Chapter 1 Teaching Native American Literature: Reflections and Responsibilities

In this chapter, Goebel presents a series of questions that all teachers must ask before they introduce Native American literature into their classroom.  The questions are grouped into sections such as, “Why do you want to teach Native American Literature?”, “How should I select appropriate Native American Literature for the classroom?”, and “What are my responsibilities in the classroom when teaching Native American Literature?”.

The most important piece I took from this chapter is the re emphasis on the idea that, “…educators need to do some serious self-reflection about their own motives and beliefs” (3).  If I were to start using Native texts just because my students are Jicarilla Apache, I would be way off the mark on what I could actually accomplish.  My motivations have always been rooted in exposing my students to the stories of their cultural ancestors as well as stories from other tribal groups in the area.

By introducing other tribes’ stories, a discussion could occur to show that though they are unique individuals growing up in Dulce, they are not alone on this reservation, and there are similar themes among the stories groups of people throughout the country.

An issue that I can see going forward with this book is its intended audience.  The author appears to be writing this guide for teachers of non-Native students, who want to introduce Native American literature into their classrooms.  In this first chapter, Goebel spent time reiterating the point that a teacher must first understand a culture before introducing their literature.  This is my 5th year in Dulce Elementary and I do not claim to be an expert on the cultural history on the tribe.  I do feel that through my interactions with the tribal elders and various community members that I may accurately align literature to the needs and beliefs of my students.

Introductions

     First, thank you for taking the time to read these entries.  I am looking forward to your comments, concerns, criticisms, whatever it is that you would like to share with me.  This is a blog that I have used for two previous courses.  I included a picture of the cover of the book as a guide point for you to know that anything below the picture is from another class.

     For the past five years, I have lived and worked on the Jicarilla Apache Reservation in Dulce, NM.  My first four years were spent as a first grade teacher and this year I have moved up to the 'big kids hallway' and am teaching third grade.  I am originally from Pittsburgh, PA and come from a family of Irish immigrants.  Though I have lived in the community for a number of years, I will always be a cultural outsider. 

     Part of my overreaching goals as a teacher is to try and include as much culturally relevant and appropriate materials into my reading instruction.  This has proved to be a difficult task to undertake.  As the author of my text Bruce A. Goebel states in the introduction, "...crossing cultures is not always easy" (xi).  It is difficult but I  feel that it is necessary.

     I chose this text in the hopes of gaining insight and understanding about how Native American literature can be viewed from an instructional standpoint not only for myself, but for y students own cultural understanding.

     As the reading teacher for three third grade classes, I have been struggling with meaning making this first 9 week period because we utilize what I consider to be inconsiderate texts (citation to follow).  Before I can even begin to introduce the Common Core skill of the instructional period, I must first activate background knowledge that doesn't always exist.

     It is my hope that at the end of this book I will have a better understanding of how to utilize Native texts  in my instruction as well as developing some tips and tricks as to introducing m students to the aesthetic side of reading.

LLSS 528 - Studies in Reading and Literature for Teachers

Conclusions

Afterword by Jeff Rovin

               This brief, two page, conclusion attempts to wrap up the major points made in the collection of essays about the Batman TV show.  I feel as if I must bring some closure, albeit brief, to this blog.  Looking back through my previous posts, I find one common theme jumping out at me, the influence that we allow digital media to have over us.  It is neither a positive, nor a negative issue, but when we sit down in front of the television, or log on to our favorite websites, we are looking to escape in some way the everyday hustle and bustle.  Though we submit to media repeatedly throughout the day, we have the choice to not let it consume or control us.  Our students who were born and raised in this era need direct instruction and modeling on how to separate the fantasy from reality while maintaining fluency in all aspects of their lives.

Jumping the Bat-Shark: The Demise of Batman and "Some Days You Just Can't Get Rid of a Bomb ": The Legacy of Batman

Jumping the Bat-Shark: The Demise of Batman by Will Murray

               At the completion of this essay I must inevitably file it under, ‘interesting for a Batman fan, irrelevant for the digital culture of today’.  The entire essay focuses on the last season of the TV show and how due to budget cuts, suffered a slow and painful descent into ridiculous obscurity.  At the writing of this blog post, I am having difficulties drawing parallels or similarities with digital texts that are available today.  As an outsider looking in on the digital natives culture, I have a difficult time seeing an end to the culture that has been created around digital texts and media.

"Some Days You Just Can’t Get Rid of a Bomb”: The Legacy of Batman by Paul Kupperberg

               In this final full essay, Kupperberg revisits a lot of the points stressed throughout the other 13 essays.  Batman, in all its forms, still manages to influence pop culture today just as much as it did almost 50 years ago.  While POW! WHAM! SMASH! has slowly been removed from our lexicon, some of the issues that the creators and producers of the show had to overcome are still around today.

