Week One Plans

Notes:

This week (March 15^th – 19^th) is my first week of taking over teaching.  I’m working with blocked Contemporary Literature classes period 1-4.  Because this week is OGT testing week it would not be a good week to observe me.  All periods are shortened and there is only class on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for periods 1-4.

Unit Cover Page

Unit Title: Women, Men, and Relationships Grade Levels: 11/12

Subject/Topic Areas: Contemporary Literature

Key Words: gender, stereotypes, relationships, research, debate,

Designed by: Jan Krueger Time Frame: 3/8/2010- 4/1/2010

School District: Westerville School: Westerville Central High School

Brief Summary of Unit (including curricular context and unit goals):

This unit follows the unit on identity.  Students have learned about the process of coming into themselves, and will now move onto learning about what happens when two people come together.  After this unit students will move into the Peace and War unit, which is what happens when society forms relationships.  The focus of this unit is gender, gender stereotypes, relationships and how those things are evidenced in literature and society.  Within this unit they will read from various short stories and articles, as well as from a novel of their own choosing in book groups.  The unit will culminate with a mini-research project and debate on gender issues today.   I’m expecting students to have their worldview challenged during this unit.  We’ll be discussing how gender stereotypes through history have influenced the gender stereotypes of today, and how those stereotypes affect the relationships between women and men.

Enduring Understandings:

Questioning is at the heart of all learning.

Literature conveys the depth of human experience, reflecting diverse cultures and common heritage.

Essential Questions:

When questing for information, who or what determines the accuracy, validity and reliability of that information?

How does understanding our differences give a greater understanding and appreciation of the commonalities of the human experience?

Student Teaching Week 1: 3/15/19

Subject Area Contemporary Literature

Title of unit (of which this lesson is a part) Women, Men, and Relationships

Lesson Title “Self-Assessment” & “Does Appearance Matter in Gender?”

Purpose/Goals

In this lesson students will self-edit and assess their own writing.  This will help them to understand what parts of their paper are present and well developed.  This will help them to learn what is valuable and important in a writing assignment.

For the reading, students will be accessing their knowledge about stereotypes of men and women in order to begin to apply their knowledge to a reading in order to make interpretations and examine the differing viewpoints that men and women have.

Objectives

I can:

• • Identify the different parts of my paper.
• • Apply what I’ve learned so far to a text, and allow that knowledge to affect my interpretation of the text.
• • Examine an idea or concept from multiple viewpoints.
• • Examine an author’s beliefs on a subject.

National and Ohio Standards

Reading Process: Concepts of Print, Comprehension Strategies and Self-Monitoring Strategies

1. Apply reading comprehension strategies, including making predictions, comparing and contrasting, recalling and summarizing and making inferences and drawing conclusions.

2. Answer literal, inferential, evaluative and synthesizing questions to demonstrate comprehension of grade-appropriate print texts and electronic and visual media.

Reading Applications: Informational, Technical and Persuasive Text

2. Analyze and critique organizational patterns and techniques including repetition of ideas, appeals to authority, reason and emotion, syntax and word choice that authors use to accomplish their purpose and reach their intended audience.

5. Examine an author’s implicit and explicit philosophical assumptions and beliefs about a subject.

Reading Applications: Literary Text

4. Evaluate an author’s use of point of view in a literary text.

8. Evaluate ways authors develop point of view and style to achieve specific rhetorical and aesthetic purposes (e.g., through use of figurative language irony, tone, diction, imagery, symbolism and sounds of language), citing specific examples from text to support analysis.

Writing Processes

6. Organize writing to create a coherent whole with an effective and engaging introduction, body and conclusion and a closing sentence that summarizes, extends or elaborates on points or ideas in the writing.

8. Use paragraph form in writing, including topic sentences that arrange paragraphs in a logical sequence, using effective transitions and closing sentences and maintaining coherence across the whole through the use of parallel structures.

11. Reread and analyze clarity of writing, consistency of point of view and effectiveness of organizational structure.

16. Apply tools (e.g., rubric, checklist and feedback) to judge the quality of writing.

Writing Applications

6. Produce informal writings (e.g., journals, notes and poems) for various purposes.

Assessment

Summative

Self-Assessed Highlighted Paper:

Students will be assessed on the thought and time they put into the assignment, as well as any constructive changes they make to their paper.

Formative

“Ugly Truth About Beauty”

Students will be writing down stereotypes they observed in Tootsie.  This will measure how much they remember about the stereotype discussion form the first day of the unit, as well as refresh their memory about what happened the week before to prepare for the reading and discussion for today.

Community Knowledge and Experience

Students will be drawing on their knowledge of stereotypes that they observe in school, their community, and society at large in order to build a basis for thinking about the texts that they’re reading.

Procedures

Self-Assess Highlighting:

1. 1. Show example of highlighted essay and explain what students will be doing, and what the different colors mean.
2. 2. Hand out papers, assignment sheet, and highlighters.
3. 3. Instruct students that if they find they’re missing something they’re supposed to be highlighting, to write it directly into their paper.
4. 4. Turn paper back into the tray when done highlighting and commenting.

