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This is to certify that the

dissertation entitled

A PROSPECTIVE TEACHERMS LEARNING: HOW
PERSONAL, SOCIAL, FAMILY, AND CULTURAL
INFLUENCES AFFECTED ONE WOMAN'"S BELIEFS
ABOUT TEACHING AND LEARNING

presented by

Elizabeth A. Knepper

has been accepted towards fulfillment

ofthe requirements for

'"U
:D"
'3

degree in JeaGheL—Educat ion

Major professor

Date MM l7: 1???

MSU is an Affirmative Action/[Squid Opportunity Institution 0712771

 

 

PLACE IN RETURN BOX to remove this checkout from your record.
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SEPUZ‘ 9 2005‘ 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6/01 c:/CIRC/DaleDue.p65-p.15

 

 

A PROSPECTIVE TEACHER’S LEARNING: HOW PERSONAL. SOCIAL.
FAMILY, AND CULTURAL INFLUENCES AFFECTED ONE WOMAN‘S
BELIEFS ABOUT TEACHING AND LEARNING
By

Elizabeth A. Knepper

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Department of Teacher Education

1999

ABSTRACT
A PROSPECTIVE TEACHER’S LEARNING: HOW PERSONAL. SOCIAL.
FAMILY, AND CULTURAL INFLUENCES AFFECTED ONE W OMAN‘S
BELIEFS ABOUT TEACHING AND LEARNING
Bv

d

Elizabeth A. Knepper

The teacher educator is faced with the task of preparing teachers to be thoughtful.
reflective practitioners who are ready to teach in diverse societies. This challenge
includes guiding prospective teachers‘ understanding of the teaching/learning process as
well as their application of these understandings in a way that allows them to connect
with their students in meaningful ways about subject matter and the learning process.
Specific to this challenge is the complexity of guiding the learning of prospective teachers
whose faith and ethnic traditions differ from one‘s own. The study reported in this
dissertation illustrates this complexity by describing the journey of an African—American
woman as she moved through her teacher education program and her internship.

Data were collected through the form of interviews that took place from her
sophomore through her senior years as an undergraduate. Then the study continued as
regular observations and interviews were made throughout the entire eight month
internship. Four years of data were analyzed and organized according to themes that were
discerned from the intimate look that was taken over the course of the study.

The study found that the faith and ethnic traditions were influential in the
candidates‘ belief formation to the extent that these beliefs remained resilient and

resistant to change over a four year period. The beliefs influenced how she viewed the

 

teaching/learning process and how she perceived her role as a teacher. Whereas this
finding is not new, the perspective that her personal. social. family. and cultural traditions
brought to the picture is valuable for teacher educators concerned with attracting minority
men and women into the teaching profession. Implications are made for those working
with minority men and women, particularly those whose faith is so strong as to affect
their philosophy of teaching and learning. An ability to recognize and appreciate how
faith and ethnic traditions and values impact one‘s point of view is critical if teacher
educators are to comiect with prospective teachers in meaningful ways that impact their

learning.

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1 — Purpose of the Study .................................................................................. 1
Chapter 2 - Review of the Literature .......................................................................... 12
Chapter 3 - Methodology ........................................................................................... 41
Chapter 4 - Presentation of the Data .......................................................................... 55
Assertion #1 .................................................................................................... 56
Assertion #2 .................................................................................................... 67
Assertion #3 .................................................................................................... 75
Assertion #4 .................................................................................................... 82
Assertion #5 .................................................................................................... 95
Assertion #6 ................................................................................................... 103
Chapter 5 - Implications .......................................................................................... 1 15
Appendix A ............................................................................................................. 135
Appendix B ............................................................................................................. 207
Reference List ......................................................................................................... 209
iv

 

 

CHAPTER ONE

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

Chapter 1
Purpose of the Study
Prospective teacher learning is a fascinating. compelling subject for

teacher educators. In an attempt to best prepare prospective teachers for teaching. teacher
educators know that they must first understand what it is prospective teachers bring with
them into teacher education programs and then they must connect with the prospective
teachers in ways that guide their understanding about the teaching - learning process. In
an attempt to do this. researchers have asked what prospective teachers believe about
teaching ( Wideen. Mayer-Smith. and Moon. 1998: Richardson. 1996; Pajares. 1992:
Britzman. 1991: McDiarmid. 1990; Feiman-Nemser & Buchmann. 1989; Hollingsworth.
1989: Clark. 1988; Cohen. 1988; Nespor. 1987: Skipper & Quantz. 1987; Feiman-
Nemser & Buchmann. 1985; Tabachnick & Zeichner. 1984; Buchmann & Schwille.
1983: Lortie. 1975). They have conducted studies to discern what prospective teachers
perceive about learners (Calderhead. 1996: Anderson & Holt-Reynolds. 1995; Hood &
Parker. 1994; Grossman. 1990). They have also asked what prospective teachers know
about subject matter (Holt-Reynolds. 1999: Ball & McDiarmid. 1990: Grossman. Wilson.
and Shulman. 1987; Zeichner and Tabachnik. 1984). While the research in this field
continues to grow and therefore yield better understanding about how to better prepare
teachers. there are some findings that we can build future research around.

One aspect ofprospective teachers‘ learning that has been documented is the
strength of their beliefs (Pajares. 1992; Clark. 1988: Nespor. 1987; Buchmann &

Schwille. 1983: Lortie. 1975). The embeddedness and resilience of beliefs make them

[Q

 

difficult to change. Consequently. teacher educators often suspect that many of the ideas
and notions that teacher education students are exposed to - ideas that counter those
entering beliefs — will not be adopted. Sometimes. the prospective teachers may adopt a
new language but fail to enact new beliefs in practice (Hollingsworth. 1989).

These strong entering beliefs have often been attributed to an “apprenticeship of
observation" (Lortie. 1975). Prospective teachers have spent most of their lives in
classrooms like the ones they will teach in acquiring strong notions about what teaching
is all about. That is. their beliefs about teaching are theoretically based on the kinds of
education they received and the kinds of teachers they had. therefore making them more
likely to teach in the same way they were taught. Such commitments to traditional
models of teaching pose a problem in programs that want to change prospective teacher’s
beliefs toward more reform-minded ways of teaching.

The frequency of the argument of the apprenticeship of observation has led to its
widespread acceptance. even though there is little evidence to support it as a primary
cause for a commitment to traditional models of teaching (Wideen. Mayer-Smith. &
Moon. 1998). An alternate hypothesis is that the prospective teachers‘ beliefs are as
grounded in personal. social. cultural and family factors as in educational experience.

One reason to conduct further research on personal. social. cultural. and family
factors that influence prospective teachers" beliefs is the need to better understand the
experiences of prospective teachers who are not typical - middle class. white. or even
female. Demographics indicate that in the next decade. the student population in

America‘s schools will no longer be the majority caucasian. This points to an even

(J)

 

 

greater need to recruit and support teachers of color who can impact the learning of
children of color.

This study describes Amber. an African-American prospective secondary English
teacher. whose strong beliefs appeared to be rooted in her faith. her family. her
community ties. and in her own relationship with texts and English literature and not in
an "apprenticeship of observation.“ Amber seemed motivated by her strong belief in
God and by texts that encouraged her in her faith. She considered decisions in life based
on moral principles that emanated from her faith. She viewed her students as moral
beings and viewed her role with them as a messenger of moral values. Amber‘s faith in
God had a powerful impact on her beliefs about teaching and learning and the role of
subject matter. She became an interesting candidate for this study because of the strength
of her convictions about teaching as a moral endeavor. The further significance of the
study emerged over the time of data collection and analysis.

The Research Question

Amber was originally part of a research study that was designed to help teacher
educators understand what prospective secondary English teachers knew and believed
about literature and the teaching of literature. The research study. Understanding
Literature for Teaching (ULT). was conducted at the National Center for Research on
Teacher Learning at Michigan State University. From Amber's sophomore through her
senior years. researchers spent hours interviewing her to probe at these beliefs and
understandings. The researcher conducting the current study was a research assistant in

the ULT study and was primarily responsible for the analysis and reporting ofthe data on

 

Amber. Those data are presented in this study in an attempt to describe Amber‘s beliefs
about teaching and learning literature prior to her internship. The following questions
guided the reading of the data during the ULT project.

How can her beliefs be described? What role did her ethnicity. culture.

and family values play in the development of her beliefs? Then. what

happened to her beliefs at the university? How were her theories. values.

and opinions of literature affected by her experience at the university?

Was she guided toward a challenge to recreate a belief system that

included reformed ways of thinking about teaching and learning?

Following analysis of Amber‘s undergraduate data. this researcher wondered what
would happen to Amber’s beliefs and understandings of literature and teaching literature
when she experienced an interaction with practice. During an eight month internship in
an urban 7”1 grade classroom. the researcher conducted extensive observations and
interviews to probe at how Amber‘s experience as an intern affected her beliefs and
understandings about literature and teaching literature.

Taken together the two sets ofdata were used to address these questions.

How did Amber's beliefs, values, and opinions of literature and

teaching develop during her undergraduate years? To what extent

were her beliefs, values, and opinions of literature and teaching

related to her personal, social, cultural, and family influences and to

her university experiences? Then, during her first significant

 

encounter with practice in her internship, how were her beliefs,
values, and opinions of literature and teaching reflected in her

decisions about teaching and her perceptions of student learning?

These questions worked together to form a research project that could
significantly contribute to the research literature on preparing a diverse population of
prospective teachers for teaching literature in a diverse society.

Informing the Study

Three areas ofexisting research worked to inform this study. The first is the
research literature on prospective teachers‘ beliefs about teaching and learning and why
and how they affect what is learned in teacher education. The next area of research is that
of literature and of the act of reading literature. What teachers believe about their
literature and what it means to read literature is pertinent here. Last is the extant research
literature on cultural diversity and minority teachers. These areas are briefly explored here
and will receive more elaboration in Chapter Two.

Beliefs about teaching and learning

As noted earlier. the literature on beliefs tells us that prospective teachers come to
their teacher education programs with deeply embedded. sturdy beliefs about teaching.
The argument is that they have spent thirteen years prior to college in an “apprenticeship
of observation" which leaves them with a feeling of familiarity about teaching. That is.
personal experience with schooling and instruction cause beliefs to develop early and

persevere despite logic or contradictions caused by time. More recently. Wideen. Mayer-

 

Smith. & Moon (1998) have questioned whether the “apprenticeship of observation" is as
significant an explanation as it has been thought to be. Consideration of personal. social.
cultural. and family factors are as likely to explain a person’s beliefs about schooling and
instruction.

Regardless of their source. beliefs about teaching. learning. and about subject
matter develop early and act as filters through which prospective teachers view their
teacher education programs. While knowing that beliefs are sturdy and emanate from
experiences with schooling. personal. social, cultural. and family factors is important. the
value is limited in that teacher educators cannot change the pasts of their prospective
teachers. What is important is to determine ways to communicate and interact with them
that help them frame teaching and learning in new ways. Reform efforts in education are
fruitless if teacher educators settle for the explanation that beliefs and knowledge are too
deeply rooted to change. Change is especially important as teacher educators prepare a
teaching force to be effective teachers of children of color. children from poor homes. and
children whose families are not native English speakers. When there are teacher
candidates who. like Amber. say from the beginning that they want to work with such
populations. it is especially important to connect with them in ways that will challenge
their existing beliefs and push them to consider ways of teaching and learning that are
new and potentially effective.

Literature and the reading of literature
Reading experts have presented teachers with the challenge that there are multiple

tasks in the reading process and that not all text is to be approached in the same way.

 

Reading is thought to be an interaction between what a reader already knows and the
symbols that are on the page of text. Typically. children are taught to decode written
language using narrative text. The stories usually have simple. predictable story lines
about conflicts familiar to children. This allows for much attention to be given to the
symbols on the page. which are still new to the reader. while not much attention is given
to challenging the reader‘s prior knowledge and experiences. Later. as the symbols create
less of a challenge for the reader to decode. more attention is given to aspects of “story."
Reading narrative text for enjoyment is the earliest kind of reading children encounter in
school

A second kind of reading that children encounter is expository reading of text.
Usually. this kind ofreading causes challenges for children since it requires a different
kind of attention to the symbols on the page than does narrative reading of text.
Historically. teachers have not helped children make the transition from narrative reading
of text to expository reading of text. In expository reading. a reader‘s prior knowledge of
the subject is important. as is an understanding of exactly what the author was trying to
communicate. Using textual cues such as titles. section headings. captions. and use of
font is important if the reader is to understand the content being communicated. When
reading expository text effectively, readers skim. change the speed of their reading. and
reread. These are strategies not common to the reading of narrative text which is usually
steady and does not rely on close scrutiny ofeach word.

These two types of reading present a healthy learning challenge for students that

extends from kindergarten through high school. Therefore. college students of literature

 

 

are exposed, sometimes for the first time. to the fact that literature is subject to multiple
interpretations. They may be asked for the first time to study varying critical theories. It
may be the first time students are expected to realize that author intent. reader
experiences. time period considerations. and myriad other factors are at work when a
reader approaches a story to figure out what it means. They may be surprised to realize
that a story may be interpreted differently by different readers. If diversity of
interpretation was not part of their previous reading of stories. college students of
literature face a new and interesting challenge.

Diversity of thinking about interpretation of text among literature scholars could
be a very positive model for prospective teachers. As they realize the varying approaches
to interpretation by scholars in the field. they might see a parallel in teaching and be open
to the possibility of varying interpretations offered by students in their classes. To know
that scholars from different eras and cultures have viewed the same piece of text in
varying lights presents the possibility that students representing different cultures may
offer varying interpretations of a text. However. to reach this point of understanding.
prospective teachers themselves must have deep understandings of literature and the
reading process.

Whereas diversity of thinking offers a particular strength in educating prospective
teachers. an additional challenge is posed by diversity among the students the prospective
teachers are preparing to teach. Meeting the challenge of teaching children from homes
where literacy development may be weak or from homes where English is not the native

language spoken is a complicated task. Considering the needs of the students in the

 

 

context of the diversity of thought about interpretation of text is a challenge that is unique
and complex.
Cultural Diversity and Minority Teachers

In a country that is becoming increasingly diverse in its population. researchers
have become increasingly interested in typically under-represented populations as they
consider the culture of the school. The question of how to best teach children who in any
given classroom may represent numerous cultures is complex. Not only is the subject
matter of consideration in determining appropriate practice. so are strategies. Recently.
work has been done in an attempt to define what has been called “culturally relevant
practice" (Ladson-Billings. 1994). Researchers have attempted to define what teaching
and learning strategies are appropriate for the multitude ofcultures represented in
American schools. While the implication ofthe integration of these practices into any
given classroom is unclear. the studies do move us forward in our understanding of how
children learn. while not limiting our understanding to the majority population.

In the case of the study being reported here. the prospective teacher herself is a
person of color. Understanding her entails understanding her background and her
personal cultural identity. and can work to inform researchers about the greater whole.
Although one cannot generalize from the literature on teachers of color specifically to
Amber and fairly represent who she is. it is safe to use the data that describe Amber and
relate what we learned about her to the larger body of literature.

Historically. minorities in American schools have not been successful.

Explanation of this failure have been great. but has done little to move minorities toward

lO

 

greater success as a group. A focus on the learning potentials of the groups or persons
involved has more potential for change than a focus on the perceived deficit (McDermott.
1987).

Early studies on “effective practice" gave teacher educators much data on
strategies that help students learn in classroom environment. But these early studies were
primarily focused on the majority population and did not consider the implications across
cultural groups (Foster. 1995; Gollnick. 1992). More recent studies have revealed that
what is effective with the majority population may be different from what is effective
with minority populations, leading researchers to attempt to identify practice that is more
relevant to populations other than the majority (Ladson-Billings. 1994). But even when
studies reveal that practices that are effective with minorities are similar to what is
effective with the majority, the implications to be considered may be what makes the
practice unique. For instance, studies of culturally relevant practice have revealed that
helping students connect new knowledge to that which is already known promotes
success (Foster. 1995; Ladson-Billings. 1994; Irvine. 1992; Gollnick. 1992). Whereas
schema theory is not unique to the minority population. the act of being able to relate the
new to the known has implications for who should teach minority children or what should
be done to prepare teachers to teach minority children.

Conclusion
More research is called for as teacher educators continue to strive to best prepare teachers
for teaching in a country characterized by diversity. The study described in this

dissertation helps to contribute to that body of research by raising questions about

11

 

whether and how universities can provide culturally relevant instruction for teacher

candidates who are not typical - white and middle class.

 

 

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Chapter 2
Review of the Literature

A challenge for teacher educators. as presented in Chapter One. is to prepare
teachers to teach in culturally responsive ways. This challenge is important because of
the nature of America‘s culturally diverse society. And it is a challenge in that
prospective teachers come to teacher education programs with firmly embedded beliefs
emanating from their personal. social. cultural. and family backgrounds that affect how
they perceive what is offered in university teacher education programs. The complexity
of preparing prospective teachers of literature is described below in the context of beliefs
about teaching and learning. the challenge of teaching the reading of literature. and in the
context of cultural diversity and minority teachers. These areas of research literature that
were introduced in Chapter One will be explored in more depth in this chapter. The
particular foci perceived to be relevant to Amber will be highlighted in each section.
Prospective Teacher Beliefs about Teaching and Learning

Prospective teachers come to their teacher education programs with a rather sturdy
set of beliefs about teaching. learning. and subject matter. Most prospective teachers see
themselves in a helping role in the classroom. although that help may not always be
related to helping students understand subject matter. Beliefs about promoting social
justice or nurturing students may present a stronger reason for becoming a teacher than
that of helping students understand subject matter. As will be described in Chapter Four.
Amber believed that the subject matter of literature was to be used as the tool or vehicle

for nurturing students toward a better life.

 

The research literature shows that beliefs. as well as prospective teachers‘
understanding of subject matter. affect what and how they are able to learn about the
teaching and learning process.

Beliefs

First. consider when and where beliefs about teaching and learning develop.
Research has led to one theory that beliefs form out of personal experience with
schooling. instruction. and formal knowledge (Britzman, 1991; Richardson. 1996). They
develop early in a person’s schooling through what has been called an “apprenticeship of
observation" (Lortie. 1975) and tend to persevere despite logic or contradictions caused
by time. later schooling. or experience (Pajares. 1992: Clark. 1988; Nespor. 1987;
Buchmann & Schwille. 1983; Lortie. 1975). As students are exposed to models of
teaching. they develop inferences about its purpose. how it is carried out. and what
constitutes good teachers and teaching (Pajares. 1992; Tabachnick & Zeichner. 1984).
For those who then decide to become teachers. there may be further belief development
when they encounter instruction in their subject matter at the university (Wideen. Mayer-
Smith. and Moon. 1998).

Another thought on the development of beliefs comes from Cohen (1988) who
maintains that belief development is not limited to what is learned in school or formal
learning situations. What prospective teachers believe about subject matter. for instance.
also emanates from their everyday experiences. What the adults around them believe and
do. what their community values. and their activities in their enviromnents give them

strong messages about subject matter. However. less has been done in actual research

 

 

 

 

about this hypothesis. More needs to be done to document how the range of personal
experiences of prospective teachers’ (especially those who are not mainstream white.
middle class) affects their belief development and how their beliefs. in turn. affect their
pedagogical thinking.

The researcher is forced to ask. then, what influence these beliefs will have on a
prospective teacher’s ability to learn to teach. An important consideration is the
discovery that beliefs act as filters through which teacher education programs are viewed
(Hollingsworth. 1989: Weinstein. 1989). What is accepted and assimilated or rejected by
the prospective teacher is determined by reason of what the filter of experience presents
as true about teaching and learning. This phenomenon can work as a real barrier to
student receptivity of knowledge and strategies offered in the teacher education program
(Wideen. Mayer-Smith. & Moon. 1998: Sugrue. 1996). New knowledge and thinking is
screened. redefined. distorted. or reshaped and thus interpreted according to the beliefs
held by the prospective teacher. In fact. beliefs may be more influential than knowledge
in determining how individuals organize and define tasks and problems. Beliefs can also
be a more likely predictor of behavior than knowledge (Pajares. 1992).

Given the sturdiness of beliefs. it is important to consider what it is prospective
teachers believe. One of the things that we know many prospective teachers believe is
that teaching is grounded in interpersonal and nurturing relationships. In fact. Mahlios &
Maxon (1995) found that many prospective teachers believe that caring is more important
than anything else. including subject matter knowledge. The thought that personality is

more important than subject matter knowledge or cognitive ability or pedagogical skills is

16

 

realized in the axiom that teachers are born and not made ( Sugrue. 1996; Weinstein.
1989: Book & Freeman. 1986; Marks & Gregory. 1975).

We also know that many prospective teachers value social and peer groups.
positive self concept. and helping behaviors (Mahlios & Maxson, 1995; Mayer-Smith.
Moon. & Wideen. 1994). They see themselves as helpers. and value this behavior in their
students. They imagine theirjobs as teachers as having less to do with student learning
and more to do with the nurturing of students. The nurturing. didactic nature ofteaching
is seen throughout the research literature on the study of prospective teacher beliefs. This
phenomenon is not exclusive to the majority population either. In Hood & Parker's
(1994) study of minority prospective teachers. 22 of the 24 prospective teachers studied
said they saw teaching as a "mission to help future generations in the public schools“
(p166). The notion of social justice was a strong theme in the subjects‘ response in Hood
and Parker‘s study.

Another tacit belief that many prospective teachers hold is that learners will be
like themselves (Anderson & Holt-Reynolds. 1995; Grossman. 1990). Prospective
teachers tend to believe that if students are interested in the material. as they themselves
were. students will be motivated and able to learn. They tend to perceive their role as that
ofidentifying content that is most relevant and interesting to the students. since
motivation is perceived to stem from interestingness and relevance. Many prospective
teachers believe they will be able to choose this material better than veteran teachers
because of their proximity in age to the students they will be teaching (Holt-Reynolds.

1999).

 

 

Considering what prospective teachers believe regarding strategies for teaching is
also important if we are to understand the task of the teacher educator. Many prospective
teachers tend to believe that teaching is the simple. mechanical transfer of information.
The didactic. teacher directed and textbook-based transmissive nature ofteaching is a
prominent theme in the research literature (Richardson. 1996; Feiman-Nemser 8;
Buchmann. 1985: Hollingsworth. 1989: McDiarmid. 1990; McDiarmid. Ball. &
Anderson. 1989; Skipper & Quantz. 1987). The idea of lecturing as the primary mode of
presenting content to be learned leads prospective teachers to reject other activities.
strategies. and grouping arrangements as salient features in a classroom. even when the
prospective teacher herself admits to preference for a "hands—on" approach to learning.
Subject Matter Knowledge

Not only is it important to consider prospective teachers beliefs. but it is important
to understand their knowledge of their subject matter if teacher educators are to interpret
prospective teachers' actions in the classroom. For example. Amber’s talk about the
subject matter of literature in her undergraduate years revealed what she believed the
purpose of teaching literature should be in her classroom. Her talk left researchers
wondering, however. about her understanding of issues of reading and interpreting text.
What she said about her understandings about the use of literature in a high school
classroom became intermingled with what she was experiencing with literature in her
college classes. sometimes creating an interesting dichotomy. The greater body of
research addresses similar issues ofthe understanding of subject matter.

Research shows that often the subject matter knowledge prospective teachers gain

18

 

in the college classroom is likely to be at risk when they enter the classroom. Ball and
McDiarmid (1989) posit that one reason for this is that the knowledge prospective
teachers acquire in their college classrooms is far removed. often. from the subject matter
they will actually teach in elementary. middle. or high school classrooms. In their
academic majors students study the content at a higher. or at least different. level than that
which they will teach. What sometimes happens then is that when they enter the
classroom and begin to teach material they haven‘t seen since they were that age. the
misconceptions or naive theories that they developed all those years ago surface in their
own teaching. Zeichner and Tabachnik (1981) maintain that what knowledge was gained
in college is actually “washed out" by the realities of classroom life.

Grossman. Wilson. & Shulman (1989) suggest a different approach when
thinking about why subject matter knowledge is at risk. They draw on Dewey's work
when they suggest that scholars and teachers have different primary goals. Scholars.
under whom college students often sit. have as their goal the creation of new knowledge.
whereas teachers have as their goal that of helping students acquire knowledge. The
question is whether professors who have the creation of new knowledge as their primary
goals lead students toward the acquisition of this knowledge. Scholarly knowledge has
the potential to help the student develop a rich and flexible understanding of subject
matter. Greater depth and character of content knowledge is necessary for the student
who is a prospective teacher to help her draw connections for her students. Helping
students see the conceptual. problem-solving. inquiry aspects of a subject requires that the

teacher be knowledgeable of these aspects herself. Scholars who view their students as

19

 

part of the process of gaining new knowledge may bring them into the process in a more
beneficial way. They may elicit more conversation from the students that is deeper and
more focused on problem solving.

There is little to indicate that this happens much. however. More often studies
show that students. including those who are prospective teachers. are unlikely to deepen
or even increase their understanding of subject matter during undergraduate studies (Ball
& McDiarmid. 1989; Zeichner & Tabachnick. 1981). And although some prospective
teachers have been shown to learn about and grow in their subject matter knowledge. the
mismatch between what they learn in college and teach in the classroom may be a
problem (Wilson. Shulman. & Richert. 1987). What the discipline specific instructors
want students to learn about a subject is most often not congruent with what they need to
know as prospective teachers.

Conclusions from the research lead us to infer that beliefs are formed early. are
sturdy. and affect a prospective teachers learning of subject matter as well as her thinking
about how to teach subject matter. Amber came to be the subject of this case study
because she was initially part ofa study at the National Center for Research on Teacher
Learning (NCRTL) at Michigan State University. She was a participant in the
Understanding Literature for Teaching (ULT) project which was designed to help
researchers understand prospective secondary English teachers~ notions of literature and
what it means to teach literature. The results of that study are included in Chapter Four.

As a research assistant and the primary researcher responsible for Amber’s ULT

data. this researcher realized a good opportunity to learn more about how Amber‘s

20

 

beliefs would fare when she experienced her first significant teaching role when Amber
said she would be completing her internship in the local area.

In particular. this researcher was curious to determine whether Amber’s approach
to teaching literature would continue to reflect her personal history-based beliefs or move
more toward other kinds of literature teaching she had studied in college. Researchers
were not certain that Amber had begun to develop new beliefs or understandings about
literature and the possibility of multiple interpretations of literature in college. It was
speculated from the ULT data that she had merely come to adopt the language of the field
of literature. She certainly knew the language. but inconsistencies in her talk about
literature and about teaching literature to high school or college students left doubt that
new understandings had replaced old ways ofthinking about literature. The doubt is
warranted given the difficulty of changing beliefs. as was illustrated above.

Literature and the reading of literature

Educators make decisions about how to conduct the study of literature and the
reading of literature in their own classrooms. Some choose to focus on the skills of
English (listening. speaking. reading. and writing) while others focus on the basic
disciplines of English (language. literature. and composition) (Applebee. 1974). In either
case. critical aspects ofthe subject are forfeited. And even in this forfeit. conflict is not
eradicated. When focusing on the basic skills of English. there is debate over a skills-
based approach versus a more naturalistic. wholistic approach. When focusing on the
basic disciplines of English. the ever-present question ofcanon looms dominant.

Determining the teaching approach as well as what should constitute the canon of

 

the high school is wrought with complications. There are many assumptions that underlie
the propositions people make. Assumptions about what texts are literary. about
appropriate ways of interpreting text. about the nature of learning. the nature of reading.
and the relationship between reader and text all underlie decisions made about teaching
texts in school (Rosenblatt. 1983). Arguments about the nature of the learners also enter
the conversation. Most of these questions were addressed in the ULT study at the
NCRTL. Explicit questions regarding canon were asked of the prospective teachers in an
attempt to discern their thoughts about what students should learn.

Prospective teachers were given a list of books and were asked to imagine that it
was a list given them in a school in which they were teaching. They were asked to tell if
they had read each of the books and then to identify which six books they would choose
to include in an eleventh. grade curriculum. Participants were questioned about why they
made their choices and were further questioned if their choices would hold true in
different schools. For instance. would they use the same books in an urban. low income
school as in a suburban school where few of the parents went to college or as in a
suburban school where most ofthe parents are professionals with college degrees. The
interview was designed to get prospective teachers to acknowledge diverse populations in
the context of their thinking about what students should learn. or what should constitute
the canon.

In considering what texts constitute the canon. some argue that there is an
imbalance in what is presented in American colleges given the nature of the literature that

is available in the world. Some argue that although “English literature from areas outside

22

 

Great Britain now by far [outweigh] British literature in output. . . and in qualitative
prominence." most university departments of English are still predominately British in
focus (Dulai. 1995). The British orientation needs to be transformed to a world
orientation, it is argued. This transformation could be a primary vehicle for answering the
call for a diversity orientation in the curriculum.

It is argued that this call for diversity in the curriculum of the high school can be
answered with a better range of text as well. C havanu (1996) raised the issue of student
engagement with text when the authors’ perspectives are so very different from their own.
Reading Twain’s Huck Finn was difficult for many of Chavanu‘s Black students. They
were so distracted by the use of “nigger" and the subserviance of Jim to Huck and Tom
that they couldn’t perceive that Twain represented Jim as a noble character. Chavanu
claimed his students found more meaning in texts where “racial injustice [was] not
reduced to a humorous adventure" (Chavanu. p6).

Others infer that not reading classics such as were written by Mark Twain may
compromise one’s cultural literacy. Hirsch (1987) defines cultural literacy as possessing
that basic information which is needed to thrive in the modern world. He claims that
most often poor children in urban schools are likely to remain poor and disadvantaged
because they are not receiving that information in America‘s public schools. The kind of
education they need is made up of this information possessed by literate Americans.
Although he claims to describe rather than to prescribe what that common information
should be. his “description" includes Mark Twain. Tom Sawyer. Huckleberry Finn. Uncle

Tom's Cabin. among other things. He argues for a. pluralistic society and for an honoring

 

 

and preserving of traditions within cultural communities in America. but claims that it is
important to identify national values and traditions as well. There is no consideration of
how the content being presented might affect the ability to learn. as C havanu points out.
Rather. the content as a unifying force is the focus. The canon is the issue.

Practicing teachers of literature must also deal with decisions about what readers
should do with text when reading. In the 19‘h century tradition of German universities.
when the shift from reading only Greek and Latin literature was made to reading English
texts. the tradition of reading as a philological study of literature came with it. This pure
love of literature. along with the study of its authenticity and meaning. was brought to
Harvard in 1896 when Francis Child was appointed its first English literature professor
(Rosenblatt. 1983). Although the reading list included history and philosophy texts as
well as what is thought of as literature. when works of the imaginative came to
predominate the curriculum. a biographical and historical approach continued to be used
in the tradition of scholarship.

Also influential at this time was the Neoclassical approach to literature with its
emphasis on "the potentialities of literature as the transmitter of ethical and spiritual
ideals. and of the critic as concerned with propagating “the best that is known and thought
in the world‘"(Rosenblatt. 1983 ). A desire for order. balance. and correctness
characterized the Neoclassicists. as did a general perception of man and his position and
function in the universe. Man‘s relationship to the natural order and his relationship to
God were foci of the scholars (C uddon. 1991). This emphasis is not unlike what was

heard from Amber as she talked about her teaching of literature to seventh graders.

24

 

 

Not only have shifts occurred in the notion of what is to be gained from the
reading of text. shifts have occurred in the beliefs about what readers actually do in the
reading of a text. Rosenblatt (1983) maintains that until recent decades. despite one‘s
philosophy of literature. one assumption that prevailed was that competent readers could
interpret the text and agree on the author‘s intended meaning. There has been a move
away from this assumption to the assumption that epistemic reading of text results in
meaning that is treated as "tentative. provisional. and open to alternative interpretation
and revision” (Wells. 1990. p371). This idea has not only further complicated the
understanding of the range of thought endemic to the field of literature. it has added a
level of complexity to the task of the teacher educator.

The ability to epistemically engage with text is what Grossrnan and Shulman
(1992) claim is the legacy of a liberal education. It allows the reader to realize that all
knowledge is situated in a context and therefore readers are each able see an old text in a
new light depending on their own context or the context from which they choose to read
the text. From this. readers also realize their own interpretations are not the only possible
interpretations since the context of each reader is individual. For a teacher in a classroom
representing a diverse population. this thought may be liberating. or it may be terrifying.
How one translates this notion of multiple interpretations depends on the teacher.

