Adolescent literature as Virtual Experience for Training Middle School Teachers

Abstract

The first time that I taught the introduc tory middle school course, I felt dissatis fied with my teaching methods in rela tion to particular issues that were crucial to students' knowledge about teaching. These issues are: (a) physical, emotion al, social, and intellectual development of young ado lescents age 10-14 and (b) social issues in diverse school settings, including issues of class; race; gender; and fam ily, school, and community connections. I wanted to find a way to connect the teacher candidates with the powerful and highly emotional issues embedded in learning about these pupils and their lives. literature provided an appealing avenue to help teacher candidates build connections between the the ories and the gap in their experiences. A methodology for helping novices discover the complexities and vari abilities in adolescent experiences is reading quality adolescent literature (Gallo, 1984; Lee & Wiseman, 1991). With the support of an instructional grant through a university-wide teaching fellowship and an experienced mentor with a national reputation in chil dren's literature (Galda, 1982; 1990; Cullinan & Galda, 1998), I read many adolescent literature books, seeking examples that were illustrative of important issues dis cussed in the course. It was significant to me that the main characters were young adolescents and that the events and settings provided realistic portraits of daily struggles in our society. Research indicates that readers connect with narratives as they experience issues with the characters and as they begin to care about the char acters and events in the story (Cullinan & Galda, 1998). In order to expose the students to an array of issues that middle grades students today face, I looked for books that encompassed a range of issues. The literature choices included various themes: The Goats (Cole, 1987), being unpopular, different, the effect of cruel pranks; Libby on Wednesday (Snyder, 1990), peer pressure, learning differences, intelligent as different; Maniac McGee (Spinelli, 1990), racism, resilience in hardship, importance of belonging; Silverpoint (Geringer, 1991), divorce, family love, settling issues long unspoken; Bridge to Terabithia (Patterson, 1977), peer pressure, choices, grieving for a young friend; Worst Speller in Seventh Grade (Janover, 1995), need to be accepted, learning differences (dyslexia), developing sense of right and wrong; and Scorpions (Myers, 1988), prejudice, power, enticements, family, integrity of true friendship. The premise for integrating adolescent literature is that reading about a character to see the world through his or her eyes provides a virtual experience (Cullinan & Galda, 1998; Galda, 1982, 1990) and emotional impact that support the application of theoretical concepts. Facts come alive and are contextualized within a specific situa tion. When teacher candidates are provided an opportu nity to connect with a character, their world expands and issues take on a significance previously not possible. In addition to the cognitive benefits of integrating lit erature, the distinct valuing of literature promotes aes thetic response where students are encouraged to enjoy and value the literature as a work, as well as to broaden their backgrounds by introducing them to new cultures, issues, and possibilities (Cianciolo, 1991). Teacher educa tors typically incorporate largely efferent reading in