The Ugly Truth about Beauty:

1. 1. Quick write on what stereotypes students witnessed in Tootsie, specifically regarding appearance.  Ask a few students to share what they’ve written.
2. 2. Pass out and read aloud “The Truth About Beauty.”  Stop occasionally to prompt for questions or discussion.
3. 3. Have a discussion comparing characters from Tootsie to the ideas expressed in “The Truth About Beauty.”

Closing Reminders:

1. 1. Tootsie Journal due on Wednesday
2. 2. Book Journal 2 due on Wednesday; remember to bring your book for Book Group.

Resources

• • Highlighters

• • Copies of highlighting assignment
• • Projector to show sample of highlighted essay
• • Copies of the reading

Applications, Connections, Extensions

Students will continue to build knowledge about stereotyping in order to be able to challenge the accepted assumptions regarding gender and relationships.  This will lead to a debate about an issue of their choice at the end of the unit.

Inclusive Instruction

The highlighting self-assessment assignment allows for students to use their visual strengths to make more sense of their writing.

Students with any level of knowledge will be able to interpret the text in their way and bring their knowledge to the class discussion.  Varying stereotyping across cultures will add an interesting and valuable aspect to the discussion.

Student Teaching Week 1: 3/17/19

Subject Area Contemporary Literature

Title of unit (of which this lesson is a part) Women, Men, and Relationships

Lesson Title Book Group and “ The Story of and Hour”

Purpose/Goals

Students will be continuing discussing their novel in their book groups.  The groups are in place to give students an additional source and perspective to learn more about gender and relationships.  The group format allows students to engage in small discussion and bounce ideas off each other.

Objectives

I can:

• • Pose and respond thoughtfully to higher-level questions.
• • Use specific examples to support my opinion.

National and Ohio Standards

Acquisition of Vocabulary

1. Recognize and identify how authors clarify meanings of words through context and use definition, restatement, example, comparison, contrast and cause and effect to advance word study.

5. Determine the meanings and pronunciations of unknown words by using dictionaries, thesauruses, glossaries, technology and textual features, such as definitional footnotes or sidebars.

Reading Process: Concepts of Print, Comprehension Strategies and Self-Monitoring Strategies

1. Apply reading comprehension strategies, including making predictions, comparing and contrasting, recalling and summarizing and making inferences and drawing conclusions.

2. Answer literal, inferential, evaluative and synthesizing questions to demonstrate comprehension of grade-appropriate print texts and electronic and visual media.

3. Monitor own comprehension by adjusting speed to fit the purpose, or by skimming, scanning, reading on, looking back, note taking or summarizing what has been read so far in text.

4. Use criteria to choose independent reading materials (e.g., personal interest, knowledge of authors and genres or recommendations from others).

5. Independently read books for various purposes (e.g., for enjoyment, for literary experience, to gain information or to perform a task).

Reading Applications: Literary Text

1. Compare and contrast motivations and reactions of literary characters confronting similar conflicts (e.g., individual vs. nature, freedom vs. responsibility, individual vs. society), using specific examples of characters’ thoughts, words and actions.

2. Analyze the historical, social and cultural context of setting.

3. Explain how voice and narrator affect the characterization, plot and credibility.

Writing Processes

6. Organize writing to create a coherent whole with an effective and engaging introduction, body and conclusion and a closing sentence that summarizes, extends or elaborates on points or ideas in the writing.

8. Use paragraph form in writing, including topic sentences that arrange paragraphs in a logical sequence, using effective transitions and closing sentences and maintaining coherence across the whole through the use of parallel structures.

16. Apply tools (e.g., rubric, checklist and feedback) to judge the quality of writing.

Writing Applications

2. Write responses to literature that:

a. advance a judgment that is interpretative, analytical, evaluative or reflective;

b. support key ideas and viewpoints with accurate and detailed references to the text or to other works and authors;

6. Produce informal writings (e.g., journals, notes and poems) for various purposes.

Assessment

Summative

Journal #2 and Write Chat:

These both function as a running record of students’ thoughts about the book they’re reading, and their ability to compose and prepare their thoughts ahead of time, and respond thoughtfully using what they’re prepared.

Formative

“Story of an Hour” Quick Write:

This will just count as a class work completion grade.  Their writing will give me a chance to see how they are making connections between the historical stereotypes and current issues in relationships.

Community Knowledge and Experience

Students will be bringing in their own knowledge of the book they’re reading along with their interests and interpretations of the text.  They will be given the opportunity to pose their own questions in order to engage in the text.

When reading “The Story of an Hour” students will be able to draw any knowledge from history that they have.  They will also be able to contribute based on their knowledge of relationships between husband and wife in general.

Procedures

Opening Reminders:

1. 1. Turn Tootsie journal into the tray.
2. 2. Take out second book journal.  If it’s not complete, students will be spending the group meeting time reading up to the required point in the book and writing their journal.  They can’t take part in the group discussions unless they’ve read and journals.  If there’s only one student available for the group meeting, they will complete the write chat on their own with the questions they developed.