For example. for one teacher candidate in the ULT study. Taylor. the thought of
multiple interpretations liberated her from the responsibility of having to make meaning
of text herself. something she said she couldn‘t do (Holt-Reynolds. in press). As a

sophomore. she wrestled with her inability to independently interpret text and her fear of

25

teaching someone else to do it. She relied on the guidance of her professor to “get her
going in the right direction" so that she could interpret text. As Taylor learned the
language of multiple interpretations. she stopped wrestling with her inability to
independently interpret text. Interpretation had become so individualized and
contextualized for Taylor that she thought she. like everyone. could interpret. She
decided that if students participated with passion in reading and interpreting text. they
couldn‘t be wrong. Her concern about reading and teaching were relieved by her notion
of multiple interpretations.

Another teacher candidate might be so uncomfortable with the idea of multiple
interpretations as to neglect it altogether. The uncertainty of knowing what conclusions
will be drawn and what ideas will be brought to the floor of discussion by students may
unnerve the prospective teacher with a less than rigorous knowledge of literature and of
student learning. The threat of the students saying nothing or the threat of students
proposing an interpretation or theory with which they are unfamiliar may cause the
prospective teacher to dismiss the notion of multiple interpretations as invalid for
students in middle or high school.

What then do teachers need to know and believe in order to be able effectively
teach English / literature in the classroom? According to Grossman and Shulman (1992)
there are four criteria. First. they must be fully literate. According to Wells (1990) this
means being able to and having a disposition toward engaging with texts epistemically.
As was shown above. being able to do this is no small task. but is something that is

believed to be the legacy ofa liberal education. Second. teachers must be prepared within

26

multiple theoretical communities. They must also be made aware of the competing
assumptions. Whereas most students of literature at the university can espouse a
particular professor’s theoretical assumption. whether or not students can name the
assumption or even distinguish it from another professors assumption is doubtful. Yet. in
order to teach others to read critically. moving around among theories is essential. Third.
teachers must realize their own theoretical stance. One might question whether most
novice teachers have even adopted a predominate orientation toward literature. Fourth.
Grossman and Shulman (1992) propose that teachers need to know how to recognize
kernels of interpretation lying beneath student talk. This requires knowledge of students.
their backgrounds. their knowledge of texts. and their knowledge of common and
uncommon reading of central texts.

Obviously. a four year liberal arts education has no small task in preparing
teachers of literature to the degree to which it is declared they must be prepared. But. the
relative autonomy of the teacher within the classroom makes teacher knowledge critical.
With such a broad range of thought about what should be taught and how it should be
taught. prospective teachers must possess a high degree of understanding in order to make
decisions in a classroom that are defensible within the English community.

Given the diversity and range of thought within the literature community. there is
reason to be concerned about novice teachers leaving the university to teach literature.
Although there is the positive aspect that the diversity is well suited to meet the needs of
students who represent a diverse population. there is concern whether university

graduates have grasped enough understanding about the diversity within the field to be

27

able to guide other readers to read critically. Novice teachers may respond as Taylor did
and bow from lack of their own ability to such an individualized view of interpretation
that little critical reading is accomplished. Others may be so threatened by the potential
of multiple responses that they move toward a more structured. programed response to
literature in their classrooms. Then. there are those like Amber who have such well
formed theories about teaching and the use of literature that the implicit exposure to
multiple theories in the university does little more than arm them with the language ofthe
field. This may be the most dangerous of the responses since a low-level conversation
with these teachers. as might occur in an interview or yearly review. might lead the
evaluator to believe that the teacher is knowledgeable. Yet at the same time. their
students may not be learning to read critically. they may not be moving toward
independence as readers. and they may be looking at text in such a unidirnensional way as
to thwart the possibility of understanding others” perspectives. These are potential
problems that prompted the researcher to see if the interaction with practice in the
internship experience would show any change in Amber’s response to literature.
Cultural Diversity and Minority Teachers

Just as America's schools are faced with the challenges of pluralism. teacher
educators are challenged by the need to prepare prospective teachers to teach in
classrooms where there are culturally diverse populations of students. Whereas some
educators consider cultural diversity problematic to classroom management and
curriculum development. others view the diversity in classrooms as an opportunity to

discover the promise that is inherent in each child (Heath and Mangiola. 1991 ). Whereas

28

 

 

 

some have attempted to identify “culturally relevant teaching" in order to help educators
understand what is most effective when teaching particular populations of students
(Ladson-Billings. 1994). others maintain that all children should be exposed to the same
content and the same discipline structure if educators are the give equal opportunity to all
(Hirsch. 1987: Sowell. 1986). The complexity of understanding and prescribing practice
is great.

A consideration that is given less attention yet that is also important in the quest to
prepare teachers is the consideration of the prospective teachers perspective as it is
affected by culture. Her perspective of students. content. purpose in teaching. etc.. are all
affected by her own cultural perspective. What is perceived in subject matter classes as
well as teacher education classes is affected by the lens through which the prospective
teacher is viewing what is offered. The beliefs that educators have decided are so sturdy
and so responsible for how prospective teachers filter what is learned are very much a
result ofthe cultural perspective the person has. Until recently. the research has not given
much consideration to the cultural perspective of its subjects. perhaps due in part to the
low percentage of minorities who enter teaching as well as of those who do the research.
When people of like cultures work together. as has been the case in teacher education
research. cultural perspective may not be considered explicitly because ofthe large base
of assumptions the people working together share. Because Amber represents a minority
population. the study described in this paper has the potential to contribute significantly
to the larger body of research literature in that culture is an explicit part of the

conversation. Culture will be considered here as it was represented in Amber‘s talk about

29

 

the population of students she hoped to teach and as it represented who Amber was as a
person and as a prospective teacher.

As the subject of this study. Amber is a member of an under—represented
population among prospective teachers. She was one of only two minority students in the
ULT study and researchers knew it was valuable to have her voice among those students
studied. although they did not claim that she would tell them all that they needed to know
about African-American women who plan to teach. In the growing body of research
literature about minorities as teachers and learners. there is a risk of stereotyping when
drawing from the data of one person to generalize to the greater population. and vice
versa. This risk will continue to exist even as the body of research literature grows. In
fact. in the past White Americans have been perceived as treating Black Americans with a
sense of “Black homogeneity“ or as “an undifferentiated mass with certain inherent
strengths and weaknesses” (F ordharn. 1988. p56). The intent here is to describe Amber
as an individual who is a member of a “collective identity system" with the hope of using
the data to “invert negative stereotypes and assumptions into positive and functional
attributes” (Fordham. 1988. p57). Much data have been collected that will give the reader
a clear view ofAmber‘s individuality as well as ofthe characteristics that identify her as a
member of a culture.

Culture can be defined as "the sum total ways of living that are shared by
members of a population’and is said to encompass and be constituted by "rites. rituals.
legends. myths. artifacts. symbols. language. ceremonies. history. and sense-making

devices that guide and shape behavior" (Irvine. 1992. p.83). It is what children bring to

L; J
O

school. “their communities' cultural models or understandings of ‘social realities‘ and the
educational strategies that they. their families. and their communities use or do not use in
seeking education” (Ogbu. 1995. p583). The data will show that Amber had explicit
beliefs that seemed to emanate from her community. her faith. and her family. These all
worked to strongly influence Amber in her decision-making processes. whether the
decisions were about personal choices. career moves. or even about strategies used in
teaching a text. A lack of understanding of these things about Amber or how her culture
affected her beliefs could leave the teacher educator without strategies for guiding her in
her development as a teacher.
Faith

The African-American community has a history rich in stories of how faith and
religion helped to define it and give it meaning. When slaves were brought to this
country early in the 19‘h century. one thing that could not be denied them was their
personal faith. In some cases. slave owners insisted that slaves attend church with them
and be cleansed oftheir pagan beliefs. But often slave owners allowed slaves to worship
in community with other slaves. a practice that allowed the slaves to maintain a sense of
their heritage and develop a sense of community with others in this strange land. Their
faith gave them hope. hope that they would not always be slaves. The songs of the era
reveal a hope that God would deliver them some day. They looked forward to a day when
"all men and women would be treated as equals and as children of God. free to enjoy all
the blessings that a loving God provides. This is a hope that prevails and faith continues

to be a central binding factor in the African-American community even today (Lofton.

1991).

As the church became a central binding force in the African-American
community. it played and continues to play symbolic and functional roles in the
community providing political leadership. promoting educational attainment. and
providing other initiatives aimed at advancing the individual and collective welfare of the
African-American (Ellison. 1997). It continues to work to protect against the harmful
effects of interpersonal and institutional racism. and thus enhance the quality of African-
Americans‘ personal lives. Leaders like the Reverend Jesse Jackson have preached the
message that all are created in the image of God in order to instill a sense ofinvaluable
worth and pride in one‘s person and heritage (Lofton. 1991).

The centrality of the church in the community has allowed African—American
individuals to engage in comparatively high levels of organizational and private religious
practice (Ellison. 1997). An individual faith in God played an important role in Amber‘s
life as she attested to it as a motivator during difficulty and a guide in decision—making.
She believed in God and reported that she regularly read the Bible and other books about
faith. Lofton (1991) maintains that a private devotional life leads a person toward success
in dealing with the world. When she discovers her self identity. she enhances her
spiritual development. Lofton maintains that the more one discovers about God. the more
one discovers about self. Listening to Amber. one realized that she had a strong sense of
identity and a strong resolve about decisions made in the classroom. In an attempt to
understand how faith played a role in her decision-making in the classroom. it is helpful

to look at models ofhow people integrate their faith with learning.

b)
to

Scholars in the field of faith and learning integration consider the act of
integration as inescapable since the relationship between faith and knowledge is inherent.
They explain that there is not a “one or the other” conflict between faith and an academic
discipline. but rather an inherent connection between the two for the person who believes
in a “single reality. all of which is created by God and under his dominion" (Hasker.
1992. p 21). Since all beliefs have some effect on action. it is important to assess the
impact of believing in a single reality (Clark. 1990). A Christian worldview is a way of
thinking about the world. and specifically academic disciplines. that results in seeing the
world through a Biblical lens. No dichotomy of sacred and secular can exist when one
accepts God as the source of all truth. so integration is natural and inherent (Holmes.
1977).

There are. however. various strategies for integration of faith and learning. based
on one‘s understanding of the relationships between the disciplines and the Christian faith
(Hasker. 1992). Nelson (1987) developed a categorization scheme that helps describe
these strategies. The first strategy is that ofthe compatibilist. This person is completely
comfortable in her faith and in her scholarship and recognizes no fundamental tension
between the assumptions ofthe two. In teaching. she may or may not find cause to
address Christian concerns. The second strategy is that of the transformationist. This
person finds some basic validity in her discipline as it exists. but feels compelled to
question the assumptions of the discipline in light of Biblical truth. This query may result
in a need to transform or remake elements ofthe discipline in light ofa Christian

orientation. The final strategy is that of the reconstructionist. This person finds no

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validity in the assumptions of her discipline and feels compelled to restructure the
discipline based on her notion of Biblical truth. In this case. biology. psychology.
literature. philosophy as taught by a Christian scholar would be quite distinct from those
disciplines taught in a traditional setting. These distinctions are helpful to the researcher
who is trying to interpret the actions of a teacher who claims to assume a Biblical
foundation for truth.

As will be shown in Chapter Four. Amber could have been classified as a
compatibilist. She was able to find moral truth in any text she encountered. She did not
question any of the assumptions within the communities of teacher education or
literature. She was happy to espouse the beliefs while fitting them right into her moral
framework for teaching. She indicated no tension between the two at all. Understanding
Amber’s faith was crucial to understanding Amber's teaching.

Community

Also influencing Amber’s thinking about literature and how to teach literature
was the ethnic community of which she was a member. As an African-American. Amber
had another identity beyond her faith that helped to describe and define her and her
actions. Since the African-American community has had a turbulent history in this
country. it has developed an identity that is strong and explicit to itself. There are
characteristics recorded that work to bond the community and there are characteristics
that describe patterns of failure in the wider society. Discussed here are the strength of
the church‘s influence in bonding the community and strengthening individual resolve.

In the next section. the strength of the family in the community will be discussed

separately because of its particular influence on Amber. But also discussed are the
patterns of failure among African-Americans in schools and the types of sacrifices some
claim have been necessary for individuals to achieve success as a minority.

As was shown above. the church became a unifying force in the African-American
community early in its history when slaves were allowed to worship in separate services
from their masters. It became the center of the community where slaves were able to
express their hope for a future free from oppression (Lofton. 1991). The church has
continued to act as a center of the community for many African-Americans. It provides
direction regarding common understandings in the community. It affirms family roles.
role expectations. the sanctity of marriage. the importance of parenting. including advice
about issues of racial socialization. the values of an education. and other such value laden
issues (Ellison. 1997; Thornton. 1997). The church is instrumental in teaching parents
how to be a buffer between their children and the society. Parents learn to filter societal
information and become a primary interpreter of social structure. Group identity. status.
racial socialization. prescribed behavior. and racism are all issues that parents must
reckon with and learn to prepare their children to negotiate in life (Taylor. Tucker.
Chatters. & .layakody. 1997). The specific issue of ethnicity is made explicit within the
church and within the family. Church pastors have played political and social roles in
guiding the family and the community toward change. Even though the African-
American community is less dependent on the church for spiritual. political. and social
direction than it was a century ago. one would be remiss in attempting to describe the

African-American community without including a discussion of the role of the church.

9.;
UI

Also important in understanding the African American community is the
realization that there has been a pattern of failure educationally. Historically. minorities
in this country. especially involuntary minorities (those originally brought to this country
against their will or enslaved in this country) have not been successful in school (Ogbu.
1995; Hale. 1994). Their cultural referents have stood between them and the
representatives of the system in a way the leads toward failure. Minorities. especially
African Americans. have been unable to change the inhibitors that have stood between
them and their upward mobility. Whereas a European immigrant might change his
language in order to achieve a better job, the involuntary minorities had many more
circumstances contributing to their inability to move upward in society.

Explanation of this failure has been great. but McDermott (1987) calls failure an
"institutional fabrication" (p363). He claims the studies of failure have focused on an
explanation reliant on characteristics of communication style and lack of parental support.
for example, and that this has been ineffective. Just claiming that the communication
styles of the students and the teachers differ or that parents don’t care about their children
is, at best. a thin. if not inaccurate. explanation for failure. He calls for a focus on the
learning potentials of the persons or groups involved. A focus on the potential rather
than perceived deficit is thought to be much more informative for those who desire
action.

Fordham (1988) collected data on students in a predominately Black urban school
and in her study was able to identify students who were academically successful. In a

report focusing on six ofthose academically successful students. she concluded that in

order to improve their chances of succeeding these students had to develop a raceless
persona. In order to assimilate into the school culture. they had to minimize their
connection to the indigenous culture. Some rejected the music and entertainment of their
peers. One drew attention away from her ability in front of her peers while needing
desperately to show the adults in her life that she could achieve the best score in the
school on measures of achievement. Another used humor to detract attention from his
intelligence. The dualism they faced on a daily basis caused the students to create
strategies for negotiating the tension and stress. Fordham concludes that this form of
racelessness is a sign of internalizing oppression. She calls for a system in which Black
students can be academically successful without having to reject their “fictive kinship" or
their collective social identity.

More recently there has been a focus on determining characteristics of effective
teachers of minority groups in order to make explicit a move toward a successful system
in which Black and other minority students can be academically successful. Early
‘effective practice‘ studies did not consider the implication across cultural groups (Foster.
1995: Gollnick. 1992). But now there is an emphasis among some researchers toward
identifying what kinds of teaching are effective within specific minority groups.
Researchers look for teaching that not only encourages academic success but also fosters
pride in the students“ own cultures. A balanced multicultural curriculum is one that

fosters pride in minority cultures. helps minority students develop new

insights into their culture. reduces prejudice and stereotyping. and

promotes intercultural understandings. . .[and] improves the academic

performance of those minorities who have not traditionally done well in
school (Ogbu. 1995. p583).

 

Drawing on the work of several researchers and many studies. one can make
conjecture about effective practice with African American students. One characteristic of
effective teachers of minority students that research identifies is that of "cultural
solidarity." or affiliation and connectedness with the minority culture. Foster (1995)
recommends this characteristic in considering the African-American community
specifically. She argues that when there is this connectedness. there is a sense of mutual
obligation. Usually. this would imply that the teacher be of the same ethnicity as her
students. although occasionally someone may share cultural affiliation because of
growing up in a particular community yet not share the ethnicity of her students .

Sharing a sense of cultural solidarity is certainly helpful in helping teachers to
achieve the next characteristic - that of helping students connect new knowledge to that
which is already known (Foster. 1995; Ladson-Billings. 1994: Irvine. 1992 ; Gollnick.
1992). Studies on “culturally responsive" instruction emphasize that a key in schools
with cultural diversity is that effective teachers bridge the gap between students’ personal
cultural knowledge with the materials and concepts to be mastered (Irvine. 1992. p83).
The notion of connecting existing schema with new material is not new. but the emphasis
on the implications for effective culturally responsive curricula are important. In fact. the
implications illuminate the need for continued research on what the personal cultural
knowledge for students in minority groups is. Knowing the nuances of gestures and other
non-verbal language is an example of what is needed for establishing effective
communication between teachers and students (Byers & Byers. 1972). When the teacher

shares the culture with the student. she shares the knowledge of these nuances and may be

 

a more effective communicator. It may be worth suggesting that the same principle holds
true in Teacher Education.

A shortcoming of relying on this characteristic is that demographics assure us that
the new millennium will still witness primarily white. middle class women teaching in
America’s schools. Since we cannot rely on the hope that enough men and women of
color will enter the teaching profession to meet the cultural needs of America‘s students
in the near future. we are compelled to continue to identify the personal cultural
knowledge of minority children. Attention should also be focused on teachers who have
been successful in encouraging academic success among minority students without
allowing racelessness to be a prerequisite.

Another characteristic of effective teachers of minorities is that they have certain
conceptions of knowledge. They view knowledge as being continuously recreated.
recycled. and shared by teachers and students; they encourage students to view knowledge
critically; they are passionate about content, they help students develop necessary skills.
and they see excellence as a complex standard that may involve some postulates but takes
student diversity and individual differences into account (Ladson-Billings. 1994).

A fourth characteristic is that of focusing on the whole child. and not just the
cognitive growth ofthe child (Foster. 1995). The idea of focusing on the whole child is
not new either. but the implications for minority children is the consideration here.
Culturally relevant teachers explicitly teach and model personal values like patience.
perseverance. and responsibility. Rather than assume that attitudes and interests are

individual and personal. they actively foster motivation. self-confidence. leadership skills.

 

and other attitudes that can help students succeed in society as it is. Teachers are likely to
enter into the personal lives of students with relationships that extend beyond the
classroom and into the communities (Ladson-Billings. 1994).

Another characteristic is that of encouraging a community of learners. rather than
an environment of competitive achievement (Ladson-Billings. 1994). The notion of
connectedness and caring and collective responsibility in the community is extended to
the atmosphere of learning academic content. African-Americans have suggested that
one reason they have failed in school is that school is traditionally based on competition
and individual achievement and this concept is not what their children have learned in
their family and community relationships. By using familiar cultural patterns in the
learning domain. success is more likely (Foster. 1995).

Another characteristic that will be offered here is that of incorporating “culturally
compatible communication patterns" in the classroom (Perry. 1998: Hem'y. 1996; Foster.
1995; Ogbu. 1995: Delpit. 1988). Bicultural education is designed to “reinforce minority
students“ cultures. languages. and identities while teaching the language and other skills
functional in mainstream culture (Ogbu. 1995). The smaller the sociolinguistic
discontinuities between school and home the greater the chances of students participating
in school lessons (Foster. 1995). Traditionally. students who reinforce the indigenous
culture by using Black English in school inadvertently ensure their failure (F ordham.
1988). By removing this barrier. students are more likely to succeed.

And finally. a characteristic of effective teachers ofminority students that is in

embedded in all ofthe above characteristics is that ofa commitment to caring

40

 

 

relationships (Foster, 1995). Examples in F oster’s research and Ladson-Billing’s research
are of teachers who care about the future of their students. This caring is illustrated in the
way they dress when they come to school. their efforts to teach students to take pride in
themselves. their understanding of the integrity of their own communities. as well as all
of the characteristics mentioned above. Amber illustrated this level of caring and
commitment to her students. as will be shown in Chapter Four. And whereas Chapter
Four will also show that Amber had problems associated with her teaching of subject
matter. it will also suggest that she had the potential to demonstrate many of the other
characteristics mentioned above. Much of her thinking and beliefs emanated from her
family as it was situated in the community and was connected to the church. Amber’s
family was an important consideration in knowing who she was and in understanding her
passions about teaching.
Family

The history of the African American family is turbulent. as is reflected in the
turbulence of the communitys history. When slaves were originally brought to this
country. families were deliberately broken apart. In an attempt to “break slaves." babies
were sold from their mothers. marriage was not permitted. and Africans who spoke the
same language were separated (Hale. 1994. p.12). But. the family ideal survived to show
resiliency. fortitude. and character (Lofton. 1991 ).

The Black family is uniquely different from other families in America.
Traditionally. normative standards for families have emanated from studies of middle

class white families. More recently. Black scholars have questioned the assumptions of

41

 

what is normative and have attempted to offer new paradigms and models for
understanding the nature of Black family life. One of the main characteristics of African
American families is that of resilience in the face of adversity. Being able to adapt to the
circumstances of adversity has caused the family to survive (Taylor. Jackson. & Chatters.
1997)

A main concern of African American families that distinguishes them from
mainstream white families is the need for racial socialization since the experiences of
African Americans is distinct from that of other American children (Peters. 1985).
Children must come to understand their “blackness.“ It is assumed that they will be
exposed to "irrational restrictions. insults. and degradation" (Thornton. 1997. p. 202).
Parents must teach their children that to have friends. they must be accepted in the Black
community. To be successful. they must be accepted in the white community (Thornton.
1997; Fordham. 1988). They must develop a tough skinand have a high level of
tolerance. Some parents are explicit in their teaching that whites will try to push them
around or be unfair. But foundational to understanding all of this are love. a sense of
security. a sense of self-pride. self-respect. and a good education (Thornton. 1997; Lofton.
1991; Fordham. 1988). all ideals taught within many Black families. Understanding these
substantive issues is foundational to understanding the Black family. yet more research is
needed to identify how Black families teach their children and achieve this racial
socialization (Thornton. 1997).

Amber‘s family played a pivotal role in her identity of self and her understanding

of the world. She attested to the high degree of advice she solicited from her mother and

42

her siblings. 1n personal conversations and in conversations with her students. she made
repeated reference to her family and told of her trust in their advice. It was clear that
Amber’s family contributed to her worldview and thus her decisions in life and in

teaching. Data will be presented that will illustrate this point clearly.

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

44

 

Chapter 3
Methodolog '

This study was designed to examine the development over time ofa prospective
teachers beliefs and knowledge about teaching and the teaching of literature as she
experienced her first significant encounter with practice in her internship year of teaching.
What follows is a discussion of the methodology of the study. First. a description of the
prospective teacher under study is presented. Then. procedures for data collection are
described. Finally. analysis procedures for interpreting the data are discussed.
Description of the participant

The youngest of five children in an African-American family. Amber had very
strong family ties. Her parents were both successful in business. and several of her
siblings were already experiencing success in their chosen professions. She reported that
her father influenced her work ethic and that her mother urged her toward education and a
strong moral ethic.

Early in the initial interview of the Understanding Literature for Teaching (ULT)
project. Amber identified herself as a Christian and she told us that her mother frequently
encouraged her to read spiritual books. Christianity was important to Amber. and she
was not hesitant to talk about it in an attempt to tell us about herself.

I'm a Christian and I will always be and I try to keep God first in my life

because in an inter-tangled world of women we have to have somebody to

rely on and something to hold on to and that‘s the gift of being able to go

day by day knowing I have a Lord that I can hold on to. Especially on a

campus like this; it's big. it's bad. it's got a lot of let-downs. . .

Although she implied that she had a slight disagreement with her mother about whether

45

she should date as a fourteen-year-old. Amber seemed to have otherwise fully embraced
the ethical standards instilled in her by her family.

The work ethic that Amber learned from her father contributed to her having to
stand against the crowd in high school. She stood out as being different because she
chose to take classes from the "hardest" teachers and she worked to keep her grades high.
which she recalled as not the norm in the inner-city where she was raised. She said she
was often the "teacher's pet." She also reported that she was "valedictorian" of 6th. 8th.
and 12th grades and that she won scholarships and various academic competitions. As a
senior at the university. she wrote a letter to the editor of the campus newspaper extolling
the virtues of hard work. claiming that "hard work breeds respect" and ”a free meal ticket
breeds laziness."

There is evidence that the work ethic and beliefs that were instilled by her family
contributed significantly to the building of a strong moral framework from which Amber
would relate her beliefs about literature and the teaching of literature to high school
students. The moral agenda that Amber had was. in fact. what caused her “stand out" in
the w study. Her agenda seemed to be what caused her to be so sure ofherself and her
answers when posed with simulated teaching situations. She contextualized all ofher
answers by speculating that she would be teaching poor. African-American children in an
inner-city school. She claimed to have a very good understanding of what children that
age in that situation would be thinking and experiencing. Her claim to know what was
going on inside their heads and lives was despite the fact that she claimed to have been

very different from her peers when she grew up in an African-American. inner—city

46

 

community. But. the cultural referent still seemed to have a strong influence on her claim
to know the students and their lives.

Nonetheless. expert or not on all poor. African-American. inner-city children. the
seeming intimate knowledge of the context in which she planned to teach. coupled with a
really good self-esteem gave Amber strong opinions about what teaching would be
appropriate in an urban setting.

Data Collection Procedures
Understanding Literature for Teaching

Amber was originally part of a study conducted through the National Center for
Research on Teacher Learning at Michigan State University. She was one of fourteen
participants in the study called Understanding Literature for Teaching (ULT)
(McDiarmid. 1995). The study was designed to help researchers understand prospective
teachers’ developing understandings of literature and how to teach it. Undergraduate
English majors who planned to teach English at the high school level were selected for
the study.

Participants were interviewed at the beginning of their formal course work in
English and Teacher Education and again near the end of this course work. eighteen
months later. Interviews were designed as part of the study to elicit talk about how the
prospective teachers integrated their prior knowledge about literature with their formal
studies. how they began to make sense of what constitutes literature and what it means to
read and know literature. and how they began to translate those understandings into

pedagogical thinking. The interviews were designed to be conducted in three sessions of

47

 

 

two hours each, each of which was audio-taped, and video-taped. Other artifacts of the
participants learning were also solicited (i.e.. syllabi from classes, papers written for
classes. etc.). although getting any such artifacts was sporadic at best. (See Appendix A
for ULT interview protocol.)

A research team of five people were involved in interpretation and analysis of the
data. Data were read by each researcher and then data from individual participants were
summarized and coded into categories driven by the interview. The team looked for
themes across the data. compared and contrasted responses to particular tasks of the
interviews. and looked for individual variances among participants. Case studies were
written for most of the participants. this researcher writing Amber’s. Issue papers were
also written to show how ideas like diversity or conceptions of knowing literature or other
issues were represented across the data.

From the ULT study grew a particular interest in Amber. She stood out among
the participants as having a stronger than normal sense of mission in going into teaching.
Her faith and her notion of helping impoverished children permeated the data. Her sense
of self and her notions of teaching were explicit enough that researchers could imagine
Amber in front of a class with a clear sense of purpose and clearly in control. However.
researchers also imagined that Amber would have a narrow focus in her teaching of
literature because of her strong sense of mission. The interest in Amber as a prospective
teacher led this researcher to design a study that would follow her into her internship year.
The data from the ULT led the researcher to ask multiple questions that would inform

teacher educators about the complexity of considering a person’s personal cultural

48

 

identity in understanding her decisions about teaching literature.

The Internship Studt‘

The questions asked as a part of this study should help teacher educators look at
beliefs as they emanate from one’s personal. social, and cultural. and family influences
and better understand the impact they have on learning at the university and decisions
made in the practice of teaching in the internship experience. In this study. the researcher
asked if the beliefs. values. and opinions of literature and sense of mission that Amber so
strongly communicated in the ULT study would experience any change as a result of
interaction with practice? The researcher asked if those beliefs. values. and opinions of
literature would be reflected in Amber’s decisions about teaching and her perceptions of
student learning? Amber’s sense of self and beliefs about teaching as a moral endeavor
which emanated from her personal. social. cultural. and family background were so
strong as that university influence on her beliefs about teaching literature was not easy to
see. Yet, Amber had adopted the language of the university. So. the researcher wondered
if the language might be translated into action and a change in thinking about teaching
and learning or if her belief system would remain intact.

Extensive interviews and observations were conducted throughout Amber’s eight
month internship. Each is described below.

Initial Interview

The Initial Interview was designed as a follow-up to the Baseline and Exit

Interviews of the ULT study. Much data were collected in those interviews and analysis

led ULT researchers to make conjectures about the participants beliefs about literature.

49

 

teaching literature. diversity issues and other related matters. Since approximately
eighteen months had passed since the last interview with the participant. it was deemed
appropriate to have a follow-up conversation to determine change in areas related to
beliefs about literature and beliefs about teaching. The Initial Interview was designed to
elicit data regarding courses taken in the year since the last ULT interview. changes in
notions about literature since that time. changes in thoughts about why we teach literature
in the middle/high school. and any evolution in Amber’s personal philosophy about why
teaching was such an important mission. This interview was also intended to elicit
specific data on the participant‘s conceptions of herself. of the content of literature. and of
the specific context to which she had been assigned for her internship year of teaching.
Field Observations / Field Interviews

During the year long internship. the researcher observed four full units of ‘
instruction. each taught to two different groups of students. The observation of four full
units gave opportunity to see Amber grapple with issues of change as she perceived it.
The researcher observed the first two-week unit which began in the middle of October.
the second two-week unit in late November. a ten-week unit beginning in January. and a
final two-week unit in April. The researcher was able to observe the prospective
teacher’s introduction of the unit to the students and at least two lessons each week
during each unit. including closure and evaluation of the unit. Being there at the
beginning. middle. and end of the unit allowed the researcher to not only hear about the
planning for the unit. but to see the choice of strategies employed. Observing the same

lessons taught to two different groups of students gave insight into knowledge of context

50

 

 

as it affected the prospective teacher’s pedagogical content knowledge.

Insight into the prospective teacher's thinking about teaching were achieved
through interviews before. during. and after the teaching of each unit. for a minimum of
twelve interviews throughout the year. Her content choices. choices of strategies for
teaching. and methods of evaluation were compared with ULT data in which the
participant speculated about these very issues to speculate about the effect of the realities
of classroom life on her pedagogical thinking.

Exit interview

An extensive final interview was conducted at the completion of the internship
experience and was designed to give the prospective teacher an opportunity to reflect on
her development as a teacher. Questions were designed to elicit conversation about
herself - her personal and professional growth. Then there were questions written which
were intended to lead her to talk about her growth in the understanding of content. The
interview was designed to urge the prospective teacher to talk about the specific context
in which she taught. in order to further determine its influence on her pedagogical
decision making.

The researcher and Amber watched a video tape of one of the lessons she taught
early in the internship and she was asked to give her analysis of what she saw. Then the
researcher offered her a lesson plan that she. the researcher. had written for that same
lesson and asked Amber to analyze it in light of how she had taught the lesson. The
researcher included strategies that gave close attention to the learner as a reader.

Finally. interview questions were included to address new research questions that

 

had arisen during data collection. The researcher tried to predict what kinds of issues
might need to be addressed in reporting the data and wrote questions that she hoped
would get specific feedback from Amber.

Data Analysis Procedures

Four units of instruction were indeed taught over the period of the 8 month
internship. The units varied in length from ten lessons to thirty lessons. During the
teaching time. at least two observations a week were made during which time video and
audio tapes were made and field notes were taken. Observations were made during 4‘“
and 61h hours. two ofthe five periods that Amber taught. During the final unit. two
observations were made during 3rd hour as well when it became evident that there were
significant differences between 3rd hour and the other classes. More than sixty-four hours
were spent in observation of teaching over the 8 month internship.

In addition to observations of teaching. interviews with Amber were conducted
regularly. The research proposal suggested interviews before and after each unit of
instruction as well as after each lesson. This proved to be impractical and might have
even compromised the researchers' ability to continue data collection because of the
demands on Amber’s time. However. at least one interview was conducted during each
unit ofinstruction that probed for rationale. objectives. strategies. and assessment
procedures that were part of the development and teaching of the unit. An extensive exit
interview was conducted in April following completion of teaching. This interview was
written to clarify any misunderstandings or probe for further detail about anything for

which the researcher wanted further documentation. For instance. the researcher and

UI
[J

Amber watched a video tape of part of a lesson that Amber had taught during her first
unit of instruction and the researcher probed for details about how Amber interpreted
what had happened. Then Amber was given a lesson plan that the researcher had written
for the lesson that they had just observed. The researcher included in the lesson plan
activities that would challenge discrepancies or dichotomies in Amber’s talk and planning
for instruction. The interview also included questions about Amber‘s thinking about her
own ethnicity as it affected her ability to learn at the university and as it affected her
relationship with the researcher.

