“There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn't.” ― John Green, Turtles All the Way Down7/16/2018 Week 6, Blog Post 6 Responding to mental health in YA literature, including ideas from Using Literature to Confront the Stigma of Mental Illness, Teach Empathy, and Break Stereotypes, published in the Language Arts Journal of Michigan and Language and Symptoms of Mental Illness in Young Adult Literature. For the most part, the realization I wanted to teach came in these seemingly haphazard moments that I now realize were etched on my heart from the moment they happened. One of those magical moments was the very honest and very necessary conversation with my own high school English teacher about mental health. It was a turning point in my life in more ways than one. I treasured these moments then and I treasure them even more now. I believe I have found my calling in the relationships, conversations, and support that English teachers especially are positioned to offer students. My own experiences as a high school student continue to motivate me, but I since have found more encouragement in the breadth and depth of YA books I’ve begun to witness this summer. All this to say, what does teacher-me have to say about mental health in YA literature? It has a place in my classroom, although where in my classroom- on my bookshelves, in my desk, book-talked, or taught- depends on the book and the students… which is delightfully vague and not particularly helpful. Nonetheless, I argue that it’s the necessary reality. More than any other genre, books dealing with mental health need to be carefully read and the student(s) carefully known before I’m offering them. This isn’t to encourage the stigma already surrounding mental health, but to make sure a book doesn’t do the exact opposite of what it intends. However, acknowledging that very prevalent and powerful stigma around mental health, these books will be shelved as realistic fiction (if my shelves are organized by genre at all. We’ll see). Beyond just acknowledging that stigma by books’ physical locations, I want to be intentional about having conversations about mental health and mental health books (including book talks, perhaps many of them by peers) and addressing that stigma. As the articles here (and hundreds others) mention, the number of students with diagnosed mental illnesses is increasing, in part because we are finally starting to understand and talk about mental illness and getting diagnoses. Regardless, as the number of students with diagnosed mental illnesses increases, we’re making progress in the mental health conversation as a society. Consequently, we as teachers are positioned to start talking more about mental health. Understanding one’s own mental health and empathizing with peers’ mental health is important. (I don’t think too many readers will disagree with that.) Books contribute to students’ ability to empathize. (This is also hard to disagree with. Research heartily supports this position.) The next step seems to announce itself then: we should use books to help students understand their peers and empathize with them regarding mental health and many other topics. The tricky part comes with the how to use books. And which books do we use? (Here’s where disagreement abounds and often rightfully so. Both articles offer excellent book suggestions.) I don’t have an answer. At least not yet. And I’m guessing that even once I do have an answer, it will be frequently changing, responding to new publications, new understanding, and always responding to my students’ needs. To quote Dr. Bickmore, “YA lit can demonstrate how our language signifies our beliefs” and “YA lit can showcase authentic symptoms of mental illness.” This is part of the empathy thing and therefore is part of having these important and often difficult conversations. YA books offer exercises in empathy in many topics- mental health is just one. YA literature provides foundations for conversations about mental health and many other relevant concerns. YA literature is a resource for encouraging our students as individuals in so many ways. In short, teacher-me thinks we should be using YA books to have conversations with our students about mental health and so much more.
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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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