Book Group Meeting:

1. 1. Have students get into their book groups and have someone get the groups’ book log folder.  I’ll be coming around to check to be sure everyone has his or her journal.
2. 2. Students will be engaging in a Write Chat to discuss the section of the book they read and wrote a journal on for this meeting.  Students will take turns posing the discussion questions they prepared in their journals, and then responding on the write chat sheet with thoughts and responses, using their journal and prepared passage for examples and support.
3. 3. Following the Write Chat student will fill out the log sheet and put all the materials back into their Book Group Folder.

Story of an Hour:

1. 1. Ask students if they know any background about husband & wife relationships in the late 1800s. If they don’t, I’ll fill them in to prep for reading the story.
2. 2. Have students get textbooks off the shelves and turn to page 358.  “The Story of an Hour.”  Read the story out loud as a class, stopping occasionally to check for understanding.
3. 3. Discussion:

• • Did Louise Mallard love her husband?
• • Do you think Chopin is blaming men, or women, or both for what is wrong with marriage?
• • Why did Louise Mallard die?

1. 4. Have students write 5-10 sentences explaining what they think would happen if this story were set in today’s time.

Closing Reminders:

1. 1. Bring books to class on Friday, because there will be some SSR time.
2. 2. Turn in quick-write response to “The Story of an Hour.”

Resources

• • Book log folder
• • Textbooks
• • Paper/pencil

Applications, Connections, Extensions

Students will continue to build knowledge about stereotyping in order to be able to challenge the accepted assumptions regarding gender and relationships.  This will lead to a debate about an issue of their choice at the end of the unit.

Inclusive Instruction

Student will be discussing a book that they chose to read with their group.  This makes it more likely that they will be engaged with their own interests.

Student Teaching Week 1: 3/19/19

Subject Area Contemporary Literature

Title of unit (of which this lesson is a part) Women, Men, and Relationships

Lesson Title SSR & “I Want a Wife”

Purpose/Goals

Both periods will have SSR time to prepare for their book group meeting next week.  Due to OGT, periods 3&4 will be cut short.  Period 1&2 will be reading “I Want a Wife” from the text in order to have another source to draw knowledge from during their additional time.

Objectives

I can:

• • Use appropriate comprehension strategies when reading.

National and Ohio Standards

Writing Processes

1. Generate writing ideas through discussions with others and from

printed material, and keep a list of writing ideas.

Reading Process: Concepts of Print, Comprehension Strategies and Self-Monitoring Strategies

3. Monitor own comprehension by adjusting speed to fit the purpose, or by skimming, scanning, reading on, looking back, note taking or summarizing what has been read so far in text.

4. Use criteria to choose independent reading materials (e.g., personal interest, knowledge of authors and genres or recommendations from others).

5. Independently read books for various purposes (e.g., for enjoyment, for literary experience, to gain information or to perform a task).

Assessment

Formative

SSR:

Students will be reading silently.  This is to give them time in class to prepare for their book journal groups.  Allowing the time for SSR give students a better opportunity to get the reading done.

“I Want a Wife” Quick Write:

This will just count as a class work completion grade.  Their writing will give me a chance to see how they are applying the stereotypes we’ve been learning about to different types of writing and thinking.

Community Knowledge and Experience

Students will be bringing in their own knowledge of the book they’re reading along with their interests and interpretations of the text.  They will be given the opportunity to pose their own questions in order to engage in the text.

Procedures

“I Want a Wife”:

1. 1. Have students get textbooks off the shelves and turn to page 569, “I Want a Wife.” Read the essay out loud as a class.
2. 2. Discussion:

• • • What’s the purpose of the essay?
  • • Why write about wanting a wife?  Why not just write about what she has to put up with being a wife?

1. • 3. Quick-Write: students brainstorm as a class some type of person that they would like to have (school appropriate please).  They can then individually come up with 5 to 10 reasons why they would find that person valuable.

SSR:

1. 1. 1. Students will either be reading their novel for their book group silently, or be writing the journal for their next group meeting

Resources

• • • Book for SSR

• • • Textbooks
  • • Paper/Pencil

Applications, Connections, Extensions

Students will continue to build knowledge about stereotyping in order to be able to challenge the accepted assumptions regarding gender and relationships.  This will lead to a debate about an issue of their choice at the end of the unit.

Inclusive Instruction

Students will be able to read and work at their own pace for their independent reading book.  During the class discussion students will be brainstorming ideas together.  They will then be able to choose an idea that they like and elaborate on it on their own, in their own way.