Because of the timing of the observations during 4‘h and 6h hours. the researcher
was able to have lunch with Amber and her Cooperating Teacher almost every day she
was there. These times were rich in conversations that gave greater insight into Amber.
The relationship between Amber and her Cooperating Teacher was more carefully
observed. Sometimes when the researcher was wondering about a particular issue. such
as feelings about ethnicity and its effect on Amber’s ability to learn. she would
deliberately make these part of the lunch time conversations. Amber’s Cooperating
Teacher was an African-American woman and when the researcher asked if her ethnicity
made a difference to Amber when looking for an internship placement. Amber responded
positively. Although Amber didn't offer the idea of a motherly relationship. when the
researcher asked if perhaps her CT reminded her of her own mother. Amber animatedly
answered. "Oh. yes!" The researcher asked the CT. in a private conversation. if Amber’s
ethnicity had an influence on her decision to have Amber as an intern. The CT was

animatedly positive in her response as well. She reported that she had had many interns

 

from the university. but that this was her first time to work with an African-American.

The relationship between Amber and her Field Instructor was also observed.
Given the timing of the observations the researcher made. she was present during some
post observation conferences between Amber and the Field Instructor. The researcher
was also able to be present during informal conversations between Amber and the
Cooperating Teacher after the Field Instructor had left. These observations allowed the
researcher to gain insight that wouldn’t necessarily have been elicited during a formal
interview.

During data collection. conceptual memos were written in order to preserve and
clarify thoughts about what was observed and to help put into words questions that were
arising while watching Amber teach and interact with students and teachers. Memos
were written regarding issues of ethnicity. interactions with a student named "Maria."
Amber as a moral gatekeeper in the public school. Amber’s knowledge of content. and
Amber’s way of dealing with authority and people of influence in her life. These memos
were written in the first person as a running commentary on what was happening and
what the researcher was thinking about what was happening at that time. Reactions to
conversations between Amber and her Cooperating Teacher. Field Instructor. other
teachers. students and even the researcher were included in the memos. Most times. these
were conversations and interactions not recorded on tape. therefore. it was important to
preserve the conversations and thoughts about what had happened.

Three lessons from each unit representing the beginning. middle. and end of the
unit were used for closer data analysis. The 41h hour class was closely analyzed. and

54

 

incidents from 3rd and 6‘“ were considered when more clarification or support was needed
to understand something. Video tapes of the lesson were viewed and notes were taken to
reflect the order in which events during the class period occurred. Many quotes were
recorded from these video tapes. Special attention was given to classroom management
issues. what the teacher did with a piece of text. and what the students did with a piece of
text.

As the next step in organizing and analyzing data. four guiding questions were
written to reflect the nature ofthe research question. The questions were designed to
code the data according to both an objective description and an interpretive description of
the data that required more inference. The first question was "What were the strategies
used for teaching the lesson?" The objective description included activities (what did the
teacher do with the text). assignments (what did the students do with the text). and
attention to student differences (did Amber give attention to differences in experiences
and ideas; did she call on everyone: did she give opportunity to draw on one’s
background for understanding or answering). The interpretive description included
questions about diversity and whether the lesson was interpreted as teacher directed or
student oriented (did she dominate the talk in an attempt to lead students toward her
perceived right answer or did she allow the students to participate primarily as learners
interpreting text). This question was written in light of what research says about
beginning teachers and their focus on themselves. The nervousness and lack of certainty
about content can lead to a very teacher-directed style of teaching with little consideration

of students as learners. How the learners fit into Amber’s schema for teaching was

Ur
Ur

already in question based on the ULT data. so this question about strategies was
important.

The second guiding question addressed the flow and coherence of the lesson. The
objective description included questions regarding the order of tasks throughout the
lesson as well as the management of teacher tasks such as stapling of papers and writing
of homework on the board and management of student work when turned in. The
interpretive description included beginning teacher issues of being able to identify and
match objective. assessment. and activities in a lesson.

The third guiding question was specific to classroom management. In objective
description of the lesson. management of individual student behavior was questioned.
Things like student talk or permission to leave the room were considered. In the
interpretive description. Amber’s balance of authoritarianism or power as a teacher with
her love for the students was described. Also considered here was the missionary aspect
of Amber’s own conceptual framework for teaching.

The fourth guiding question was directed toward teaching and learning practices
specific to literature. The objective description included noting activities surrounding the
teaching ofa text. The interpretive description was pointed at whether Amber was
looking for a right answer or was interested in student response. It also questioned how
she dealt with the authority oftext and the importance of knowing the background of the
author. Finally. whether the diversity of her student population was considered in choice
of text and use of strategies was analyzed.

Next. the data from the video tapes were coded and categorized according to the

56

guiding question that they addressed using the FileMaker Pro software program. The
software allowed the researcher to organize data into categories and to see the data in
chart format. The guiding questions were used as headers for each section with the four
units as chart divisions. This helped the researcher look for trends or patterns of change
that occurred over the eight month internship. These trends and patterns became the basis
for organizing assertions that are presented in the next chapter.

Interviews were conducted throughout the internship. Although the interview
questions that were written before the study began were used. questions and concerns that
arose during observation were also reflected in the interviews. Each interview was
transcribed verbatim and these data were used in the analysis to give insight into the
thinking about planning and teaching and about interactions with individual students.

These insights are reported in the next chapter as well.

CHAPTER FOUR

PRESENTATION OF THE DATA

58

Chapter 4
Presentation of the Data

INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents an analysis of the data both from the Understanding
Literature for Teaching (ULT) study at the National Center for Research on Teacher
Learning (NCRTL). representing Amber as an undergraduate‘. as well as the data from
the internship. The original ULT data revealed some interesting themes in Amber’s talk
about literature and teaching that led to continuing research into her internship year of
teaching. Data from the two sources revealed a striking continuity in her thinking that
will be shown here. The themes are presented here as assertions. The assertions are then
explicated and supported by examples from the data. Support is derived from Amber’s
talk. planning. teaching. and interaction with students. school personnel. university
representatives. and the researcher. These data work together to illustrate how Amber
revealed a striking continuity in her thinking from her undergraduate years throughout her
internship experience. despite the discrepancies between her thinking and that of the
university. She seemed to be blind to the discrepancies. but rather negotiated the
resultant tension created by the discrepancies by excusing those from the university with

whom she disagreed as not understanding her students in her school.

 

‘ Some initial analysis of data on Amber was carried out by this researcher during the
ULT study with the helpful input of G.W. McDiarmid. Diane Holt-Reynolds. Margaret Malenka.
and Steve Smith. For this dissertation. the data from ULT were further reviewed both at the
proposal writing stage and at the data analysis stage for the internship data.

59

Assertion # 1: As an undergraduate, Amber often referred to the role of authorities
on whom she relied on as influences or guides for her life.

Amber’s worldview. emanating especially from her faith and her family values.
led her to develop a strong sense of the influence of authority or authority figures on her
life. The prominent issue of authority became evident early in the ULT study and
remained an issue throughout Amber’s internship. She talked often of the influential
people or things she relied on to provide direction for her life and support during
difficulty. As an undergraduate. she anticipated that she would help her students to
realize good or proper influences for themselves. Some of the influences Amber relied on
were religion. family. texts. and the university. Since no one else in the ULT study
offered this theme of influential authorities to the degree to which Amber did. we began
to wonder early in the study what the impact of this thinking would be throughout her
undergraduate years and then on into her internship and teaching. Presented below are
data to support this assertion and explain how it emerged in the ULT study.

A. Religion

One ofthe goals ofthe first interview in the ULT study was to establish a context
by which to understand the participants (See Interview Protocol in Appendix A). This
was done. in part. by finding out about the personal lives ofthe participants. Questions
were designed to urge the students to tell what they believed to be important about
themselves. In this context. Amber identified herself as a Christian.

[Church is] the core of my life. I’m a Christian and I will always be and I

try to keep God first in my life. . . that’s the gift of being able to go day by

day knowing that I have a Lord that I can hold on to. . . (Bl) (For

explanation of coding symbols. see Appendix B.)

60

Knowing about Amber’s faith was critical to knowing who she was. When she met with
a different interviewer for the second set of interviews. she again established this context.
but this time without the prompting of interview questions. She talked about numerous
religious texts that she was reading explaining how they were designed to help her see
what she could accomplish with the help of God. When asked in the ULT interview
about teaching in the context ofa rural. religious community. Amber identified herselfas
a religious person.

A lot of students may say. well my father . . . says we shouldn't be reading

this. . . I may run into something like that. Then I will have to supplement

something for that student. because I can’t go against religious rulings. . . I

mean. I’m a religious person myself. So if religion has something to do

with it. I would have to take that into consideration. (E2-30)
Even when the interview probed for beliefs about reading. Amber showed that religion
was a source of influence on her life. During the first set of interviews she responded to a
question about reading by saying

Reading is not only fun. but it helps you in everyday life. Sometimes.

you're like. ‘1 cannot go through this. I need something to look at.’ or ‘1

need reassurance.’ And you pick up the Bible. a spiritual text. The Dailv

Bread [a religious devotional guide]. the newspaper. . . Ifthey were

eradicated. I'd be eradicated because I need something to help me in these

days. And if we don't have somethinguit's not always mommy and

daddy!. . . Sometimes. within yourself. you have something there to read.
to help you go. (B2)

 

Religion as an influence was critical enough to Amber that at least once in each of
the seven ULT interview sessions. she talked about religion in one way or another.
B. Family

Amber'sfamily also served as source ofinfluential authority in her life. Her

61

parents' influence on her behavior and her siblings' influence on her direction in life were

evident.

I’m the youngest and l have three sisters and a brother and [this is] the
way my mom brought us up. She said. ‘You know. it’s really important to
study. to take heed to whatever you’re reading or whatever you’re
studying because you never know how it could affect you later. . .’ So. I
was given like one hundred and ten percent encouragement from home. so
when I came to school. even if] didn’t like it. I finished it. (E3-l6)

Amber referred to her mother most often as influencing her in the spiritual realm. Her
mother recommended specific spiritual texts for her to read. She even encouraged Amber
to write out her prayers to God.

My mother also told me writing letters to God is something that is

beneficial. . . She says she’s looked back on letters that she’s [written]

about praying for her children and for herself and they’ve been answered.

So. I’m going to start. (B2—37)

Amber’s siblings helped her see direction in life. In the first interyiew session she
revealed that she had originally come to the university as ajournalisrn major because her
siblings had been journalism majors.

I was majoring injournalism because my family are journalism majors.

My brother is a producer of [a national television news magazine] and my

sister produces the 10 o’clock TV news in [the city where we grew up] and

so it was. like. journalism! (B1)

Later. she was made it clear that her family’s support ofher change ofrnajor from
journalism to English was important to her.

My mother has an excellent speaking voice. She’s always done

motivational speaking for churches. schools and how she got started in

that. I don’t know. I guess it was just a gift. So we got our speaking

abilities from our mom. So she was very supportive [of my change of

62

major]. as well as my sisters and brothers. (B1)
It was also clear that her accomplishments were important to her family.

I really pushed. . . I really excelled and that made my mom feel good. But
I did have sisters and brothers to look up to. (B 1)

Although she spoke more often of her mother than her father. Amber showed
great respect for both ofher parents. Both parents owned their own businesses. and it
was clear that her work ethic and her drive for excellence were a result of her family’s
influence. It was evident that Amber’s family had a powerful impact on her thinking and
decision making.

Interestingly. Amber did not reference her family’s race and ethnicity in talking
about their influence on her. She implied but did not say explicitly that in her community
they were one of the few African-American families that valued the strong work ethic or
that pushed for excellence in education. She told one researcher that she had been
accepted in a suburban preparatory school but that she had declined the opportunity to go.
She said that she lived down the street from her inner city school and that. although she
was not well prepared academically for the university. she learned a lot that made her a
stronger person.

You see a lot and you learn a lot and that makes you a stronger person.

Because a lot ofthe people around you are not trying to strive for a lot of

the same things that you’re trying to strive for so it makes you really really

work hard and keep your identity. . . to be honest with you. . . I didn’t have

a lot of people that I could identify with. (Bl-7)

This might have been a natural place to talk about how different she and her high school

classmates were despite their shared ethnicity. She said she wanted to go back to her

 

community to teach to help students better their lives. One can only speculate as to why
references to her race and ethnicity were so rare with Amber.
C. Texts

Amber’s belief about authority extended beyond religion and family. She had
made it clear that religious text was important as an authority. but she revealed that this
influence extended to text other than religious text as well. Even as a sophomore
undergraduate. she had determined that. whether fact or fiction. text could be used to help
her understand the world and could motivate her when she was dealing with life’s
problems. Although references to text as help for dealing with life’s problems were not
unique to Amber in the study. her intensity and the frequency of such references made her
stand out. When the ULT study probed to find out about the personal reading habits of
its participants. Amber’s response began to give us early insight into her thinking. When
asked about her personal reading habits. Amber offered this response.

1 read fiction. but I’m into what’s happening now. When I read fiction I

try to take it and apply it to what’s happening now. because I’m not really

into the imaginary. . . I mean. we don’t live in an imaginative fairy tale.

When I was little that was fun. But I tend to read things that I can relate

to. that 1 could try to relate to. that 1 can relate to. You know. books about

people’s lives. The inside story of Oprah or whoever. I try to get into that.

(Bl)
At the time ofthe interview. she was reading Terry MacMillan’s Waiting to Exhale
because

. . . it’s so real and that’s why I like it. . . Waiting to Exhale. you’re

waiting to let something go. That’s what the title is saying to you. You’re

waiting to let something go. Their problems. They’re waiting to be
women that can be respected by themselves. . . (B2)

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Another book Amber said she had read by MacMillan was Mama. a book about

a young female that is raising her six children by herself in an inner city

and I can attest to that. Not saying that I’m a mother with six children. but

I know people like that and I like to read things I can relate to. (B2)

During the second set of ULT interviews. participants were again asked about
their personal reading habits. At this time Amber again mentioned that she had read a
couple of Terry MacMillan’s books. but that she was mostly reading material for her
classes. When asked during this interview about her personal writing habits. she again
affirmed her stand on dealing with reality.

The approach I take is basically. I’m a very real type of person. And I like

to deal with today. . . and also what went on in the past. . . I don’t like to

deal with just being imaginary. It’s not that it’s not interesting. But I like

to see progress. change. things that will happen to me. I do read a lot of

motivational books. I just read a book recently. . . Can Your Faith Fail?

And it was really good. It helped me in life. you know. (E1 -10)

A question that cannot be answered is whether Amber would have voluntarily
talked about reading and how it affected her life. She voluntarily offered that she was a
Christian and that her family was important to her. even in conversations where these
were not the topics. Now. obviously. since the study was about the teaching ofliterature
it is impossible to answer this question. But it seemed in listening to Amber over the
period of eighteen months that her faith. her family and her mission in teaching were
more important indicators of who she was than was her thinking about text.
D. University

Amber came to the university expecting to find more influential authorities who

could guide her in life’sjourney. We can infer this from her talk about "taking heed" to

 

the professor and about respecting the professor. She told the researcher in the first set of
ULT interviewers that she tried to meet with each of her professors privately.

I try to see all ofrny professors. ifI’m four pointing the class or not. I

want to let them know that I’m interested in the class and that ifI need any

help I want to be able to come [to them]. (Bl)

She claimed to like best the professors who worked her the hardest.

You know. it’s furmy. The classes that I’m doing the 2.5. 3.0 work in I

love them most because they’re making me work harder. . . I had [a

professor] for Geology rocks. It was so hard. It was the hardest class that

1 had ever taken in my life. but it was the best class because I know so

much. I can look at a rock and tell you what it is. . . It’s the teachers that

work me the most that I enjoy.

During the first set ofinterviews. she talked about the excitement of digging
deeply into text. something she had not experienced in high school. She said she guessed
that’s what she was paying for in college - "the indepthness that you get." She said that
she was beginning to see more than just the story line when she read something. When
talking about Frankenstein. she said that her professor had helped her realize that the
monster was a reflection of Victor himself.

I would have not really thought of that until she started just opening my

mind to that. And I love that book. I can just sit up and talk about the

book more.

These testaments to the appreciation of teachers who pushed her and who helped
her to see things differently showed that initially Amber regarded her professors with the
same respect as other adults in her life. She made personal connections with them and

carefully regarded their teaching as influential on her life and her future as a teacher.

Although Amber respected her professors and claimed to welcome their influence.

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over the period of the ULT study there was little specific evidence that the university had
any influence on her thinking about literature or the teaching of literature. Researchers
were able to discern only two areas where the university teachings seemed to add any
ideas to Amber’s own well formed theories. Those were the areas ofrnultiple
interpretations and literary theory.

As a sophomore during the first set of ULT interviews. Amber revealed that she
had been introduced to the idea of multiple interpretations of literature. What resulted
was an introduction to the language of multiple interpretations rather than a rich
understanding of the concept. When presented with four examples of literary criticism as
a part of the interview. she exhibited confusion in analyzing them. She agreed with the
idea that a piece of literature is "a self—contained world" that the reader has an opportunity
to interpret while also agreeing that the author had a fixed meaning when writing a text
and that understanding about his life helps the reader to interpret that meaning. When
questioned about this she explained that knowing about the author’s life is important to
her and helped her to interpret. making it a personal preference. She said that two people
may read a book and have "similar interpretations. yet have distinct differences." The
more she talked. the more it became evident that she would have had difficulty defining
"interpretations." But some ofher comments led us to believe that she had developed the
language ofrnultiple interpretations in her college classes.

Literature doesn’t have one meaning. It has no fixed meaning and that

goes back to the first [theory] that we were talking about. It’s the reader

response. his own interpretation and if you look at a book and say this is

the only thing the author was trying to get across. the only meaning. the

only point. then you’re kind of devaluing the book. . . And that’s a lot of

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people’s problem when they read books. They read it one way instead of
really looking at it from different angles and that where we. as English
majors come in. because we kind of got that push, there’s another way to
look at this book. . . You’ve got to have multiple ways. (B3-15)

Saying that as an English major she was pushed to look at books in other ways attributed
this theory to her university training. She also said that analyzing text was part of her
responsibility now.

There are some books that you can just read and enjoy, but I guess as an
English major. that’s my job now - to read and analyze. (B2-3 9)

During the second set of interviews when Amber was a senior. the task of reading
four examples of literary criticism was performed again. Again. Amber revealed a lack
of understanding. During the ULT interviews she had a tendency to think everything we
offered her to read was "wonderful." So by agreeing with each of the four criticisms. she
concluded that literature is a self-contained world with the meaning lying in the text. that
knowing about the author’s life is important because authors write for an intended
audience. and that literature "kind of but not really" has no fixed or constant meaning.
When the interviewer probed for clarification. she came up with the explanation that

Literature does have a fixed meaning. but the meaning lies within the

reader. Because if I show you what the Native Son is about and I say this is

what it’s about. that’s a fixed meaning in my opinion. (El-3 7)

When asked if she would like to add anything to the criticisms. her own theory found its
way into the discussion.

Maybe a big part of literature is finding something within what you are

reading to help a problem in your life or to help someone or something.

To become rectified. And I think that’s what I would. I’m sure I would
add. (E1 -37)

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Amber’s ability to learn the language ofthe field was evident in the area of
literary theory. as well. and it appeared that she had learned the terminology at the
university. She freely used the terms deconstruction. feminism. Marxism.
psychoanalytic. and reader response. even in her sophomore year. She was asked to
define deconstruction by the interviewer.

You’re basically breaking every element ofthe book down. You’re

criticizing it but you’re taking each element in its unique fashion. You’re

breaking it down to interpret it in a way that’s understandable for the

reader. I think that’s my interpretation.

In defining the other terms she said.

[Marxism is] the economic views ofthe time. how important was money.

Back then. how established a person or a family [was] and how it affected

that person’s life or that family’s life and how it contributed to the good or

bad ofthe whole situation. Feminist. just from a feminine perspective. As

a female does this degrade us? Does it uplift us? Are we stereotyped?

[Reader response is] just how a reader responds to the actual. when you

read this book. the actual. basic response that a lot of readers get. Are they

shocked? Are they hurt? What type of response is the author trying to get

through?
By the second set of interviews. she had added what she called the "constructionalist"

approach.

That’s a criticism on eras. of the time periods ofthe book. When it was
written and how you view it through that approach.

She credited her knowledge to a professor who had had the students buy novels that
contained the contemporary criticisms in the back. Students had to read the criticisms
along with the novels and the criticisms were discussed in class.

Amber was able to acquire the language of the field from her professors. yet
acquiring the language did not contribute to her understanding of literature nor did it

69

 

serve to penetrate her own theories about texts and teaching literature. Instead. it
probably is an indication of the strength of her belief that she should "take heed"of the
teachings ofthose in authority over her. It may also reflect the teaching that she had
received from her mother that there is something to be learned from all that is heard or
read.

Analytic Commentary:

As we heard Amber’s theories unfold over an eighteen month period. we on the
ULT were intrigued about her future as a teacher. We began to wonder how Amber’s
internship would be affected by her notion of authority. On the one hand. she might not
experience some of the typical beginning teacher problems because of the assuredness
with which she approached everything she encountered. Her personality probably would
not lend itselfto being overwhelmed with negative student behavior. Whereas she would
probably be completely respectful ofthe teachers in the school. we did not predict that
she would succumb to the socialization patterns the research indicates is typical.

On the other hand. what are the implications of her ability to use the language of
the content area of literature without grasping how to read text critically? Would her
lessons reflect her lack of understanding? The next assertion addresses her beliefs about
teaching and what she speculated she would do as a teacher. Whereas the data about
Amber’s notion of religion. family. text. and the university as guiding influences help us
to understand how she used text for herself. the following data about her speculation of
what she would do as a teacher help us to understand why her beliefs remained so stable
throughout her university years.

70

 

Assertion #2: As an undergraduate, Amber expressed a strong belief in teaching as a
moral mission. Combined with her focus on the importance of authoritative
influences as youth grow up, this sense of mission was specifically expressed through
teaching literature as an authoritative source of moral life-lessons for secondary
school students.
A. Teaching in order to return to her own community as a missionary

During the ULT study. one of the prominent themes that emerged in Amber’s talk
was that of a sense ofmission in teaching. This theme began early to frame most of the
answers that she was able to give in response to interview questions. Although other
participants spoke of their desire to help young people in some way by becoming
teachers. Amber’s focus was different in intensity. Her references to helping young
people through the teaching of literature were more frequent. more direct. and more on
the order of statements of mission than we typically heard. She told researchers that she
made an explicit decision to be a teacher because she wanted to help the people in her
own community better themselves and help themselves out of some of life’s dilemmas.
Amber said that when she thought about her career choice she decided.

I like to help people. I like to help them strive to be the best they can be

and with English I can do that. l’rn talking. I’m speaking. I’m in front of

an audience. but I’m helping people. . . and that’s why I like the major I’m

in. Because I want to help people. I want to go back to [my high school].

I definitely do. I don’t want to desert my community. I want to go back

there. (Bl)
Amber even began to voluntarily contextualize her answers to questions about teaching
when there was no deliberate prompting from the researcher. She repeatedly made it
explicit that she wanted to teach in the inner city. When she extracted a reason for

teaching a particular text. she referred to scenarios like ”students [living] in

71

neighborhoods where it’sjust. bullets flying all the time." (B3-20)

For example. when answering the ULT questions about teaching the Raven.
Amber said.

If [their reading scores are] already high. I don’t feel that I have too much

of an impact. I’m only bringing them higher. Someone else can do that. I

want the impoverished. And. like I say. ifthey are impoverished and they

come from a background where they’re just not high achievers. then [The

Raven] is perfect. because they’ve lost a lot. (B3-20)
Amber was focused on teaching as a mission to the impoverished. irmer city children.
Her missionary-mindedness gave her the reason to teach and specifically. the reason to
teach literature.
B. Teaching literature for explicit reasons

Amber also began to reveal early in the ULT study that she believed the reason
for reading any text was so that one could learn a life—lesson from it. In the first set of
interviews. she told the researcher that every piece of literature has a moral. When asked
what she meant by a moral. she said that she meant "a reason." Later she explained.

. . . why this is being written in this time span - for what reason. What

message is the author trying to get across that is important? That’s

literature. There’s a message. (Bl)
In fact. when asked to determine. from a predetermined compilation. which pieces oftext
qualified as literature. she decided that Charles Darwin’s Origin of the Species was not
literature because it did not contain a moral. but rather was informational text.

It’s not a morality so let me say that no. in literature I think there’s always

a moral. . . There is always a moral. There’s a reason. OK? I think this is

more or less what he did in his life. um natural selection and the weeding
out of animals and that type of thing. I think it’s more informative. (B l)

 

She repeatedly expanded on her theory of morality as a reason for reading a text. In fact.
the theme of learning a moral was at least as strong in the second set ofULT interviews
as in the first. Examples can be drawn from each of the three two hour sessions that were
part ofthe second set of ULT interviews. She asserted. for example. during the first
session that her reason to teach literature was so that her students

. . . could get an insight into issues that affect the world today. Issues that

affected the world in the past. And issues that will affect the world in the

future. . . The only way literature can actually be effective is if you make

sure that you teach them in a way that you can apply it to something today.

Or apply it to something that can help you or someone you know. (E1 ~4-

5)
During the second session. many more assertions were presented regarding the reason for
reading text. For example. Amber said.

I would have to let them know that [there’s] something in each book for

everyone. . . ‘Well. in this book. at this character’s age. they were doing

the same things you were. They were experiencing the same type oftrials

and tribulations. They overcame them the same way some of you might.’

And. if they understand what I’m trying to get at. they’ll understand the

reason behind [reading it]. And they’ll be able to appreciate literature.

(E2-3)
The third session was no different from the other sessions. In fact. in five pages of
transcript where Amber was talking about her reason for teaching Romeo and Juliet and
how she might assess what her students were learning. she used the terms "morals" and
"ethics" thirteen times. She summarized this section ofthe interview by saying that she
\\ould "really push [her] morals onto" a student who thought that Romeo and Juliet were

“Slit in committing suicide and therefore so should this person’s friends who were in the

same situation. She went on to say.

 

I think as a teacher I have that right if 1 see some of my children straying

in their trains of thought. Then I would have to come across very forceful

with the way I felt. because 1 would never want them to go astray. (E3-10)
Admittedly. anyone charged with the speculation that one ofher students might consider
suicide as a romantic solution to forbidden love would assert an attempt to change that
line ofthinking. But statements like "pushing morals" and "coming across as forceful to
keep her students from going astray" were not exclusive to the situation of suicide for
Amber.

During this session of interviews about Romeo and Juliet. the researcher asked
Amber ifthis message of not committing suicide was what Shakespeare was trying to
communicate when he wrote the play. She admitted that she thought he wrote the play
for entertainment purposes since theater was the main form of entertainment at the time.
Then she said.

But. I feel ifI was to teach it and have a reason behind teaching it. I would
teach it from that aspect. (E3-l)

"That aspect" was that of

. . . show[ing] young people that it is OK to be in love. but you never take
it to the extreme that they took it. . . Ijust feel that a lot of young people
today feel that if something happens to their significant other then they
can’t go on without them. And you have to understand that life goes on.
whatever you have to do. if you have to put yourself in your education or
in your job or whatever hobbies that you have. you have to move forward.
And I think that’s one of the main morals here. so I’ll teach it from that
aspect. (ES-1)

Notably. during both the first and second sets of interviews. Amber made
statements about pushing morals and using text to teach students life lessons. Statements
W61? made during the same interviews in which she agreed that there are multiple

74

 

interpretations and text has no fixed meaning except what is in the opinion ofthe reader.
For example. consider the following quote where Amber wants students to say what they
feel is their own interpretation of Poe’s The Raven and be given the standard
interpretation in the same lesson.

I want them to perceive it in their own way. 1 want them to understand

what. exactly what most authors. and what Poe. meant by it. of course. I

want to give them the standard explanation of the poem. . . what I want

from them is the truth about how this affects them. . . Its essence. the

whole entire essence. what it means to you. What does it mean to you?

But. I want to get across the standard explanation. (B3. p9-10)

This tension was of great concern to the researchers, but seemed to pose no
problem for Amber at all. Her mission was interwoven with the language of literature
and teaching that she had learned. but the mission was always the stronger theme.

From Amber’s talk about teaching literature. the researcher discerned two strands
of thought that showed that Amber’s ideas were more in the class ofmissionary-
rnindedness than of just speculation about what teachers do with text. The first was that

she repeatedly insisted that there must be an explicit reason for reading a text or for
teaching a text. as has been shown above. The second was that this reason would be
accomplished only if the text were relevant to the lives of students.

As was shown above. what Amber found to be true for herself was that text could
be used to better her life and lift her up spiritually. This was not qualitatively different
from what Amber later speculated would be true for the students she would teach. She

Wanted them to be able to relate to what they were reading so that they might learn

Something to help themselves or to help others. In the early interviews she was asked to

 

speculate about what she might teach and why. When Poe’s The Raven was suggested
she decided that it would be an appropriate text.

And, I guess. young people have. go through so many things. and they

cannot forget what has happened in the past because. basically. it can help

them to draw strength from it. If you look at The Raven in that sense. he.

in a way. was trying to forget. and trying to deny the bird being a symbol

of his pain. The symbol ofthis past love. this deceased love. and sure

enough. you can’t dwell on it and make your life surround around

something that’s in the past. But. ifyou reflect back on it. certain things

from the situation can help you in the present day and I think that’s the

main reason why I would teach it. (B3)
Eighteen months later she was asked to talk again about teaching The Raven. She talked
again about the reason for potentially teaching it.

But. ifyou look at it from the point of view that it’s very important to find

contentment within yourself; and this man. obviously. is wrestling with

discontentment. . . the fear of not being able to go on. The fear of. or not

even a loved one. Losing ajob, losing out on competition. When we can

overcome that obstacle. that’s when the fear disappears. [That’s the main

reason to teach it in high school] (E2)

In talking about teaching Romeo and Juliet. relevance to the students’ lives was
embed ded in her response about the reason for teaching it. In formulating her response to
questions about teaching text it was Amber’s habit to tell the story line to the interviewer.
As she told this story she interjected commentary regarding how Romeo and Juliet were
much like typical ninth graders are today in that their passions ran deep. She also
interjected her notions that the story should be used to show ninth graders that. although
it is acceptable to be passionately in love at that age. it is not acceptable to use suicide as

a means of escape when the love is lost. At one point the interviewer probed to find out

Why Amber consistently told the plot of a story when asked why she would teach it.

76

 

Amber explained that in telling the story she discovered the essence of the story and thus
what she could "connect to everyday life." (B3) She elaborated

A lot ofpeople think. when I tell them my style ofteaching. they’re like

[Amber] you’re always applying it to life.’ But. what do we live in? We

live in life. We don’t live in a fantasy world. And if it cannot be applied

to life. then I don’t have a reason to teach it. IfI don’t feel that I can

successfully make an impact on their life while I am teaching it. then I

have no reason to teach it. (B3)
The relevance of the story helped her to guide students in what she perceived to be the
right direction in life. and helping students in this way was Amber’s mission in teaching.
C Teaching literature did not include consideration of author 15 craft

Given many opportunities to talk about literature and text and the reason for
teaching literature. opportunities that spanned at least thirteen hours over an eighteen
month period during the ULT study. very few times did Amber refer to text as a tool for
studying author’s craft. She did not seem to see text as a way to teach reading. to help
students understand the craft of writing. to understand story grammar. or to perceive any
other such textual considerations. The closest she came to saying something along these
lines was during the early set of ULT interviews when she mentioned that a poem was "a
Work of art. if nothing else." Considering a poem a work of art is a different kind of
thinking than thinking of a poem as a medium for sending a relevant message to the
reader. She briefly mentioned that she might "go over" rhythm and rhyme scheme when
teaching The Raven. but otherwise made no reference to use oftext except as it could

PFOVide a message for the reader. She gave no indication that she rejected the notion of

Considering author’s craft. she just did not naturally think of it given to her own devices.

77

 

Analytic Commentary:

The first assertion described Amber’s notions of authority as influences in her
own life. This second assertion argues that Amber’s personal theories extended to her
thinking about her reason to teach and her mission in helping "impoverished" children. It
would seem that Amber was wise in choosing teaching as a field since it is a helping
profession. But Amber’s notion of helping children was focused on children as moral
beings and virtually left out a consideration ofchildren as learners. The strength of
Amber’s beliefs about hard work and a moral mission that emanated from her personal.
social. cultural. and family background was expressed in her beliefs about teaching as a
way to show students life-lessons through the reading of literature. She viewed literature
as a moral vehicle that would move students toward right choices in life. Appreciation of
a story lay in the ability to overcome a problem. perhaps in the same way the characters
in the story did.

