I’ve often joked that the reason I love to read dystopian/horror genres is so I have a working guide of how to survive…or at least go out with dignity.
Here is a suggested reading list of some of the novels and stories that shape a slice of my worldview. These are in no order, just impact. I’m sure I’ll think of more after I post.
And yes, I continue to attempt to be an Amazon Associate, but it’s never made me a hot nickel. The book covers are linked.
Dry teaches me how precious water is.
Bird Box teaches me how lies blind us.
Station Eleven teaches me that art and love can survive.
Shirley Jackson teaches me how to face the patriarchy and danger wrapped in tradition.
Kindred teaches me that our bodies and babies are not ours but belong to the wealthy.
Klara and the Sun taught me that robots have souls sometimes, where humans may not.
The Handmaid’s Tale teaches me men can take everything away from us under the shadow of a crucifix and bullets.
Just trying to capture some of the ideas before they fly out of my head:
Summer Reading:
Note: want to re-read Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler: I read The Handmaid’s Tale around the time it was published in 1985 and it truly scared the soul of out me: Parable was published in 1993, and many have said Atwood got so many things wrong and white-centered in Handmaid’s, and I need to look at Parable/Butler with a keener eye. And while I never read Beloved, I did see the movie, and that’s not enough. It’s long past time.
Akata Witch Novel Unit
For next year, a colleague in another building wants to collaborate with me on a novel unit for Akakta Witch by Nnedi Okorafor. Stay tuned: this is my passion and joy.
Multimodal Unit
Pst: kelly …yeah…don’t forget to save your work that you did on the multimodal PD, mkay?
My district recently adopted some more current novels, All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely among them. I’ve had this novel since its publication, and while it didn’t collect any dust, I made sure to read as much as I could. Well, now it’s time to dive in with my students. While I went rogue my first year in the district, and “taught” Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, it was the first novel my MLL students had read since elementary school. I was even fortunate enough to go hear him speak that fall and wanted to bring my students, but my principal wouldn’t approve the $200 bus fee. (Yes, I’m still salty.) Recently he saw All American Boys on my desk, asked if I had read it, and said we’re about to–he shared that he and his wife listened to it, and his wife had an emotional response. (I did mention that Jason Reynolds was the author I and the librarian went to see…in a not-so-subtle way.)
Anywho.
Here is the photo with Jason Reynolds, and he autographed copies for me, and yes, I am still over the moon to have heard him speak and meet him:
Jason Reynolds
I was thinking that maybe, just maybe, my students now can write him a letter and see if he wants to stop by our little alternative high school.
And I can’t help but think — All American was published in 2015; in YA years, this could be considered a ‘long time ago.’ But it’s tragically just as relevant and needed now in 2022. White supremacy continues to grab and hook its tentacles into every aspect of our lives, from #CRT, Women’s Health Care, police brutality, and trying to begin to heal from #COVID, Texas’s inhuman and cruel treatment of trans kids and their guardians/parents, and the absolute nightmare of the Trump years.
So — this kind of helped me see the bigger thoughts — take some time to read Ijeoma Olua
TL:DR I am wondering if folks sometimes too narrowly focus on the one thing, instead of addressing the bigger, more challenging questions/issues.
A few things I’ll weave together:
Recently had an exchange about books*
My older son told me about his friend who’s become an “anti-natalist.”
The Venn Diagram in my mind connects in the middle with “both are filled with misogyny and arrogance.” * “Exchange” is a mild word — an exchange implies a sharing of ideas and points of view. This one became personal and downright ageist and misogynistic.
“Instead of clearing his own heart the zealot tries to clear the world.“
And to be clear, zealots don’t see themselves as fanatical, uncompromising, dogmatic, or narcissistic. Their solipsism prevents others’ points of view from entering their periphery. Just as a hard-line anti-abortionist feels about the zygotes, the anti-natalists feel about having a zygote in the first place. The zealot is a tarnished paladin, who may have the law on his side, but is not interested in justice. The paradox is their crusade might be what’s necessary and needed, but sometimes they engage in bad faith and do more harm than good.