Socratic Seminar Questions

1. Do you think it’s important to examine the history of a minority/discriminated group?  Why?  How does the examination help or influence your vies and/or opinions? (Yoshino 15)
2. How is treat students as individuals different from being “colorblind?” (Yoshino 23)
3. Could you teach in a state with a no-promo-homo law?  How would you go about helping your questioning students? (Yoshino 46)
4. If you don’t get harassed because you are gay, but rather because someone thinks you’re gay, then why doesn’t the law stipulate protection against behavioral covering demands? (Yoshino 24 & “Am I Blue?”)
5. Powell “didn’t know” any gay people.  Do you think it’s fair for gay in the media (celebrities, politicians, public servants, etc.) to be in the closet?  Would it help, or hurt, the cause to “see blue?” (Yoshino 65, 68 & “Am I Blue?”)
6. What do you think of the suggestion that gays flaunt so much because of the oppression from the straight culture?  Do you notice this same tendency to flaunt with other minority cultures? (Yoshino 83)  Is gay marriage flaunting or covering? (Yoshino 91)
7. Is it detrimental to children to be unaware of their parents’ sexual orientation (whether they are gay or straight) and possibly be lacking a role model? (Yoshino 103).
8. Yoshino accepted his race because his parents gave him racial pride.  What if he’s experienced gay pride as a child?  Would it have lessened the turmoil?  How does this fit with you answer to the previous question? (Yoshino 123)

Final Paper: My Philosophy of Education

While considering what my philosophy of education is, I found it useful to refer to the first chapter where it outlines that, “at the very least, a coherent philosophy of education is explicit about educational goals, methods for attaining those goals, and the justifications for both” (16).  I will be addressing each of these points throughout the paper in my exploration of my own philosophy of education.  In addition, relating to Jefferson’s ideals, I will be addressing how my philosophy of education reflects how I can prepare my students “for the three major dimensions of life: as individual persons, as citizens in a democracy, and as participants in economic life who must earn a living” (47).

Horace Mann envisions schools as a public good that would represent the values and beliefs of the public, and as “an arm of the government that could achieve social change” (81).  It is difficult to determine what values and beliefs are represented, but if teachers are supposed to represent the values of a democratic culture, which I believe we are, then the ideals I will be attempting to instill in my students are those of respect for diversity, differences, and a pluralism of cultures.   This means, among many other things, respecting differing races, religions, sexual orientations, genders, ethnicities, cultures, socio-economic statuses, and disabilities.  In the English classroom I believe this goal is best achieved by reading a variety of texts from various cultures, societies, and backgrounds.  By examining these texts, and the language used in them, students can begin to understand and respect the diversity present in America, and begin to think about the choices they will have to make, as they become voting citizens in this democracy.

I want to teach my students to become lifelong learners, because with how fast technology and science is advancing today, it will be important for them to be able to remain current with the times, a task that can only be achieved if they continue their education after their schooling years.  Dewey summarized this democratic ideal as “the all-around growth of every member of society” (224).  Only by becoming a lifelong learner can one hope to continue to have a positive effect of society.

I also intend on educating my students in a way that will allow them to have the greatest number of choices in their future career and life.  Every student has the potential to go to college and excel in whatever they put their mind to, so it is my job to give them the skills they need to succeed, but it is the student’s job to choose how to use the skills they have and what direction they choose go in.  While Conant felt that “less-able” students should take a vocational track to prepare them for their inevitable entrance into the laboring, working world, I am of the mind that a teacher should “equip each young person with the knowledge and kills to choose the best post-secondary step for himself or herself, and to have the preparation necessary to succeed at that choice” (223).  While standardized testing is a reality that teachers and students must deal with at this point in time, it is only a small, if realistically important, part of a child’s education.  Teaching to the test is a trap that too many teachers fall into when they become overwhelmed with what seems to be an overfull curriculum and a hugely diverse student population.  But, as Lemann critiques, “The purpose of schools should be to expand opportunity, not to determine results” (223).  So I plan to communicate to my students the importance of passing the standardized test, because as things stand, the tests determine the number of opportunities a student is presented with.

The system of testing that has been become an integral part of American education has led to some strict accountability measures for teachers, that can distract from other goals that teachers may have in their curriculum.  I think colleagues should work together to attain these common school goals, because there is no way that one person can know all there is to know about teaching.  This is only true within a subject matter, but also across the curricula.  As an English teacher, I can benefit from learning ways to integrate math, science, history, art, music, and foreign language into my curriculum in order to help my students make more connection between the material they’re learning, and as such, help them retain it better, and do better on the standardized tests.

The student comes first in my philosophy, because they have unlimited potential, and it is a good education, laden with critical thinking skills and authentic learning experiences, which will unlock this potential.  Students learn best through activities that address their interests, and not all students are interested in the same things, or in the same way.  This means that it is important to differentiate the curriculum in order to appeal to the greatest number of students, and to help the students understand why they are learning a particular skill, and how it may apply to their goals or interests.  This can become especially important for students who don’t come from or align themselves with the dominant culture and society.  They have just as much potential to succeed, but often have very different ways of learning that need to be met.  This means that treating students equally is not necessarily the answer, but rather treating each student as an individual in an attempt to take into account and “respond to difference among students that have consequences for learning” (404).

