We are currently reading "Refugee" by Alan Gratz. This is one of the most powerful books I have ever read and my students are more engaged than I have ever seen them. This book has managed to hook the few reluctant readers I had left. But, more importantly, it has opened up a conversation in my classroom. A conversation about world-wide injustice and persecution.
This week that conversation was sparked during a discussion on the word dissident. We talked about the literal translation when breaking the word apart: to cause others to not settle. First, we built background on what does it mean to settle. We listed things that we settle on every day in school, when we go shopping, at home, etc. Then, we applied it to current politics. What are laws or rules in place that we settle for, even if we don't agree with them? The kids had some great ideas to share. Each one of my classes came to the current law that was just passed in Alabama banning abortions. This allowed an easy transfer to the discussion of what we do when there is a law that we consider unjust-what can we do about it? My students shared many ideas, such as voting and protesting. That was when I connected to the three stories in our book. What are the consequences in Nazi Germany to go against, or be a dissident, to Hitler's laws? Repeat for Castro's Cuba & Al-Assad's Syria. And, then we were able to truly understand that a dissident puts everything they are on the line to fight against the unjust laws and practices in place.
This conversation fueled me as their teacher. While religion and current law issues came into conversation the focus was on understanding what we can do when these things happen. It was by far one of my favorite teaching discussions we have had with this book. We focused on our Essential Question: What are the consequences of being unconcerned with injustice and persecution around the world?Without this conversation, the following example of one student's thoughts never would have occurred. If we can't have honest conversations in class, where do they learn how to have this kind of discourse?
Who am I to take that away from them? I feel it is my DUTY to help them learn how to discuss "hot topics" such as racial inequality, abortion bans, police brutality, racial profiling, and other acts of persecution and injustice that occur around the world (and in our own country).
THEN, a student who is new to my school shared that she has always wanted to learn more about these topics, especially the persecution of Jews in Germany, but her teacher at her old school was more sensitive than me (her words) and wouldn't allow books on the topic-such as "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" by John Boyne. I cannot get this statement out of my mind, along with how happy she is to finally be able to learn, discuss, and read about these topics. My response was that we have many books on our shelves, such as "The Librarian of Auschwitz" by Antonio Iturbe, as well and she is more than happy to check any of them out.
But, the fact remains that she was told NO by a teacher who felt the topic was too "sensitive" to be discussed in the classroom. This is unacceptable. We cannot let our fear guide what we allow our students to be exposed to in the classroom. If you cannot discuss the injustice and persecution that surrounded Nazi Germany, how can you discuss current issues that our students are currently living with? And, if you say that our students are not experiencing unjust practices, in education and the outside world, then you need to open your eyes and see that they are. Every single day. And if they are not experiencing it firsthand, they are seeing images of it on social media. It is IMPERATIVE that our children learn how to respond to these problems when they come up. Discourse must occur for students to learn how to express themselves when they see something happen that they know if inherently wrong and unjust.
As I said before, my STUDENTS brought up the recent controversial law in Alabama that bans abortions. MY STUDENTS. Not me. Was I supposed to ignore it or redirect the conversation? I believe when we leave out these relevant discussions, we are in fact doing a disservice by our students by perpetuating the systemic racial and cultural bias in the system. These kids in our classrooms will become adults one day. They will be in charge of helping to select who runs our country. In turn, they will help decide what is just and unjust. So, why would we deny them the learning experiences of how to have discourse on "hot topics" and how to begin to problem-solve for solutions. Is it not our responsibility to teach them this? Or must we only teach EXACTLY what is stated in the standards for the test and ignore all else?
Note: Links provided for books & for ONE media website coverage on the recent controversy in Alabama. I suggest you research to learn more from a variety of sources & do not take my link as a "One and Done" share.
I also think Alan Gratz's books are pretty cool.