This theory of Amber’s was so strong and so well embedded in her thinking that

researchers watched to see if the university would have any influence on her thinking as
she progressed through her undergraduate years. Unfortunately. there is little objective
data about what the university attempted to accomplish. Yet. given what Amber reported
about her own learning. the university did not cause Amber to feel uncomfortable about
her theories. The third assertion will show that Amber did not sense a tension between
What she believed and the language of the field of literature that she was learning to use.
Assertion # 3: During her undergraduate years, Amber did n_0t express dissonance
abo‘" POtential tensions between her ideas about authority and moral messages in

literature text and the ideas she reported as coming from her university English

78

 

courses.
It is reasonable to assume that what Amber believed about authority and about
teaching as a missionary endeavor would have an impact on how she interpreted what
happened at the university since one’s worldview affects how one interprets all of life’s
experiences. Normally. a college student experiences a healthy tension as her worldview
is shaken by the introduction of varying schools of thought about basic questions of life.
Thus. one might expect that Amber would experience tensions as she progressed through
her coursework, yet she did not seem to experience the tensions as such. As was shown
above, Amber learned to use the language of the university. but using the language did
not seem to challenge her own well developed theories. One such example was presented
earlier. when she talked about wanting students to perceive The Raven in their own way
and get the standard explanation and learn the life lesson oflearning to move on with life
despite the sorrow ofa lost love.
Amber‘s talk about text as she would use it in the classroom was consistent to
revea\ her very strong notions of mission and of authority. yet she continued to
intermingle her own theories with the language ofthe university. She talked of going
beyond the story line. multiple interpretations. and even disagreeing with the professors.
Eventually, she created a dichotomy that allowed one set of learning behaviors for college
Students and another set of behaviors for high school students. It seemed that what was
happening to her in the college classroom was significant enough in her own learning that
she was not willing to dismiss it. Yet. her ideas about teaching her children were too
impOrtant to let go of either.

79

The first dichotomy that she created was that readers should go beyond the story
line and dig deep into text versus the story line is the reasonfor reading since the story
line is what is relevant to the students ' lives. This particular dichotomy became evident
early in the ULT interviews and helped researchers begin to realize that Amber had a
stronger than normal sense of mission going into teaching. Yet on the other hand. Amber
was experiencing a kind of reading and analysis of text that she had not experienced
before. In her college literature classes she said her professors were giving her
perspectives on text that she had not experienced before. and were "just opening [her]
mind." (Bl-19) She found this very exciting. She decided that she wanted to do the same
thing for her prospective students.

When I teach English. I want to take them beyond the story line because

that’s what I [am] used to [now]. I want to really make them dig in deep.

(Bl-19)

She related that she had read The Scarlet Letter in high school and had gotten the story
line. But in college one ofher professors had opened her eyes to the cynicism with which
Hester wore her letter A. This was a significant event for Amber. So. when speaking in
general terms about teaching. Amber was dedicated to having her students "dig deep.”
She wanted a better education for them than she felt she had gotten. When asked why we
teach literature in college. Amber replied.

I guess to expose young people to the rights and the works of other

authors. To open their minds to new ideas. to new concepts. To give us a

chance. as readers. to critique the author. to critique the meaning. (B2-2l)

A contrast was observed. however. when Amber was asked to be specific about

why we teach literature in high school.

80

Because I think that's the crucial age where you’ve got. a lot of ideas

running around in your head. You’re thinking about a lot of different

things and if you don’t have a basis or a basic surface to stand on. then

you're lost. I think literature helps sometimes. What you read comes out

in you. and that’s why you don’t fill your mind with junk. . . in high

school. that’s a crucial age because you’ve got a lot of decisions to make.

You’re growing up, you‘re on the edge of becoming an adult and ifyou

see how other people think and how other people dealt with certain things.

that helps more times than it hurts. And sometimes when it does hurt. it’s

in actuality helping because it’s molding us. (BB-22)

Whereas Amber thought college students should have their minds opened to new ideas
and concepts. she thought high school students needed predetermined solutions to
dilemmas. As was seen repeatedly in looking at Amber’s sense ofmission in teaching.
getting the right "morals and ethics" across to her middle or high school students was a
top priority in teaching. Her mission in teaching literature was not to dig deeply. as she
spoke of when generalizing about teaching. but rather to lead students down the right path
toward a morally righteous life. In reality. her mission was what guided her in making
decisions about teaching rather than her excitement over digging deeply into a text to get
new ideas and to critique the author.

The second dichotomy can be stated as there are no wrong inteipretatirms in
literature (multiple intetpretations are possible) versus there is one interpretation oftext
- the one that has a relevant moral or ethical standard/or the stzicilenls.

Early in the ULT interview. as Amber speculated about teaching. she began to
give evidence of this dichotomous thinking. For instance. during her explanation that she

would teach The Raven by giving the standard interpretation of the poem and eliciting

from the students the truth of how it affected them and making sure they learned a life

8]

 

lesson. she was challenged by the interviewer with the idea that literary critics differ in
their explanation of the poem. After three probes from the researcher about how she
would answer a student who insisted on knowing what the right interpretation of the
poem was. Amber replied.

Well. there’s no right and wrong. That’s it. There’s no right and wrong in

this poem. You know. maybe it’s. . . poetry is open to interpretation.

There are reasons why this critic says this poem is trash and his reasons

are valid. Nevertheless. on this hand. there’s another [critic] that says he’s

just a genius. He’s a work of art and he has positive influence. That’s

where poetry is so. it’s so open. I like it. No right and wrong answers to

poetry. Never will be. Never has been. (BS—15)
In the second set of ULT interviews. she again talked about literature being open to
interpretation. This time she talked about it in the context ofher own projected teaching.

Like I say. literature is open to interpretation. You know. . . it depends on

ifyou’re going to open your mind up to understand. . . I want to go around

the room and find out different ways oflooking at things. (E2-1 1)
Yet on the next page of the transcript. she said she was going to make sure students
understood what Poe intended for them to understand when reading The Raven.

The meaning. the author. and how it will or could affect your life or help

you. (Interviewer: What do you mean by the meaning?) What’s meant by

this poem. What is Edgar Allan Poe trying to get across to his readers“?

He’s dead. of course. so we can’t call him up or write him. But. we can

take critical analyses that other people have wrote about this and find out

what it really means. from our own experience. (E2-12)
'What it really means’ implies there is one meaning. Later in the same session. Amber

said that books had a static meaning.

A book stays the same. You get the same meaning every time you read it.
Get the same inspiration every time you read it. (E2-3 7)

She also believed that students would get that meaning by just reading. The only reasons

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a student would not be able to get the meaning of a book would be if he either hadn’t read
the text or if he had a learning problem. She was asked what she would do if some of her
students had trouble reading The Raven. She interpreted reading to mean understanding
the poem. and declared that they wouldn 't have trouble if she related the poem to
something that was part of their everyday lives. She could only imagine one thing that
might cause a student to have trouble.

Unless they have a serious, maybe, I don’t know, dyslexia. I don’t know.

I don’t think they would [have trouble understanding the poem]. Because

I’m going to break it down so plain, so I don’t understand why they

wouldn’t [understand it]. (83-18)
Amber had a hard time with the notion of no right or wrong answers because she couldn’t
rectify letting a student leave a text not realizing the moral that she had attached to the
story. This fact is well illustrated in the following quote. The interview offered a test
that had been written to assess students’ learning of Romeo and Juliet. She was asked to
speculate about a potential wrong answer to a question on that test.

Maybe. I don’t know for sure. Simply because. as I say. number nine. I

don’t think there could be a wrong answer. The only incorrect answer. let

me take that back. would be ifit's not defended. lfit’sjust. ‘no. . .’ But if

it was defended and it was defended within the text and within the realm

of the way that I was teaching it, and when I say that [I mean] the morals

and the ethics that we went over previously. (E3-8)
When asked which of the proposed test questions offered in the interview could have
wrong answers. Amber said.

Most of them probably could. to be honest with you. all of them probably

could. It would just depend on how the students would answer. Say ifthe

student just did not read the play and was just trying to get through this

and say, ‘Well. I’ll just put whatever I think.’ then they are capable of
getting all twenty items wrong. . . like number three. ‘Why didn’t Juliet

 

want to marry Paris?’ Well, some could say ‘Paris was too young for her,’
or ‘Paris didn’t have enough money.’ Those are obviously wrong
answers. But that would let you know, okay, that’s wrong. But if I went
down to number four and they say, ‘How old was Juliet?’ And someone
said. 'Thirty-five’ then I would know again, ‘Okay, she or he didn’t read
the story,’ because Juliet was only thirteen. (E3-lO,1 1)

The interviewer summarized this conversation with, "But it sounds like you really
want them, in the end. coming away with the moral that you have attached to the story."
Amber responded. "Definitely. Definitely." (E3-11)

The third dichotomy was that college students can disagree with professors
versus high school students believe teachers because they are teachers. In the first set of
ULT interviews, Amber explicitly spoke about the difference between high school and
college, no doubt thinking of her own experience.

When you’re in twelfth grade, when you’re in eleventh grade, you really

take heed to what your teachers say. When you’re in college you can

make your own decisions. ‘I don’t believe that.’ I mean, you know what

I’m saying? You can say, ‘1 don’t believe that. I don’t accept that.’

Whereas in high school you’re still kind of controlled. (Interviewer: So

you think a high school student is more likely to believe exactly what you

say?) Exactly. Because of that fact that I am a teacher. You know, I’ve

been to school so I know. And they still wouldn’t. they probably would be

scared to think of it any other way. (B3-5 ,6)

When talking about defending answers from the text. Amber speculated that there
would not be many students in high school who would differ in their answers from the
teacher and thus need to "strongly defend" their answers.

So. I was one of those students. So. it may be a couple. But it [won’t be]

half the class because a lot of students are scared to speak out. A lot of

students just want to finish the class. (EB-12)

Amber also noted the difference in relationships she had with her high school

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teachers and her college professors.

I guess maybe the relationship between student and the professor is a little

different here. Because I never had to go and make an appointment with

my teacher in high school. I would tell her after class. ‘I’m not happy with

the grade.’ And we’ll talk about it then and that’s it. Where I had to

actually make appointments and sit down and talk to our professor on a

one on one basis about my grade, and it’s more important now. . . (Bl-28)

It is interesting to note the contrast between the ability to easily approach a high
school teacher. yet not easily disagree with her and the difficulty associated with
approaching a college professor. yet the more likely prospect of disagreeing with her.
Amber’s notion of herself as a middle or high school teacher was probably more
acceptable in her own mind if she perceived herself as one whom the students could
easily approach. but who would be respected and whose ideas would be infrequently
chaHenged.

By looking at the apparent discrepancies in Amber’s thinking as dichotomies that
separate what teaching is appropriate for the college classroom from what is appropriate
in the high school classroom. it helps us to see how Amber could negotiate tensions in her
own mind. Amber’s reasons for learning about literature in college were different from
her reasons for teaching literature in the high school classroom. probably because the
relevance to the students’ lives is different. She dealt with the tension in such a way as to
ease the cognitive dissonance that it could create. However the data indicate that the act
was subconscious rather than conscious. thwarting the possibility of it creating a genuine

learning experience.

A nalytic Commentary:

 

 

Given these assertions and the relationship between Amber’s beliefs. values. and
opinions of literature and her personal. social. cultural. and family influences. the ULT
researchers realized Amber would be a valuable candidate for study during her internship.
Researchers wondered if she would make decisions in her internship based on the
theories she espoused in her undergraduate years or if other influences related to practice
would influence her. Would she. indeed. find a moral or life-lesson for students in every
piece of text that they read? Would her moral mission allow her to see her students only
as moral beings or would she come to see them as learners? How would her notions of
authority affect her relationships with her students. her Cooperating Teacher. her Field
Instructor. and with other evaluators of her learning and teaching? These questions drove
the next stage of data collection.

The next two assertions reveal the continuity between her undergraduate theories
and her decisions about teaching in her internship. Then the final assertion gives
perspective to the overall picture of Amber as a teacher. Although teacher educators can
easily find criticism for Amber’s choice of teaching strategies based on her theories and
values. there are elements of her teaching style that led her toward effectiveness in
accomplishing what she wanted to accomplish. These need to be considered in order to
fully understand Amber as a teacher.

Assertion #4: As an intern, Amber continued to perceive literary text as the
authoritative source of moral messages and taught literature lessons in ways that
emphasized a moral mission.

Amber had become an intriguing candidate for study during her internship

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because of her stronger than normal sense of mission in going into teaching. Her notions
of how authority figures in her life influenced her and the fervor with which she
communicated this theory made the researchers wonder if the fervor of her speech would
be translated into action. The following data will show that it was indeed translated into
action. By drawing examples from each of the four units of instruction that Amber taught
during her internship. the following shows that Amber was still dedicated to her mission
of using literature to lead students toward a moral life.
Unit I
The first story in the first unit taught. the mystery unit. was Just One of Those
Days by Donald Westlake. The main activities of the lesson were to retell the plot of the
story by answering the questions that accompanied the story in the literature book. to
summarize the story as the questions were answered. and to determine a theme or life-
lesson from the story. Amber elicited student responses to each question and then retold
the story as she elaborated on their responses. The story was about a foiled robbery
attempt. The two robbers got caught. but the reason they got caught was not revealed
until the last page. Amber then asked the students
What do you think the theme could be? I have it on the board. When you
read these stories, I want you to be able to apply it to your life, so what
could the theme be? (M1)
Talking about the theme became the focus of the rest of the class period. The fact that she
first asked what the theme might be. but then immediately pointed out that she had
already put the theme on the board indicated that knowing what she had determined the

theme to be was the true objective for the students. The theme she extracted was

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Even the most careful plan can have a flaw: it doesn’t pay to do wrong.
CRIME DOESN‘T PAY. (Ml)

This was written on the board and pointed to briefly. but before Amber gave any
more attention to her own theme. she probed for students to give their responses to what
the theme might be. When she took student responses. she was quite accepting and
positive. even when the students were not saying what she wanted them to say. Some of
the initial responses to what the theme might be were. “never rob a bank on Kenny
Griffin Day'.” “ they should have robbed a different bankz” always follow your plan.”
Amber’s response to these contributions was

How can you apply this to your life? I’m looking for a lesson or
something you can get out of this for your own purpose. (Ml)

Then the responses changed to. “cheaters never win. you’ll always pay:” don’t do
anything that you’ll have to go to jail:” “ stay calm under big situations." Although
Amber used the phrase. “Those were some good positive things that I’ve been hearing”
with all of the responses given. it was clear that she was not willing to leave the text until
the students turned their thinking toward hers. One student said. “If at first you don’t
succeed. try. try again.” Amber quickly came back with

That’s good. But not in robbing a bank. though. Jeremy. But. in

something else you do positive. if at first you don’t succeed. try. try again.

(M1 )
Another student said. “If you want to rob a bank. you’ve got to have a machine gun.”
Amber said. “Oh my. I don’t know ifthat’ll help you in life though.”

After Amber had accepted oral responses from the students. she redirected their

attention to the theme she had written on the board. She read it and said “Most of you

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alluded to that.” seemingly to affirm their input. Then. the only theme that was written
down by anyone was the one Amber had on the board. The students wrote this in their
official notebooks for the unit.

Evidence of Amber’s desire to help students learn life lessons that could lead
them toward better lives can be also be seen in the second lesson that was analyzed in the
mystery unit. The story. Examination Day. was more likely a story from which a lesson
could be learned than was Just One of Those Days. Amber briefly talked about the fact
that no setting was given. and then moved quickly to the moral issues in the story. The
story was about a society in which all boys were tested at age twelve. and those with
intelligence quotients higher than a certain level were eliminated. In the case of this
story. Amber’s agenda for communicating a moral to the students was so strong that she
herself seemed to not understand what the story was about. She wanted students to learn
from the story that education is to be valued. something she evidently thought would
make their lives better since she told the students that education makes you smarter and
gives you more power.

She identified the society in Examination Day as a dystopia. She asked for
verification from the story that this was so. and a student said. “It controls over
(unintelligible) and won’t let you be smart. . . “ Amber interrupted.

Right. Education and intelligence was not valued. That freedom was

taken away in this society. The government controlled that. They

controlled how much you learned. We can assume that because of the

examination. (M2)

She addressed bias and the value of education. In reference to the fact that only

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j

boys were tested. she led students to conclude that the government was prejudiced
against women because they were not tested. “So we would not know why they were
imposing this type of regulation on males. Was this regulation on females? No. Was
this bias?” Students said yes. Later she said the society was biased against boys. "Boys
are really biased in this story. They are making boys feel like they are not valued. Which
is really bad, to say in a society such as this.”

She had ‘utopia’ and ‘dystopia’ on the board and led the discussion to the

q.
.

definitions “perfect society” and “not perfect. a society far from normal She moved
from this statement into a comparison with Atwood’s Handmaid's Tale. She told
students that in Atwood’s book the government officials felt society would be better if
women’s freedoms were taken away. She told the students that the story was about a
society where women were no longer valued except for the purpose of having babies.

For Amber at this point in her teaching. all stories must be relevant and lead to a
life lesson. one specifically suitable for the particular audience of 7m graders. In this
story. she chose to not address the issues of government corruption and control. perhaps
because she did not view them as suitable enough a theme for her 7‘h graders. She
manipulated the story to lead to the conclusion that education and intelligence were not
valued. At one point. a student challenged her conjecture. He said he thought that
education and intelligence were so highly valued that the government wanted control over
those commodities. He said. “Actually they do value it. it’s just that the government

doesn’t want people to be smarter than they. . . " Amber interrupted.

Now that’s true. But I think it’s still not necessarily valued though.

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Because when you value education, you value all aspects of it. You know

what I’m saying. because . . . (another student said something

indiscernible). . . exactly. Tell him what you said. . . Yes, it’ll be valued

more. the more education you. the smarter you are. the better you are and

the more power you actually have. so. . . I don’t think they really valued it.

they want you to have this mediocre intelligence and that’s low. That’s a

low standard. They don’t really value that. (MZ)
As Amber stumbled around a bit with her answer. it appeared that she needed the students
to understand the st01y in a certain way. She wanted students to value education. but to
let them see that overvaluing it led to immoral behavior may have been too risky to allow.
This seems to have been done subconsciously. Although she continued to be explicit
about her agenda to teach a life lesson. she probably would have been surprised to have
anyone suggest to her that she had misinterpreted the story for the sake of serving her
agenda.

The third lesson analyzed from the first unit of instruction was a review before the
test. The class started with the students writing on the topic "What makes education a
powerful tool and why?" This was practically a repeat of the assignment during the
reading of Examination Day. The students wrote and after sixteen minutes. six students
voluntarily read aloud what they had written. When the test review started. six stories
from the mystery unit were reviewed. Amber probed for the moral with three of the
stories. Each of the six was summarized. Two poems by Edgar Allan Poe were read as
part of this unit. Both were sumn‘iarized. and facts about Poe’s life were elicited. The
only question on the test about Poe asked students to give two facts about Poe’s life.

They did nothing with the poems themselves on the test.

Interestingly. during the review of Eldorado by Poe. a student ventured an

9l

 

interpretation of the poem. Amber responded with a positive. animated "Yes!" She went
on to say.

Third hour took it a totally different way. They went really. really deep
with it. but the good thing about it is no one is what? No one is wrong.

No one is wrong. Because poems are what? Feelings. Feelings and what?
Imagination and what? Interpretation. (M3)

During the post unit interview. the researcher decided to probe to see how Amber handled
this notion of right and wrong on the test. The researcher said. "Tell me how you handled
right and wrong answers on the test. Or even in class. you can just talk a little bit about
right and wrong answers in their discussion or on the test." Amber responded.

I never said. ‘You are wrong.’ I never say ‘You’re wrong.’ If they have
enough guts to say what they are going to say then I never say ‘You’re
wrong.’ I’ll say. ‘Well. you’re getting warm.’ Or ‘that could be a
possibility, but you’re not there yet.’ But to say, ‘Oh. no. that’s totally
wrong.’ Unless they are being sarcastic. You know you’ll have some
students are off task and they are sarcastic, so then I address that
accordingly. . . But I never. 1 don’t think I’ll ever say “Oh you are just
totally wrong.’ I’ll phrase it in a way in which they don’t feel
underminded, but they’ll feel like, ‘No. I’m not exactly right. but I still
feel like it’s safe ground to raise my hand again.’ (Mi)

This answer has to do with how she makes the students feel about risk-taking rather than
how they interpret literature. She went on to talk about the test.

The test was a 20 question test. and each question was worth five points.

Now there were some questions that I gave partial points to. Like the

question. ‘Name two things about Edgar Allan Poe.’ If they named one I

gave them partial points. And you can’t, test grading is test grading! But

as far as the interactive discussion. right and wrong answer type of issues.

I tried to be fair. (Mi)

When the interviewer continued to try to get her to talk about potential variation in

interpretation. she asked. "Were there questions on the test where there could be a variety

of types of answers?" Amber still didn’t deal with interpretation.

Yes, there were. One of the discussion questions was the plot of Just One

of Those Days, a mystery by Donald E. Westlake. And there was a ton of

different ways that they could have explained what happened. So I wasn’t

just looking for did they have every detail down. as long as they knew

there were two robbers. the road got changed, they were going to rob on

Tuesday but they decided to rob on Wednesday because of Kenny Griffins

Day. They had something in that arena, they got five points. Because not

all students are going to write the exact same plot in the exact same way.

so that was left open. (Mi)
It would seem that right and wrong answers and interpretations created a tension for
Amber. who said. "Test grading is test grading" yet still wanted to feel that she had left
room for her students to answer in their own ways.
Unit 2

The second unit that Amber taught during her internship was a novel unit. She
taught Homecoming by Cynthia Voight. In teaching it. Amber talked about how
important it was for her students to realize the tragedy of abandonment and the value of
teamwork as they read this story about four children who had been abandoned by their
mother. The children. the oldest of whom was 13 years old. traveled on foot together in
hiding to find a relative with whom they could live. They traveled hundreds of miles
together in order to not be separated into foster homes until their mother could be found.
Amber elicited much discussion about why the children chose to tackle the difficult task
of walking so far in secret when they could have called the police to rescue them or gone
to a shelter. There was lively discussion on this issue. The unit was taught in two
weeks. whereas her cooperating teacher had usually taught it in three weeks. There were

not enough books for students in all five periods to have their own copies. so third hour

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students were given books to take home and the others left their books at school. using
them only during the class period. The third hour was the honors class and it was
assumed they would actually read the book. so they were given copies. Other students
had to come to the classroom after their last hour class to check out a book if they wanted
to take it home and then bring it back before first hour the next day. Meanwhile the
teaching went on daily as if all students had read the chapters assigned. though a very
small percentage of student checked out books each night.

When the novel was introduced. Amber provided a handout that identified the
"everyday themes/issues" that the class would deal with in the novel. These included
family struggle. trust. responsibility. independence. survival. love/concern. patience. child
neglect. teamwork. child abuse. homelessness. senior citizens. runaways. child custody.
Class discussions repeatedly turned toward these themes. with more attention given to the
values of trust. responsibility. independence. love. and teamwork. When a scene in the
book involved one sibling stealing a wallet and the oldest sibling making him return it.
honesty was added to the list of themes. The culminating activity for the students was to
create a "thematic collage." The students were to choose one of the social issues from the
given list and make a collage of pictures related to that issue. Then students were to write
a one to two page paper showing how the social issue comrected to the novel. what
motivated the student to choose that theme. how society views the theme chosen. and
finally an explanation of how the collage is arranged and why the particular pictures were

chosen.

During the post unit interview. Amber said one of her main goals for the unit was

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to help students understand each other. When asked if she would teach the unit
differently to a group of students in a different setting. she responded in this way.

Um. if they were affluent and they did not really. if I thought they did not

really connect to the issues I think I would still do it the same way.

Because I think they need to be aware that there are children that are out in

the world and have been abandoned. . . they need to be sensitive to the

needs of others. . . So when I teach. and that’s just always gonna be my

style. I want it to be responsive. because ifit’s not responsive to their life

and connects in any way. it’s not going to be helpful. . . And that’s more

important than matching the character to her name. I mean. that’s nice to

find out ifthey read that point. but that is not going to help them to go on.

(Ni)
Unit 3

The third unit ofinstruction that Amber taught was a "multicultural unit." She
identified her goals in the interview before the unit was taught. They were that students
learn to "share in cultures other than their own and celebrate their own cultures." On the
first day of the unit. Amber asked the students to define multiculturalism on a scrap piece
of paper. She pointed out that she had written on the board "multi: many. a lot; culture:
ways oflife. race. beliefs. traditions. heritages. ideas of one group of people." Then she
asked students to volunteer their definitions. which she then wrote on the board. After
writing the definitions they volunteered onto the board in a wheel and spokes fashion. she
directed students to copy this into their unit notebooks. Finally. she gave students a
handout that defined multiculturalism as "the practice of learning to appreciate many
different people’s values. beliefs. traditions and ideas. It promotes cultural diversity."

She affirmed the students’ input by pointing out how close to her definition theirs were.

The handout also listed the following goals:

 

I. To understand. learn and appreciate another’s culture through primarily

a literary perspective (specifically. the world of folklore.)

2. To think about the various cultures as a way or means to getting along

with others.

3. To celebrate/appreciate one’s own culture in a new and exciting way.

This was the longest unit taught. and included at least four folktales from four
different cultures. While teaching the folktales. Amber’s habit of finding moral values to
emphasize continued to be evident. For instance. when reading the short story The Force
of Luck. Amber gave an assignment to write a newspaper article about someone who had
become wealthy due to their honesty and hard work. just as the character in the folktale
had. The assignment handout said "Two ofthe major themes in "The Force of Luck" are
honestv and hardwork.”

Three quarters of the way into her internship. Amber’s goals to help students
better their lives through the teaching of literature had not changed. In fact. during an
interview regarding the multicultural unit. she again stated.

I really think that they need to know that these stories are not just stories

that I’m going to have them read and then go on to something else. Ifthey

don’t understand that these stories have some connection to their lives.

even if they didn’t experience the account. they need to know this is real

and this happened. (Mei)

She talked about having read the folktale "The People Could Fly" translated by Virginia
Hamilton. In talking about the various translations ofthe folktale. she said that she told
the students.

And maybe she said it this way. but the moral is still the same. And I kept

saying that. We can get ten translations here. but I want you to see that the

core theme is the same. And I think they got that out of it. (Mci)

It was at this point. however. that Amber began to think she could not change

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every student’s life. She said she believed that despite the multicultural unit. there would

still be disrespect due to cultural differences among her students.
It’s not going to change the world. And that’s just. I came in with that
vision. which was (Interviewer: To change the world?) Well. no. not to
change the world but to save every child. And now I look at all this and
look at me now, my whole perception has changed as far as. I will
continue to try, but ifI don’t get to one. I can’t say I failed. All I can do it
try. But I just knew in August, I know every child is reachable. And
every. and I’m not saying they aren’t. But, maybe I’m not the teacher
that’s going to reach that child. Maybe I’m not the person that’s going to
reach that child. But all I can do is my best and after that it’s nothing else
I can do. (Mci)

The interviewer asked if she still believed in trying.

Oh, I do! I do! I will never give up giving my best to each child. But there
are still children that I have yet to reach. (Mci)

Unit 4

The final unit of instruction was on the novel The Hundred Penny Box by Sharon
Bell Mathis. The main difference between this unit and the others that Amber taught was
the energy she expended. She seemed tired of teaching and gave assignments that looked
more like busy work than anything else she had given. For instance. on the first day of
the unit. she had the students copy from the back of the book biographical information
about the author. Whereas knowing about the author fit Amber’s theory about how to
make a book meaningful. the biography offered in the book told only about the author’s
educational degrees and her memberships on editing boards. It did nothing to help
students understand the story. Nor did copying it from the book. which she had never
had the students do before.

There were several other things that showed Amber’s thinking about what was

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important had not changed. She introduced the novel with a short dramatization. The
story was about a one hundred year old African-American woman who had a box of one
hundred pennies. one to represent each year of her life. She would take a penny out of
the box. look at the date. and tell her great grandson a story of her life from that year.
Amber dramatized this by putting a shawl on her head. sitting in a rocker. and talking and
singing as she told what her penny box was. The students were enthralled.

Following this dramatization. she asked students to work in their small groups to
brainstorm what they might learn from a story like this. Several students shouted "life-
lessons!" One contrast that might be made here is that during the first unit of instruction
Amber asked students to brainstorm a life-lesson or a theme to be learned from the story.
By April when she taught this unit. she used the phrase "What might you learn?" to which
the students responded "life-lessons!" Whereas Amber did not have the students copy
one approved theme off of the board and into their notebooks. there is no indication that
she had changed her mind about the role oftext in students’ lives. The text itself was
value-laden and the students were given opportunity to make the story relevant by
making their own penny boxes as an assignment. The assignment was to create a box to
hold the twelve or thirteen pennies that would represent their own lives and then write a
speech to explain the significance of each year. Many days were given to hearing these
Speeches. Other than this. little was done other than reading and summarizing this short
novel. as was normally done with text that was assigned.

As a researcher. I’m willing to admit that this may represent a discontinuity in the
data. However. Amber’s talk about text and why literature is used in the classroom

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showed no significant change when she explained her thinking during the final interview
at the end of the internship.

That is for me a point in time - when I can know that the students have

taken what I’ve taught and applied it and are able to apply it to everyday

life. That’s what literature is all about. I think you know at this point how

I feel about it. Creating lesson plans that respond to the needs of others.

(F1)

Analytic Commentary:

Throughout the internship experience, Amber carried out her dream of using
literature as an authoritative source of moral messages. She reiterated many of the same
beliefs. values. and opinions about literature and teaching that she had been espousing
since her sophomore year in college. She was able to draw conclusions about moral
decisions from texts that had probably never been considered that way before. The
classroom provided for Amber the perfect platform for helping children toward the better
life that she knew they could achieve. The mission in teaching that she had developed
out ofher personal. social. cultural. and family influences was being fulfilled as Amber
led students to read text and find life—lessons. as she had imagined she would.

The next assertion will show. however. that in teaching literature as she had
always imagined. Amber faced a challenge of dealing with competing authorities in her
life. The authority of her beliefs began to compete with the authority of the
representative ofthe university. the Field Instructor. as he tried to guide her toward a
different view of teaching text than the one she held. A dilemma developed in that
Amber had been taught to take heed to teachers. yet now a teacher was leading her in a

direction that competed with her beliefs. How she decided to deal with them revealed a

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difference between authorities she respected and those whom she didn’t.

Assertion #5: As an intern, Amber’s views of authorities in her life differed
depending on the source. There were those whom she continued to consider
authoritative influences (i.e., older teachers, family, religion, text), but the university
"authorities" became evaluators whom she had to please, but did not fully respect.
It has been established that in Amber’s undergraduate years. the university’s
influence on her learning about literature was not very apparent. Although researchers did
not observe in the classes that Amber took (nor were even able to get to syllabi from her
classes). it was inferred that she learned some ideas from university courses about
multiple interpretations and literary theory, but these ideas did not affect her ideas about
teaching. During her internship. the tension between her notions of teaching and the kind
of teaching her Field Instructor (representing the university) wanted to see became more
of an issue for Amber. She couldn’t just find ways of negotiating it in her mind. There
were multiple voices each calling for action in teaching. It can be inferred from what we
knew about her strict respect for authority that she could not easily dismiss the university.
She wanted to be judged well by the university. but finally recognized and acknowledged
that she did not fully agree with what she was being urged to enact regarding teaching
literature. The way she eventually dealt with the university was to try to please the
representatives as evaluators while viewing them as actually unaware of what was really
needed for teaching her children. Sometimes she was aware that she was doing this.
other times she was not. An example ofa time she was not aware occurred during the
multicultural unit taught January of her internship (the third of her lead teaching periods).

Amber and her field instructor had talked about the unit while Amber was in the

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planning stages. Amber reported that she had expressed difficulty in finding a definition
of multiculturalism that the students would understand. so the Field Instructor had
suggested that she allow the students to construct their own definition. She said that she
told him this would feel like she was coming to class "unprepared." Her negotiation of
this tension resulted in a lesson during which she asked the students to come up with
potential definitions of multiculturalism and to write them on "scrap" paper. Amber
called for volunteers to read their definitions. which she wrote on the board. The students
wrote these into their notebooks. a step further than she had let them go before. but then
Amber gave them a typed handout with "her" definition on it. This scenario appeared to
indicate that she needed to yield to the authority of her field instructor. but she also
needed to make sure her mission for teaching was accomplished in this lesson. She
negotiated the tension in a way that showed recognition of his authority. but did not
undermine her need to provide students with a right answer or definition. which seemed
to represent what she thought she, as the classroom authority. was supposed to do.

In talking about this lesson. the researcher asked Amber what she thought about
the definitions that the students had come up with.

