Teen Voices. Retrieved from http://teenvoices.com.
Teen Voices is an online and print publication by and for teenage girls. I was directed to this website by another online resource: Teaching Tolerance. In searching for sexual orientation resources, I was lead by teachingtolerance.org to Teen Voices and quickly realized that this publication is an essential addition to this annotated bibliography because it highlights teen authors! Within moments of arriving at this website, I found a poetry section dedicated to secret love written by teens from 14-18 years old. These poets authentically depict the trials of first loves- that are often unrequited- and so innocently describe how the lust takes over the brain. Similarly, Teen Voices includes a feature article section on relationships.
Teen Voices is an engaging and interactive space for teenage girls to articulate their feelings, dreams, concerns and knowledge. The texts present on this website are extremely enticing for young people because readers can leave comments on every page, thus, engaging in a discussion around the issues and artistry of other teenage writers. Teen Voices also acts as a real world audience in that teens can submit work for publication. Therefore, in the secondary classroom, you might extract articles or poems from this site as supplementary texts in a unit that would benefit from authentic, contemporary teenage voices. Even more, add this website to your list of online homes for public publication of student work. Finally, the Teen Voices organization was born out of a social justice concern among women. In this way, Teen Voices could be used as a model for a social action project in which students create a website, mission, statement, and publication for a personal social concern.
Busby, C (ed.). (2008). First Kiss (Then Tell). New York, NY: Bloomsbury U.S.A. Children’s Books.
First Kiss (Then Tell) is a nonfiction compilation that documents the big event: the first kiss! Great young adult authors like Nikki Grimes, David Levithan, and Naomi Shihab Nye contribute short stories, poetry, illustrations, dramatic scenes, quotes and lists that touch on the magical, yet awkward, first kiss moment that usually occurs during adolescence. There’s something for every learner with male and female authors alike who cover both heterosexual as well as homosexual identity development in the context of a first kiss. The book itself makes text to text connections, for example, in Paul Ruditis’s “Improvisation”, a dramatic reenactment of a scene between Romeo and Mercrutio, the two characters actually fall in love with each other. Drawing upon film connections, various lists are integrated throughout the book including: “Kisses on the Silver Screen”.
Any teen struggling to understand her sexuality will enjoy this quick read. First Kiss (Then Tell) would make a great addition to a classroom library, and certain sections, poems, comics, and or lists could perfectly supplement and make contemporary a core text that involves issues of sexuality- “Romeo and Juliet”, for example. The text can also be used to introduce a genre study as these authors took a single idea or story, the first kiss, and depicted it through multiple modes. Each section is so short it could be implemented as a warm-up activity or a ticket out the door in regards to text to text connections with a core text, as part of a unit on poetry or a graphic novel, or simply as a fun activity for teens who most likely spend the majority of their time wondering about sexuality anyway.
Chbosky, S. (1000) The Perks of Being a Wallflower. New York, NY: MTV Books/Pocket Books.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower brings to life Charlie’s voice through a series of letters to an anonymous recipient. The book opens with painful details of Charlie’s best friend’s suicide just before these two boys enter high school. From the start the reader can discern from Charlie’s sensitive language that he is not a typical teenage boy, but a reflective and mildly depressed individual. Starting high school arouses issues of belonging, and Charlie finds his way into a group of friends who support his love of writing, reading, and music. In this group of friends, one senior, Sam, particularly catches Charlie’s eye and he falls for her, learning first hand the heartache of unrequited love. This love story unfolds among other issues of drug experimentation, teenage pregnancy and abortion, and homophobia.
Teens gravitate toward this universal story of the tribulations of adolescence. Teenage sexuality plays a particularly central role and any teen struggling to cope with first loves will find solace in the varied experiences of teenage sexuality presented in this novel. Not only does Charlie love Sam who loves an older man, but Charlie’s best friend secretly dates the quarterback on the football team, who maintains a girlfriend for show. Even more, Charlie’s sister allows her boyfriend to abuse her and later aborts his baby. When Charlie finally finds himself in Sam’s loving embrace, memories of blocked out childhood molestation surfaces forcing Charlie into the hospital. Thus, this story is well worth the read as there is something for every teen to relate to, and the format of the book might inspire young people to keep a journal or write letters, like Charlie, to similarly explore experiences and feelings.
While I most likely would not recommend using this novel as a whole class text given the difficult and often graphic nature of many of the scenes, I would suggest using parts or all of it as a supplemental text or even in literature circles. The book covers teenage sexuality quite thoroughly, but also addresses family issues, social acceptance, peer pressure, and other universal themes that might arise across your curriculum. Because the book is broken down into letters, these short, poignant pieces of literature are perfect for incorporating into another unit. If you know your students well enough and have carefully cultivated a classroom community, certainly consider this text if you’re encouraging students to experiment with journal/letter writing as this text could act as an engaging model. Maybe even invite students to first write back to Charlie before asking them to write about themselves. Writing with vulnerability like Charlie’s takes a great deal of personal reflection that many students may not be ready to explore. Anther activity to consider for the secondary classroom would be a life soundtrack. Charlie loves to make “mix tapes” for his friends and often the most significant moments in his life that he chooses to capture in writing are paired with significant songs. Asking students to make their own mixed tapes could be a fun way to get to know them better and initiate a conversation about text to self connections upon which to build literacy skills. The possibilities are endless.