The best way to appropriately respond to the needs of various students, especially in a secondary classroom, is to have an open communication with them.  I will be asking all of my students at the beginning of the year what their interests are, and how they learn best, and will work their responses into my planning, as well as taking time throughout the year to reevaluate and see if any of those things have changed.  It is also important remember that if a student is not succeeding in my classroom, then it is time to examine what the possible factors in the situation are, and how I can go about improving the student’s chances for success.  The Cultural Difference Theory addresses the fact that all minority cultures have a culture that is different from that of the dominant school culture, and that this mismatch can lead to difficulties for a minority student.  This is a prompting for teachers to work together to determine how to best support these students, and to welcome their insights into the classroom.  When reading multi-cultural literature in an English classroom, the students from different backgrounds can bring a more in-depth understanding to the text.  However, it will be important to emphasize that the minority students aren’t representatives of their entire culture, just as the White, dominant culture students, aren’t representatives of theirs.

My philosophy of education focuses on the students, and their ability to enact social change using the skills that I will help to provide them with.  They are all individual people, who can succeed in whatever path they choose, and it is my job to prepare them for the future, but they will ultimately be the ones to make the choices that lead them on their path.  I hope that my emphasis on democratic ideals, such as respect for all people, in the texts that we read and the critical analysis that we do with those texts, will guide my students to be active members of society who push for change and equality.

LGBT Resources (Books, etc)

Resources for Students

Elementary School Students

Elwin, R. & Paulse, M. (1990). Asha’s mums. London: Women’s Press.

De Haan, L., & Njland, S. (2002). King and king. Berkeley, CA: Tricycle Press.

Parr, T. (2001). It’s okay to be different. Megan Tingley.

Raschka, C. (1999). Like likes like. New York: DK Publishing.

Richardson, J. & Parnell, P. (2005). And Tango makes three. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Simon, N. (1990). Families: A celebration of diversity, commitment, and love. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Willhoite, M. (1990). Daddy’s roommate. Los Angeles, CA: Alyson Wonderland.

Middle School Students

Bauer, M. D. (1994). Am I Blue? Coming Out From the Silence. New York: HarperCollins.

Cofer, J. O. (1995). “White balloons” in An Island like you: Stories of the barrio. New York: Penguin Group.

Dupre, J. (Director). (1998). Out of the past [Motion picture]. United States: Unipix.

Homes, A. M. (1989). Jack. New York: Vintage Books.

Kerr, M.E. (1998). Hello, I lied. New York: HarperTrophy. (original published in 1997).

Lantz, F. (2001). “Standing naked on the roof.” In D. R. Gallo (Ed.), On the fringe. New

York: Penguin Putnam Books.

Peters, J. A. (2004). Luna. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

Rose, L. (Director). (2000). The Truth about Jane [Motion picture]. United States: Starlight Home Entertainment.

Ryan, S. (2001). Empress of the world.  New York: Penguin Group.

Watts, J. (2001). Finding H. F. Los Angeles: Alyson Books.

Wittlinger, E. (2001). Hard love. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks.

Woodson, J. (1995). From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun. New York: Scholastic.

Woodson, J. (1997). The House You Pass on the Way. New York: Random House.

High School Students

Baldwin, D., Carey,  A., Hope, T.,  & Katz R. (Producers). Kaufman, M. (Director). (2003). The Laramie project [Motion picture]. Unites States: HBO Home Video.

Brown, R. M. (1993). Rubyfruit jungle. New York: Quality Paperback. (Original published 1973).

Campo. R. (1996). What the body told. Durham: Duke University Press.

Daldry, S. (Director). (2000).  Billy Elliot [Motion picture]. England: Universal.

Dupre, J. (Director). (1998). Out of the past [Motion picture]. United States: Unipix.

Freymann-Weyr, G. (2002). My Heartbeat. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Garden, N. (1982). Annie on my mind. Farrar Straus & Giroux

Hughes, L.  (1951). Montage of a dream deferred (1^st ed.). New York: Holt.

Naylor, G. (1983). The women of brewster place. (reprint ed. June 30, 1983). New York:

Penguin (Non-classics).

Rose, L. (Director). (2004). Jack [Motion Picture].  United States: Showtime Entertainment. (DVD version: ASIN B0004z2zQ8)

Kerr, M. E. (1994). Deliver us from Evie. New York: HarperCollins.

Plum-Ucci, C. (2002). What happened to Lani Garver. Orlando: Harcourt, Inc.

Sanchez, Alex. 2001. Rainbow Boys. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Walker, A. (1992). The color purple. New York: Harcourt (reprint ed. May 22, 1992).

Walker, K. (1993). Peter. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. (Original work published 1991)

Winterson, J. (1994). Written on the body. New York: Vintage. (Original published 1992).

Yamanaka, Lois-Ann. 1999. Name me nobody. New York: Hyperion.

Resources for Teachers

Blount, J. (2005). Fit to teach: Same-sex desire, gender, and school work in the twentieth century. State University of New York Press.

Campos, D.. (2003). Diverse sexuality and schools: A Reference Handbook. Abc-Clio Inc.