               The greatest example was the debate over the influence of comic books on the youth of the time.  In the 1940s Senate hearings were held to determine whether the violence depicted in comic books were damaging to the youth of America, creating a generation of violent children who lack empathy and compassion for others.  Today, we are hearing a similar argument about violence in video games.

               The purpose of the campiness and slapstick in Batman was twofold.  It was to wow the children watching and to humor their parents.  No one ever complained that the Batman TV show was creating a generation of violent children.  Perhaps, and this is an argument I regularly stick behind, it is due to the fact that viewing the television show was a family event where certain situations and dialogues could be put into their proper contexts.  This is an issue that has been strangely absent throughout the entire book.  I feel the need to pursue this theory further in my ‘free time’.

Gotham City R & D: Gadgetry in Batman and Theatre of the Absurd: The 1966 Batman Movie

Gotham City R&D: Gadgetry in Batman by Michael Johnson

               All in all, this was a fun essay to read.  Michael Johnson explores the various bat-gadgets and how, surprisingly, they have become realities today.

               Johnson points out that the 1960s were a time of technological revolution with the Cold War an ongoing concern and the space race at the forefront of everyone’s minds; the TV show took this idea and ran with it.  Batman and Robin had a gadget that could serve any purpose depending upon their situation.  At the time, these seemed to be out of science fiction novels with the prefix bat- added to the beginning.  But over time, many of these devices became common place in modern society.  In one episode, the Dynamic Duo used a device that sent an electrical charge to escape the Black Widow’s web.  Today we call this a stun gun.  To escape a man-eating shark, they sprayed bat-shark repellant.  Such things do exist today, much to my surprise.  But instead of an aerosol concoction, it employs chemicals or electricity.

               The TV show made the utility belt famous which at times seems a little odd that Batman would carry so many things around in his belt.  But as Johnson points out, when we leave the house we grab our phones, wallets, keys, mp3 players and any other sundry items we may need.

               The main message that I was able to gather from this essay was that no matter how far-fetched something may be, we need to keep dreaming.  Someday, it may be a common household item.

Theatre of the Absurd: The 1966 Batman Movie by Robert G. Weiner

               Had I not watched the movie repeatedly as a child, I would have been quite upset with Robert Weiner’s essay.  Without so much as a warning, the first half is a spoiler filled synopsis of the movie with the second half being a critical view of the movie and its importance in pop culture today.

               As has been stated throughout this blog, the film, like the tv show, is still in the conscious and referenced throughout tv, movies and cartoons.  What was fascinating to me was how this movie was a reflection of society at the time.  In 1966 the United States was formally acknowledging their involvement in Vietnam and the Cold War began escalating to greater heights.  To combat the fear that most viewers lived with day in and day out, Batman became a symbol of a true American; thwarting evil and contributing to society at every turn.  This was also a time when James Bond’s popularity began to spread and like the rest of America, Batman was interested in gadgets, action, and beautiful women.

               Though intriguing and academically appealing to learn about the layers and intentions behind some of my favorite childhood TV shows and characters, sometimes ignorance is bliss.  Sometimes Batman should just be Batman.

“Holy Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor!”: Youth Culture in Batman by Michael D. Hamersky

               When I first opened this book on my Kindle Fire I began reading through the titles in the table of contents.  As a teacher, this essay caught my eye.  Robin had always been a favorite series to read and in working with children day in and day out, l can look back and see an accurate representation of how youth try to make sense of the world around them.  Though not many students, probably none at all, don a costume and fight crime, every student has aspects of their lives that contradict other parts and each day they struggle to make sense of it all.  The comics captured this perfectly with Jason Todd attempting to fill Dick Grayson’s shoes.  The TV show fell flat however.

               According to Hamersky, the dialogue and action was written by members of an older generation that portrayed the Boy Wonder in the image of what youth should be, not the counter-culture activists that so many youth were at the time.  Dick Grayson, when not fighting the likes of the Joker, was nose deep in a text book or another educational activity that Bruce Wayne has assigned to him.  In the show, successful people finished school and the villains were drop-outs.  Dick was the prime example of what a student should be: obedient, attentive, essentially a ‘square’.  Hamersky alludes to the fact that this was a ploy by the show’s creators to try to keep America’s youth in check and to keep sanity at home.

               Thankfully, many of the digital texts that our students are engaging in are self-created.  With guidance, hopefully, they are gaining a sense of what it is to carve a niche out for themselves in this great big world.  As parents and teachers, it is our job to ensure that this is done in a safe environment that promotes success and appropriate self-sufficiency that does not place the students’ futures in jeopardy.