4. Dayle, K. H. (Producer), & Dannelly, B. (Director). (2004). Saved. [Motion picture]. USA:
United Artists.
The Christian Jewels: Mary, Hillary, and Veronica, enter their senior year of high school as best friends and Christian Fundamentalists. Pure in every other way, Mary’s life is turned upside down when her boyfriend, Dean, admits that he thinks he’s gay. In response to this shocking news, Mary has a vision of Jesus telling her to “save” Dean from his homosexuality. She decides to offer up her virginity for the cause, believing that Jesus will restore her purity. It doesn’t work. Dean’s parents find gay pornography beneath Dean’s bed and send him away to Mercy House, a Christian treatment center. Meanwhile, Mary realizes that she is pregnant from her sacrificial act to “save” Dean. This series of events diminishes Mary’s faith and therefore, she is ostracized by the Christian Jewels. Other socially ostracized students, Cassandra and Roland, welcome Mary into their ranks and commiserate with her over religious skepticism. Many school pranks and fights later, a romance buds between Mary and Patrick, the son of the school’s principal, Pastor Skip, who is warned by his father to stay away from her. Meanwhile, Pastor Skip confronts his love interest, Lillian- Mary’s mom, and demands that she send Mary to Mercy House. Lillian decides to send Mary away to maintain her relationship with Pastor Skip. In the end, Mary and Dean are reunited at the prom where Dean is surprised by the pregnancy. The events of the evening cause Mary to go into labor and in her hospital room, the viewer learns through a voice over that the birth of her baby restored Mary’s belief in a God – maybe not the same judging God in whom she previously believed – but a God none the less.
This film is rated PG-13 and includes some foul language so careful screening is required prior to use in the classroom as a whole class text. The issues presented, however, reflect the universal struggles of adolescence. Along the same vein of True Believer, “Saved” addresses the intersection between religion and sexuality. Analyzing the film through such lenses could build those critical thinking skills around an accessible, contemporary text in preparation for applying those lenses to a more complex or classical text. Further, “Saved” sheds light on the interplay between sexuality and social status as discussed in some of the print based texts in this annotated bibliography such as The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Freak. You might even apply a disability lens given that Roland uses a wheelchair, and Mary’s pregnancy seemingly disables her from engaging fully in her senior year experience. This over the top movie constructs teens in very distinct ways that would help you discuss constructions of the norm. Further, storyboarding a scene from this movie could warm students up for storyboarding their own narratives of adolescence. The cast and the universal issues addressed should engage even the most reluctant students and could launch a discussion/storyboard activity about classroom/school culture and how that culture contributes to or detracts from learning so that you can better foster your own classroom culture to facilitate learning.
5. Pixley, M. F. (2007). Freak. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Marcella Pixley’s first novel, Freak, tells a coming of age story about Miriam, a seventh grader silently suffering from peer torment in her small town school. Miriam’s eccentric parents appreciate their daughter’s distinctive artistry in writing poetry and reciting Shakespeare, and yet these characteristics draw negative attention to Miriam at school. When the reader meets Miriam, she has metaphorically lost her best friend and sister, Deborah, to high school where Deborah cares more about popularity than protecting and standing up for Miriam, or as her peers have labeled her, Freak. Deborah especially distances herself from the close relationship she used to foster with her sister when Artie temporarily moves into their home. A hunky senior and popular drama star, Artie falls for Deborah, and this shatters Miriam’s heart. Miriam’s attempts to attract Artie are heartbreaking and once Deborah’s friends catch Artie and Miriam rehearsing Shakespeare together the tormenting begins. To protect himself, Artie spreads rumors about rather vomiting than kissing Miriam, and the junior high watermelon girls exploit this information to horrify Miriam in front of her entire class. Without any support from family, Miriam takes drastic measures to deal with the pain of not only losing her first love to her very own sister and listening to the sounds of too young intimacy through the walls of her bedroom, but also being reminded of her appearance and rejection every day at school. The name, Freak, physically materializes as Miriam cuts her hair and eyebrows off in attempt to make herself more beautiful.