Day, F. A. (2000). Lesbian and gay voices: An annotated bibliography and guide to literature for children and young adults. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Fraticelli, R. (Producer) & Fernie, L. (Director). (1997). School’s out! Confronting homophobia in high schools [Motion picture]. (Available from the National Film Board of Canada).

Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network. (2005, July 27). GLSEN: Welcome to booklink! Retrieved October 1, 2005, from

http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/educator/library/record/1736.html

Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network. (2005, June 28). GLSEN: The GLSEN training of trainers program for educators and community-based organizers. Retrieved October 1, 2005, from

http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/educator/library/record/1817.html

Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network. (2005, February 7). The GLSEN lunchbox 2, revised edition: A comprehensive training program for ending anti-LGBT bias in schools. Retrieved October 1, 2005, from

http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/educator/library/record/1748.html

Gray, M. L. (1999). In your face: Stories from the lives of queer youth. New York: Harrington Park Press.

Harris Interactive and GLSEN (2005). From teasing to torment: School climate in America, A survey of students and teachers. New York: GLSEN.

Kissen, R. M. (2002). Getting ready for Benjamin: Preparing teachers for sexual diversity in the classroom. New York: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

Kumashiro, K. (Ed.). (2001). Troubling intersections of race and sexuality: Queer students of color and anti-oppressive education. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Lipkin, A. (2004). Beyond diversity day: A Q & A on gay and lesbian issues in schools. New York: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

Lobban, Marjorie, and Laurel A. Clyde. 1996. Out of the Closet and Into the Classroom: Homosexuality in Books for Young People. Port Melbourne: Thorpe.

Mitchell, L. (Ed.). (1999). Tackling gay issues in school: A resource module. GLSEN Connecticut and Planned Parenthood of Connecticut.

National Education Association. (2002-2005). Safety, bias, and GLBT issuestraining program. Retrieved October 1, 2005 from https://www.nea.org/takenote/glbtsafe0507.html

Owens, R. E., Jr. (1998). Queer kids: The challenges and promise for lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth. New York: Harrington Park Press.

Rofes, E. (2005). Status quo or status queer. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Sears, J. T. (2005). Gay, lesbian, and transgender issues in education. New York: Harrington Park Press.

Walton, P. (Producer/Director). (1998). Gay youth [Motion picture]. Boston: AMASS Stonewall Center.

Elementary School Teachers

Cohen, H. S. (Producer) & Chasnoff, D. (Producer & Director). (1997). It’s elementary: Talking about gay issues in school [Motion picture]. (Available from Women’s Educational Media, San Francisco, CA)

Epstein, D. (2000). Reading gender, reading sexualities: Children and the negotiation of meaning in ‘alternative’ texts. In W. J. Spurlin (Ed.), Lesbian and gay studies and the teaching of English: Positions, pedagogies, and cultural politics (pp. 213-233). Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.

Letts, William J., and James T. Sears, eds. 1999. Queering Elementary Education: Advancing the Dialogue about Sexualities and Schooling. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.

Schall, Janine, and Gloria Kauffmann. 2003. “Exploring Literature with Gay and Lesbian Characters in the Elementary School.” Journal of Children’s Literature 29, no. 1: 36-45.

Sumara, Dennis, and Brent Davis. 1998. “Telling Tales of Surprise.” Pp. 197-219 in Queer

Theory in Education. Edited by William F. Pinar. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Middle School Teachers

Cohen, H. S. (Producer) & Chasnoff, D. (Producer & Director). (1997). It’s elementary: Talking about gay issues in school [Motion picture]. (Available from Women’s Educational Media, San Francisco, CA)

Hamilton, G. (1998). Reading Jack. English education, 30 (1), 24-43.

Sumara, Dennis, and Brent Davis. 1998. “Telling Tales of Surprise.” Pp. 197-219 in Queer

Theory in Education. Edited by William F. Pinar. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

High School Teachers

Athanases, S. Z. (1996). A gay-themed lesson in an ethnic literature curriculum: Tenth graders’ responses to “Dear Anita.” Harvard Educational Review, 66 (2), 231-256.

Cart, Michael. 1997. “Honoring Their Stories, Too: Literature for Gay and Lesbian Teens.” The ALAN Review 25, no. 1: 40-45. Accessed June 12 , 2003. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ALAN/fall97/cart.html.

Jenkins, Christine. 1998. “From Queer to Gay and Back Again: Young Adult Novels with Gay/Lesbian/Queer Content, 1969-1997.” Library Quarterly 68, no.3: 298-334.

Lipkin, Arthur.  1994. “The Case for a Gay and Lesbian Curriculum.” The High School Journal 77, nos. 1 and 2: 95-107.

St. Clair, Nancy. 1995. “Outside Looking In: Representations of Gay and Lesbian

Experiences in the Young Adult Novel.” The ALAN Review 23, no. 1: 38-43

Singer, B. L. (Ed.) (1994). Growing up gay/ Growing up lesbian: A literary anthology.

New York: New Press.

Unks, G. (Ed.). (1995). The Gay teen: Educational practice and theory for lesbian, gay, and bisexual adolescents New York: Routledge.

