It is nice to see such a great question on the blog already.
I will be the first to admit that this memoir is graphic, but it is also real world. This is happening around the world as we speak. In my opinion, this book is no more graphic than a standard hour of prime time tv (I am thinking about the 2 hours of "Fringe" that I watched on Sunday.) Does that make it okay...certainly not...there are a lot of things on tv that I would not bring into the classroom. However, there is educational value in learning about things happening around the world. I think the "real world" piece is what makes this text challenging.
I will be the first to admit that this memoir is graphic, but it is also real world. This is happening around the world as we speak. In my opinion, this book is no more graphic than a standard hour of prime time tv (I am thinking about the 2 hours of "Fringe" that I watched on Sunday.) Does that make it okay...certainly not...there are a lot of things on tv that I would not bring into the classroom. However, there is educational value in learning about things happening around the world. I think the "real world" piece is what makes this text challenging.
I encourage you to have these conversations with your children. Talk to them about war and child soldiers. If they get to a section that is just too graphic, read it together. If you can't do that, it is okay with me if they skip that paragraph and move on...they will still get the power of the memoir.
Please give me feedback too about what I can do in the classroom too if your child is struggling with the graphic-ness. What conversations would you like Ms. Hicks and I to have with your students?
No comments:
Post a Comment