[I was surprised!] I was! I mean they saved that lesson. because they

knew. A lot of them knew so much about that and they came up with their

own definition. And I’m going to try that more. Because I was trying to

have a handle on disseminating this information to them. but I do ask for

feedback. But often times I want to, I guess I’m afraid to make that step of

saying. "go for it. you have the floor.’ (Mci)
Apparently her feelings of unpreparedness were eased when the students actually came

up with some answers. She was surprised that they knew as much as they did and could

lOl

come up with a definition. Yet she still handed out the definition in print. She explained
having her definition in print this way.

And then after that then I passed out a more structured definition because I

wanted them to see. ‘Well. this is it. This is basically the same thing I’m

saying.’ So you know. we can take both of our definitions and they kind

oflike that. It’s no different. But I wanted them to have something typed

up. That’sjust the way that I do. I wanted them to have it. (Mci)

When the researcher asked if the field instructor would have meant for her to pass out a
printed definition she thought he would say that was all right. She said he just wanted her
to try something new.

Considering this a significant event because of Amber’s response. the researcher
talked about this incident again during the final interview in April. Amber said that
letting the students brainstorm their own definition was a true sign that she had grown in
her thinking. She claimed to fear the unknown, and thus feared coming to class
unprepared. The researcher probed here, because Amber said she had spent days getting
ready for this lesson. She explained that although she had a "mass amount of material"
she hadn’t found a definition for the students that she "connected with."

They didn’t know that I wasn’t prepared in a way in which. ‘Miss (Amber)

is comfortable.’ Because I still presented the material in which. ‘I have a

definition ready for you. but today what we’re going to do is. leave it open

to you.’ (Fi)

Here. Amber pointed out that a major difference in her teaching from earlier in the year
was that she let the students write their own collective definition in their official

notebooks for the unit. She said this act gave them ownership and validated their

definition. She said she also learned that although she must plan. plans don’t have to be

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set in stone. She projected that the next year with her own class. she would plan. but she
might come in and say. "What do you want to do today?" With this statement. she made
a jump from letting students create understanding to planning the schedule.

During the final interview. Amber and the researcher watched a video together of
one of the early lessons in the mystery unit. During this lesson. the students had
volunteered what they thought the theme of the story might be. She gave them oral
feedback that affirmed their thinking. Then Amber presented them her theme in writing
to be copied into their notebooks. The researcher asked Amber how this lesson differed
from the lesson where the students brainstomred the multicultural definition.

As I think of it. it’s not much different. I guess I hadn’t thought ofit the

way I thought of the multicultural. I did allow them the opportunity to tell

me. . . [But] my thinking was different. . . This lesson [we’re watching] I

was still in the pattern ofI’m going to answer these . . . but I still have

what I want them to copy off the board that I’ve prepared. Whereas in the

multicultural. I was over it. And I was allowing them an opportunity.

And they wrote their own definition down . . . and as you can see in this

lesson they didn’t write it down. . . And I think I like the multicultural unit

better and the way I was thinking then. (F i)

Amber insisted that her thinking had changed although there was little visible
difference in the way the lessons were taught. She credited her Field Instructor for
"opening her up" to being able to go into class with the unknown facing her (the unknown
being whether students would come up with definitions or not). Later in this interview.
Amber said that her relationship with her Field Instructor had improved since January
(when the multicultural unit had been taught). She said.

Soon after the second semester. then I felt a little better about the

relationship and now it’s fine. But the beginning was really. really

difficult. I don’t know if he’d ever worked with minorities before. And I

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didn’t know ifhe’d worked with women. but hejust seemed to be really. I

don’t know. anal in the way he approached things. I just didn’t appreciate

it. And I had to be really strong. yet be professional and understand that

truly in his mind he didn’t mean any harm. but maybe he just has a

problem with just whatever. (Fi)

The fact that the relationship had improved makes one wonder if Amber’s
thinking about teaching had changed or her way of viewing suggestions from the Field
Instructor is what had changed. She was unaware that the strategies she had used in the
multicultural lesson were almost identical to the strategies used in her first lesson.

Another example of an attempt to acquiesce to the authority of the university was
the fact that Amber taught the novel Homecoming in two weeks rather than the three
weeks that the CT normally used. Amber said she had made this decision because her
interpretation of what the university had said was that this Lead Teaching period was to
be two weeks long. When asked about the two weeks she said.

Because that was my lead teaching. And it was not really set in stone.

But. we have two weeks to do this and then we move on to something else.

(Ni)

She seemed to want to stay within those guidelines. Her draw to obey authority was
strong.

There were other times. however. when she was not only aware of her
disagreement with the university. she was vocal about it. Both recorded and unrecorded
conversations with the researcher revealed that she was unwilling to tell her Field
Instructor that she disagreed with him regarding some of the strategies that he suggested.
Early in the year during her first lead teaching. she said she felt that he did not know her

students well enough. nor the context ofthe school. to be able to know what would be

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effective strategies with them. She and her CT were willing to tell the researcher why
they thought certain ideas of his would not be effective. yet neither was willing to tell
him.

In a conversation not related to the multicultural lesson in January. Amber told the
researcher that she would just do as her Field Instructor said since he was giving her the
grade for her internship. The researcher asked if hers and Amber’s relationship was
different from that of hers and the Field Instructor since there were no grades involved
with the researcher.

Oh yea! Oh without question. I’m very much more relaxed with you. If

you were my Field Instructor. I probably wouldn’t say half the things that

you have on tape. Because I know that I’m getting graded with him. I

know that I have to walk on egg shells with him. because ifI tell him

everything that will hinder what he may say about me. But. you and me

have a different relationship because you’re not grading me. you know.

(PMi)

Another university issue that Amber was aware of and vocal about was that of her
graduate work. She was discouraged with the work required from the graduate classes
that she was taking while completing her internship. but she was hesitant to say anything
about this to any ofthe official university representatives until she had received her
certification. She imagined that disagreeing with the authorities or giving them
suggestions about how the program might be run differently might jeopardize what they
were obliged to provide for her given the successful completion of her work. a
recommendation for state certification.

Like I say. I’ve come so far I don’t want to mess up getting my certificate.

And I would just feel much safer saying what I have to say after I know

I’m safe. After I know I’m safe. I might just feel like I need to do that

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because at this point they have the upper hand. and once that is over. no. I

won’t be mean. I’m not a mean person. but I’ll be very constructive with

them. (Fi)

During the final interview. Amber revealed more of her thinking about her
graduate work.

They don’t realize what we have to deal with in fifty minutes. They are so

far removed from the classroom until it’s a travesty almost. . . And I’m in

class. ‘Well. you come over and you just take a look to see what we deal

with.’ (Interviewer: Who is ’they?’) The instructors. They’re great

instructors, don’t get me wrong. But they don’t know. They’re too far

removed from what we have to deal with every day. (Fi)

She went on to talk about needing instruction in more practical matters like understanding
teacher contracts. benefit packages. retirement terms. the NEA and so on. Her criticism
was quite specific.

And I just think that when I get out of here and I feel that I’m secure in a

job. then I will come back and say. you know. there needs to be some

changes. And if you want to sincerely hear the voice ofthe student

teacher that survived the program. then here is what I’m going to let you

know. (Fi)

She was consistent in her theme of challenging the university authority vocally once the
authority figures were no longer authority figures in her life. She saw herselfin a role of
helping the greater whole. but not in a way that would sacrifice her security.

These incidents regarding the university might not seem so unique if other
relationships had not been closely observed. Amber spoke ofher relationship with the
other teachers in the school. She was asked how she felt about being with the other
teachers as a colleague. She said.

Oh yeah. I love it. . . And they’re human. too. For the first time I’m seeing

teachers on the other side . . . So. now I feel like big. you know. a big

person. You go in [the teacher’s lounge] and see the teachers and they

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respect you. . . They’ve been teaching. some of them. for thirty years!
Hats offto them! I’m just starting and I’m tired already! (Mi)

When asked if she felt like a teacher. if she felt comfortable pulling her chair up to the
table with the other teachers. she said. "Yes. I do. And I think that’s part of my
personality." It did seem to be an interesting part of Amber’s personality. But even
though she was very "out there" and vocal about herself and willing to be put on stage.
she had utmost respect for most authority and tried to please the authority figures in her
life. She was asked if she would have the nerve to ask a question in a teacher’s meeting.

I think I would. You know. they know why we [interns] are in school.

They know what we’re doing. . . So they know I’m inquisitive. I wouldn’t

go so far as stepping out of line and asking something about. ‘Well. how

much do you make?’ I know my boundaries and I know my limits. And I

wouldn’t be disrespectful in any way. But. I would ask questions because

that’s what we’re here for - to be inquisitive. (Mi)

Analytic Commentary:

Amber had an interesting view of authority and people ofinfluence in her life that
emanated from her personal history and cultural backs ind. Her perspective definitely
had an effect on her ability to learn from her university experience. including her
internship. When she worked with people she respected. she considered them to be
important influences on her thinking and decision making. When she disagreed with
people who had authority over her. she negotiated her actions to please those people. yet
did not accept them as influential on her thinking and decision making. The beliefs that
were formed out her personal. social. cultural. and family history were resilient enough to

resist change. even by an authoritative source such as the university. Though she had

come to the university with a charge to take heed to her professors’ words. when those

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"words" called for action that challenged her beliefs. the resultant actions reflected her
original beliefs. She acted on her original beliefs. even to the point of being respectful to
those with whom she disagreed. something she had learned in her home. Therefore. at
the end of her undergraduate studies and internship. Amber’s teaching of literature was
amazingly reflective ofthe kind ofteaching she had speculated she would do before the
university tried to influence her thinking toward reform-minded ways of teaching.
However. ifthe reporting ofthe data ended here with a description of Amber’s
teaching of subject matter as problematic. the reader would not have a complete picture of
Amber as a teacher. In many ways. Amber did not have many of the typical beginning
teacher problems that have been reported in the research literature. The next assertion
will show the reader that Amber had abilities to manage student behavior and motivate
students to on-task behavior in ways that the researcher noticed veteran teachers in the
building couldn’t. Amber’s personality. which was very much a result of personal.
social. cultural. and family influences. gave her an advantage in the classroom that many
beginning teachers don’t have. To fully understand Amber as a teacher. this part ofthe
data must be reported. To fully understand the importance ofthe university impacting
prospective English teachers like Amber toward more rigorous views ofliterature and
Ieaming. one must realize the true potential she had as a teacher.
Assertion #6: As an intern, Amber had an above average ability to manage student
behavior, motivate students to read text, and elicit student response during class
discussion about text.

During her internship. Amber quickly developed the ability to keep students’

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attention on the academic task at hand. Often when an intern is able to accomplish this. it
is due to the nature of the student population or due to the atmosphere established by the
Cooperating Teacher (CT) before the intern begins to take primary responsibility for
teaching. But. in Amber’s situation. neither of these seemed to be the case. The student
population in the urban school where she was assigned was not naturally given to on-task
behavior. Often teachers could be heard in their classrooms loudly demanding the
attention of the students. And although Amber’s CT was able to establish a quiet
atmosphere when she was teaching a lesson. the few times the researcher observed the CT
teaching she noticed much off-task behavior. For these reasons. the researcher believes
that Amber can be credited for achieving a well disciplined classroom with much on-task
behavior. Fortunately. the researcher was able to observe one of the lessons where
Amber began to establish this atmosphere.
Managing student behavior

The first lesson ofthe first unit that Amber taught was an interesting one in that
Amber seemed to do a lot of things that led to on-task behavior. but then. before the
lesson was over. made a management move that threw the room into an uproar. At the
beginning of class. she established a productive atmosphere. She spent less than five
minutes dealing with the routine tasks oftaking the attendance and collecting homework.
She moved quickly to the subject matter tasks ofthe day. Within five minutes ofthe bell
ringing. she said. "Take out your homework and turn to page 3." For the next thirty
minutes. either she or a student was talking about the text. She asked factual questions.
comprehension questions. asked students to read. orally summarized parts of the story

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herself. elicited ideas about theme. and told the students what she thought the theme was
as she directed the students through the story. She made some sort of positive comment
after just about every statement offered by a student. She said things like. "Really. really
good, Ryan. I like your tone" after a student had read part of the story. She said things
like "Those are some good. positive things I’ve been hearing" and "That’s really. really
good. I never thought of that."

The next task for the students after summarizing and retelling the story and
determining the theme was to rewrite the ending. The way Amber managed this proved
to be problematic. She simply directed students to "team up with somebody" to rewrite
the ending. This level of direction sounded like something a college instructor might
give. Amber’s seventh graders. who were not used to doing group work. immediately
became very noisy. Rather than turning to work with someone next to them. many
started screeching their desks across the floor to another part ofthe room to sit with
friends. One student. ”Maria." grabbed several other students by their shirts and threw
them around. Amber did not respond to this noise or movement except to loudly declare.
"I know you’re excited about changing the ending. but keep it down." Only one other
time did she say anything about the noise. and again she credited it to their excitement
over the task. She gave no clues verbally or non-verbally that she was displeased with
their behavior. The group with "Maria" in it was extremely loud and off-task. Amber
approached their group three times. but did nothing to stop their behavior. The first time.
the group got quiet immediately as she approached. Amber calmly said. ”Stay on task"
and then walked away quickly. The second time she approached the group. the students

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got quiet again for that moment. Amber said this time that Maria should be the recorder
and the others could do the talking since Maria had said that she had a sore throat that
day. By the third time Amber approached the group. Maria did not stop talking or
dancing around in her seat or stomping her feet even as Amber stood right in front of her.
Amber walked away.

Amber made a transition from this task by asking students to read aloud their
rewritten endings to the story. As one student began to read amidst the noise. she
announced that it was unfair to the reader for other people to be talking while he was
trying to be heard. Interestingly, the class began to quiet down and she became more
forceful in her appeal for quiet. She promised to deal with anyone who didn’t cooperate
by putting them in the hall. After three people had read their endings. she dropped the
lesson without any elaboration or comment on their new endings. She announced that it
was Transition (the time between 4lh hour and lunch time when students were to sit
quietly and do homework) and said. "You must work on your homework or read." Not
surprisingly. the noise began to increase. Several students. including Maria. left the room
for other activities.

It was at this point that Amber did something surprising. She approached the
researcher and asked her to turn off the camera. She double checked to make sure it was
turned off and then walked to the front of the room. She called the researcher to come
stand in front of the room and as she did. Amber began to lecture the students about their
behavior. She said that their behavior had been rude and unacceptable. She accused
them of potentially "messing up" the researcher’s data that was being collected for a

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doctoral dissertation. She used a serious tone of voice and looked right at the students
when she talked. She directed the students to apologize to the researcher. Many of them
looked straight at the researcher and said they were sorry! Not one student talked or
moved in his seat until the bell for lunch rang. when they all left the room quietly.

The researcher returned the next day and had a chance to talk to Amber before her
teaching. Amber revealed that she wasn’t sure that what she had done and said would
work. She wondered if they would respond to her "authoritative tactics." In fact. they
did respond to her tactics and were so involved in the lesson that when the bell rang for
Transition. the students wanted to keep on discussing the story. A few students left. as
was typical for Transition. and the rest stayed very involved. On the researcher’s next
visit. one of the students asked Amber if they could watch the video of the previous class
period when they had done so well. There was obvious pride in the behavior and the
excitement over their lesson.

From that first day on. Amber had few problems with discipline. As long as she
was actively involved with instruction. she had to do very little managing of student
behavior. When she told a student to be quiet or turn around or return to his seat. there
was immediate response. She gave much praise for good behavior. She exhibited
confidence in her ability to discipline and delivered periodic lectures on the virtues of
good behavior and the power ofa good education.

Eliciting Response during T ext Discussions

Because Amber didn’t have to spend much time dealing with student behavior.

much time was left for instruction. and for the first three units of instruction the great

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majority of each class period was spent dealing with academic tasks. Amber was able to
involve most. sometimes all. ofher students in the learning. As was speculated about
student behavior earlier. it is speculated that this accomplishment can be credited to
Amber. This inference was made based on other characteristics of the students at the
school and based on an incident early in her teaching.

During the first lead teaching unit. most of the responses to questions by Amber
came from about ten percent ofthe students. In fact. during his first observation.
Amber’s Field Instructor had coded the student responses to reveal this pattern. The
coding appeared to be a natural part of his field notes which he photocopied and gave to
Amber. The coding box was in the upper left hand corner of his first sheet of field notes.
He handed these notes to Amber. told her he would talk to her on the phone that night.
and left. As Amber read the notes. she asked the researcher what the coding box meant.
When it was explained that it referred to which students responded and how many times
each responded. Amber became visibly upset. When Amber showed it to her CT. her CT
defended her strongly. She claimed that "they" only called on those students because if
they called on the others there would be no response and that if the Field Instructor knew
their students he would have understood that. The CT seemed to take the coding of
student response personally and seemed to be as upset about it as Amber was.

The researcher had also coded student response in her field notes and continued
this coding for many of the lessons throughout the internship. Amazingly. Amber
reached a point of eliciting a response from every single student in the class at least once
during some class periods. This is an amazing feat for any teacher. but more amazing in

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the urban 71h grade classroom she was in. There were many cultures represented in this
school. some of which are characterized by utmost respect for adults which results in not
speaking out in class. The researcher noted that during many lessons behaviors like body
language. eyes on the page of text. writing on notebook paper. volunteering to be called
on. and having right responses when called on despite not volunteering indicated a high
level of on task behavior by Amber’s students. And although Amber still had a problem
getting students to turn in regular written homework. she achieved a high participation
rate on special project like the Penny Box or other projects that students were supposed to
complete as complements to units of instruction. Given that these behaviors were evident
with students in 4th hour who were considered the most difficult group at the beginning of
the year. this was no small task and not to be underrated in considering Amber’s potential
as a teacher.
Motivating Students

Although the ability to move students toward on task behavior as discussed in the
above section involves motivation as a part of eliciting student response. a more specific
example of motivation will show that Amber seemed to have the gift to do what she
believed she was called to do. or at least she had the ability to motivate students toward
better things ifnot to change their whole lives. "Maria." who was mentioned above.
provides an excellent example ofthis ability.

Maria was immediately noticeable to any visitor in the school because ofher
physical appearance and her raucous behavior. One was likely to notice Maria’s hair

first. It was as black as her skin was white. It was piled high on top of her head. with a

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few squiggly strands glued to the sides of her face with something shiny. Then there was
a strand that alternately hung in her face and got pushed behind her ear. Maria wasn't a
small girl. either. She was one of the taller seventh graders. and she was sort of chubby -
although the chubbiness wouldn't have been so obvious if she hadn't thrown her hips back
and forth to bop people as she walked down an aisle. Her voice was equally big and
abrasive.

One example of Maria’s behavior was mentioned above in the context of Amber
attempting to move students into group work. According to conversations among the
team of teachers. her behavior that day was typical of what they witnessed every day.
According to what the researcher saw and heard in the hall. the teachers came down hard
on Maria for her behavior, yet still she found ways to be in the halls when she wasn't
supposed to be. to saunter into class late often. and to leave early. The researcher saw
her reprimanded repeatedly.

What is the point oftalking about Maria? She was interesting enough just because
ofher raucous behavior. But. she was more interesting because ofthe dramatic change in
her behavior during Amber’s lead teaching. When Amber started her novel unit. Maria
expressed excitement when she realized that she had seen the movie made from the book
they were going to read (Homecoming). She was excited enough to check out the book to
take home over the weekend.

Amber’s first move in winning Maria was to make a point of mentioning that
Maria had been one of the first students to take the book home. She mentioned this in

Class to the whole group. at first in passing. But then at one point she stopped the class to

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say she wanted to tell them something. She said that she was really proud of Maria being
one ofthe first ones to take the book home to read. Amber even said to the class that she
thought that if it was appropriate to correct people publicly then it was appropriate to
praise them publicly. too. and that was why she wanted to praise Maria.

Over the next two weeks. Maria mellowed into an interested. well-behaved
student. She came to class on time. she raised her hand to contribute to the discussion.
she even got out paper to write during a "twenty—minute write" that Amber had assigned.
During the "twenty-minute write” she took her paper up to the fi‘ont ofthe room to ask
Amber for clarification. Amber had sat down by now and motioned for Maria to come sit
in the chair by her and they talked quietly head to head for a few minutes. Maria went
back to her seat and put her pencil to the paper! In fact. Maria’s seat was now in the front
of the room just under Amber's podium. She had voluntarily moved herself from the very
back row to a seat practically under Amber’s nose. During an discussion one day. Maria
made a comment that Amber praised as worthy of repeating. This was a strategy not
unusual for Amber. She often used phrases like. "That was an excellent response. Class
listen carefully as your classmate repeats what he said. Please speak loudly and clearly so
your colleagues can hear you." When she said this about Maria’s comment. Maria
responded physically by straightening her back and lifting her head and speaking loudly.
It was amazing to see this reaction.

Equally amazing was the fact that Maria did the assignment that was due at the
end ofthe unit. She made a collage using pictures to represent a life—lesson learned from

the story. She chose to report on responsibility. Then she wrote a short essay telling what

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it meant to be responsible (taking care of others. being careful to not get pregnant since
you're too young to take care of a baby). Amber was heard offering Maria extra help
during 71” hour on this project. although it is not clear how much Amber helped her.
During 7th hour one afternoon. a teacher was heard screaming at Maria for being in the
hall when she was supposed to be in class. Maria tried to explain that Miss [Amber] was
going to help her on her project. but the teacher wouldn't let her finish her explanation.
She indicated that she had no reason to believe Maria. so told her to just "shut—up” and
get in the room.

Why is Maria's story important to tell? It is important because what happened
embodies what Amber has claimed for years was her reason for being in the classroom. . .
to lead children toward a better life. Part of that better life involved getting a good
education. which Amber repeatedly told her students resulted in power. Although Amber
didn’t necessarily saved Maria from suicide or an untimely pregnancy. that we know of.
she had come close to something almost as phenomenal. She got Maria to pay attention
in class. contribute to the discussion. and do some assignments. It would seem that no
one else in the school was able to accomplish this.

A nalytic Commentary:

In order to get a fair picture of Amber as an intern in the classroom. one has to
admit both her strengths and weaknesses. Whereas she definitely had problems with her
unidimensional way of dealing with text and did not understand the philosophy of
teaching espoused by the university. that is not the only picture one must see of Amber.

She was quite able to enthrall students with her storytelling ability. keep their attention on

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the text at hand. and motivate them toward reading and doing assignments. She had
tremendous potential as a teacher. Since she was able to accomplish student engagement.
the challenge for the teacher educator was to guide her toward what kind of tasks the
students should be engaged in. The challenge was to help her see the students as learners
and get Amber to believe that if she led her students toward independence as readers and
writers. she was helping them toward the better life she envisioned for them. She
repeatedly preached that “knowledge is power.” so it might not have taken much to
convince Amber that teaching is about learning and about learning to learn. By the end of
her internship. she had not internalized this. which is unfortunate considering her
potential as a teacher.
CONCLUSION

It has been asserted and supported that Amber revealed a striking continuity in her
thinking from her undergraduate years throughout her internship experience. As an
undergraduate. she saw the role of authorities in her life to be that of influencing or
guiding her through life’s decisions. She perceived her role as a teacher to be influential
in the same way with her students. viewing her influence in a missionary-like way. She
felt that teaching was a way to guide students to morally sound life choices and saw
literature as the most effective tool for guiding them. Amber did not express any
dissonance between this theory of teaching and the theories that she was exposed to in her
university course work when she was an undergraduate.

As an intern. Amber’s theories were put into practice as she taught every piece of

literature in a way that led to a moral conclusion. She continued to view teaching as a

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way to help students find a better life. She couldn’t imagine teaching a story and then
just going on to the next one. It had to be relevant and interesting to the students and had
to have a life lesson from which the students could learn.

Through all of this. she continued to be blind to the discrepancies between her
thinking and that of the university. Rather. she decided that those with whom she
disagreed just didn’t understand her students in her school. She then negotiated that she
would do what it took to please those authorities so that she could get the grade she
needed to complete her task.

Yet despite the weaknesses one can point out. we see Amber as one who exhibited
great potential as a teacher in that she was able to motivate otherwise unrnotivated
students. maintain good classroom control with high on task behavior. and involve
students in text. This ability is not to be underrated. but is to be used as a foundation for
helping her develop understandings about her students as learners and about the reading
of literature.

A challenge for Teacher Educators is to discern how to teach someone who has
potential as a teacher yet is very narrow in her focus of teaching and learning. First. how
do we guide a person to see what her theories are? Next. how do we help that person
analyze her own theories in light of the larger community of thought. admitting tensions
and discrepancies in order to clarify her own thinking. and perhaps broaden it? And how
do teacher educators not only guide prospective teachers to teach in ways that are
culturally responsive. how do they accomplish this themselves? How do they respond to
prospective teachers who. like Amber. come with a commitment grown out of their

119

personal histories that leads them toward a mission ofteaching children who are at risk
for failure? Chapter 5 will pose some implications for Teacher Educators interested in

answering these questions.

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CHAPTER FIVE

IMPLICATIONS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 5
Implications

The data in Chapter Four serve to further illustrate the complexity of the task of
preparing teachers to be thoughtful. reflective practitioners who understand their subject
matter in a way that allows them to guide others’ learning. In the field of Teacher
Education. there is the continual challenge to understand the teaching/learning process
itself. Then. beyond understanding it is the additional challenge of connecting with
prospective teachers in ways that lead them to understand the teaching/learning process in
ways that will positively impact the students they will teach. Bringing together the issues
of prior knowledge. beliefs. misconceptions, cultural influences. learning styles. and
myriad other issues related to content and critical thinking as they impact a person’s
ability to learn creates a challenge for those trying to understand learning and trying to
help others understand it as well.

Analysis of the data in Chapter Four also serves to illustrate the complexity in
disseminating the knowledge gained from educational research. For instance. the original
intent of this study was that it contribute to the research in the English Education
community. Studies of prospective teachers of English or literature are few and the
potential for contributing to the field with this study was appealing. However. after data
were collected and analyzed. it became evident that the community more likely to benefit
from this study was the Teacher Education community. There were several reasons
contributing to this shift.

One ofthe critical issues contributing to the shift was the lack of empirical data

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about the instruction that Amber received in her English and English Education courses.
Anecdotal data were available which were consistent over time. but the data could not be
considered reliable. Another reason for the shift in the community focus grew out of who
the subject was. The influence of Amber’s personal. social. family, and cultural
background became critical if one was to understand how Amber herself learned and how
she perceived the teaching/learning process. Her notions ofteaching were so greatly
influenced by her background that considering it became more of a focus in the study than
had been anticipated. Since educators are working to attract more men and women of
color into teaching, it is important to realize the personal. social. family. and cultural
issues that contribute to one’s way of perceiving teaching and learning.

The shift in focus in this study did not move specifically to the African-American
community of educators. however. for several reasons. One reason was that African-
American educators may be less likely to find these data new or informative. Another
reason was that the influences on Amber extended beyond her ethnicity. Although it is
speculated that her ethnicity was a major contributing influence on her perception of
teaching and her focus on “helping.” it is evident that her faith and family influences were
equally important in determining what Amber learned and enacted in her teaching. A
final reason the focus did not shift to a primarily African—American community was the
impact these findings may have on those in Christian Education who are preparing
teachers. Amber’s faith was so evident that what she learned was as strongly influenced
by it as anything else. In Christian Education. where faith is an overt consideration by

both professors and students. the impact of faith on both parties’ assumptions must be

_.
Ix)
b)

 

considered critically if teaching and learning are to be understood and applied to K-12
teaching situations. Amber’s faith assumptions were evident to researchers and
powerfully impacted her learning and teaching.

Chapter 5 will provide for the reader possible implications for Teacher Educators.
including thosein Christian Education. that are drawn from the data in this dissertation.
The extremely intimate look at Amber provided by this study is of value to all who are
seriously concerned with the future of the field of Teacher Education as it strives to
attract a more diverse population of teachers to serve a diverse American society. First. a
brief look back at the data as they have been presented will be offered. Then. a look
forward will be given for those concerned about educating prospective teachers.

A Look Back

Chapter Four includes both an analysis of the Understanding Literature for
Teaching data as well as the data from the current study. First. the ULT data show that
Amber relied strongly on people in her life as guiding influences. As an undergraduate.
she told researchers that she was reliant on her family and her faith to show her the right
path in life. She also relied on text. especially motivational text. to help her make
decisions. She also regarded professors as guiding influences. although she experienced
tension when she heard professors saying things that were obviously opposed to what she
had been taught about life and the world. Amber continued to respect her professors but
came to the healthy understanding that she could disagree with them.

Amber’s beliefs about the value of faith. family, text. and school to guide and

influence her in her life were evidently influential in her belief development about the

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teacher’s role and the use of text in the high school. As an undergraduate. Amber saw the
teaching of literature to high school students as the opportunity to guide them toward
good and helpful decisions in life. Just as text had been influential in guiding her toward
success. it could be helpful to her students. Amber found a righteous moral in virtually
every piece of text she was offered and felt that the moral gave her a reason to teach the
text. She did not believe that there was reason to teach any text unless it was relevant and
meaningful to students and would lead them toward a better life. She had an unusual
talent for finding morals in stories. a talent born out of her impenetrable beliefs about
mission in teaching.

These beliefs influenced how Amber interpreted what she experienced in the
college classroom. They influenced how she understood what professors said about
interpretation of text and created some discrepancies in Amber’s talk about text. Amber.
however. did not recognize these discrepancies. She created a dichotomy in her own
theory that reflected what was appropriate in the college classroom versus what was
appropriate teaching in the high school classroom. This seemed to help her reckon with
the discrepancies. allowing her to keep her own ideas about teaching text intact. By not
letting go of her own theories. Amber was prevented from developing a deep
understanding of reading and interpreting text. By seeing the reader only as a moral
being. she did not learn to consider the reader as a reader. Therefore. she did not learn to
consider strategies for helping readers become independent users of text. As was
speculated would happen when she was an undergraduate. Amber did not promote

rigorous reading of text as an intern teaching literature.

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When in her internship. Amber continued to see text as a vehicle for leading
students toward a moral and successful life. Despite the fact that she was assigned the
texts that would be taught in the 7’h grade classroom where she was an intern, she was
able to see each story as value laden. From the first story taught to the last novel read.
Amber guided the students toward finding a life lesson. Although she perceived herself
as emphasizing other aspects of reading text. such as identifying story elements of plot.
setting. and characters. her emphasis consisted of mentioning these things in passing and
including one question on a test about plot. On the other hand, Amber’s emphasis on

theme or life-lessons was so evident that by the time she taught her final unit of

 

instruction, the term life-lessons was part of her students’ vocabulary. When asked what
one might learn from a novel such as the one they were about to read. the answer "life-
lessons” was offered by many students. The way Amber speculated she might teach
when she was an undergraduate was indeed what was carried out when she was an intern.
As an intern. Amber found that her teaching methods were embraced by her
students. but were met with question by her university supervisor, the Field Instructor. It
was this reaction to her teaching by her Field Instructor that caused Amber to separate her
way of thinking about authorities into two categories: those whom she would accept as
guiding influences on her life and those whom she would appease but not respect fully as
influential. As she moved through her internship with success according to her own
standards for teaching. she found herself unable to accept the criticism ofa representative
fro m the university. Amber decided that he was unable to understand urban students of

color and therefore could not understand her teaching methods. She managed to develop

I26

a working relationship with him. but admitted that she did so in order to ensure that she
got the teaching certificate that she worked so hard to achieve.

Admittedly. Amber did some things really well as an intern. She was able to
manage the behavior of students who were difficult for others to manage. The 71h graders
she was teaching had not learned to manage themselves and many of the teachers in the
school had difficulty managing them as well. Yet Amber was interesting enough as a
storyteller. encouraging enough as a teacher. and tough enough as an authority to create a
classroom atmosphere that was relatively free of off-task behavior. Students who
normally did not read or do homework were often involved in class and did projects that
were assigned.

As the assertions in Chapter Four show. Amber showed some real potential as a
teacher in her ability to inspire and motivate students to do their assignments. Yet. her
focus on learning was so weak as to thwart the learning potential of her students, whether
motivated or not. The issue of learning was evident not only in the nature of the
discussions she led but in the reaction of some of students in her honors class. who by the
end of her internship had become resistant to her instruction. Unfortunately. although the
representative from the university. the Field Instructor. seemed to recognize Amber’s
weak view of learning. he was unable to connect with her in a way that would help her
truly understand the problem. Her notions of authority caused her to give surface
attention to his suggestions for change in her strategies. but she did not indicate any
understanding ofthe rationale for these changes as they related to her students’ learning.

An ability to connect with her at this point in her development as a teacher might have

127

made a significant difference in her thinking about teaching as it relates to student
Ieaming.