Regarding the topic of books, (which I don’t have time or energy to tackle the antinatalists today, sorry, boys, take a number), it is well understood that the many forms of censorship, self-censorship, and opinions about what texts should and shouldn’t be used in classrooms, public and school libraries, has always been a burning topic. Literally.
But: when engaging with someone who will fight to have any book in a public school library, you will lose. And what might be lost will be more than the ‘right fighter’ zealot who got his way but destroyed so much more in his wake. Librarians are being let go. Libraries aren’t even being built in public schools any longer. Too many websites are blocked. Too many books are being pulled from shelves. It takes months, if not years, for books to be approved, if at all. So when a zealot fights to put one YA book on the middle school shelves, he may be right, but the consequences will take years to clean up. And who will clean up the mess? Other (women) teachers.
Books saved my life. I am so glad and grateful things weren’t censored, and I am also kind of sad that some things I read were too pornographic for the age I saw them, and this is only because I didn’t have the context or schema. And I hope I say this clearly: it’s only a tricky area when one doesn’t provide the volume of information, guidance, and wealth of knowledge from experts in early child development. We have many great thinkers on this, including librarians, teachers, parents, doctors, psychologists, and more. People who have devoted their lives to understanding how to nurture curiosity and understanding of sexuality, sex, and a whole range of information. I mean, goodness, I had the blessing of having a mother who would answer any question, and it’s heartbreaking, unhealthy, and downright dangerous for children who don’t. And we, at least in North America, are a long way from destigmatizing sexual curiosity and removing shame from discussions about sex, our bodies, and our humanity. And #whitesupremacy takes its hold in censoring books on race, enslavement, and other historical facts. The current nightmare by white parents to ban CRT (critical race theory [which is taught in college, but ‘they’ don’t care] or Culturally Responsive Teaching is their fever-pitch response to maintain their privilege and power.)
I can feel myself about to go into a long-winded, unproductive post. We are sexual beings. We want to know about our bodies, our feelings, and if we are ‘okay.’ Our children deserve our love and kindness to help them navigate their own lives. My energies, and I can only speak from here, are to make sure consent, comprehensive sexual education, and multiple historical perspectives are taught, discussed, and open. All of this does not rest on a single book. I’ve been fighting for almost two decades to make sure evolution, mythology, creation myths, and get great middle grade and YA books are in my classroom. What I will not tolerate is the zealot telling me what I think and believe. I see that bigger picture.
What can I do? Keep buying books for students. Keep creating and cultivating a safe place to share their ideas and questions, and do my best to help them find answers that will keep them healthy.
So, I was on @NPR@MorningEdition today! Thanks to @AMartinezLA for talking with me about my novel, LAST NIGHT AT THE TELEGRAPH CLUB. And good news: I mentioned my mom in the interview and she didn’t mind! 😅 If you missed it you can catch it here: https://t.co/yoHao7uvMl
Information and ideas about this text and series, and Native American Heritage Month
Context:
This is for my own need to find some solid footing. I started at my current position during the 2019-2020 year, just beginning to use my newly minted #ELL (MLL) endorsement, year 14 of teaching (now year 16), at an alternative high school in a new district. I’ve moved so many times in my life, and one of my life skills is trying to imagine the culture and invisible rules of place so I can emotionally and professionally survive, and hopefully thrive. This school had never had a full-time ELL/MLL teacher before, and since I’ve been there the graduation rates of MLL have risen with significant numbers. I remind my insecure self that I do know what I’m doing, and how to help. Unfortunately, I cannot bottle these methods and sell them to other teachers. I am working on being intentional and controlling the results, but alas, like true science it’s an art form, and sometimes the results are not as expected, and even more powerful. Over these past few weeks, I’m working on building back relationships with colleagues, which by and large means “leave them alone.” So I continue to work alone.
My class size for ELL/ELA this year is twelve students. What I love about smaller class sizes are everything you can imagine: individual attention, crafting, and scaffolding, differentiating for interests and needs. However, I’m still expected, like I imagine most of us are, daily learning targets and success criteria, and this number, where I have no idea where it originated from, we are expected to use 80% of district-approved materials. We adopted a new curriculum for ELLs since I’ve been in this district, and while the materials aren’t bad, at this stage in my profession I’ve been “baking from scratch” for so long, this feels too pedantic and suffocating. I take heart at in our scope and sequence, which I contributed to over the summer, one unit of study is Identity and another is Culture. Those are broad and expansive topics, and I can work with that. I also want to shift toward Dr. Gholdy Muhammad’s work and Dr. José Medina’s works. Sometimes fostering revolutions are the quiet shifts and getting results, sharing the results, and then it grows.
