Teaching Literature in the Secondary Schools

In an effort to prepare future secondary English teachers for the students and classrooms of the 21st Century, this section of English 4800 will focus on a justice, inquiry, and action approach. In so doing we will address the Common Core Standards, changing student populations, and reform movements in the the teaching of literature including reader response, digital literacy, critical pedagogy, and cultural studies.

(In this course the term "critical inquiry" is in the tradition of "critical theory," not the more abstracted, decontextualized, and superficial approach of "critical thinking skills." Likewise, the term "inquiry" is richer than the simpler, but also of value, expression "questioning strategies.")

After the first part of the semester directed by the instructor, students will take significant responsiblity for course, choosing the reading, creating assignments and activities, and assessing learning as we explore critical inquiry approaches to developing meaningful curriculum and instruction in contemporary secondary schools. This approach represents an experiment in Frierian teacher-student, student-teacher education.

In an era of anti-democratic governmentality, neo-liberal educational reform, standardized testing, the corporatization of curriculum, and attacks on "critical race theory" and teacher freedom, future teachers need to think critically about established curriculum regimes and consider how to develop the freedom they need to prepare their students as global citizens in an unfinished, indeed endangered, democracy threatened by demogoguery, inequality, and global warming.

Justice, Inquiry, and Action

The starting point for a critical inquiry, social justice approach to teaching literature is engaging with critical issues in the world and in the lives of adolescents via relevant and meaningful thematic curriculum. In dialogue with student questions and interest, English language arts teachers should be able to bring together a wide range of cultural materials, including traditional works, multicultural and young adult literature, visual and media texts including film, and cultural and informational texts, and address what texts mean, as well as how they mean, in historical, cultural, political, and social contexts.

In English 4800 teachers are considered to be transformative intellectuals, producers rather than transmitters of knowledge. More than simply being a reflective pracitioner who can rethink teaching practices in order to improve them, this course also aims to prepare you to be a critical practitioner, a teacher who leads inquiry into social, cultural, and ideological issues, and finds ways to support students acting upon what they learn.

Thematic teaching facilitates teaching that addresses different abilities, learning styles, and backgrounds. English as a second language students now consitute 9% of the school population in the United States, and their numbers continue to increase. This class will focus on developing curriculum that will foster the engagement and success of all students.

By examining relevant, challenging, and potentially controversial topics for justice, inquiry, and action teaching during the student-led portion of the course, future teachers will gain understanding of approaches, strategies, curriculum, and issues involved in teaching literature at the secondary level, see Course Goals. (You may also want to review the WMU teacher education Mission.)

Student groups will select topics addressing current and controversial areas to inquire into such as:

literature and climate change;
literature and undocumented students and workers, immigration, border walls;
literature and White nationalism / neo-nazism;
literature, policing/the criminal justice system, and Black Lives Matter;
literature and economic inequality;
literature and healthcare as a human right;
literature and educational opportunity, equality, and affordability;
literature and terrorism;
literature and representation of Islam, and of Arabs;
literature and refugees;
literature and reproductive freedom;
literature and hunger/famine;
literature and transgender experience and rights;
literature and threats to information, government secrecy, Internet freedom;
literature and democracy.

Expect to spend an additional twenty dollars on books, packets, and reading materials for each of the student-led units -- this reading will be announced throughout the course.

New Literacies and New Technologies

Rapid evolution in information technology offers many avenues and resources for critical inquiry extending and reshaping the teaching of English. The inherited cultural archive is now available in digital format on-line. Complementary resources and tools that far exceed what is in textbooks are now available on the Internet and new genres of informational and visual texts are emerging. Artificial intelligence is emerging with programs like ChatGBT revolutionizing writing and the teaching of writing.   

The WMU English Department has, perhaps, the most advanced language arts teacher preparation classrooms in the world. Rather than training teachers to adopt cook book software or corporate "classroom management" packages, these labs foster teacher designed instruction, critical thinking about technology and curriculum, teacher and student publication, free, open-source, or low cost resources, and strategies for bringing the vast resources and communicative possibilities of the Internet to all students.

Our class will be organized by this on-line syllabus that also serves as an electronic, hyperlinked, textbook. Students will likely create websites to support group teaching, work online, engage in virtual school discussions, and students will design technology enhanced teaching in the context of a laptop classroom into learning.

Professional Involvement

Future English teachers should join NCTE, MCTE, and/or MRA and read regularly the English Journal or Voices from the Middle. WMU has an NCTE Student affiliate; become an active member.

An important assignment in the class is to attend a professional teacher conference, and report on that to the rest of the class. This Fall possibilities include the MCTE Fall Conference in Lansing Friday October 13 and the NCTE National Conference in Columbus, OH, November 16 - 19. If finances present a challenge, seek support and be creative, for example, the gofundme approach.

Especially in this era of increasing attacks on glbt students and teaching I recommend gay and straight future teachers join GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network.

Teachers need to be informed about the world.  Students are expected to read regularly the New York Times and other sources. WMU provides a free NYT subscription. The Guardian is also a good news source, and can also be accessed for free.

Official information about the Michigan Teacher Certification test is available on the MTTC website.

Course Success

Electronic Syllabus

Aug 30: Introductions