The last time I taught Fahrenheit 451, the COVID-19 shutdown was in full-force, and I wanted to find a new way to teach this book. F451 isn't my favorite book in the world but I do love its message about knowledge, conformity, power and control. I wanted to find a way to connect this book to the world we live in today, so I tried to pull in as much relevant current events as I could since we are seeing the most drastic calls for book bans in the last two years.

Banned Books Week:

I had never taught anything for Banned Books Week but this year felt especially important considering all the mess we've seen with parents demanding that books that focus on queer characters, characters of color and characters of other marginalized identities be taken off the shelves in order to "protect" children. 

As an English teacher, I don't think books are dangerous: it's how one acts after reading a book where the danger may lie. But children should be allowed to read what they would like, to learn about different life experiences, cultures, and perspectives. Who would I be if I only could read books about white middle-class characters? If I'm honest, that was all I read up until middle school, and then I finally saw myself in books with characters that looked like me and my world changed. We're doing ourselves a massive disservice by labeling diverse books as dangerous. The only ones who are dangerous are the ones who are afraid of different ideas than their own.

Censorship Around The Globe

Censorship In The States

Impactful Stories:

I didn't want the attack on books to take center-stage for the class so there were opportunities to celebrate the books, stories, movies and tv shows that impacted us the most. This semester, I wanted them to embrace the energy of "To read the word is to read the world".  

The Stories That Shaped Us: 

Before we started reading Fahrenheit 451, I asked my students to think about the books that were meaningful to them in their lives. It could be their favorite children's book, a manga they are obsessed with, a movie they love, or a book they're currently reading. Once they put together their slide, we did a virtually gallery walk to see what stories were impactful to us. 

Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors storyboards

Inspired by Dr. Rudine Sims-Bishop's article about the importance of representation, she writes, "...books can be windows, offering a view of a real or imagined world where things were familiar or strange to the reader. Windows could also be like sliding glass doors. A reader opens the door and walks in, to become part of whatever an author provides...when the light is just right, a person can see themselves reflected in a window, similar to gazing into a mirror" (Dillard and Keels), I asked my students to think about the stories, TV shows, and movies where they felt a deep personal connection to. 

To take a break from the novel, we got crafty! And I asked my students:

• Where did they feel like they saw themselves the first time? 

• When did they feel like they learned about a different culture or way of life?

•  Whose world did they fall in love with so quickly they just stepped right into it? 

Too often in high school, we take ourselves too seriously. It's important that we give ourselves a chance to express ourselves in different ways. In ELA, it doesn't always have to be through writing. I wanted to give my students an opportunity to create with art supplies! 

The Michigan Innocence Clinic Class Visit

I finally got to experience in-person guest speakers! Using my connections from MIC last year, I wanted to invite their fellows back to talk with my students about the work that they do. We're halfway through IBSCT so they'll have a solid foundation of understanding the holes in the criminal legal system as we explore Fonny's case. 

Thank you to Liz Cole and Alexis Franks from MIC!

Semester 2 Final Project: Making Peace In A Chaotic World 

How can we make the world a better place by reforming our criminal legal system? Like the last two years, students chose a topic from a list I produced about criminal justice reform ideas. They could choose any side of the argument, but had present 3 facts that support their claim. They could create a PowerPoint Presentation or a TikTok/video/podcast (but sadly only a handful of kiddos did videos which surprised me).

Reflection

This was the hardest year of my teaching career (so far) but this was probably the most confident I felt teaching the content because I was able to reshape a lot of work that I had used in the previous year. Downside of that is I get bored easily if I'm doing the same thing so I'm glad I could spice it up with a play and 3 guest speakers. Next year, if I continue the criminal justice unit, I would love to take my students to either the Detroit Justice Center or to the Michigan Innocence Clinic site at U of M. However, I am considering pivoting slightly to focus still on the criminal justice system, but gearing it towards the death penalty--or a complete pivot to how do we forgive people who have wronged us, rather than a system. But that's still to be determined! Overall I had a fun time with my sophomores, the one thing I wish I did more of was grammar and essay instruction. If anything, I was trying to have the fun outweigh the technical stuff because I was seeking joy too. This was a really hard year for me, and now I look forward to resting (and lesson planning).