By taking a closer look at these issues of Amber’s beliefs about learning and her
ability to learn from her field instructor. implications will be drawn about what might
have been done to lead Amber to a more robust way of viewing the learning process.
Amber 's beliefs about learning

As much as Amber cared about her children, even before she knew them
personally. she did not view to them as individual learners. She responded to them as
individual moral beings. She had a very good relationship with many of her students. but
neglected to see them as learners. This way of thinking was uncovered in her
undergraduate years in the ULT study and was confirmed in her internship.

The research literature indicates that choosing teaching as a profession as a moral
endeavor is not unusual. Many teacher candidates admit that they choose teaching
because they like children or feel that they are good with them. Yet. teacher educators
have as one of their goals a refocusing of these young teacher candidates’ lens through
which they see teaching and learning. It is hoped that as they move through their teacher
education programs they begin to understand the nature of the learner and the learning
process. It is hoped that they develop a robust understanding of the subject matter they
wish to teach in order to be able to organize for instruction. Yet there was no indication
that these changes took place during Amber’s undergraduate years nor in her internship.
and it can be argued that her habit of looking at her students only as moral beings caused

her to constrain the learning opportunities for her students. The students were limited to

128

only one way of approaching literature. Her single focus on literature as a moral
messenger also prevented Amber from seeing her students as readers who needed to
continue to learn reading strategies that would lead them toward independence as readers.

A comparison of Amber’s third hour class. the honors class. and her fourth hour
class in her internship. as was done in Chapter Four. can be used to verify the conjecture
that Amber thwarted learning opportunities for her students. In the first month of the
internship. Amber told the researcher that the honors class was the easiest to teach and
that the fourth hour class was her biggest challenge. The fourth hour class was quite large
and had several students in it who regularly attended In-School Suspension. Additionally.
the fourth hour class spent an additional twenty-five minutes in the classroom during
Transition. the time between the end of class and the beginning of lunch. It was not
intended that this be instructional time. which made management and discipline a
challenge. In contrast. the third hour class had students who eagerly participated in class
discussions and who regularly did their assignments. It was logical. then, that Amber
considered them easier to teach.

By April this had changed dramatically. The third hour class was Amber’s
biggest challenge. by her own admission. Some of the students had become very difficult
to manage and keep on task. They had become sarcastic in their responses to her and
were noisy and distracting during her teaching. Through interviews and observations. it
was determined that Amber had been teaching third hour in exactly the same way using
the same curriculum and assignments as in all ofthe other classes. When questioned

about this. she said she thought they shouldn’t get more than the other students. She said

129

she had been an honors student and knew how haughty they could be. This response did
not surprise the researcher since she had speculated in the ULT study that Amber would
treat all students the same. Amber told researchers in the ULT study that all students. no
matter what. deserve to learn the same thing. If children in the suburbs get more
instruction or a higher level of instruction than children in the city. that is unfair to the
city children. This was not an unusual response among the ULT participants. When
presented with the scenarios of urban. rural. and suburban learners most participants said
that all students deserved the same treatment. Most of the time. they elaborated to say the
urban students shouldn’t get less. In the case of Amber’s honors class in her internship.
she thought they shouldn’t get more than the other students.

The reason this example is important is that it shows again that Amber primarily
viewed her students as moral beings and not as learners. It was important to her that
students in the regular classes not be mistreated by getting less than the honors class. and
it was important to the honors students that they not be encouraged in their haughtiness
by getting more than the regular students. This view accounts for their social and
emotional needs. but does not account for the learning needs of any ofthe students. It did
not occur to Amber that the students in the regular classes might need help as readers that
the honors class would not need. It did not seem to occur to Amber that the students in
the honors class might have read a wider range of material before entering seventh grade
and therefore be able to make connections between literature in a different way. Critical
aspects of learning were sacrificed for each group.

Another explanation of her equal treatment of students may have been at work

here as well. although the evidence is limited and comes from field notes only. Early in
the year. the researcher visited the honors class at Amber’s request. Amber was very

proud of this class in October. In a discussion of The Highwavman by Poe. some of the

 

comments from the students were quite sophisticated. One student offered a connection
between the character in this poem and a character in Dante’s Inferno. Amber’s response
to the student was not unlike what was observed with her students in other classes. She
responded to the person with very positive accolades. but did not respond to the substance
of the comment. She did not elaborate or ask for clarification. She just used phrases like.
“That was really. really good!” At the time. the researcher wondered if she understood
the connections the students were making. The researcher wondered if she had a deep
enough knowledge of the poem or the broader field of literature to respond to the content.
If she did not. her thin responses to the students’ comments could be at least partly
attributed to her lack of ability.

Whether Amber did not develop a robust view of literature while in the college
classroom or whether she had a robust view of literature that she deliberately reserved for
the college classroom is unclear. In the ULT Amber qualified her answers about
literature and teaching literature to the context of teaching urban children. Therefore. it
was difficult to say for sure whether she actually did not understand varying thoughts on
interpretation of text or whether she would not think about those theories in the context of
her children. This researcher speculates that she did not understand deep reading oftext.
Her dichotomous explanations of literature in the ULT may support this explanation. as

might her inconsistent explanations of literary criticisms offered in the ULT. So.

 

although there is little actual evidence from context to support this explanation of why
she would not treat the honors class differently. there is the speculation that one reason
she treated 3rd hour in the same way as her other classes was that she did not have a
rigorous enough knowledge of the literature she was teaching to treat them any
differently.

As was stated above. a goal of a teacher education program that attempts to lead
prospective teachers toward more reform-minded ways of teaching is that of enabling the
prospective teacher to see her students as learners. As it became evident in the internship
that this had not yet happened for Amber. the university had one more chance to connect
with her and that was through her Field Instructor. Unfortunately. this was a missed
opportunity by the university. as will be shown below.

Amber ’5 ability to learnfrom her Field Instructor

In her internship. Amber’s Field Instructor indicated by his suggestions for
teaching that he was concerned about Amber’s weak treatment of text. His suggestions
regarding strategies for teaching indicated a constructivist view of reading text. He
suggested more group work for the students and he suggested letting the students
construct a definition of multiculturalism as Amber started a new unit of instruction.
Amber took his suggestions. but did not give indication that she understood the reasoning
behind them. The first time she attempted group work and it was unsuccessful. she said
she’d tried to please her Field Instructor by doing group work but clearly her students
were not ready for group work. She had management problems that kept her from

attending to the task that they were assigned or the value of student engagement in a

social context. As the year progressed. she was able to accomplish having her students
work in groups. but she still did not refer to the academic or learning value of such.
When she explained to the researcher why she thought the Field Instructor suggested she
have the students construct their own definition of multiculturalism. she said he just
wanted her to try something different. She said this incident changed her way of thinking.
but did not suggest that she was thinking differently about student learning or use of text.
Amber did not learn much from her Field Instructor. She initially had difficulty in
her relationship with him. which may have affected the rest of her experience with him.
When his first evaluation of her teaching was not completely positive. she accused him of
not understanding her children. She also accused him of “probably” not having worked
with minorities or even women before. Her notion was that he had never taught in the
inner city and not only did he not understand her children. but he did not respect them.
She came to this conclusion about respect when her Field Instructor team taught
with Amber an introductory lesson to a series of stories on Native Americans. The plan
was to bring in blankets and put them on the floor for students to sit on while they
listened to Native American music. Amber. her Cooperating Teacher. and the Field
Instructor each brought in blankets. In Amber’s retelling of the incident. she said she was
disgusted by the blanket the Field Instructor had brought in. She said it looked like
something that had been in the trunk of his car because it was stained and dirty. To
Amber. bringing this in was a sign of disrespect for her students. She declared that he
would never have taken a blanket like that to an affluent suburban school. She felt that

her students were insulted. She said they would not attend to his talk when he tried to

teach. which further undermined his effectiveness with her.
Another element that undermined his effectiveness with her was the fact that she
did not hear him offer praise for what she was doing well. It was not clear whether he

recognized anything that she did well. since it seemed to her all he offered were

suggestions for improvement. This greatly affected Amber. At the end of her internship.

she was still looking for praise.

When she introduced her final unit of instruction over the novel The Hundred

 

Pennv Box. she put a shawl over her head. sat in a chair and rocked and sang. pretending
to be the main character in the novel. She took on the persona of the character to
introduce the students to the story. The students in both classes the researcher observed
responded with applause and accolades for her good voice and good acting. The Field
Instructor made his comments on the lesson without ever acknowledging this activity. It
was evident that Amber was very upset by this so the researcher deliberately talked with
Amber how effective the strategy was in preparing the students’ minds for reading the
text. She asked if she could use the video tape with her own students as an excellent
example of a schema activator. Amber seemed greatly encouraged by this.

Amber didn’t need praise for the sake of praise. But she did need praise in order
to hear what else was being offered. By complimenting Amber on her drama. the
researcher was allowed the opportunity to talk to her about preparing the learner for the
reading task. She was able to be specific about the value of the task and name the
strategy as a schema activator.

During the final interview. the researcher asked Amber to talk about her Field

Instructor. Among other things. Amber said,

I would say how I would feel and he would never . never say. ‘[Amber].
you did a good job.’ To this day! And [the internship is] over next
Friday. And he’s never said . . . ‘this lesson is great.’ And I’m thinking.
goodness. What else could I have done? I’ve sung. I’ve danced. I’ve done
everything -video taped. I’ve done everything!. . . I’ve done everything.
I’ve been an older person, I’ve sat on the floor with them. There’s nothing
I wouldn’t do. and there’s nothing else I could have done. But he has yet
to have said to me. “[Amber] that was great. I love it.’ At least once I
would like to have heard that from him.

Although not much has been said in the research literature about use of specific
praise with prospective teachers in their internship. this researcher would like to offer it
as a vital part of the teaching and learning process. Much more has been written for K-12
classroom teachers about their use of praise with students. Why are adults as learners so
very different from young learners? Often. after we’ve been assured that we are doing a
good job. we are better able to hear how to do that good job better. Few people believe
that they have nothing else to learn. but most would like for their current understandings
and abilities to be acknowledged. Amber claimed that she was able to take constructive
criticism and used the criticism of her Cooperating Teacher as an example. But the
nature of criticism was a key for her.

He was very critical. And maybe it was his job to be and maybe he wasn’t

meaning to come across as he was. I felt that I was the target of the

observation and that nothing that I ever did was going to ever be right.

And that was my problem. I have no problem with constructive criticism

and you know. my cooperating teacher has given that to me. But when

I’ve given my best to something and I’ve known that I’ve done a great job

and then. ”well you could do it this way,’ or ‘you should have done it this

way.’ I mean I just. we were under so much pressure and I just didn’t feel

that he was sympathetic to that and that he really cared.

Despite Amber’s weaknesses in the teaching of literature and regarding her students as

learners. she really did do some things very well. Perhaps some genuine. specific praise
would have made her better able to hear the suggestions for doing things differently as a
way of improving her teaching rather than as a way to make the university representative
happy so that she could get her certification.

A Look Forward

Amber’s was certainly an interesting candidate for teaching. The beliefs that she
came to her teacher education program with were as resilient as the research literature
suggests (Pajares. 1992; Clark. 1988; Nespor. I987; Buchmann & Schwille. 1983: Lortie.
1975). They emanated from personal. social. family. and cultural factors and helped to
frame her way of viewing the world and all of what she was exposed to in her university
experience (Mahlos & Maxson. 1995). Her beliefs led her to some views ofteaching and
the teaching of literature that kept her from developing a robust view of literature or of
learners (Hollingsworth. 1989; Weinstein. 1989). But. her beliefs also led her to some
views of students that helped her relate to them and connect with them in ways others
found difficult.

For instance. Amber was able to connect with students in a way that motivated
them to read texts for themselves. Motivating middle school students is quite an
accomplishment for any teacher. and Amber was able to do it. She was able to enthrall
them with her storytelling. which seemed to motivate students to read stories for
themselves. She also encouraged her students. She was quite free with praise. and was

often specific. She would specifically praise a student on his tone of voice or volume

 

 

 

 

when reading. She praised students for completing work on time. She complimented
students for their good behavior. Many of the students came to really like Amber. On
her birthday she received over thirty cards and gifts from her students. Students often
stood around her during class breaks asking personal questions. Many personal questions
were asked during class as well. The girls especially wanted to know more about her and
connect with her. Although Amber never mentioned in her undergraduate speculation
that she wanted to be liked by her students. in fact she was.

Another way Amber connected with her students was in her role as a teacher. She
was able to recognize and use her authority as a teacher to manage student behavior. In
the school she was in. this was an accomplishment. As responsible teacher educators. we
know that the ultimate goal is for students to manage themselves and be responsible to
the task of learning. In reality. we know that some students must start at the level of
being extrinsically motivated before moving toward intrinsic motivation. Amber was
able to motivate her students toward good classroom behavior through open reprimand
and open praise. Since she accomplished this early in her internship. an astute mentor

might have built on this and encouraged her to slowly move her students toward
1' I’Jdependence and responsibility for learning. Amber was ready to learn this. in that she
recognized the problem of getting students to do daily homework. She knew there was a
n éed for the students to become responsible in this way. A mentor might have helped her

([5537’ elop some strategies for encouraging changes in the learning behavior ofher students.

A fl‘mh er Educator ’s Perspective

What can teacher educators learn from reading about Amber? The fact that she

did some things really well, like motivating and managing students. is important. But the
fact that some aspects of her teaching were woefully neglectful of her students as learners
is alarming. These two situations cause the teacher educator to consider the prospect of
having teachers in the classroom whose students are well behaved and doing assignments.
but who are being cheated of the opportunities to learn content in rich and meaningful
ways. Although Amber is certainly not the first teacher to be guilty of such a deed. the
goal is to help prevent as much as possible the perpetuation of this problem. The intimate
look that this dissertation provides of Amber helps the teacher educator to consider what
pitfalls might be avoided or solutions might be offered as they continue to prepare
responsible teachers.

One pitfall that might be avoided in the future is that of neglecting to consider in
the prominent way personal. social. cultural. and family factors affect a person’s beliefs
and perceptions of learning tasks. Amber told the researcher that she had felt alone as an
African-American in the teacher education program at the university and she felt that she
had to always go the extra mile to prove herself. The indication is that explicit
connections to her cultural background were not made in her learning to be a teacher.

It can be speculated that Amber’s artistic style of storytelling. which enthralled
her students. is part ofa cultural style. This storytelling played such an important role in
her ability to organize for instruction and manage the behavior of her students that it
probably should have been addressed as an asset in her teaching. Perhaps if it had been
addressed as a stylistic devise of teaching. Amber would have seen it as such. The whole

of her teaching might have been better addressed if she saw that in the artistic aspect of

teaching she was successful. yet in the more cognitive aspects of teaching she still had
needs. For her to see that her students were happy. engaged. and doing assignments
seemed to have been deceptive for her. leading her to believe that in all aspects of her
teaching she was successful.

A solution that might be offered as a result of a close reading of this study is that
of working to achieve a match between intern. or student teacher. and the Field Instructor.
This solution may be valid. but is not completely realistic. In most universities. the Field
Instructor and the intern do not know each other before the internship experience. so
misunderstandings or misinterpretations are likely if the two do not share a philosophical
base. There is no reason to believe that the two must be matched ethnically or in gender
for the experience to be successful. In fact. a very close match may have its own set of
pitfalls in that it may lead to an inability to broaden one’s perspective or see things in a
different light. But. those who think very differently about the teaching and learning
process may spend the entire experience dealing with a series of misunderstandings and
misconceptions. as seemed to happen with Amber and her Field Instructor.

An initial effort to get to know each other personally as well as professionally
may help to prevent problems. Having the intern present a paper that is a personal
history-based perspective about a day as a teacher may give insight to the Field Instructor
that he might not have gotten otherwise. This perspective is likely to increase the
opportunity afforded for guiding the learning of the prospective teacher. And by tapping
into her own personal. social. family. and cultural background to speculate about a day in
the life of a teacher. a prospective teacher can learn to explicate what it is they already

139

believe about teaching and learning (Hasker. 1992: Clark. 1990: Nelson. 1987). Since
one’s beliefs are usually implicit. identifying them is not a task that is easily
accomplished. But. identifying them in this manner may be an effective tool for the Field
Instructor to use to establish a meaningful communication between himself and the
intern.

Even the idea of writing a paper that gives insight into one’s beliefs has its
limitations. however. If the teacher educator. particularly the Field Instructor. does not
have the tools for interpreting the scenario presented by the intern. the exercise will do
little to inform him. The Field Instructor must be able to look for and then know how to
appreciate points of view based on faith and on ethnic traditions and values. As recent
studies have shown. what is an effective strategy or communication pattern with the
majority population may be different from what is effective with a minority population
(Ladson-Billings. 1994). And as was shown in Chapter Two. a person’s faith affects how
he interprets the world. Therefore. an ability to discern and appreciate other’s points of
views from a culturally relevant perspective is critical ifa teacher educator is to connect
with the prospective teacher in a way that impacts her learning in such a way as to help

her develop a deep understanding ofthe teaching/learning process.

Conclusion

The teacher educator’s task ofpreparing teachers to be thoughtful. reflective
practitioners is challengingand complex. There is the challenge of understanding the
teaching/learning process itself. Then. beyond that is the challenge of connecting with

140

prospective teachers in ways that lead them to understand the teaching/learning process.
Hopefully. the data and analysis in this dissertation will give the teacher educator insight
into ways to make those meaningful connections and further advance the process of

preparing teachers for a diverse society.

I41

Appendix A

142

APPENDIX A

Complete
Literature Interview #1
Project B

National Center for Research on Teacher Learning

June 1992

Contents:
Instructions ................................... . 1-2
The Interview: Background ........................ 3-7
The Interview: Knowledge of Literature .............. 8-22
The Interview: Knowledge of Teaching Literature ...... 22—40

Instructions for Interviewers
Preparation for interview: Checklist of Materials
Make sure that you have the following before you begin the interview:
A copy of the interview itself.

Copies of the various exhibits including:

_\

. The 4 literary criticisms

N

A copy of "The Raven"

9°

A copy of the blurb on Poe's life

P

A copy of the "FOR STUDY & DISCUSSION" questions on "The
Raven?

F”

A copy of the Text Selection Task

F”

Copies of the descriptions of schools A, B, & C

.‘l

Copies of Test Questions for Romeo & Juliet, Caesar, Scarlet
Letter, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Huckleberry Finn.

A tape recorder that you have tested to ensure that it is recording (see
Bill McDiarmid if you need a tape recorder).

Fresh tapes that you have labeled with the following "ProjB-Lit,
Lit |V#_, Pseudnym of informant, Date, 1 of (however many
tapes you end up using); Interviewer: (your last name)"

Include the same information on the video tape.

A notebook in which to keep notes. Keep notes on what the
interviewee is saying as well as any information that may not be
captured by an audio tape--facial expressions and reactions, length of
time to read something either if it is unusually short or long, questions
that you may want to follow up on at the end of a section or of the
interview itself. and so on. After the interview, also take a few minutes
to reflect on the experience--did the interview prompt you to think
differently about something? Did new ideas come to you? Were idea

144

that you already had confirmed? What did it feel like to do the
interview with this individual? If you need a notebook, the Center can
provide one. See Anna Edridge.

Form X: A the end of your notebook is a form that asks about the

context of interview. Please fill it out.

Introduction

¥ To introduce the study, say something like: The National Center for

Research on Teacher Learning is funded by the Department of
Education in Washington, DC. We are trying to find out more
about how undergraduates come to understand the subjects they
study. This is important to understanding what kinds of
knowledge people who teach have to draw on when they teach.
The interview is not so much a test of what you know as a
conversation about how you understand different aspects of
literature. At this point, we are trying to develop an interview that
gets us the information we need but is also a positive experience
for those whom we interview. So if you have any comments on
the interview itself and your experience being interviewed, please
tell us. Your comments are critical in helping us develop a good
interview. Do you have any questions about the Center, the
interview, or your participation before we start?

If they ask questions that you can't answer or feel uncomfortable
answering, write it down & tell them you will ask me and I will call them
with a response.

Notes on Procedures

¥

The dilemma in interviews of this type is between creating a genuine
conversation with someone about complex and contested ideas and
saying so much that you lead them to the answers you (sometimes
subconsciously) seek. Try to be still and listen as much as possible.
However, moments will doubtless come during which your talking
about yourself or your ideas might encourage the person or help
alleviate tension. For instance, in talking about particular books or
authors, discussing your own views or reactions might actually
facilitate the interview as long as these aren't too contrary to the

interviewee's views. As in most things, judgment is the key to good
interviewing.

145

As you go along, you need to keep in mind that a time will come when
you may be writing about one of these people and you will need to be
able to explain to a third party why they said what they said. That
means you have to be as clear as possible about what they are
saying and why. Bearing this in mind can help you to know when and
where to probe for more details, rationale, or explanation.

If you feel the person's attention wandering or boredom setting in, you
might suggest a break. If they are preoccupied about getting
somewhere else, keep glancing at their watch, etc, you might ask if
they would like to schedule another time to finish the interview.

146

Part I: Background

Pre-Collegiate

Can you tell me a bit about your background--the neighborhoods
you grew up in, the kinds of things you liked to do as a kid, your
experience in school, and so on?

[The purpose of the question is to get a sense of the kind of experiences
the student had growing up. If the student talks about his/her family,
fine. If not, don't bring up the family. This is a private matter that
students should not feel that we are prying]

Tell me about how your interest in reading and literature
developed?

[Probe for individuals or experiences--including courses, travel, books,
films or TV programs--that may have influenced them. This is a global
questions intended to give the student a chance to talk about his/her
past experiences and to determine what is pertinent. The interviewer
should probe to find out details and, in particular, to find out the student‘s
rationale. Pay particular attention to any individuals that the student
mentions, especially if individual is a teacher]

[lf interviewee doesn't mention his/her family, ask:] Did people in the
family in which you grew up read much? [If yes:] What kinds of
things did they read? [Probe to find out how much people read].

How about story-telling? Do you recall listening to people in your
family or neighborhood telling stories? [If yes:] Do you recall any of
these stories? Could you tell me about them?

[If interviewee doesn't mention anyone reading to him or her, askz] Did
anyone read to you when you were growing up? [Probe for: who,
what, when, where]

[If interviewee doesn't mention his/her friends, askz] When you were
growing up, did your friends read much? [If yes:] What kinds of
things did they read? [Probe to find out how much people read].

Do you recall talking with anyone outside of school about what you
or they were reading? [Probe for circumstance-who, what, where,
when]

147

What about writing--what do you remember about learning to write?
What kinds of things did you write? {Probe for: frequency, occasion,
type of writing, audience if not apparent]

Tell me what you remember about reading and literature in
elementary school.

And what about writing? What do remember about writing in
elementary school?

What about English or American literature classes in high school?
Which did you take?

[For each course interviewee mentions above, ask the following:] When
you think back to that class, what stands out for you? [Pause to
allow the student to bring things up on his/her own. If after waiting for 5
or so seconds they seem stuck or puzzled by the question, ask:]

Do any particular projects, assignments, books, or classroom
activities stand out for you? It could be something your really liked
or something that you didn't.

What about writing? What kind of writing did you do in your
English/American literature classes?

And what about other literature classes? Did you study literature
other than English or American literature in high school?

And what about composition or writing courses? Did you take any
in high school?

What about other classes in high school in which you did a lot of
reading or writing?

[For each course, ask:] When you think back to that class, what
stands out for you? [Pause to allow the student to bring things up on
his/her own. If after waiting for 5 or so seconds they seem stuck or
puzzled by the question, ask:]

Do any particular projects, assignments, books, or classroom
activities stand out for you? It could be something your really liked
or something that you didn't.

148

20.

21.

Do recall any other courses you took in high school in which the
teacher paid a lot of attention to literature or writing?

[if no, skip the next question]

16. [If student mentions such a course, ask:] When you think back
to that class, what stands out for you? [Pause to allow the student to
bring things up on his/her own. If after waiting for 5 or so seconds they
seem stuck or puzzled by the question, ask:]

Do any particular projects, assignments, books, or classroom
activities stand out for you? It could be something your really liked
or something that you didn't.

17. [If student hasn't previously discussed his/her attitudes towards
literature and other courses, ask:] What were your two or three
favorite courses in high school? Why?

What about the flip side of that-~what were your two or three least
favorite subjects? Why?

What kinds of things did you like to read on your own when you
were in elementary and high school? [Probe for frequency, occasion,
favorite authors, favorite genres, motivation, source of knowledge about
particular works and authors]

College

Tell me about why you decided to major in English. . . . When did
you make this decision?

[Probe for individuals or experiences--including courses, travel, books,
films or TV programs--that may have influenced them. This is a global
questions intended to give the student a chance to talk about his/her
college experiences and to determine what is pertinent. The interviewer
should probe to find out details and, in particular, to find out the student's
rationale. Pay particular attention to any individuals that the student
mentions, especially if individual is a faculty member]

[If student decided to major in literature before coming to MSU, ask:]

149

Why did you decided to come to MSU to study English?

22, What English classes, including ATL courses, have you taken at
the college level?

[If you have a data sheet for the student, check off each
course as he/she discusses it.]

[List all courses the student mentions & ask who taught each.
Then, for each literature or ATL course the student mentions, ask the
sequence of questions below]

23. Thinking back to [title or number of ATL or English
course], what stands out in your mind about it?

[If student asks you to be more specific, say
something like:] Was there anything that you learned or any
experiences--good or bad--that you had in the course that
seem important to you?

24. Did anything about the course disappoint you?
[Follow-up, if needed:] Were there things you hoped to learn
that you didn't learn? Why do you think this happened?

25. What kinds of things were you assigned to read
in the course?

26. Would you describe what the classes were
like? Who did most of the talking? Did you have any
opportunity to discuss or debate issues or ideas with the
instructor? How about with your fellow students? [If yes to
either:] How often did that happen? Did you find it useful?
Why or why not?

27. Could you describe the kinds of assignments
you had to do? [Probe to find out the type, frequency, and length
of assignments]

[For written assignments, ask:] What kinds of
writing did you do in the course? [We are trying to determine
what kinds of writing the student had to do for the course]. How
many writing assignments did you have? What were they

150

like? Did you ever have a chance to rewrite or revise any of
the things you wrote for the courses? Were you asked to
keep a journal? [if yes:] What kinds of things did you write in
the journal?

28. Did you have any tests or exams? [If yes:]
How many? What were they like? Did they include essay
questions? Short answer? Fill-in the blanks? Multiple-
choice?

How did you prepare for the exam(s)? Review
your notes? Review readings?

Did anything on the exams surprise you? [That
is, the exam includes types of questions or require knowledge that
the interviewee didn‘t anticipate]

29. Did you talk with your instructor outside of
class? [Probe for frequency & reason] Were any of those
conversations about the content of the course?

30. Was there a TA for the course? Did you talk
with him or her about the course? [If yes, probe for frequency &
content of conversations]

32. Did you keep the notes that you took in the
course?

31. Is there anything else you want to tell me about
the course?
[Note Bene: Repeat this sequence of questions for each Literature course. ]
33. What's the best English or literature course you've taken?
What made it so good? [If the student has already described the
course above, don't ask him/her to repeat. If not, probe for details of how the
course was taught]

34. What about the flip side--What's the worst English or
literature course you've taken?

What made it bad? [If the student has already described the course
above, don‘t ask him/her to repeat. If not, probe for details of how the course
was taught]

35. Have you taken any other college courses that have dealt
with literature

[If yes:] Describe the course for me. [Probe for opportunities for
discussion, types of assignments, readings, etc]

36. In college, have you found that literature is treated
differently than it was in high school? [If they seem to want more
explanation. ask something like:] have you encountered a view of literature
or interpretations of particular literary works that differ from the views and
interpretations you encountered in high school? [If yes:] Please tell me
about the difference(s).

Part 11: Knowledge of Literature
Classification Task

[This is probably the first time most of the students have been asked to
articulate their ideas on this matter. Be patient and give them time to
elaborate. Some students who have done this in the pilot report feeling
that it is like an examination. Many have also explained that they were
working out their criteria as they talked. Try to avoid being judgmental
and avoid body language that might suggest you are surprised or
disagree (which might happen more often than you expect). We want to
know how they think about the matter. This is not a test on cultural
literacy. In short, be sensitive]

Preparation: The Texts

Beforehand, make sure you have the materials. These should include
the following:

The Complete Works of Shakespeare

The Origin of Species

Let Us Now Praise Famous Men

Native Son

A novel by Stephen King

A contemporary romance or fantasy novel

A high school or college textbook

New Yorker magazine

Ebony magazine

People magazine

The New York Times

The State Journal

A Calvin & Hobbes cartoon

A color magazine advertisement

A memo

A copy of the lyrics of "Total Control" by the Rap group, "Guy"
A copy of the poem. "In A Station of the Metro" (Ezra Pound)
A copy of the poem, "The Ball Turret Gunner“ (Randall Jarrell)

Presentation of texts

Put all the books on the table. The order in which they are stacked is
not important. Let the interviewee pick them up & examine them in any
order they choose. Keep the other texts in a folder, ready at hand.

The materials once presented should be left on the table and let the
student handle them and revise their opinions as many times as they
wish.

With magazines and newspapers the interviewee might answer that
some parts could be considered Lit. and some parts not. In this case
ask: Can you tell me more? or please, say more. If the student still
does not say anything ask: Please, tell me which parts are you
thinking about when you say some parts could be considered
literature? Why is it?

¥ After they have looked through the books and talked about them, next
hand them the New Yorker magazine.

¥ Hand them the advertisement next. After they talk about the ad, Ask
if they would consider any printed advertisement literature.

¥ Now give them the "In a Station of the Metro."
¥ Then hand them the memo.

¥ Now hand then Ebony. After they've commented on Ebony, hand
them People.

¥ Next, hand them the New York Times. If they say this or any part of it
is literature, then hand them the State Journal. But if they don't think the
Times is literature, don't bother with the State Journal.

¥ Next hand them the Rap song lyrics.

¥ Then hand them the Calvin & Hobbes cartoon. If they don't think this
is literature, ask if C & H cartoons collected in a book would be literature.

¥ Finally, give them "The Ball Turret Gunner." [Note: From pilot
interviews, we've found that some folks don't consider poetry to be
literature but rather a category unto itself. If they don't think poetry is lit,
try to find out more about how they categorize it.]

154

36.

I want to shift gears a bit here and ask you to do an activity. We are
interested in what you think is and what you think is not literature.
We are not in a search of correct answers if any exist. Our purpose
is solely to try to learn more about how undergraduate English
majors think about written texts.

Could you tell me what texts or books or works you think of when
you hear the word "literature"?

Now I want to present you with a bunch of different texts and we
want you to tell me whether or not you consider each of them
literature. As we are most interested in HOW you think about this
issue, please think aloud and say whatever comes to your mind as
you look at each text. [At this point, present the books to the student
while keeping visible, but on the side of the table, the rest of the
material].

Additional notes on procedure

¥ Without being pushy, inquisitorial, or confrontative, try to determine
whether or not the student is familiar with the text. If the way they talk
about the text doesn‘t indicate whether or not they have read it, you
might ask something like, How familiar are you with this text?

¥ Probably, by the middle of the second part, the interviewee will already
have started to suggest some criteria for the selection and classification.
Many times there are inconsistencies and contradictions. GIVE THEM
TIME, LET THEM REFLECT ALOUD. Try not to probe too early or too
often——try to allow the person time to think and not feel pressured.

 

¥ If the student is unclear or you did not understand ask: Please, tell
me more...

¥ If the student was mostly silent and/or was not explicit about some
criteria, ask: Can you tell me how you decided? What influenced
your decisions and ideas about this classification? Probe: Why is a
particular text literature and another text doesn't? (It is important to
try to unveil how they decided also to leave a text out of Lit. as well as in
Lit.)

¥ Usually students realize during the course of the interview that they

155

have some inconsistencies in their criteria. Usually they start to
recognize that some past experiences, particularly classes in high school
or college, influenced their views on what is considered literature. Many
decide to change some selections and review some criteria. Let them do
that and ask them again if they were not sufficiently explicit : I notice
that you are changing or questioning some of your previous
decisions, please tell me more about it.

Probing:

¥ I will try to summarize some of your ideas to check that I got it
right, please help me and stop me when necessary so you can
clarify it for me.

We might say one or two things wrong because we didn‘t really get it.
However, it will be useful to say something wrong in purpose so we can
probe their perspective. Also: Ask if there is an apparent inconsistency
in classification--for example, if they say that one poem is Lit and the
other isn't Lit.

¥ Is there anything that you want to comment about? Is there
anything else that you want me to know? Anything else you want to
say?

Usually here they ask you for your views. This might develop into a
further source of data since their clarifying questions may give us more
insights.

Thanks a lot.

Experience with literature and Beliefs about "knowing literature"

 

37. I'd like for you to take a moment & think of something
you've read or a writer that has meant a lot to you. Then, I'd
like for you to tell me about your choice. [Make sure to probe for
interviewee‘s rationale for her/his choice]

38. Where did you encounter ?

How did you come to know about ?

