Genocide Literature in Middle and Secondary Classrooms - Rhetoric, Witnessing, Social Action in a Time of Standards

At the heart of this inquiry into the ethical implications of education reform on reading practices in middle and secondary classrooms, the central question is what is lost, hidden, or marginalized in the name of progress? Drawing on her own experiences as an English teacher during the No Child Left Behind era, the author examines school cultures focused on meeting standards and measurable outcomes. She shows how genocide literature illuminates the ethics of reading and helps teachers and students rethink how literature should be taught in this modern, globalized era and the purposes of education more broadly.

List of contents

Contents
Preface
Part I: Mandates

1. The Education of a Teacher: The First Year


2. Reading and Meeting a Mandate to Study Genocide
Part II: Rhetoric, Witnessing, and the Witness


3. The Rhetoric of the Word: A Case Study of Bosnia Herzegovina


4. Reading Testimony: Witnessing and the Witness
Part III: Rhetorical Appeals in Fiction


5. The Rhetoric and Aesthetic of Fiction in Genocide Literature


6. The Ethics of a Child Narrator


7. Emotional Appeals, Trauma, and Aesthetic Pleasure


8. Rational Appeals and Didacticism
Part IV: Into the Classroom


9. The Writing Workshop
A Teacher’s Testimony: Michael Krzysztofiak


10. Whole-Class Reading, Research, and Activism
A Teacher’s Testimony: Elaine Vogel


11. The Reading Workshop
A Teacher’s Testimony: Sumer Samano


12. Assessment: No More Numbers and Letters
A Teacher’s Testimony: Amy Estanislao


13. Conclusion: The Education of a Teacher Continues

About the author

Sarah J. Donovan teaches middle school English in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, USA, and is an adjunct at DePaul University (Social and Cultural Foundations in Education), USA.

Summary

At the heart of this inquiry into the ethical implications of education reform on reading practices in middle and secondary classrooms, the central question is what is lost, hidden, or marginalized in the name of progress? Drawing on her own experiences as an English teacher during the No Child Left Behind era, the author examines school cultures focused on meeting standards and measurable outcomes. She shows how genocide literature illuminates the ethics of reading and helps teachers and students rethink how literature should be taught in this modern, globalized era and the purposes of education more broadly.

Product details

• Authors: DONOVAN, Sarah Donovan, Sarah J. Donovan, Donovan Sarah
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 01.09.2016
• EAN: 9781138657236
• ISBN: 978-1-138-65723-6
• No. of pages: 178
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > Other languages / Other literatures; EDUCATION / General, English, EDUCATION / Curricula, LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Literacy, History of Education, Secondary Schools, Teaching of a specific subject, Educational: English language: reading & writing skills, Moral & social purpose of education, Curriculum planning and development, EDUCATION / Teaching / Subjects / Reading & Phonics, Literacy (Theories of reading and writing)