Walling, Donovan. R. 2004. “Gay- and Lesbian-Themed Novels for Classrooms Reading.”

Journal of Gay and Lesbian Issues in Education 1, no. 2, 97-108.

LGBT Themed Literature

Aarons, L. (1995). Prayers for Bobby: A mother’s coming to terms with the suicide of her gay son. New York: HarperCollins. The book tells the story of Mary Griffith grappling with her son’s coming out, his suicide, and the role of religious intolerance, including her own, in his life and death.

Bauer, M. D. (1994). Am I blue? Coming out from the silence. New York: Harper Collins. This anthology, among the first of its kind, includes fifteen lesbian and gay-themed short-stories written by some of the best authors of young-adult fiction in the field.

Babcock, J. (2002). The tragedy of Miss Geneva Flowers. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers. Erick leaves his Catholic high school and family and experiments with drugs, alcohol, sex, and gender before maturing into a confident gay man.

Bechdel, A. (2006). Fun home. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. This graphic-memoir focuses on the author’s coming out as a lesbian and coming to terms with her father’s death in rural Pennsylvania.

Capote, T. (1975/1948). Other voices, other rooms. New York: Vintage International. When Joel Knox is twelve years old he moves from New Orleans to an isolated Louisiana community where he encounters a cast of characters fitting for a southern gothic novel, in this case, a semi-autobiographical one.

Chbosky, S. (1999). The perks of being a wallflower. New York: MTV Books/Pocket Books. Written as a series of letters from the main character, Charlie, this popular young adult novel chronicles Charlie’s life in high school, including his friendship with Patrick, who is gay, and his sister, Sam, with whom Charlie falls in love.

Chopin, K. (1976/1899). The Awakening. In B. H. Solomon (Ed.), The Awakening and selected short stories of Kate Chopin (pp. 1-137). New York: Signet Classics. Edna Pontellier embodies her womanhood in unconventional ways, relative to the social norms of the late 19^th century U.S. south, by rejecting her roles as wife and mother and embracing a younger lover.

Dole, M. L. (2008). Down to the bone. New York: HarperTeen. Laura creates her own family after she gets kicked out of her Catholic high school and her family’s home because she is deeply in love with another girl.

Flagg, F. (1987). Fried green tomatoes at the whistle stop café. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company. This novel is both a love story between two women in the 1920s and the story of a burgeoning feminist in the 1980s, both in Alabama.

Goldman, S. (2008). Two parties, one tux, and a very short film about The Grapes of wrath. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing. This young adult novel is told from the perspective of Mitchell Wells, a straight high school student, as he comes to terms with his best friend’s coming out as gay.

Hartinger, B. (2003). Geography club. New York: HarperTempest. A group of high school students who feel like outsiders because of their sexual orientations form an after school club where they can socialize without being vulnerable.

Levithan, D. (2003). Boy meets boy. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. The book is about what the world might be like if homophobic values were greatly diminished and how the friendships and romantic relationships of Paul, a gay high school student, unfold in such an imaginary world.

Moore, P. (2007). Hero. New York: Hyperion. Thom Creed struggles with his special powers, his infamous father, and his sexuality in this fantasy novel.

Newman, L. (1988). A letter to Harvey Milk. A letter to Harvey Milk: Short Stories, (pp. 25-28). Ithaca: Firebrand Books. Harry, an elderly Jewish man, writes a letter to his friend the late Harvey Milk and a love story about two men in a concentration camp.

Peters, J. A. (2003). Keeping you a secret. New York: Little, Brown, and Young Readers. Holland loses her boyfriend, friends, and family when she falls in love with Cece, an out-and-proud lesbian.

Plum-Ucci, C. (2002). What happened to Lani Garver? Orlando: Harcourt, Inc. Lani Garver, a gender variant high school student, moves to the isolated Hackett Island and becomes friends with Claire McKenzie, a popular girl at the school. Lani is subject to devastating abuse.

Sanchez, A. (2007). The God box. New York: Simon &Schuster. This young adult novel is a rather didactic exploration about the relationship limitations and possibilities between Christianity and homosexuality as it is embodied by two teenage boys.

Sedaris, D. (1997). Holidays on ice. New York: Little, Brown, and Company. This is a collection of short stories related to Christmas. Many of the stories are autobiographical accounts by the out gay author.

Smith, B. (2007). Selfish & perverse. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers. An aspiring writer in Los Angeles, Nelson Kumker, and a fisherman and student from Alaska, Roy Briggs, fall in love in this novel.

Tamaki, M. & Tamaki, J. (2008). Skim. Toronto: Groundwood Books. This graphic novel is set in a Catholic girls high school in Canada and focuses on “Skim,” an Asian, goth, Wiccan who develops a crush on one of her female teachers.

Walker, A. (1982). The color purple. Orlando: Harcourt, Inc. This highly acclaimed epistolary novel centers around Celie, an African American woman in rural Georgia in the 1930s, and includes her intimate relationship with another woman.

Wallace, K. (2004). Erik & Isabelle: Freshman year at Foresthill High. Sacramento: Foglight Press.