[If they mention a particular author:] Did you try to find out more
about the author? [If the author is NOT contemporary or writes from a

cultural perspective likely to be unfamiliar to the interviewee:] How about
the [times/circumstances/culture] in which the author lived/lives?

156

 

39. When you think about what it means to know or understand
:ure, what sort of ideas come to mind? What do you think of when you
:he phrase "to know literature?" How did you come to think that way?

40. As you probably know, we are trying to find out more about
ieople think about literature and what it means to say someone

5 literature. Can you think of someone who you would say knows
ure? [Get the name and/or description of person-~that is, who they are and
1e interviewee knows him/her. Ifthey nominate themselves, that's fine]

41. How did you come to believe that this person knows
ure? [Listen carefully & note in writing what the person says. You will be
him/her about his/her response]

42. You said [whatever the person offered as evidence that X knows
ire] as indicating that [the person mentioned as knowing
re] knows literature. Can you tell me how you came to think of this
icating that a person knows literature?

Poe & The Raven

43. To learn more about how you think about written text, we'd like
lore a poem together with you. We've selected a piece by Edgar
’oe--"The Raven." Are you familiar with this poem? With Poe as a

’ What else have you read or studied by Poe? [Probe for specific

14. How did you get familiar with Poe?

Did you read Poe in high school orjunior high?

Was Poe part of your school work?

Was his work part of your leisure reading?

How about as part of your university course work? [Probe for
ld for whether they have studied his theories as a critic]

What about through films or television?

.5. What do you think of his work? [If they talk about Poe as critic,
)ut his poetry and short stories]

'6. What do you think of him of him as a writer?

Here is a copy of "The Raven." Read it, and when you're
:1 we'll talk a little about what you think is going on in this poem.

157

¥ Keep track of how long the person takes to read the poem.

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary 1
Over many quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore-
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. 4
" ‘T is some visitor," | muttered, "tapping at my chamber door-
Only this and nothing more."

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December: 7

And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.

Eagerly I wished the morrow,-vainly I had sought to borrow

From my books surcease of sorrow-sorrow for the lost Lenore-

For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore- 1O
Nameless here for evermore.

And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain 13
Thrilled me-fllled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating,
" 'T is some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door— 16
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;-

This it is and nothing more."

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer, 19
"Sir," said I, "or Madam. truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping.
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door, 22
That I scarce was sure I heard you"-here I opened wide the door;-

Darkness there and nothing more.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,25

Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;

But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,

And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, "Lenore"

This | whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, "Lenore?" 29
Merely this and nothing more.

Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning, 31
Soon again I heard tapping somewhat louder than before.
"Surely," said I, "surely that is something at my window lattice;
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore- 34
Let my heart be still a moment, and this mystery explore;-

'T is the wind and nothing more!"

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter, 37
In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore.
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door- 40
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door-

Perched. and sat. and nothing more.

158

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stem decorum of the countenance it wore,

"Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven,

Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore-
Tell em what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

Much I marveled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,

Though its answer little meaning-little relevancy bore;

For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being

Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door—

Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as "Nevermore."

But the Raven, sitting lonely on that placid bust, spoke only

That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.

Nothing farther than he uttered-not a feather then he fluttered-

Till I scarcely more than muttered, "Other friends have flown before-

On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before."
Then the bird said, "Nevermore."

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
"Doubtless." said I, "what it utters is its only stock and store
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore-
Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore

Of ‘Never-nevermore.‘ "

But the Raven still beguiling all my sad fancy into smiling,

Straight 1 wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird and bust and door;

Then, upon the velvet sinking, l betook myself to linking

Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore-

What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt. and ominous bird of your
Meant in croaking "Nevermore."

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing

To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom‘s core;

This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining

On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o'er,

But whose velvet-violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!

Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer

79
Swung by seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.

"Wretch." I cried, "thy God hath lent thee-by these angels he hath sent

thee

Respite—respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore;

Quaff, oh, quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Prophet!" said 1, "thing of evill-prophet still, if bird or devil!-

159

43

46

49

52

55

58

64

67

7O

73

76

82

85

Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate, yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted-
On this home by Horror haunted-tell me truly, I implore— 88
Is there-is there balm in Gilead?-tel| me—tell me, I implore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Prophet!“ said 1. "thing of evill-prophet still, if bird or devil! 91
By that Heaven that bends above us-by that God we both adore-
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore- 94
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore."

Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!" l shrieked, up starting—97
"Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbrokenl—quit the bust above my door! 100
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!"
Quoth the Raven. "Nevermore.“

And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting 103
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor; 106
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor

Shall be lifted-nevermorel

you finished? Good. I'm about to ask you a really ambiguous question,
that may feel odd for you, but I'm eager to understand "The Raven" the way
do without biasing you too much. So, I'd really like to know what you think
tis poem. Tell me about it.

47. If you think of this poem from your perspective as an English
is there anything you'd add? Anything about your original analysis
especially want to highlight or explain differently? Is there anything
91 would be less important or not important at all?

18. What do you know about Poe's life? The reason I'm asking
because sometimes what we know about an author's life influences
a read and think about his or her work. [If they know nothing, move
that important for you when you're reading "The Raven"?

Critics seem to be heavily influenced by what they know about
fe. Here's a brief biography that we put together about Poe.

[Give person blurb about Poe's |ife.]
¥ Keep track of how long the person takes to read the blurb.

160

 

 

 

EDGAR ALLAN POE
1809-1849

American poet, short story writer, critic, editor, novelist, and essayist

Poe was born of impoverished vaudeville actors and orphaned at the age
. He was adopted by the Allans, a wealthy Virginia family who gave him
nefits of wealth and education. While at The University of Virginia, Poe's
minor gambling debts and bizarre behavior when under the influence of
mail amounts of alcohol fanned his already strained relationship with his
ther into open hostility. Allan refused to assist with Poe's debts, and Poe
rced to leave school. In an attempt to reconcile with Allan, Poe entered
3oint. Quickly realizing that he was not suited to Academy life, Poe asked
0 sign papers which would have allowed him to leave West Point

ibly. When Allan refused, Poe deliberately disobeyed orders and obtained
)norable discharge.

Poe published two volumes of poetry before he turned twenty. Following
nissal from West Point , he married his young cousin, Virginia Clem, and
(ed upon a literary career. In 1835, he became the editor of the Southern
/ Messenger. Poe was an unpopular critic; he produced scathing attacks
ie of the most popular books of his day. The death of Virginia interrupted
ocus on his work and sent him into deep depression. Some of his most

L poetry reflects this time in his life.

Doe's personal life was marked by poverty and depression. His most

sful poem netted him only about twenty dollars. The stories surrounding
king and early death confused the man with his literary creations. Certain
ritics ascribed to Poe a morbidity of character and a cruel and unnatural
ament. His literary executor R. W. Griswold, for reasons unknown, forged
ind documents to portray Poe as a bizarre and menacing character.

h he was ultimately vindicated, it has been the work of modern scholars
ablish Poe's reputation based on his work and not his life.

9. How do you view The Raven now?

Literag theories

). Here [hand the interviewee Literary Crit 1 is what someone has
>ut literature. Take some time to read it. When you feel ready, I

161

it you to tell me what you think of it.
¥ Keep track of how long the person takes to read the criticism.
Literary Crit 1

Awork of literature is a self-contained world. The meaning is found within
he text itself. The various parts of the text may conflict or be in tension.

[he form or structure of the work pulls these parts together into a coherent
vhole. The form _i_s_ the meaning.

Since a literary work contains its own reality and its form is its meaning,
nowledge of the intentions or the life and times of the author is n_ot
nportant for understanding what the work means.

Similarly, since the work exists in and is its own world, society has little
ifluence on the meaning of a text.

The reader must experience the meaning of the work. However,
xperiencing the meaning is not simply a matter of responding subjectively
nd/or effectively to the work. Experiencing the meaning requires hard-
osed, rigorous, objective analyses of the text.

This is where the critic comes in. The critic cannot merely paraphrase
e meaning for the reader. Indeed, since the meaning of a work is its form,
cannot be paraphrased. "Close" reading-attention to the use and
eaning of words, symbols, metaphors and structure--is required. The
itic helps the reader learn to do this close reading.

[You can take the time while the interviewee is reading to catch up
>ur notes-~i.e., try not to sit there and stare. When the interviewee
tes s/he is ready, ask:]

Well, what did you think?

[If the interviewee makes a claim about what the critic means,

What makes you think that?

[Be careful to probe any terms, especially terms that are familiar
> easily off the tongue--words and phrases such as ”reader-response,"
struction," "New Criticism," "feminism," "traditional," and so on. Better that
rviewee think you illiterate than to assume you know what s/he means
discover months later that you do not]

162

 

[When you believe the interviewee has said all s/he has to say,
[ Is there anything else you'd like to say about this?

51. Here's another card [hand the interviewee Literam Crit2] . Take
e time to read it. When you feel ready, I want you to tell me what you
t of it.

Well, what did you think?

¥ Keep track of how long the person takes to read the criticism.

HmmmCMZ

he reader largely determines the meaning of a work of literature.
evertheless, the text sets constraints on the meaning that the reader can
1d because its language and structure elicit certain common responses
ither than others.

One group of critics who adhere to this idea claim that all authors
acessarily have an intended audience in mind when writing. Other critics
'gue that meaning is created by reading; thus the reader is really the
Jthor.

The reader plays the central role in both of these views. If the author
'ites for an intended reader (audience), the reader effectively controls the
aaning of the text. If the reader is the author, then the reader creates
tatever meaning the text has through the act of reading.

Forces within society affect the backgrounds that authors and readers
ng to a text. Similar backgrounds and perspectives lead author and
ader to create meanings for a text that are compatible.

The critics define and write about the respective roles of the text,

thor, reader, society, and critics. Some critics primarily describe how and
y these roles developed and are the way they are; other critics attempt to
Tionstrate how the reader functions as author of what is read.

[If the interviewee makes a claim about what the critic means,

What makes you think that?
[Be careful to probe any terms, especially terms that are familiar

163

slip easily off the tonguenwords and phrases such as "reader-response,"
:onstruction," "New Criticism," "feminism," "traditional," and so on. Better that
nterviewee think you illiterate than to assume you know what s/he means

to discover months later that you do not]

[When you believe the interviewee has said all s/he has to say,
1 Is there anything else you'd like to say about this?

52. Here's another card [hand the interviewee Literag Crit3|. Take
a time to read it. When you feel ready, I want you to tell me what you
:of it.

¥ Keep track of how long the person takes to read the criticism.

Literam Crit 3

A work of literature exposes the reader to other points of view,
her imaginations, other emotions and actions, and enables the reader to
e more and further and, hence, to become a better person. The
iditions and cultural values found in the greatest literature represent some
the finest sentiments and achievements of the species: particular
tions of the True and Beautiful and of enduring moral and aesthetic
lues; an affinity for the "eternal" human truths; a sense of a shared
manity and a deep and abiding awareness of the importance of
"nocratic ideals.

The author, particularly the author of a great work, creates a world so
Nerful and alive that a reader actually experiences themes that are
aless and comes to understand universal truths.

The reader's role is to discover the meaning of the text, a meaning that
iscends the time and circumstances in which it was written. In
:overing this meaning, the reader also learns about her or his own
itence and shared humanity as well as his or her individuality and
inctive heritage. A reader reads to become a more complete and better
;on.

he ideals and truths depicted in literature can only imperfectly be

lzed in society. But by reading and becoming a better person, the
ridual contributes to the improvement of society as a whole.

he critic helps the reader to learn to read critically, to find the meaning
a readily. The reader thus becomes capable of experiencing the

ning more deeply and intensely and, hence, gains increased pleasure
understanding from reading.

164

Well, what did you think?

[If the interviewee makes a claim about what the critic means,

What makes you think that?

[Be careful to probe any terms, especially terms that are familiar
lip easily off the tongue-words and phrases such as "reader-response,"
nstruction," "New Criticism," "feminism," "traditional," and so on. Better that
:erviewee think you illiterate than to assume you know what s/he means
) discover months later that you do not]

[When you believe the interviewee has said all s/he has to say,
Is there anything else you'd like to say about this?

53. Here's the last card [hand the interviewee Literam Crit4| . Take
time to read it. When you feel ready, I want you to tell me what you
If it.

¥ Keep track of how long the person takes to read the criticism.

Literam Crit 4

A work of literature has no fixed or constant meaning. A single
d can be defined in multiple ways; and each definition of a given word is
aflnition of that word by default: that is, because it is n_ot the definition of
fferent word. Each of the myriad words, separately and strung together,
art to the text an uncertainty and indeterminableness. Other texts, past
future, entwine with a work. Also present in any work are faint
gestions of alternative texts that are absent only because the author
;e to write the one written.
1e words used and the meaning the author wants cannot coincide;
ins about the author's intention and original meaning are merely empty
ses.
1e reader will find at most an ebb and flow of shadowy meanings that

reform, fade again.

hat is true of a single work is true of Literature as a whole; and if
ature cannot capture and hold meaning, can there be any ultimate
ring in society?
e role of the critic is to "defamiliarize" the text: to enable the reader to

165

see that the appearance of meaning is but illusion; to expose as rhetoric
claims that the traditional moral and cultural values transmitted by "Great
Literature" are immutable and eternal truths. It is through this rhetoric that
traditional authority and privilege perpetuates itself.

Well, what did you think?

[If the interviewee makes a claim about what the critic means,
probe:]

What makes you think that?

[Be careful to probe any terms, especially terms that are familiar
and slip easily off the tongue--words and phrases such as "reader-response,"
"deconstruction," "New Criticism," "feminism," "traditional," and so on. Better that

the interviewee think you illiterate than to assume you know what s/he means
only to discover months later that you do not]

[When you believe the interviewee has said all s/he has to say,
ask:] Is there anything else you'd like to say about this?

54. [If the interviewee hasn't compared the quotations, ask:]
How would you compare these different views? [Probe to make
sure that the interviewee discuss each of the quotations in relation to the others]
Which is closest to your idea of literature? Why?

What do you find in the others that you don't agree with?

55. Is there a theory of literature that you prefer that we haven't
included? [If yes:] How does it differ from these four?

Are there things about literature that you believe but that these
authors left out?

56. How do you think it happens that people disagree about
literature?

What experiences have you had reading about or studying
literary theory?

166

Why study literature

57. Why do you think we teach literature in college? [Pause for
answer] How about in high schools? [Pause for answer] And in
elementary schools?

58. Tell me about the reading you do besides what you have to
read for courses. [Probe for details-genres, authors, specific works. If they
ask whether magazines or newspapers count, say yes and ask for which
magazines & newspapers they read & how frequently]

[If the person stops talking, ask:] Do you do any other reading?

59. What kinds of things do you read when you're not taking
classes? [Probe for details-genres, authors, specific titles, magazines, etc. If
they ask whether magazines or newspapers count, say yes and ask for which
magazines & newspapers they read & how frequently] What is it that you like
about [name of genre, author, title, magazine, whatever]?

60. Are the things you read on your own similar to or different
from those you read for class? Why? [This is an opportunity for the
interviewee to discuss his/her views of different types of literature and why s/he
reads different literature]

61. When reading on your own, do you approach the text the same
way that you do when you are reading for a class? [If no:] How does your
approach differ? [If yes:] How do you approach them?

62. Have you read the same text--a book, poem, essay, story--both
on your own and for a class? [If no, go to the next question] [If yes:] What
was the text? Was the experience different between the two occasions? If
so, how? Did you read the text first own your on or for a class?

63. Are there authors or types of literature that you've read on
your own that encouraged you to take a particular course? [If yes] Tell me
about it.

64. What about the other way around--Have courses in which
you've read particular authors or types of literature encouraged you to
read more of those outside of class? [If yes:] Tell me about it.

65. Why do you read? What kinds of things do you get from
reading?

167

66. We're also interested in your writing. Could you tell me about
the kind of writing you do besides what you have to write for class? Do
you keep a diary or write letters, poetry, stories, letters to the editor,
plays. novels, whatever? [Probe for frequency, amount]

67. A lot of commentators are saying that reading is going out of
fashion in a society increasingly reliant on non-verbal visual images &
information. Do you think this is true? What makes you think that?

68. What do you think is lost when people in a society read less
andless?

69. What would you like to see--more, the same, or less attention
to the printed texts in school and society? [We want to find out how they
think about reading, what kind of emphasis they think should be placed on
reading and printed text. be sure to get at the reasons behind what they say]

70. Suppose for a moment that you were talking with a friend
about a book you both liked. Another friend, overhearing your
conversation, interrupts, saying, "Why are you spending so much time
analyzing that? Why can't you just read and enjoy without picking it apart
like that? How would you respond? [Probe to get a the reasons behind the
position the interviewee takes]

71. Now suppose for a moment that you were a teacher. You are
teaching, say, 11th graders a particular text--a story or book or poem or
essay. In the middle of the class, a student raises her hand and asks,
"Why are we spending so much time analyzing. Why can't we just read
and enjoy? Why do we have to pick it apart like this?" How would you
respond? [Probe to get a the reasons behind the position the interviewee
takes]

Part 3: Knowledge of Teaching Literature
Now, we want to change gears yet again. We are interested in what you
think about literature but we are also interested in how you think about teaching
literature. That's what the remaining questions focus on.
Teaching the Raven

72. "The Raven" is a poem you could find yourself teaching one

168

day. Would you choose to teach it if you found it in the anthology your
students had been assigned? Could you explain what factors might affect
your decision? Anything else? [Probe for additional considerations like:
students' interest in the poem, its fame, Poe's fame, this person's own interest in
or admiration of the poem or the poet]

73. Let's assume for a moment that this poem is important to
teach in a high school curriculum. Think about grades 9 through 12.
Where do you think this poem could best be included? Would this be a
difficult poem for students? What helps you decide? How do you predict
students will react to this poem? Will they find poetry in general difficult?

74. Imagine that you were going to "teach this poem": What would
you focus on? [Probe around here. Find out what this person wants students
to learn or feel or believe. "What do you want them to learn by doing that?"]

75. If I were a visitor in your classroom when you were teaching
this poem, what would I likely see you doing? How about the students-
what would they likely be doing? From the first moment that students see
the poem through to the last time they talk, think or write about it, what
might be going on in your classroom? Tell me what you can about the
history of these ideas. And why is that what I'd see going on? [Probe about
all the methodological parts this person offers. Be sure to find out how students
will read the poem--as homework, in-class silently, orally taking turns, etc]

76. Would you want students to know about Poe's life? Could you
explain how you decided that would be important (or not so important)?

[If they say they would want students to know about Poe's life, ask:
] What aspects of his life would you like them to know about? [Probe for
why they think these aspects of Poe‘s life are important for students' to know
about]

77. [If yes, ask:] How would they find out about Poe's life? [Probe
why this is what the interviewee would have his/her students do]

78. Is there information besides something about Poe's life that
you think would be important for them to know?

[If yes:] How would they get this information?

79. Critics differ in their opinions about Poe. Do you think you
might show students or tell them about critic's views? Can you think of

169

some reasons why this might not be worthwhile? Given what you know
right now, what would you do? What would be some reasons for your
decision?

80. Let's imagine that you did decide to discuss a variety of critic's
views. Suppose a student asked you, "Mr.lMs , which one is right?"
or "Who do you agree with?" What might you say?

81. "The Raven" is often included in school anthologies.
Typically, there are questions for readers to answer after they read the
poem. Here is set of questions we found in one anthology. After you've
had time to read them, we'll talk about them.

[Give person the questions from the anthology]

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION
The Raven

_.\

. The first stanza of "The Raven" presents a speaker who is physically
exhausted and under obvious emotional strain. He reads, as we learn in the
next stanza, to distract himself from sorrow, but the "quaint and curious
volume of forgotten lore" implies a taste for the occult or the fantastic. How
do these details relate to his later assumption that the raven is an agent of
the supernatural?

2. At first the raven makes the speaker smile (line 43). But his first speech to
the raven associates the bird with Pluto, the ruler of infernal regions (lines
45-48). What does this tell us about what is truly in his mind?

3. Lines 49-78 take the speaker through a number of reactions: surprise that
the bird speaks; the melancholy assumption that this companion will fly from
him as "other friends" have done; a sensible explanation of how the bird may
have learned its single word; and even playful amusement. Still, it becomes
clear that, beneath his apparent assurance, the speaker is moving toward
hysteria. What loss of control is indicated in line 74? Why is it appropriate
that this stanza should end with the speaker now using the word nevermore?

4. Since the raven repeats only a single word, the significance of Nevermore as

an answer depends entirely on the question asked. In the dialogue of lines
81-95, how does the speaker use the bird to confirm his own worst fears?

170

5. After the frenzy with which he proclaims that the raven's word is a "lie" and
tries to drive the bird from him, the speaker seems strangely calm in the last
stanza, as if he had recovered his reason. How does the repetition of the
phrase, "still is sitting" (line 103) indicate that this is not so? How does the
poet make this repeated phrase sound even more ominous? Which other
lines in the final stanza suggest that the speaker may never return to his
senses?

82. Some people say that anthology questions should be free from
bias or obvious interpretative stances. Here are some questions taken
from a school anthology. Look them over. With this in mind, how would
you rate these questions?

83. How helpful are these questions for helping you as a reader
think about the poem? In what way? How did you decide? Would you use
any of these questions with students? [If yes, ask] Which ones? [If no, ask]:
Can you tell me more about why you think they aren't helpful? What
questions would be helpful?

84. What seems to be the purpose of these questions? How can
you tell?

85. Are there additional questions you'd want students to
consider? Could you give me some examples? What makes these
valuable for students?

86. If some of your students were having trouble reading the
poem, what would you do?

87. How would you go about finding out whether or not your
students learned what you wanted them to learn about the poem? [Probe
for details. If interviewee says s/he would "test" them, ask for details of what
would be on the test, what the format would be, etc] Are there other ways that
you would find out what they learned about the poem?

88. What kinds of writing tasks could you imagine assigning
connected to "The Raven?" [Probe for details & rationale] Suppose you got
back papers from some of your students that were below the standards
you expect. What would you do about it?

89. Let's say you were teaching in an inner-city high school where

171

 

reading scores have been low for a number of years. Again, "The Raven"
is part of the curriculum. Most of the students are African-American. Most
of the students come from impoverished families. How would you
approach teaching the poem in such a setting? Is there anything about
such a setting that would lead you to expect these students to have
diffculty with this poem? But if they had difficulty with the poem, how
would you explain their having difficulty? [Probe for details again. lfthe
interviewee describe an approach that differs from that s/he described above,
ask why]

90. Now, let's say you were teaching in a rural high school. Most
of the students are white and come from low-income families. Most come
from families that belong to the fundamentalist church in the community.
Again, "The Raven" is part of the district curriculum. How would you
approach teaching the poem in such a setting? Is there anything about
such a setting that would lead you to expect these students to have
diffculty with this poem? But if they had difficulty with the poem, how
would you explain their having difficulty?[Probe for details again. If the
interviewee describe an approach that differs from that s/he described above,
ask why]

Teaching Literag Theog

91. As an English major, you may have come across a lot of talk
about literary theory. Do you think that literary theory or criticism is
something that high school students should know about? Why or why not?

92. At what grade level do you think students should start learning
about these theoretical or critical perspectives? [Probe for rationale]

93. Suppose for a moment that literary criticism was a part of the
curriculum in the school in which you are teaching. How would go about
helping your students learn about these various critical perspectives?
What would you do? What would they do? [Probe for specifics here]

94. Again, let's say you were teaching in an inner-city high school
where reading scores have been low for a number of years. Most of the
students as African-American. Most of the students come from low-
income families. Would you teach them about these various critical
perspectives on literature even if they were not part of the curriculum? If
criticism were part of the curriculum, how would you approach teaching
them? [Probe for rationale]

172

95. What about the rural high school I described earlier in which
most of the students are white and come from low-income families. And
most come from families that belong to the fundamentalist church. Would
you teach them about these various critical perspectives on literature even
if they were not part of the curriculum? lf criticism were part of the
curriculum, how would you approach teaching it? [Probe for rationale]

The Canon

97. Are there particular texts that you think _a_fl high school
students should read?

[If yes:] What are some of these? Why these?

[If no:] How would you go about deciding what your high
school students will read?

96. Commentators see a decline in attention to reading as we
become more dependent on media other than printed materials. As a
teacher is trying to reverse this trend part of your responsibility?

[If yes:] Do you have some ideas about how you would go
about doing this?
[If no:] How did you decide this?

98. Here is a list of books. Let's say that this is the recommended
list of books for the school in which you are teaching. I'd like for you to
take a minute and read the list over. To the right of each book title, check
one of the boxes to show that

¥ you have read the book and would include it in your 11th grade
curriculum

¥ you have read the book but would NOT include it in your 11th
grade curriculum

¥ you haven't read the book but would include it in your 11th grade
curriculum

¥ you haven't read the book and would not include it in your 11th
grade curriculum

We are asking you whether you've read the book not to find out what
you have and haven't read. We need to know whether or not you've read
the book so we can understand how you go about deciding what books

173

you think students ought to read.

After you have marked your choices, I'm going to ask you
more about your thinking. Let me know when you're finished.

[If the interviewee asks for more information about the school or the
students, ask him/her how the information they are requesting matters. Then
ask them about the kinds of students they plan to teach or the type of school in
which they plan to teach. Tell them to respond with these students/this school in
mind]

174

4
Text
AuthorHave read & would include Have read but would NOT include Haven't
read but would includeHaven't read & would NOT include
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Angelou
The Fire Next Time
Forever Blume

The Red Badge of Courage

Baldwin

Crane

Soul on Ice Cleaver

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Douglass

The Invisible Man Ellison

The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald

The Miracle Worker Gibson

The Lord of the Flies Golding

A Raisin in the Sun Hansberry

The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne

The Old Man and the Sea

Hemingway

Their Eyes Were Watching God

Hurston
Woman Warrior
A Separate Peace

Kingston
Knowles

To Kill a Mockingbird Lee

Call of the Wild

Autobiography of
Malcolm X Haley
/Malcolm X

The Crucible Miller

The Death of a Salesman
The Song of Solomon

The Chosen Potok

The Catcher in the Rye
Shakespeare
Shakespeare

Hamlet
Macbeth
Grapes of Wrath
Of Mice and Men
Huckleberry Finn
The Color Purple

London

Miller
Morrison

Salinger

Steinbeck
Steinbeck
Twain
Walker

Ethane Frome Wharton

Our Town
Glass Menagerie
Black Boy
Native Son

Wilder

Wright
Wright

Williams

99. Teachers of course have to make choices because they can't
teach everything they'd like to teach. Look at the books that you said you
would include. Let's say your class of 11th graders only had time to read
six of these during a year. Put a check mark in the box to the left of the g
books you would choose for your 11th graders to read.

100. Now I'd like you to go through the six books you have chosen
for your Ilth grade English class and tell me why you included each. [Probe
to find out what criteria the interviewee used in selecting the text (readability,
appeal to youth, expectations of society/family/colleges, etc.).]

101. What about those books you have read but wouldn't include?
Why have you rejected these? [Probe to find out what criteria the interviewee
used in rejecting the text (readability, appeal to youth, expectations of
society/family/colleges, etc.).]

102. Are there books not on this list that you would include among
the six you would want your 11th graders to read? [If yes, find out the book
and then ask:] And which of the six that you checked would you drop to
make room for this one?

103. Here's a description of a particular school--we're calling it
"School A." [Give interviewee description of School A]. Read the description
and then tell me if your choice of books would be different if you were
teaching in this school.

School A

School A is located in an urban area where unemployment is high. About 55%
ofthe students are African-American, another 25% are white, 15% are Latino, and 5%
are Asian-American. A large proportion of these students come from impoverished
families. Less that half the students have gone on to college in recent years. Many
enter the military after graduation.

104. And here's a description of a another schooI--"School B." [Give
interviewee description of School B]. Read it and then tell me if your choice
of books would be different if you were teaching in this school.

SchoolB
School B is located in a suburban community. Most of the adults are employed
in plants or businesses located in or near their neighborhood. Few professionals live in

the community and few residents have college degrees. Like graduates of School A,

176

less than half of the students in School B go to college and a number opt for military
service. The student population is almost totally white-~roughly 95%.

105. And finally, here's a description of School C. [Give interviewee
description of School C]. Read it and then tell me if your choice of books
would be different if you were teaching in this school.

scam

Like School B, this school is also located in a suburban area. The parents of
many of the students are professionals and many people in the community have
earned college degrees. The school population is about 80% white, 10% African—
American, and 10% Asian-American. Each year, roughly 90% of the students go on to
college.

106. Which of these descriptions sounds most like the school you
attended?

Evaluation

106. Another task teachers face is finding out what their students
have learned. Suppose that you are teaching Romeo and Juliet to a class
of 9th graders. What are some of the reaons for teaching this play?

107. This may sound like a similar question but I'd like to know
what you think 9th graders could learn from reading Romeo and Juliet?

108. At what point in teaching the play do you think would be a
good time to find out what they know or have learned about the play?

109. How would you go about finding out what they know or have
learned? [Probe to find out specifics. If they mention multiple choice, ask for an
example. If they say they would have students write essays, ask them what they
would ask the students to write essays about]

110. Let's say your 9th graders had finished reading the play. Here
is a list of questions about Romeo and Juliet. Using the questions listed
here, choose some questions that would provide you with information on
what you think students ought to learn from studying Romeo and Juliet.
Your students would have 55 minutes to answer the questions you chose.

[Hand interviewee Questions on Romeo and Juliet]

177

Literal

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Item #6:

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Evaluative

Item #8

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Item #1 0:

Possible Test Questions on Romeo and Juliet

Match these characters to their descriptions:

Romeo killed Mercutio

Juliet A Montague

Paris Servant to Romeo

Benvolio Victim of the Capulet-Montague war
Mercutio Prince of Verona

Escalus Romeo's friend

Tybalt A Capulet

Balthasar Man Juliet's father wishes her to marry

Why did Romeo have to leave for Padua?
Why didn't Juliet want to marry Paris?

How old was was Juliet?

Mercutio died angry with Romeo. Why?

How might the Friar be held responsible for the tragic deaths of
Romeo and Juliet?

After Mercutio's death, Romeo says, "This day's black fate on mo
days doth depend; This but begins the woe others must end."
How does this foreshadow what follows?

Who do you hold most responsible for the deaths of Romeo and
Juliet, the Friar, the parents, or Romeo and Juliet themselves?

Could the deaths of Romeo and/or Juliet have been prevented?
Writing as if you were Friar Lawrence, describe the factors you
considered as you attempted to act as both a friend to Romeo and

Juliet and as a good priest.

178

Reader Response

Item #11: Are Romeo and Juliet like young people today? Defend your
response.

Evaluative

Item #12: Did the Capulets and Montagues become friends after discovering
their dead children? What makes you think so?

Literal, Critical, & Evaluative

Item #13: Below are several quotations from the play. For each, name the
speaker, describe what was going on in the story of the play at the
time that the character made the statement and then explain what
the lines mean from your point of view.

That which we call a rose by any other name would
smell as sweet.

Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say
goodnight til it be morrow.

'Tis not so deep as a well nor so wide as a church
door; but 'tis enough, 'twill serve.

O churll Drunk all, and left no friendly drop to help
me after? I will kiss thy lips. Haply some poison yet
doth hang on them to make me die with a restorative.

My only love, sprung from my only hate! Too early
seen unknown, and known too late!

Craft Knowledge

Item #14: What makes the nurse a humorous character?

Item #1 5: Some of the play is written in the ordinary language of
Shakespeare's day, but some of it is written in rhymed couplets.

Why might Shakespeare have used both styles in this play? What
might have guided his choices about when to use couplets?

179

Item #16: What might Shakespeare have wanted to suggest by including the
Queen Mab speech that Mercutio delivers in Act One?

Historical Knowledge

Item #17: Name three ways that the theater of Shakespeare's time differs
from theater in our day.

Item #18: If you saw the original scripts for Romeo and Juliet, would you
expect to see stage directions? Why or why not?

Reader Response

Item #19: Was Juliet doing the right thing when she sneaked out and
married Romeo? What would you have done in Juliet's place?

Item #20: Was the love between Juliet and Romeo "true love" or was it some
adolescent infatuation? Explain how you decided.
111. Would you tell me which items you selected and why?

112. What would an incorrect answer to [choose one of the items he
student has selected] tell you about the student who answered it?

What would an incorrect answer tell you about how to teach
this play differently next time?

Would an incorrect answer suggest anything about the test
question itself?

113. Let's look at another one. What would an incorrect answer to
[choose another of the items of a different type] tell you about the student
who answered it?

What would an incorrect answer tell you about how to teach
this play differently next time?

