{"id":10001,"date":"2018-04-09T13:04:27","date_gmt":"2018-04-09T18:04:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/?p=10001"},"modified":"2018-04-09T13:04:42","modified_gmt":"2018-04-09T18:04:42","slug":"teaching-character-through-literature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/2018\/04\/09\/teaching-character-through-literature\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching Character Through Literature"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"EnglishAn extended <\/em>MPA Now interview with founding faculty member, Anne Devout Atchison.<\/em><\/p>\n

Why is teaching character through literature so effective?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because good literature touches our souls. Yes, reading makes us better, but it also makes us human. Take fiction, for example. Good novels give us examples of what we should and shouldn\u2019t choose, what we should and shouldn\u2019t want, and who we should and shouldn\u2019t be. We\u2019re in a safe space to test our own morality, wonder about our own grit, and practice our own choice-making as stories unfold and we discover what characters are truly made of. In a novel, no one is actually betrayed, no one is literally defeated. It\u2019s just make-believe, right? Let\u2019s face it, most of our life is ordinary. But when we read fiction, we have the opportunity to practice discernment and discrimination and exercise our decision-making muscles, so we are ready when our ordinary life gets disrupted by the extraordinary. And in those moments and in those circumstances, it\u2019s like we\u2019ve already been there. We\u2019re not as surprised and we\u2019re not as afraid because we\u2019re not rookies at these emotions anymore. Now it\u2019s our turn to see what we\u2019re made of.<\/p>\n

Since good fiction presents us with opportunities to show how characters defeat those worst-case scenarios, maybe, just maybe, there is hope for us as we boldly approach our own life challenges. Just like sports practices condense and isolate game skills to prepare us to face the expected and unexpected, so does a good story. When we meet obstacles, we\u2019ve been there: we\u2019ve pre-visited, we\u2019ve practiced, and we\u2019re better equipped when adversity is thrown into our game. Because we\u2019ve been there before with the characters in the story, now it\u2019s the story\u2019s turn to be there for us. Certainly, the best authors put us in positions to judge\u2014and we embrace the opportunity. But let\u2019s be honest. What makes all good literature\u2014novels and short stories and drama and poetry\u2014so deliciously dangerous is the courage it takes to grapple with three questions: What do we really believe? What are we made of? and Who are we?<\/p>\n

What is your favorite piece of literature to teach that has strong character undertones? How do you teach it? What grade level do you teach that to and why does it resonate so well with students at that age?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s impossible for me to choose my favorite piece of literature to teach since they are interwoven. In my seventh and eighth grade English classes, literature in the form of inspirational poetry, provocative short stories, and formative novels work together to teach character. If I consider only eighth-grade novels, for example, from \u201cMaus\u201d (Art Spiegelman\u2019s Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel), students learn not just to look but to see. From \u201cTo Kill a Mockingbird,\u201d they experience what it\u2019s like to walk in another\u2019s shoes by practicing imagination and empathy. And from \u201cThe Odyssey,\u201d they discover ways to face and defeat their own monsters.<\/p>\n

Author Neil Gaiman once wrote, “Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.\u201d And nowhere do eighth graders have to consider how they can battle their own monsters than when they read \u201cThe Odyssey.\u201d Yes, wrestling with the challenging reading is a monster in itself, but our hero Odysseus is also far from your ideal protagonist. Though he knows what he wants\u2014to return home to his beloved wife and son following his battle in Troy\u2014not only do terrible things happen to him, but he also gets in his own way. Eighth graders can relate to this. It\u2019s fourth quarter, and the transition from Middle School to Upper School is their call to adventure, the next step in their hero\u2019s journey. They\u2019ve had enough life experience to understand that while some challenges are of their own volition, others are out of their control, and at some point, they, too, may have to face the unimaginable. So, when following his journey to the Underworld Odysseus becomes despondent, eighth graders can empathize. This forces the question in their own lives: How can we pick ourselves up when we face the profound and painful passages of life? Together they respond, share, and imagine ways to climb out of deep pits of despair, and they discover things about each other they didn\u2019t know before, uncover possibilities, and realize they don\u2019t have to climb alone. Yes, there are tears sometimes, and yes, they rejoice in each other\u2019s victories, but year after year, eighth graders come to a similar conclusion: We can and should be there for one another. Dragons can be beaten.<\/p>\n

What do you want our community to know about your approach to teaching character through literature?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tacked up in the front of my room is: \u201cThe goal of seventh and eighth English class is to pay attention and take care to use your words well with confidence, competence, and relentless compassion.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is an overwhelming amount of literature that forwards my classroom goal and promotes character, so how do I choose what to teach? Honestly, it\u2019s an agonizing process. Character can (and should) be taught by tackling difficult issues through compelling and sometimes controversial literature. I need to choose literature with appropriate exposure that confronts injustices without sacrificing hope. It is strength of character that protects innocence, builds resilience, and clarifies beliefs, purpose, and identity. When your children\/my students reach beyond their capacities and respond beyond anything I imagine, I know who the real teachers are. I am a better person when I learn from my students. Thank you for sharing your amazing children with me.<\/p>\n

Though there are different purposes and reasons behind each piece of literature I select, here are my criteria:<\/p>\n