Origins
I am fortunate to teach in a district which supports choice in all aspects of its English/Language Arts curriculum. Our students must take English 9 and English 10 but then are given a wide array of Upper-level English Electives to choose from. We offer over sixteen different electives ranging from Modern World Literature to American Protest to Myth in Literature. The Counseling Department’s course catalogue, the Decisions Bookprojects courses two years in advance so rising Juniors can chart their entire English path through to graduation. Though most courses are offered only once during a two-year cycle, due to its popularity, Ethics & Existenceappears every year:
Through a variety of classic and contemporary literature, as well as current articles, this course explores significant ethical, moral, philosophical and aesthetic questions. On what principles do characters make their important life choices? How do their choices influence our own? Authors such as Kurt Vonnegut, Edwidge Danticat, Henrik Ibsen, Cormac McCarthy, and Mohsin Hamid, among others, will help us address these questions.
Our English Department believes in offering choice to its faculty as well. We all teach either English 9 or 10 as well as at least one Upper-level Elective. In my first year, I was assigned two sections of English 9 and in my second semester, I was assigned Ethics & Existence. My more seasoned colleagues told me I had received a plum assignment. It’s a fun course with great texts and big questions. Along with my course assignment, I received a set of curricular goals, a book list and a list of writing requirements for the course, but the nature of how I was to teach these texts and the underlying philosophies was left entirely up to me. I am cognizant of the luxury I am afforded to create my own pathway through a curriculum, but at times, the expansiveness of choice can be paralyzing. Where to begin? Working with my Instructional Specialist, I chose my texts, designed my units, created my scope and sequence, and decided which philosophies to teach alongside the texts. My students loved the books, engaged with the writing and critical analysis portion of the course, but they were bored out of their gourds with my philosophy slide shows and lectures. When I was assigned to teach Ethics & Existence again, I knew my selected texts were strong and the writing assignments solid. I needed to make sure my philosophy instruction was up to snuff. I knew I needed to call in some support. Luckily, I have my own version of the Bat-signal. I rang up my friend from my grad school days at Teachers College, Shawn Adler (whose articles you’ve no doubt enjoyed these past few weeks.)
Philosophies Assemble!
Like most great ideas, our unit was born in the unlikeliest of places: the parking lot of an IKEA in New Jersey. We had been talking about our respective teaching assignments for the upcoming year and I mentioned the fact that I was once again teaching Ethics & Existenceand was hoping to be able to teach the philosophy in a move vital way. I knew Shawn was a big Marvel fan, and I wanted to pick his brain about merging the two to uncover the philosophy behind the mask in order to differentiate instruction. The MCU was often referenced in class during student discussions. Why not invite that personal connection and authentic engagement in from the beginning? Shawn has created (with a minimal amount of my input) a magnificent, elegantly accessible, and engaging unit. As far as superhero origins stories go, being born in a parking lot isn’t too shabby.
Into Action
I’ve implemented our Superhero Philosophy into my course this year to great effect. The students appreciate the bright colors, the fun graphics, and the clear language of the slide shows. The activities are engaging, utilizing Total Participation Techniques which require students to work independently, in small groups, as well as in whole-class activities. The turn-key accessibility of the lessons makes planning easy, and their structured scaffolding allow for flexibility within a unit’s structure. My sixty or eighty-minute periods can allow for philosophy and traditional English skill instruction in the same lesson. The lessons are still in their infancy. Putting them on their feet in the classroom is truly the only way to test their legs, to see if they flow as intended and to adjust and shift as all good lessons should be based on the students in front of us. My district has purposefully re-designed our learning spaces to create maximum flexibility and to encourage student engagement. These lessons lend themselves to this educational shift.
Stoics Among Us?
Edwidge Danticat’s 2004 novel, The Dew Breaker is a series of intertwined short stories, which the reader must fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Danticat’s concise and luminous prose invites the reader into the emotional aftermath of the atrocities in Haiti for the victims as well as some of the perpetrators. Many of the characters survive on only what is essential, some by choice and others by circumstance. While exploring the history of Haiti and the Duvalier regimes for context; teaching Stoicism provides a platform for the students to understand the myriad difficulties the characters had to endure. Many of the characters are Stoics in all but name which means an introduction to Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus is appropriate.
