Week 7, Blog Post 7
Thinking about historical fiction and my students, informed in part by a timeline of YA historical fiction books. As with all genres, there are good books and less-than-good books. However, I think historical fiction of the YA variety may be heavier on the not-so-good books than many other genres. Looking at the bookshelf of YA historical fiction, much of the genre is white-washed. This is deeply concerning and frustrating, as it can send the wrong and devastating message to our students that the individuals of their histories are not worth writing about. All people’s histories are worth writing about on their own terms, and I intend for the books in my classroom to reflect that. My students don’t have to think historical fiction is interesting, but they do need to know that their familial and ethnic histories are valued in literature and in my classroom. Historical fiction can contribute to this goal. I intend to use it as such (recommendations for this would bring me joy!) so that the students who are interested in historical fiction can have access to historical fiction that is respectful, genuine, and meaningful. Historical fiction should honor the individuals and communities it fictionalizes for it to have a place in my classroom (respectful: ✓). Many historical fiction books written for adolescents do this. Some do this very powerfully- Refugee by Alan Gratz is on my mind as I write this. His book is respectful, genuine, and meaningful (so my students will definitely have access to it). “Genuine” is vague, but I’m using it here as a criterion of worthwhile historical fiction to mean that the novel isn’t superimposing values that don’t belong to the individuals and groups represented. The emotions, thoughts, and experiences are appropriate to characters’ historical origins (genuine: ✓). I particularly love Refugee because not only is this a piece of historical fiction that seeks to honor and bear witness to the individuals of our world history, it is also a book that guides readers to see and assist the individuals of our own historical moment (meaningful: ✓). Therefore, as a book that can lead my students to experience, evaluate, and take action, his is the kind of book that most definitively belongs in my classroom. Which leads to the role that historical fiction will have in my classroom: helping students to witness and respect members of our history and to take action in our current moment. Judith Geary said it best: “History shows us a window into our past. Historical fiction can take us by the hand and lead us into that world.” Historical fiction should be about humanizing, individualizing, and seeing, really seeing, the people and circumstances of history.
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AuthorI'm a high school English teacher looking to share with students, parents, and peers some of what I'm learning in the classroom as a teacher. Archives
October 2018
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