In the end however, Miriam grows into herself and acts with moral integrity to help one of the most previously vicious peers out of a tough sexual situation. My targeted audience will love this book because Miriam’s story takes place at the intersection of teenage sexuality and social/peer issues: arguably the two most prominent influences in young adult life. The popular girls even attack Miriam’s sexuality in ways that align homosexuality with social exclusion. One of those very same girls is saved from rape by Miriam in the last few pages of the book. In this way, Pixley weaves sexuality throughout this story, and the reader is privy to the pain of Miriam’s rejection, the exuberance of Deborah’s requited first love, and the awkward guilt of first intimacies. This short text would probably best be suited for literature circles. I’m not sure it warrants full class attention; however, the issues presented would definitely engage readers and spark interesting conversations about sexuality: how it transforms into a tool for ridicule, a tool for social climbing, etc. Similarly, Miriam could model poetry writing practices if you’re working on a poetry unit. Specific passages describe Miriam’s thinking as she processes the words she hears in conversations into poetry. Lastly, consider a re-write the ending activity for this piece so you can discuss whether students agree that Miriam did the right thing by helping Jenny, one of her predators, and would they do the same.
6. Wittlinger, E. (1999). Hard Love. New York, NY: Simon & Shuster.
The subtitle of the book, Hard Love: not your typical love story... says it all. In this coming of age story, Wittlinger introduces the reader to John Galardi, a high school senior still grieving and dealing with his parents' divorce. John falls in love with zines to escape the pain he feels seeing his mother grow closer to a new man, and John's real father provides little emotional support. The story begins when John meets the author of his favorite zine, Marisol, "a self-proclaimed 'Puerto Rican Cuban Yankee Lesbian' " high school student. She similarly struggles with her parents, but in regards to acceptance of her sexual orientation. Their relationship helps both teens come to terms with who they are and how they define love. John permits his feelings for Marisol to transform from friendship into a crush and deals with the pain of rejection. That he lets himself care for her, however, awakens the desire to heal the rifts in his family relationships and to let himself be vulnerable and love again.
Wittlinger plays on John's love of zines to incorporate various genres of writing including letters and poetry into this contemporary love story. Such a variety of genres centered on the universal trials of adolescence should engage young readers and model the ways writing can serve personal fulfillment. You might invite your students to begin a multi-genre journal to maintain throughout the year that incorporates poetry, letters, fake interviews and the like to promote personal growth through literacy. In contrast to other texts in this annotated bibliography that explore the intersection of sexuality and religion, this text might best be critically analyzed at the intersection of sexuality and gender. You might your develop your students’ critical reading skills by encouraging students to compare various character actions and attitudes with their respective sexual orientations to deconstruct society’s proposed gender norms. In this way, students learn to read their worlds as they learn to read an engaging text that deals not only with teenage sexuality but gender, family, and other young adult issues.
7. Wolff, V. E. (2001). True Believer. New York, NY: Atheneum.
In Wolff’s True Believer, fifteen year old LaVaughn falls head over heels in love for the first time. As if the emotional rollercoaster of first love is not tough enough, LaVaughn struggles against poverty to earn good grades and attend college. Her single mother has accumulated college savings little by little throughout LaVaughn’s life to demonstrate the importance of education and bluntly reminds LaVaughn of what her life will be like if she gives up. This beautiful novel written in prose eloquently contrasts an environment wrought with violence, metal detectors, guns, and teenage pregnancy with the personal motivation of a young, intelligent, and curious girl. When a childhood friend, Jody moves back into her apartment building after years of separation, LaVaughn’s heart stops, she can barely speak when she finds herself near him in the elevator, and her thoughts more often than not trail off into a fantasy world where they are married with children. Jody accompanies LaVaughn to the school dance and asks her to go swimming with him, but the reader questions until the end of the novel whether he feels romantically for LaVaughn. LaVaughn is devastated to discover that Jody is in fact gay and responds by shutting him out completely. Though, the denouement resolves the tension: LaVaughn comes to terms with his sexuality, rekindles her friendship with him, and is able to move on feeling confident in herself and her friendships.
Teens will devour this text because of the universal struggle LaVaughn faces through her first experience with love. In discovering her sexuality, LaVaughn confronts her best friends’ commitment to chastity as members of a cult like faith and decides for herself how she feels comfortable expressing these new feelings. Not only that, but the prose format definitely attracts “reluctant” and “active” readers alike. In fact, I propose that if used in the classroom, teachers could specifically pair the text with writing experimentation with prose. Students could select significant passages and discuss what kinds of language (repetition, imagery, etc) Wolff employs to make that section stand out. The style and nature of the story also make it ideal for adapting into a play. Groups of students might take various sections to adapt into scenes and, in turn, improve dialogue writing skills. Interestingly enough, an influential presence in LaVaugn’s life is her grammar teacher whom she studies with after school as part of a school wide initiative. In this setting, she and her peers learn grammar through drills. While we are told not to teach grammar in such a manner, these students seem extremely motivated. Therefore, this text could provide a jump off point for class generated list of possible ways to learn grammar rules as part of a constructivist classroom setting. Similarly, the connection between proper grammar and getting into college could spark an interesting class discussion about language and the relationships between dialects and social class or race. Overall, there are lots of interesting and beneficial ways this touching text can be incorporated into the secondary classroom.
No comments:
Post a Comment