Following the Superhero Philosophy template, as a Do Now, students were asked to reflect on those things which were NOT ESSENTIAL in their lives such as things they knew were nice to have but ultimately weren’t required for what they considered living. The prompt on the board read: “What could you live without? What’s in your life but is unnecessary? Eliminate that which is not essential. Respond.” A two minute quickwrite followed by a four minute share out in small table groups of four, which ended with a few volunteers sharing out to the whole class. This structure is a classic example of the Ripple, a Total Participation Technique (or TPT) which provides engagement for all students in different modes of responding and conversation. Students were eager to decide what was superfluous in their lives. “Ms. Mitchell, I could TOTALLY go without the chocolate muffins in the caff every morning!”
The next step was to turn the tables and determine that which was ESSENTIAL to living. This time it was ninety seconds. “What’s ESSENTIAL to you?” as a prompt on the board, accompanied by furious typing. I asked students to then identify their “A-number-one-top-choice.” We then stood up, and Networked for ninety seconds. The only conversation allowed was the sharing of our MOST ESSENTIAL element. This TPT is a quick and easy way to activate students’ learning through movement and to encourage conversation between students who don’t often chat with one another. I was comfortable asking students to Network with this topic as we had spent about five weeks together and had created a strong sense of community and trust. I knew this might be challenging but not untenable for some.
After three rounds of Network conversations, we moved on to the Mini-Lesson slideshow introducing Stoicism. We examined and discussed the concept of Negative Visualization and I introduced a few quotes from Epictetus and asked students to unpack and discuss the quotes in groups of four. I then asked them to see if they could think of any chapters from The Dew Breaker which connected to the quote or the concepts we’d discussed that day. (This work carried on into our next few lessons. We would use tenets of Stoicism as a critical lens into the world of The Dew Breaker.)
As the class began to wind down, I revealed to the students the application of their exploration that morning. I asked them to again identify their MOST ESSENTIAL element of living to their group. I then presented them with their assignment: to attempt to go without that MOST ESSENTIAL element for 24 hours. One day. Beginning either in class, or the next morning and to DOCUMENT the experience in writing before, during, and as a reflection in their Writer’s Notebooks. They would then submit their pieces upon the completion of their 24 hours of self-imposed denial. Needless to say, some students were excited, there were a few audible groans, and a few said, “Ms. Mitchell, I’m going to utterly fail at this…just FYI.” A few students decided to begin that moment. One, in particular passed me a note as we were dismissing asking me to write him a note for his teachers as he had given up speaking for 24 hours. I happily wrote the note.
I’m Batman…
Cell phones, chocolate milk, sex, listening to music, ‘I couldn’t decide so I ended up not giving up anything’, snack food, speaking…were all foregone (or not) for 24 hours. The reflections were lovely pieces of informal-yet-well-considered writing. The vast majority of my Juniors and Seniors utterly failed in their attempts at self-denial — they chalked it up to habit, to peer pressure, to subconscious addiction, to “being sixteen and lazy.” As an adult observer, this exercise is a lovely window into what our students genuinely value and leads to authentic voice in written reflection. Overall, though, my favourite takeaway was when my non-speaker arrived in class the next day, with thirty minutes to go. He’d successfully kept it up through the school day, through track practice, and a student-led meeting. His classmates were beyond proud and regaled me with tales of his silent journey and their abject failures. Class carried on, and at one point during a whole-class share out, I posed a question, and called on a student who was always in the mix. As he began to speak, the entire class erupted in cheers. My silent student had reached his 24-hour mark. At dismissal, as I congratulated him on his successful completion of his 24 hours, he politely interjected, “Twenty-four hours and eight minutes.”
An idea born in a New Jersey parking lot created a classroom superhero — not a bad day’s teaching.
Allison Mitchell
Allison Mitchell studied Acting and Dramatic Literature at Bennington College. She received an MFA from York University in Toronto. She has been an actor, director, and has taught drama around the globe. Inspired by young actors’ relationship to devising theatre and textual analysis, she shifted focus and received an MA in Secondary English Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. Allison is passionate about encouraging students to find authenticity in their voice, while combining a deep study of literature with kinesthetic learning. She is a teacher at Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua, New York. You can find her on Twitter: @mitchellHGHS