On September 25 I attended a Native American professional development
Also, we have an amazing Native American district lead, Robin Pratt, who’s shares rich resources, this among many others. How many districts around our nation can say they have a Native American DISTRICT LEAD?
But: this is the work of the work. We excavate, research, and find what we and our students need. And I’m always honest with them about how much I don’t know, and also inquire into their experiences, too.
Organization:
I will do my best to organize these thoughts so you can find and use what you might need.
Objectives: Using a reader’s response journal and graphic novel, among other media, inquire and build contextual and historical knowledge about the past and present day. 1. Read to learn about a character and her identity, place, and present-tense life, and her journey to learn about her past and make personal connections to her place in history. 2. Write about our own experiences with our heritages –many of us don’t know family members or ancestors. This is not about direct knowledge, but imagining (historical fiction) — if we could dream about our pasts, where would we go? What might we see? Who might we talk to? 3. Listen to stories and perspectives from those who live and learn on this land we currently occupy (Muckleshoot Tribe) 4. Speak/discuss our thoughts with others in class*
*this is a domain that has been challenging to encourage students to take risks with each other
There is no shortage of factual, critical information about our history; the more I looked into my digital hoard the more I uncovered. Hopefully you can find something you can use, and begin to do this work. Now. This month. And keep it going. I’m going to hit the Publish button.
A few months ago, I made this book talk video and posted it on YouTube. I confess, I did try to find out how to pronounce words correctly, but I still goofed up.
And yesterday I received an email correcting me on a few points:
I added the email text to the video, and kept the original video because I want to share this with students this next school year. This is how we learn. One of my plans for my own learning this summer is to read more and reflect on Indigenous peoples in North America. Monise Seward and I were going to do this. I feel behind in my progress, but will show myself a little grace–I put it on my calendar for this weekend, and will continue to grow.
In the meantime, I feel so much gratitude to this teacher for helping me.
Districts and English departments are scrambling for “diverse” books–while some of us have been doing this work, time to continue and support.
I’m going into year 15 next school year, and during this time I can vouch that I continue to seek answers and strive to be a better teacher for my students. This is built on my master’s thesis, which was using engaging children’s literature–I contend this was a solid foundation for my practice. But I’m out of patience waiting for others to catch up. And I’ve encountered this request and steerage multiple times. I’m not a patient person by nature anyway, or so I’ve been told by a friend. It would be my life lesson. I’m beginning to think patience, when it comes to children and education, is highly overrated and is not, as painted, a virtue, but a sin.
We don’t have years to wait. We shouldn’t have to wait months. If you are a content creator, this is your warning. Think about your books. Blog posts. Tpt products. Go back w your new lens. What should go or be revised? And how can you be transparent about that process? https://t.co/gB0soHTklT
— Adrienne Brandenburg (@AdrienneBranden) June 22, 2020
I would add that I am here for any conversation about books, novels, problematic texts, and the approved “canon.” Districts and district leadership: I beseech you: do not make it so difficult to get great literature written by BIPOC writers in our classrooms. We don’t have time to wait.
1/Having been forced to teach it (or lose my job), I can say that this has given me a lot of thought.
White teachers: if you’re not forced to teach these texts, what reasons do you have to justify this?
As a follow up to this post, The Racist in the Classroom, I offer these resources that may help you grow and learn. Growth is uncomfortable. Growth can be filled with shame, guilt, and cringe-worthy memories. But maybe that’s just me. And I understand and accept what Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi said (paraphrasing) –this work is never done. It’s continual growth and learning. And warning: you might lose friends. You might get trolled by white ladies like this one:
This is the fifth conversation in two days where a white white woman has taken on the mantle of trolling. Circular arguments and bad-faith responses, never directly answering the question or topic at hand.
When we impeached this president, we warned that he was a dictator in waiting.