Wallace, K. (2005). Erik & Isabelle: Sophomore year at Foresthill High. Sacramento: Foglight Press. These are the first two in a series of four books about two best friends, both of whom are gay. Erik is academic, athletic, and being raised in a homophobic household. Isabelle’s family, in contrast, is open and accepting of her lesbian identity. Across these two books, Erik and Isabelle support each other as they endure homophobia and fall in and out of love.

Watts, J. (2001). Finding H.F. Los Angeles: Alyson Books. H.F. lives with her very loving, Christian grandmother; and Bo, her best friend, lives in an overtly homophobic household in rural Kentucky. Both teenagers come to understand themselves as gay in this novel.

Winterson, J. (1992). Written on the body. New York: Vintage International. This British novel tells the love story between the narrator, whose gender is never revealed, and a married woman.

Unpacking the Knapsack of Privilege

One of the things that McIntosh talked about in her article was the “elusive and forgettable nature” of the privileges that she identified.  She points out that we are trained not to see our own privileges that are inherent in the flawed system.  I whole-heartedly agreed with that statement, though I didn’t really understand it until I’d tried to identify some of my own privileges.  It was difficult to identify things that I take for granted.  I found myself continually coming back to things that other people don’t realize about me, such as not following an Abrahamic religion, or even identifying unfairnesses that I share with a large number of people, such as being female.  It’s a lot easier to identify things that people unconsciously do against you, than to identify those things that you unconsciously do to other people.   Below is my list of privileges along with a short explanation explaining each, and why it is a privilege for me.

I can speak in my primary discourse in most situations, social or academic, and not be judged because of it.

Because I grew up in a middle-class white household with two parents who went to college and value education, the dialect I was surrounded with at home was very similar to that spoken at school.  As such, I entered school already knowing how to communicate with my teachers in the way required to excel in school.  The court case Martin Luther King Elementary School Children v Ann Arbor School District Board that is referenced by Alim affirmed that a student cannot be held back because they speak a different language or dialect than the norm expected in schools.  The problem lies in the fact that the system in inherently weighted toward middle-class whites.  Testing is written in that language, and with an assumption of already understanding that culture.  Because this bias is built into the system, certain aspects of equality can never be reached beyond superficiality.

I can hold hands with or go out to dinner or a movie with only my fiancé, pretty well assured that we will not be harassed.

Society views being in a monogamous heterosexual relationship as the norm, and as such people who are not run the risk of being harassed when they go out in public with their significant other(s).  Society’s views of what is normal in this case is perpetuated by the media, and enforced by laws.

I can watch movies or read books that focus around a romantic or sexual relationship that is similar to mine.

Every romantic comedy I can think of revolves around a man and a woman.  The article by Blackburn addresses how “queer youth are routinely ignored in literature and in classrooms” (398).  This is true not only with youth, and not only in the classroom.  All LGBTQ are marginalized in mainstream culture, making it difficult to find ways to relate.  And not only is relating difficult for this group of people, mainstream culture is not often presented with favorable views of the LGBTQ community, perpetuating the problem, and often times necessity, of blending in.

I can easily find ingredients for meals I cook.

Main grocery stores carry foods that are considered staples in my meals.  I don’t have to go to a specialty grocery store to find ingredients for food that I’m used to eating.  I make Indian food occasionally, and have a very difficult time finding some of the ingredients that are required.  Compounding this fact is the difficulty of finding the specialty stores that carry the ingredients, and the higher prices that these stores will then often charge.

I can teach, fairly well assured that no one will question my motives.

Because I am a woman teaching is one of the professions that has been considered appropriate for my gender.  This means I won’t have my sexuality called into question, because the nurturing role present in education is what is expected of my gender.  In addition, the recent fear of sexual offenders in the schools, being a woman lessens the suspicion that I am teaching adolescents because I am sexually attracted to them.

I can access stores and other buildings without much difficulty.

I don’t have a mobility disability that prevents me from getting over curbs and navigating bumps and other difficult terrain.  One of the examples I’ve found around campus is Brennen’s Café; it is not handicap accessible, having a step up with no ramp option.

I can watch basic cable TV and easily see people who look like me and represent my values.

This once again relates to mainstream media and culture.  There are specialty channels out there that cater to minorities, but they are on different packages of cable channels, costly more money, and in any case are vastly outnumbered.

I can go shopping alone and be fairly well assured that I won’t be carefully watched because of my race.

I’m not suspected of shoplifting just because I’m taking the time to look carefully at products or taking my time to read a label on something.  This is an example of something that can only be changed by working towards changing society’s views and the dysfunction system that is in place, as Jensen points out.  It is something that everyone needs to strive to actively change.

I can state my opinion and not have it misconstrued to represent the opinion of my entire race.

I am white, and as such my views are either echoed by what is seen as the norm for society, or simply as my own opinion.  I can state my opinion and it will be taken as my opinion and nothing more, no matter how well I back it up.  People will never assume that I am speaking for all whites when I make a statement of opinion.