Would an incorrect answer suggest anything about the test
question itself?
114. Let's look at item #3 [Why didn't Juliet want to marry Paris?] If a

180

student answered "Because she was in love with Romeo," would that be a
correct answer? Share with me how you decided. [Probe for other
potentially correct answers]

115. Are there additional questions--or types of questions--you'd
want to ask? Can you tell em about some of them? [Wait] How are these
questions different from the ones in this group? What makes them
important to include?

Now we'd like for you to make up a test on another book using some
questions already developed. And we'd like to give you a choice of books. This
is to increase the chance that you will be familiar with the book.

The choices are: Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, The Scarlet Letter by
Hawthorne, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, or Huckleberry Firm by Twain.
Which would you like to make up a test on?

[Hand the interviewee the questions on the book they chose]

Test Questions on The Scarlett Letter

Select items from those below to make a 55-minute test on The Scarlett

Letter. You may, of course, come up with your own questions that you

think are better than those listed.

Literal

Item #1: Where did Hester face the townspeople on release from prison?

Item #2: How did Hester make a living?

Critical

Item #3: Why did Hester embroider the letter so beautifully?

Item #4: Why did Chillingworth book passage on the same ship as Hester
and Dimmesdale?

Item #5: Why does Dimmesdale always have his hand over his heart?
Evaluative
Item #6: Were Hester and Dimmesdale in love? Support your answer.

18]

Item #7: What kind of child was Pearl? Was she good, bad, or something
else? Give examples to support your answer.

Item #8: Comment on the following statement: "The forest scene is the
structural center of the book: everything leads either to or away
from it."

Reader Response

Item #9: If you were Dimmesdale, would you have confessed? Why or why
not?

Item #10: For what "sins" are people isolated today?

Craft Knowledge

Item #11: Why did Hawthorne include the last chapter, "Conclusion?"
Historical Knowledge

Item #12: Think about Hester's punishment and the treatment of witches

during the same historical period. What are some similarities?
Why do you think these similarities existed?

182

Test Questions on Julius Caesar

Select items from those below to make a 55-minute test on Julius Caesar.
You may, of course, come up with your own questions that you think are
better than those listed.

Item #1:

Item #2:

Item #3:

Item #4:

Item #5:

Match the following

Brutus One of Caesar's best friends

Portia Leader of the conspirators

Lepidus Nephew of Caesar, opposed the conspirators
Cassius Wife of Brutus

Philippi Where Brutus and Cassius are defeated
Anthony Friend of Caeser who joins the conspirators
Ocatvius One of the triumvirs, opposed the conspirators

Match each of the following quotations with the character who said
it (some names may be used more than once and others not at all):

¥ Beware the ides of March.

¥ Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.

¥ Et tu, Brute?--Than fall, Caesar!

¥ Farewell, good Strato.-—Caesar, now be still:
I kill'd not thee with half so good a will.

¥ Let me have men about me that are fat;
Sleek-headed men, and such as sleep 0' nights:
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look;
He thinks too much: such men are dangerous
Characters: Caesar, Brutus, Anthony, Cassius, Soothsayer

Why did the conspirators want to kill Caesar?

Caesar's love and regard for Brutus is his undoing. What do you
think about this judgement?

Why do you think Caesar ignored the warnings that he received

183

Item #6:

Item #7:

Item #8:

Item #9:

Item #10:

Item #11:

Item #12:

about his impending murder?
Are political assassinations ever justified?

How does Shakespeare get the auidence to feel sympathy for
Brutus? Why would he try to do this? Does he succeed?

Compare Anthony and Brutus. What do these characters, as
counterpoints, provide to the play?

Why was political assassination a feature of political life in ancient
Rome?

For what kinds of reasons do people betray their friends? Do you
think there is ever a "good reason" for such a betrayal?

Whose your favorite character in the play? Why?

How did the citizens of Rome react to the killing of Caesar?

184

Test Questions on Huckleberry Finn

Select items from those below to make a 55-minute test on Huckleberry
Finn. You may, of course, come up with your own questions that you
think are better than those listed.

Item #1:

Item #2:

Item #3:

Item #4:

Item #5:

Item #6:

Item #7:

List ten characters and briefly (in no more than five words)
describe each. For example, "King--con-man" or "Buck--a
Grangerford" would be sufficient. (Yes, you can use these two, so
you only need eight more!)

Why did Huck and Jim float past Cairo? Why did this cause Jim
such sadness?

How was Huck responsible for Buck's death?

Huck's pa was critical of Huck for attending school. Explain how
Huck agreed and/or disagreed with his father's views.

When he boards the floating wreak of a steamboat, Huck
overhears the thieves Jake Packard and Bill trying to decide
whether to kill Jim Turner who was part of their gang. Did Huck
act morally in response to the conversation he overheard?

Dressed as a girl, Huck is admitted to a house by the woman of
lives there. She sees through his disguise and somehow decides
that he is a runaway apprentice. She says, "Bless you, child, I
wouldn't tell on you." Was the woman right not to "tell on" Huck?

Consider the following description:

"He was most fifty, and he looked it. His hair was long and
tangled and greasy, and hung down, and you could see his eyes
shining through like he was behind vines. It was all black, no gray;
so was his long, mixed-up whiskers. There warn't no color in his
face, where his face showed; it was white; not like another man's
white, but a white to make a body's flesh crawl--a tree—toad white,
a fish-belly white."

1) What kind of character does this description suggest? Is this
someone you'd care to know?
2) Who is being described? And who is doing the describing? In

185

Item #8:

Item #9:

Item #10:

Item #11:

Item #12:

other words, whose voice do you hear when you read this
description?

3) Consider the emphasis on the particular white--"a white to make
a body's flesh crawl". . . "a fish-belly white." What does this
suggest to you?

Discuss your reactions to this novel. Did you react in more than
one way? That is, did feel a part of the adventure? Did you plot
and connive? Did you wrestle with moral issues? Discuss.

The word "nigger" appears throughout the book. How did you feel
reading this slur that was acceptable to many, probably most, of
the people who lived along the Mississippi in the mid-19th
century? How do you feel about requiring young people to read a
book in which African Americans are referred to as "niggers?"

The novel is set in the 1830's or 40‘s. Choose a social, political, or
economic issue that was raised in the novel and that was also
important in the United States during that period. Discuss the
issue in its historical context. You do not need to refer to the

novel in your discussion.

What part does the tattoo on the chest of the dead and buried Mr.
Wilks play in the unfolding of the action? (At least two functions of
the tattoo would be nice, although one would be enough.)

What parts do the king and the duke play in the story? Did Twain

include them just because they are funny? Did he also have a
serious purpose in mind?

186

Test Questions on To Kill a Mockingbird

Select items from those below to make a 55-minute test on To Kill a
Mockingbird. You may, of course, come up with your own questions that
you think are better than those listed.

Item #1:

Item #2:

Item #3:

Item #4:

Item #5:

Item #6:

Match these characters to their descriptions:

Mrs., Dubose An old lady who lives down the street
from the Finch's

Scout alleged victim of rape

Jem the Finch's maid

Arthur Radley a Negro accused of rape

Atticus owner of the town newspaper
Cal friend of the Finch children
Tom Robinson Scout's father, a lawyer

Mayella the narrator/Jean Louise Finch
Bob Ewell white trash father of Mayella

Dill Scout's brother
B.B.Unden/vood the town recluse

Imagine yourself as an inhabitant of Maycomb. How would you
have acted during the trial?

Select one of the themes of the novel. Consider the time period in
which it was set. How might the events differ if the action of the
novel were set in the context of 1992 rather than the 1930s?

Why is the book titled "To Kill a Mockingbird?"

Why did the author choose a young girl to be the narrator?

Below are quotations from the novel. For each, describe the
context in which the speaker made the statement and then present

your interpretation of the lines.

Atticus:"Shoot all the bluejays you want if can hit 'em, but remember
it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

Mrs. Merriweather: "I tell you there are some good but misguided
people in this town. . . . Now far be it from me to say who, but some
of 'em in this town thought they were doing the right thing a while
back, but all they did was stir 'em up. . . . | tell you if my Sophy'd

187

Item #7:

Item #8:

Item #9:

Item #10:

Item #11:

Item #12:

kept it up another day I'd have let her go. It's never entered that
wool of hers that the only reason I keep her is because the
depression's on and she needs her dollar and a quarter every week
she can get it."

Would the citizens of Maycomb re-elect Atticus to the legislature
after he defended Tom? Support your answer.

Who was responsible for Tom's death?

Who saves the Finch children's lives?

Compare the treatment of women and African Americans in
Maycomb in the 1930s with their treatment today. What has
changed and what has not? What has caused the changes you
identify? What has prevented more changes in the treatment of
women and African Americans?

What was the name of the town in which the story takes place?

How does the trial affect Jem and Scout?

188

116.

117.

118.

119.

[When they are finished, ask:] Would you tell me which items you
selected and why?

What would an incorrect answer to [choose one of the items he
student has selected] tell you about the student who answered it?

What would an incorrect answer tell you about how to teach this
play differently next time?

Would an incorrect answer suggest anything about the test
question itself?

Let's look at another one. What would an incorrect answer to
[choose another ofthe items of a different type] tell you about the
student who answered it?

What would an incorrect answer tell you about how to teach this
play differently next time?

Would an incorrect answer suggest anything about the test
question itself?

Are there additional questions--or types of questions--you'd want to
ask? Can you tell me about some of them? [Wait] How are these
questions different from the ones in this group? What makes them
important to include?

189

The Raven

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary

Over many quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore-

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,

As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.

4

" 'T is some visitor," | muttered, "tapping at my chamber door-
Only this and nothing more."

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December;

7

And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.

Eagerly I wished the morrow;-vainly I had sought to borrow

From my books surcease of sorrow-sorrow for the lost Lenore-

For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore-

Nameless here for evermore.

And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain

13

Thrilled me-filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;

So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating,

" 'T is some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door-

16

Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;-
This it is and nothing more."

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,

19

"Sir," said I, “or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;

But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,

And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,

22

That I scarce was sure I heard you"-here I opened wide the door;-
Darkness there and nothing more.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
25

Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,

And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, "Lenore"
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, "Lenore?"

29

190

Merely this and nothing more.

Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
31
Soon again I heard tapping somewhat louder than before.
"Surely," said I, "surely that is something at my window lattice;
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore—
34
Let my heart be still a moment, and this mystery explore;-
'T is the wind and nothing more!"

Open here | flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter, 37
In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore.
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door- 40
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door-

Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
43
By the grave and stem decorum of the countenance it wore,
"Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven,
Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore-
46
Tell em what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

Much I marveled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly, 49
Though its answer little meaning-little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door-
52
Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as "Nevermore."

But the Raven, sitting lonely on that placid bust, spoke only

55

That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.

Nothing farther than he uttered-not a feather then he fluttered-

Till I scarcely more than muttered, "Other friends have flown before—

58

On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before."
Then the bird said, "Nevermore."

191

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
61
"Doubtless," said I, "what it utters is its only stock and store
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore- 64
Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore
Of 'Never-nevermore.‘ "

But the Raven still beguiling all my sad fancy into smiling, 67
Straight 1 wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird and bust and door;
Then, upon the velvet sinking, | betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore- 70
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of your

Meant in croaking "Nevermore."

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
73
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;
This and more | sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o'er,
76
But whose velvet-violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er,
She shall press, ah, nevermorel

Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
79
Swung by seraphim whose foot—falls tinkled on the tufted floor.
"Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee-by these angels he hath sent thee
Respite-respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore;
82
Quaff, oh, quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Prophet!" said 1, "thing of evill-prophet still, if bird or devil!-
85
Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate, yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted—
On this home by Horror haunted-tell me truly, I implore- 88
Is there-is there balm in Gilead?-tell me-tell me, I implore!"

Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Prophet!" said 1, "thing of evill—prophet still, if bird or devil! 91

192

By that Heaven that bends above us-by that God we both adore—

Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,

It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore—

94

Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore."
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!" l shrieked, up starting- 97

"Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!

Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!

Leave my loneliness unbrokenl-quit the bust above my door!

100

Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting 103
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o‘er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor; 106
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor

Shall be lifted-nevermorel

193

Edgar Allan Poe
1809-1849

American poet, short story writer, critic, editor, novelist, and essayist

Poe was born of impoverished vaudeville actors and orphaned at the
age of two. He was adopted by the Allans, a wealthy Virginia family who
gave him the benefits of wealth and education. While at The University of
Virginia, Poe's rather minor gambling debts and bizarre behavior when
under the influence of even small amounts of alcohol fanned his already
strained relationship with his stepfather into open hostility. Allan refused
to assist with Poe's debts, and Poe was forced to leave school. In an
attempt to reconcile with Allan, Poe entered West Point. Quickly realizing
that he was not suited to Academy life, Poe asked Allan to sign papers
which would have allowed him to leave West Point honorably. When Allan
refused, Poe deliberately disobeyed orders and obtained a dishonorable
discharge.

Poe published two volumes of poetry before he turned twenty.
Following his dismissal from West Point , he married his young cousin,
Virginia Clem, and embarked upon a literary career. In 1835, he became
the editor of the Southern Literary Messenger. Poe was an unpopular
critic; he produced scathing attacks on some of the most popular books of
his day. The death of Virginia interrupted Poe's focus on his work and
sent him into deep depression. Some of his most famous poetry reflects
this time in his life.

Poe's personal life was marked by poverty and depression. His most
successful poem netted him only about twenty dollars. The stories
surrounding his drinking and early death confused the man with his literary
creations. Certain of his critics ascribed to Poe a morbidity of character
and a cruel and unnatural temperament. His literary executor R. W.
Griswold, for reasons unknown, forged letters and documents to portray
Poe as a bizarre and menacing character. Although he was ultimately
vindicated, it has been the work of modern scholars to reestablish Poe's
reputation based on his work and not his life.

Literam Criticism #1

194

A work of literature is a self—contained world. The meaning is found
within the text itself. The various parts of the text may conflict or be in tension.
The form or structure of the work pulls these parts together into a coherent
whole. The form i_s the meaning.

Since a literary work contains its own reality and its form is its meaning,
knowledge of the intentions or the life and times of the author is n_ot important
for understanding what the work means.

Similarly, since the work exists in and is its own world, society has little
influence on the meaning of a text.

The reader must experience the meaning of the work. However,
experiencing the meaning is not simply a matter of responding subjectively
and/or affectively to the work. Experiencing the meaning requires hard-nosed,
rigorous, objective analyses of the text.

This is where the critic comes in. The critic cannot merely paraphrase
the meaning for the reader. Indeed, since the meaning of a work is its form, it
cannot be paraphrased. "Close" reading-attention to the use and meaning of
words, symbols, metaphors and structure--is required. The critic helps the
reader learn to do this close reading.

195

Literam Criticism #2

The reader largely determines the meaning of a work of literature.
levertheless, the text sets constraints on the meaning that the reader can find
>ecause its language and structure elicit certain common responses rather than
>thers.

One group of critics who adhere to this idea claim that all authors
iecessarily have an intended audience in mind when writing. Other critics
irgue that meaning is created by reading; thus the reader is really the author.

The reader plays the central role in both of these views. If the author
Irites for an intended reader (audience), the reader effectively controls the
weaning of the text. If the reader is the author, then the reader creates
Ihatever meaning the text has through the act of reading.

Forces within society affect the backgrounds that authors and readers
ring to a text. Similar backgrounds and perspectives lead author and reader
3 create meanings for a text that are compatible.

The critics define and write about the respective roles of the text,
uthor, reader, society, and critics. Some critics primarily describe how and
thy these roles developed and are the way they are; other critics attempt to
emonstrate how the reader functions as author of what is read.

196

Literapy Criticism #3

A work of literature exposes the reader to other points of view, other
maginations, other emotions and actions, and enables the reader to see more
and further and, hence, to become a better person. The traditions and cultural
Ialues found in the greatest literature represent some of the finest sentiments
and achievements of the species: particular notions of the True and Beautiful
and of enduring moral and aesthetic values; an affinity for the "eternal" human
ruths; a sense of a shared humanity and a deep and abiding awareness of the
mportance of democratic ideals.

The author, particularly the author of a great work, creates a world so
)owerful and alive that a reader actually experiences themes that are ageless
ind comes to understand universal truths.

The reader's role is to discover the meaning of the text, a meaning that
ranscends the time and circumstances in which it was written. In discovering
his meaning, the reader also learns about her or his own existence and shared
iumanity as well as his or her individuality and distinctive heritage. A reader
eads to become a more complete and better person.

The ideals and truths depicted in literature can only imperfectly be
ealized in society. But by reading and becoming a better person, the
1dividual contributes to the improvement of society as a whole.

The critic helps the reader to learn to read critically, to find the meaning
tore readily. The reader thus becomes capable of experiencing the meaning
tore deeply and intensely and, hence, gains increased pleasure and
nderstanding from reading.

197

Literam Criticism #4

A work of literature has no fixed or constant meaning. A single word
can be defined in multiple ways; and each definition of a given word is a
definition of that word by default: that is, because it is n_ot the definition of a
different word. Each of the myriad words, separately and strung together,
impart to the text an uncertainty and indeterminableness. Other texts, past and
future, entwine with a work. Also present in any work are faint suggestions of
alternative texts that are absent only because the author chose to write the one
written.

The words used and the meaning the author wants cannot coincide;
notions about the author's intention and original meaning are merely empty
phrases.

The reader will find at most an ebb and flow of shadowy meanings that
fade, reform, fade again.

What is true of a single work is true of Literature as a whole; and if
Literature cannot capture and hold meaning, can there be any ultimate meaning
in society?

The role of the critic is to "defamiliarize“ the text: to enable the reader to
see that the appearance of meaning is but illusion; to expose as rhetoric
claims that the traditional moral and cultural values transmitted by "Great
Literature" are immutable and eternal truths. It is through this rhetoric that
traditional authority and privilege perpetuates itself.

198

()1

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION
The Raven

The first stanza of "The Raven" presents a speaker who is physically
exhausted and under obvious emotional strain. He reads, as we learn in the
next stanza, to distract himself from sorrow, but the "quaint and curious
volume of forgotten lore" implies a taste for the occult or the fantastic. How

do these details relate to his later assumption that the raven is an agent of
the supernatural?

. At first the raven makes the speaker smile (line 43). But his first speech to

the raven associates the bird with Pluto, the ruler of infernal regions (lines
45-48). What does this tell us about what is truly in his mind?

. Lines 49-78 take the speaker through a number of reactions: surprise that

the bird speaks; the melancholy assumption that this companion will fly from
him as "other friends" have done; a sensible explanation of how the bird may
have learned its single word; and even playful amusement. Still, it becomes
clear that, beneath his apparent assurance, the speaker is moving toward
hysteria. What loss of control is indicated in line 74? Why is it appropriate
that this stanza should end with the speaker now using the word nevermore?

. Since the raven repeats only a single word, the significance of Nevermore as

an answer depends entirely on the question asked. In the dialogue of lines
81-95, how does the speaker use the bird to confirm his own worst fears?

. After the frenzy with which he proclaims that the raven's word is a "lie" and

tries to drive the bird from him, the speaker seems strangely calm in the last
stanza, as if he had recovered his reason. How does the repetition of the
phrase, "still is sitting" (line 103) indicate that this is not so? How does the
poet make this repeated phrase sound even more ominous? Which other

lines in the final stanza suggest that the speaker may never return to his
senses?

199

Text Selection Task
Suppose that the attached list of books is the recommended list of books for
ade English in the school in which you are teaching. As a teacher, you are
to choose which text you would like to teach. For the moment, choose as many
you like.

'0 the right of each book title , check one of the boxes to show that

¥ have read the book and would include it in your 11th grade curriculum
%

¥ you have read the book but would NOT include it in your 11th grade
im
%
¥ you haven't read the book but would include it in your 11th grade

93

¥ you haven't read the book and would not include it in your 11th
'ade curriculum

4
Text
AuthorHave read & would include Have read but would NOT include Haven't
read but would includeHaven't read & would NOT include
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Angelou
The Fire Next Time Baldwin
Forever Blume
The Red Badge of Courage Crane
Soul on Ice Cleaver
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Douglass
The Invisible Man Ellison
The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald
The Miracle Worker Gibson
The Lord of the Flies Golding
A Raisin in the Sun Hansberry
The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne

The Old Man and the Sea

Hemingway

Their Eyes Were Watching God

Hurston
Woman Warrior
A Separate Peace

Kingston
Knowles

To Kill a Mockingbird Lee

Call of the Wild

Autobiography of
Malcolm X Haley
/Malcolm X

The Crucible Miller

The Death of a Salesman
The Song of Solomon

The Chosen Potok

The Catcher in the Rye
Shakespeare
Shakespeare
Steinbeck
Steinbeck
Twain
Walker

Hamlet

Macbeth
Grapes of Wrath
Of Mice and Men
Huckleberry Firm
The Color Purple

London

Miller
Morrison

Salinger

Ethane Frome Wharton

Our Town Wilder
Glass Menagerie

Black Boy Wright
Native Son Wright

Williams

School A

School A is located in an urban area where unemployment is high. About 55%
)fthe students are African—American, another 25% are white, 15% are Latino,
and 5% are Asian-American. A large proporition of these students come from
mpoverished families. Less that half the students have gone on to college in
ecent years. Many enter the military after graduation.

looks that I would substitute for those I chose originally:

Books I would use in this context... Substitute for...

SchoolB

School B is located in a suburban community. Most ofthe adults are employed
in plants or businesses located in or near their neighborhood. Few professionals
live in the community and few residents have college degrees. Like graduates of
School A, less than half of the students in School B go to college and a number
opt for military service. The student population is almost totally white-roughly
95%.

Books that I would substitute for those I chose originally:

Books I would use in this context... Substitute for...

   

School C
ike School B, this school is also located in a suburban area. The parents of
any of the students are professionals and many people in the community have
arned college degrees. The school population is about 80% white, 10%
frican-American, and 10% Asian-American. Each year, roughly 90% of the
:udents go on to college.
ooks that I would substitute for those I chose originally:

Books I would use in this context... Substitute for...

204

Test Questions on Romeo and Juliet

Select items from those below to make a 55-minute test on Romeo and

Juliet

for 9th graders. You may, of course, come up with your own questions.

Item #1:

Item #2:

Item #3:

Item#4:

Item #5:

Item #6:

Item #7:

Item #8

Item #9:

Item #10:

Item #11 :

Match these characters to their descriptions:

Romeo killed Mercutio

Juliet A Montague

Paris Servant to Romeo

Benvolio Victim of the Capulet-Montague war
Mercutio Prince of Verona

Escalus Romeo‘s friend

Tybalt A Capulet

Balthasar Man Juliet's father wishes her to marry

Why did Romeo have to leave for Padua?
Why didn't Juliet want to marry Paris?
How old was was Juliet?

Mercutio died angry with Romeo. Why?

How might the Friar be held responsible for the tragic deaths of
Romeo and Juliet?

After Mercutio's death, Romeo says, "This day's black fate on mo
days doth depend; This but begins the woe others must end."
How does this foreshadow what follows?

Who do you hold most responsible for the deaths of Romeo and
Juliet, the Friar, the parents, or Romeo and Juliet themselves?

Could the deaths of Romeo and/or Juliet have been prevented?
Writing as if you were Friar Lawrence, describe the factors you
considered as you attempted to act as both a friend to Romeo and
Juliet and as a good priest.

Are Romeo and Juliet like young people today? Defend your

205

Item #12:

response.

Did the Capulets and Montagues become friends after discovering

their dead children? What makes you think so?

Item #13:

Item #14:

Item #15:

Item #16:

Item #17:

Item #18:

Below are several quotations from the play. For each, name the
speaker, describe what was going on in the story of the play at the
time that the character made the statement and then explain what
the lines mean from your point of view.

That which we call a rose by any other name would
smell as sweet.

Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say
goodnight til it be morrow.

'Tis not so deep as a well nor so wide as a church
door; but 'tis enough, 'twill serve.

O churll Drunk all, and left no friendly drop to help
me after? I will kiss thy lips. Haply some poison yet
doth hang on them to make me die with a restorative.

My only love, sprung from my only hate! Too early
seen unknown, and known too late!
What makes the nurse a humorous character?
Some of the play is written in the ordinary language of
Shakespeare's day, but some of it is written in rhymed couplets.
Why might Shakespeare have used both styles in this play? What

might have guided his choices about when to use couplets?

What might Shakespeare have wanted to suggest by including the
Queen Mab speech that Mercutio delivers in Act One?

Name three ways that the theater of Shakespeare's time differs
from theater in our day.

If you saw the original scripts for Romeo and Juliet, would you
expect to see stage directions? Why or why not?

206

Item #19:

Item #20:

Was Juliet doing the right thing when she sneaked out and
married Romeo? What would you have done in Juliet's place?

Was the love between Juliet and Romeo "true love" or was it some
adolescent infatuation? Explain how you decided.

Test Questions on The Scarlett Letter
Select items from those below to make a 55-minute test on The
Scarlett Letter. You may, of course, come up with your own
questions that you think are better than those listed.
Item #1: Where did Hester face the townspeople on release from prison?
Item #2: How did Hester make a living?

Item #3: Why did Hester embroider the letter so beautifully?

Item #4: Why did Chillingworth book passage on the same ship as Hester
and Dimmesdale?

Item #5: Why does Dimmesdale always have his hand over his heart?
Item #6: Were Hester and Dimmesdale in love? Support your answer.

Item #7: What kind of child was Pearl? Was she good, bad, or something
else? Give examples to support your answer.

Item #8: Comment on the following statement: "The forest scene is the
structural center of the book: everything leads either to or away from it."

Item #9: If you were Dimmesdale, would you have confessed? Why or why
not?

Item #10: For what "sins" are people isolated today?
Item #11: Why did Hawthorne include the last chapter, "Conclusion?"
Item #12: Think about Hester's punishment and the treatment of

witches during the same historical period. What are some
similarities? Why do you think these similarities existed?

Test Questions on Julius Caesar
Select items from those below to make a 55-minute test on
Julius Caesar. You may, of course, come up with your own
questions that you think are better than those listed.

Item #1: Match the following

Brutus One of Caesar's best friends

Portia Leader of the conspirators

Lepidus Nephew of Caesar, opposed the conspirators
Cassius Wife of Brutus

Philippi Where Brutus and Cassius are defeated
Anthony Friend of Caeser who joins the conspirators
Ocatvius One of the triumvirs, opposed the conspirators

Item #2: Match each of the following quotations with the character who said
it (some names may be used more than once and others not at all):

¥ Beware the ides of March.

¥ Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.

¥ Et tu, Brute?--Than fall, Caesar!

¥ Farewell, good Strato.--Caesar, now be still:
I kill'd not thee with half so good a will.

¥ Let me have men about me that are fat;
Sleek-headed men, and such as sleep 0' nights:
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look;
He thinks too much: such men are dangerous
Characters: Caesar, Brutus, Anthony, Cassius, Soothsayer

Item #3: Why did the conspirators want to kill Caesar?

Item #4: Caesar's love and regard for Brutus is his undoing. What do you
think about this judgement?

Item #5: Why do you think Caesar ignored the warnings that he received

209

about his impending murder?
Item #6: Are political assassinations ever justified?

Item #7: How does Shakespeare get the auidence to feel sympathy for
Brutus? Why would he try to do this? Does he succeed?

Item #8: Compare Anthony and Brutus. What do these characters, as
counterpoints, provide to the play?

Item #9: Why was political assassination a feature of political life in ancient
Rome?

Item #10: For what kinds of reasons do people betray their friends? Do you _
think there is ever a "good reason" for such a betrayal? 3

Item #11: Whose your favorite character in the play? Why?

Item #12: How did the citizens of Rome react to the killing of Caesar?

Test Questions on Huckleberry Finn

Select items from those below to make a 55-minute test on Huckleberry
Finn. You may, of course, come up with your own questions that you think
are better than those listed.

Item #1:

Item #2:

Item #3:

Item #4:

Item #5:

Item #6:

Item #7:

List ten characters and briefly (in no more than five words)
describe each. For example, "King--con-man" or "Buck--a
Grangerford" would be sufficient. (Yes, you can use these two, so
you only need eight more!)

Why did Huck and Jim float past Cairo? Why did this cause Jim
such sadness?

How was Huck responsible for Buck‘s death?

Huck's pa was critical of Huck for attending school. Explain how
Huck agreed and/or disagreed with his father's views.

When he boards the floating wreak of a steamboat, Huck
overhears the thieves Jake Packard and Bill trying to decide
whether to kill Jim Turner who was part of their gang. Did Huck
act morally in response to the conversation he overheard?

Dressed as a girl, Huck is admitted to a house by the woman of
lives there. She sees through his disguise and somehow decides
that he is a runaway apprentice. She says, "Bless you, child, I
wouldn't tell on you." Was the woman right not to "tell on" Huck?

Consider the following description:

"He was most fifty, and he looked it. His hair was long and
tangled and greasy, and hung down, and you could see his eyes
shining through like he was behind vines. It was all black, no gray;
so was his long, mixed-up whiskers. There warn‘t no color in his
face, where his face showed; it was white; not like another man's
white, but a white to make a body's flesh crawl--a tree-toad white,
a fish-belly white."

1) What kind of character does this description suggest? Is this
someone you'd care to know?
2) Who is being described? And who is doing the describing? In

211

Item #8:

Item #9:

Item #10:

Item #11:

Item #12:

other words, whose voice do you hear when you read this
description?

3) Consider the emphasis on the particular white-—"a white to make
a body's flesh crawl". . . "a fish-belly white." What does this
suggest to you?

Discuss your reactions to this novel. Did you react in more than
one way? That is, did feel a part of the adventure? Did you plot
and connive? Did you wrestle with moral issues? Discuss.

The word "nigger" appears throughout the book. How did you feel
reading this slur that was acceptable to many, probably most, of
the people who lived along the Mississippi in the mid-19th
century? How do you feel about requiring young people to read a
book in which African Americans are referred to as "niggers?"

The novel is set in the 1830's or 40's. Choose a social, political, or
economic issue that was raised in the novel and that was also
important in the United States during that period. Discuss the
issue in its historical context. You do not need to refer to the
novel in your discussion.

What part does the tattoo on the chest of the dead and buried Mr.
Wilks play in the unfolding of the action? (At least two functions of
the tattoo would be nice, although one would be enough.)

What parts do the king and the duke play in the story? Did Twain

include them just because they are funny? Did he also have a
serious purpose in mind?

212

Test Questions on To Kill a Mockingbird
Select items from those below to make a 55-minute test on To Kill a
Mockingbird. You may, of course, come up with your own questions that
you think are better than those listed.

Item #1: Match these characters to their descriptions:

Mrs., Dubose An old lady who lives down the street
from the Finch's

Scout alleged victim of rape

Jem the Finch's maid

Arthur Radley a Negro accused of rape
Atticus owner of the town newspaper
Cal friend of the Finch children
Tom Robinson Scout's father, a lawyer
Mayella the narrator/Jean Louise Finch
Bob Ewell white trash father of Mayella
Dill Scout's brother
B.B.Unden~ood the town recluse

Item #2: Imagine yourself as an inhabitant of Maycomb. How would you
have acted during the trial?

Item #3: Select one of the themes of the novel. Consider the time period in
which it was set. How might the events differ if the action of the novel
were set in the context of 1992 rather than the 1930s?

Item #4: Why is the book titled "To Kill a Mockingbird?"

Item #5: Why did the author choose a young girl to be the narrator?

Item #6: Below are quotations from the novel. For each, describe the
context in which the speaker made the statement and then present your

interpretation of the lines.

Atticus:"Shoot all the bluejays you want if can hit 'em, but remember it's a
sin to kill a mockingbird."

Mrs. Merriweather: "I tell you there are some good but misguided people
in this town. . . . Now far be it from me to say who, but some of 'em in this
town thought they were doing the right thing a while back, but all they did
was stir 'em up. . . . I tell you if my Sophy'd kept it up another day I‘d have

213

let her go. It's never entered that wool of hers that the only reason I keep
her is because the depression's on and she needs her dollar and a
quarter every week she can get it."

Item #7: Would the citizens of Maycomb re-elect Atticus to the legislature
after he defended Tom? Support your answer.

Item #8: Who was responsible for Tom‘s death?

Item #9: Who saves the Finch children's lives?

Item #10: Compare the treatment of women and African Americans in
Maycomb in the 19305 with their treatment today. What has changed and
what has not? What has caused the changes you identify? What has
prevented more changes in the treatment of women and African
Americans?

Item #11: What was the name of the town in which the story takes place?

Item #12: How does the trial affect Jem and Scout?

214

APPENDIX B

Appendix B

Coding Symbols for Quotations from data:

B

E

1i

Mci

Fi

Baseline Interview for ULT study
Exit Interview for ULT study

Initial Interview in Internship

Novel Interview in Internship
Multicultural Interview in Internship

Final Interview in lntemship

 

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