I believe now what I believed then: this president is a threat to our democracy, our families, and to us.
Finish reading White Fragility: at this point I’ve pieced together too many excerpts and need to do a deeper reading
Readings and study with critical race theory
Work with Monise S. on our indigenous studies
Work to find a multitude of resources to support my students and organize them to promote engagement, curiosity and purpose
Create curriculum for staff and students: some have already been doing this work, and some are just starting on their journey. I’ll meet them where they are.
Dig deep into STAMPED FROM THE BEGINNING by Dr. Kendi
Share a post-a-day about a resource or voice that must be heard
First assignment: understand Trump’s use of sacred religious texts and teachings to prop up and disguise his racism and violent, anti-democratic acts. Two places to start:
Understand how White Europeans used religion to justify their use of enslaved peoples.
Do not use this to justify or state “Well, African countries had slaves, too.” Knock it off.
Understand your history of your own nation.
For ten people who want to read these books, and I know you personally, email me and I’ll buy you a copy. I’m not buying these for trolls, white supremacists, or other bad faith actors.
I remember how during sophomore year, my English class read Night by Elie Wiesel while we learned about the Holocaust in World History. After we finished the book, we read the author’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech. I don’t remember the exact words, but I remember how he said something about how if people don’t speak out when something wrong is happening—wherever in the world—they’re helping whoever is committing that wrong by allowing it to happen. Our class discussed the idea, and almost everyone agreed with it, even me. At least, we said we did. Never mind the fact we all knew most of us didn’t even say shit when we saw someone slap the books out of a kid’s hands in the hallway. In fact, the most outspoken supporter of the idea during the discussion was a kid who did that kind of dumb stuff all the time and thought it was hilarious.
Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay
One of the countries I know little about is the Philippines, and I’m ashamed of this. The only thing I was aware of is the death toll from Duterte’s dictatorship, a man our current “president” admires. Well, makes sense: both are vile, sexual predators with a knack for domestic terrorism. My former student teacher, L, family is from the Philippines, as are over a hundred thousand in Washington State, and during the election year her fears for her family for supporting Tr*** were well founded. In other words: there are a lot of parallels.
But we all know these aren’t abstract headlines: the terror they inflict and promote affects our students’ lives in concrete and harmful ways. However, I am not a spoiler: so no more plot points, or character analysis. I will leave you to enjoy this masterful novel. What I will do, though, is gather and curate some of the other art and poetry mentioned in the novel, so if you decide to add this to your classroom library, these resources will be available:
Artwork:
The Spoilarium by Juan Luna, 1884, National Museum of Fine Arts, Manila
For those of us who live at the shoreline standing upon the constant edges of decision crucial and alone for those of us who cannot indulge the passing dreams of choice who love in doorways coming and going in the hours between dawns looking inward and outward at once before and after seeking a now that can breed futures like bread in our children’s mouths so their dreams will not reflect the death of ours;
Moss sat up and glanced over at Martin. “No, I didn’t! I don’t remember that at all.” Martin laughed. “Man, you were a mouthy kid,” he said. “You know you refused to sit in a booster seat?” “You’re kidding, man.” Martin shook his head. “You said you wanted a seat like all the others. You were grown, you said. So you wanted a cut just like them. And your dad supported you, too. He loved how much it annoyed me.” “Sounds like Papa,” Moss said, and he sighed. “I miss him so much.” “Me too, Moss,” said Martin, and he sighed. “Me too.” “I don’t remember that day,” said Moss. “I guess there’s a lot I don’t know.” “We all have memories of your father,” Martin said.
Oshiro, Mark. Anger Is a Gift (p. 388). Tom Doherty Associates. Kindle Edition.
Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro is a smoldering pain to fire novel: I won’t reveal any spoilers save for one: read it, and then please pay close attention to the author’s recommendations for other readings.*
Some ideas for introducing this novel, and helping students lead discussions:
The school administrators were complicit in many of the events of the novel. Consider exploring the school systems of institutionalized racism that create the deadly and damaging consequences.
Regarding the novel: What do you think happened to the school administration? What was their role in the events? Esperanza’s parents: intent versus impact discussion.
