students to be informed not only about their position or perspective on the issue, but also to be informed about the other side of the issue is important.

(2) Finding an authentic voice

Next, it is important to help students find their authentic voice, meaning that children should be able to voice their opinions without using their sense of power to do so. If they are one day the owner of a business, for example, they should not use that power to fight their issue, but rather use their knowledge and keep in check who has the dominant voice in the situation.

(3) Recognizing social barriers and crossing borders of separation

This is the part where the teacher begins to ask students to think about themselves as the ones who were excluded. Students can begin to see what it is like to be on that side of the issue. If they planned to fight to continue something that was keeping one group from having the same opportunities, it may give them a new light into the social barriers that exist.

(4) Regaining one’s identity

Unfortunately, many of our students will have at some point, been treated as if they are not human. They may have been called an inhumane name based on their appearance, or had something thrown at them. It is important that we teach students that that does not label or identify them in any way. As humans, we are often beaten down so much, that we begin to see only the negative in ourselves. It is often hard for teachers to know what students are feeling that way, so it is important to cover this information with all of the students.

(5) Call to service

Part of our jobs as teachers is to help children build the knowledge they will need for life after high school. Whether that be college, a career, the military, etc. Therefore, it may be appropriate to talk about the ways in which people serve others and help with social justice issues throughout the U.S. and the world. Organizations like Americorps pay some employees, and take many more volunteers to help fight against social issues. I know a young lady who now works for the youth services division of Americorp, meeting with students who need additional support and planning activities that will help them grow. She helps those students fight against stereotypes, discrimination, and self-hatred each and every day.

Overall, this week was brought a new light to the way in which I will teach about civil rights and social justice. I have never thought to bring in the idea of creating advocates out of our students. I would love to organize a field trip or activity at least once a year in which the students can serve others and make a difference in our community. It may be something as small as making crafts to send to children or older people in the hospital, but it will teach my students that helping others feels GREAT!

Resources:

Ciardiello, V. (2004). “Democracy’s young heroes: An instructional model of critical literacy practices.” The Reading Teacher. 58, 138-147.

Lewis, J., Aydin, A., & Powell, N. (2013). March: Book One. Top Shelf Production: Marietta, GA.

Smith-Buster, E. (2016). “Social Justice Literature and Writing: The Case for Widening Our Mentor Texts” Langauge Arts. 94, 108-111.

Wiles, Deborah. (2014). Revolution. Scholastic: New York, NY.