Students and Young Adult Literature

Students come from various cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. They also differ in family structures, needs, expectations, lifestyle and many more. Teaching students as if they are a homogenous group, focusing only on the age similarity could be one of the gravest errors that teachers can make.

Teachers need to realize that teenagers that function in the classroom are each unique and very different from one another. The problem is that teachers may not have the time and opportunity to address them individually and acknowledging each and every one of their uniqueness. These constraints justify the need to bring young adult literature to the classroom.

Provided that students are allowed to pick and choose their own literature, teachers may be able to connect to each of the students, separately and each in their own special way. The stories are a tool to help students see themselves. The stories help teachers to speak indirectly about the issues that influence young adult lives. Preaching might be abhorred by teenagers but relating through examples might be subtle enough.

We understand that young adults go through a difficult stage in adolescence period. It can be viewed as a world of confusion. Through reading, students might be able to find words to express themselves more clearly. Through reading and sharing what they have read might put their own situation into perspective. Confused and jumbled thoughts can now be put in coherent words that can in turn be relayed to people around them such as parents, siblings, or teachers.

In general, a teacher’s goal to bring young adult literature in the classroom is to help them understand themselves and their surroundings better and hopefully help them cope with the demands of their lives.

Sharing Our Reading

Reading is made complete through sharing. I normally share my reading with my closest friends. We would talk about the characters portrayed in the story. We would talk about what the characters went through and what we feel about that. We would try to visualize the situation as if we were the ones going through the situations which are like trying to walk in the character’s shoes.

Most of the time we would feel the anger, resentment or jubilance that the characters go through. When there are scenes that we couldn’t understand, my friends and I would try to sort the meaning out among ourselves.

The characters in the story seem very true to us most of the time. The same feelings that the characters go through would normally be evoked within us, the readers. Stories are usually built up from facts. Facts involve people and people have feelings and I believe that feelings can be universal.

I think, women, in general, love sharing what they have read. It helps them reflect and relate to the story. Sharing helps shape more insights regarding the issues portrayed in the stories. Most importantly, women like to imagine what if they were in the story and what would they do if ever they were in the same situation. It is some sort of practice if ever the same situation takes place in our lives. At least we are mentally prepared. Perhaps this is also the method we have used to acquire more wisdom in handling human issues either with students, our own children, families or colleagues.

"If You Come Softly".....

I’m currently reading If You Come Softly which tells about a love story between 2 teenagers of different ethnic identity and religious belief. Their relationship was not easily accepted by the society and even the people close to them.

It reflects the time that most of us may have gone through at least once in our lifetime. It is the time when we feel that the whole world is against us. We feel that what we are doing is appropriate and makes perfect sense to us but others cannot see it our way. We believe that it is the fault of others and not ours.

This feeling is normal when we go through the teenage period. Feelings of uncertainty of what may lie ahead are paramount. Trying to assert our independence by seeking the freedom to exercise our preference is also of utmost importance during this period. Others fail to understand us but we certainly know what we want.

After the phase passes, we would remember it as a stage of confusion. It is considered as a phase when we were so focused on ourselves compounded with lack of experience of life that cause us to neglect others’ viewpoints.

I wouldn’t regret my attitude at that time. I believe it happened for a reason. I understand now that it was normal to feel that way. Most importantly is to learn the lesson from it. I learned that we should listen to others to broaden our perspectives and not be too focused on our own limited view of the world. Sharing does not necessarily mean agreeing but it would certainly enrich our lives and help us to strengthen our personality.