nrc revised 2010

Talking Back to BooksOutgrowing Ourselves

Jerome C. HarsteVivian Vasquez

Learning to unpack the underlying systems of meaning that are Operating within children’s books

Materials: “Social Issues” Children’s LiteratureWilly and HughSister Anne’s HandsInto the ForestFaithful Elephants

Participants: 30 teachers working on their master’s degree in Literacyat Mount Saint Vincent University. 20 with complete data and used in this analysis.

Time Frame: Monthly meetings from September, 2009 to October, 2010Data Collection: Hugh and Willy (September 2009)

Sister Anne’s Hands (May 2010)Into the Forest (September 2010)Faithful Elephants (October 2010)

3 Questions

1. What issues or stereotypes do you see being addressed?

2. What do you find problematic?

3. How does this text position you as a reader?

Data Analysis

1. As researchers we went through each book to identify what systems of meaning (issues, stereotypes, underlying messages)we saw operating or on offer. [Later, we present these

in terms of their explicitness based on participants’ ability toidentify them.]

2. We then went through each participant’s responses(collected on 4x6 index cards) to see how manyof these systems of meaning were identified by each participant andif they identified systems of meaning we ourselves had not identified. We specifically were Interested in whether participants were growing in their ability to identify messages not directly signed by words or pictures in each text.

Willy and Hugh – Underlying MessagesNerds are little.Bullies are big.Bullies disrupt belonging which causes marginalization.Nerds are weak, wimpy.Big are mean, tough.Courage is not related to size.Nerds are smart.There is always someone bigger, meaner, tougher.Little people need big people to protect them.Empowering others makes everyone feel better about themselves.Big is dumb.Difference is bad.Big is scary, intimidating. Bullies are boys.One needs friends to be happy.Names reflect personalities.Nerds wear sweater vests and chinos.Don’t judge people by their physical appearance.

Willy and Hugh – Messages Participants Identified That We Didn’t

Jocks are bullies.

The relationship between apes and monkeys parallelthe relationship between bullies and nerds.

Data Coding Examples

“Buster Nose went away when Hugh, who is much bigger, asked if there wasa problem.” CODED: There is always someone bigger, meaner, tougher.

“The book teaches you that two different people can get along.” CODED: Unlikecharacters can have meaningful relationships.

“Kid-Protector.” CODED: Little people need big people to protect them.

“Intellectuals are non-physical.” DOUBLE CODED: Nerds are smart; Nerds are weak, wimpy.

“Strong people are ‘less’ intellectual.” CODED: Bullies are dumb.

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Willy and Hugh – Underlying MessagesNerds are little…………………………………………………………………………………………..12Bullies are big…………………………………………………………………………………………....11Bullies disrupt belonging which causes marginalization………………………….….11Nerds are weak, wimpy…………………………………………………………………………...….8Big are mean, tough………………………………………………………………………………...….8Unlikely characters can have meaningful relationships……………………………..…8Courage is not related to size…………………………………………………………………...….7Nerds are smart……………………………………………………………………………………….....6There is always someone bigger, meaner, tougher…………………………………… ...5Little people need big people to protect them………………………………………….….4Empowering others makes everyone feel better about themselves……………..4Big is dumb……………………………………………………………………………………………...…..3Difference is bad……………………………………………………………………………………………3Big is scary, intimidating………………………………………………………………………………..3 Bullies are boys…………………………………………………………………………………………..…2One needs friends to be happy………………………………………………………………………2Names reflect personalities……………………………………………………………………………2Nerds wear sweater vests and chinos…………………………………………………………….1Don’t judge people by their physical appearance………………………………………..…0

Willy and Hugh – Messages Participants Identified That We Didn’t

Jocks are bullies.--------------------------------------------------------------------------1

The relationship between apes and monkeys parallelthe relationship between bullies and nerds.--------------------------------2

TOTAL: 103 (5.15 messages per individual on the average)

Sister Anne’s Hands – Underlying Messages

Being a minority member in a dominant culture causes problems--------------------13

Teachers should be of the same ethnicity as the students they teach----------------12Powerful institutions, like churches, have a particular social responsibility

to wash their dirty laundry in public rather than sweep it under the rug-------11Parents have a right to pull their children out of class if they are unhappy

with the quality of the teaching-----------------------------------------------------------10Nuns are representative of a church that teaches tolerance, equality and

acceptance--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------10In a democracy all people have a right to belong-------------------------------------------5Larger social forces influence childhood beliefs and attitudes---------------------------5Parents should be careful about what they say in front of children--------------------4Explicit racial slurs are unacceptable-----------------------------------------------------------3Forgive wrong-doing: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you--------2The unknown is something to be avoided-----------------------------------------------------2

Sister Anne’s Hands – Messages Continued

In a democracy the majority rules even when the decision is wrong----------1Ignorance of one’s history perpetuates old wrongs--------------------------------1Cities tolerate differences better than small communities------------------------1It is important to address racism early in life-----------------------------------------1

MESSAGES PARTICIPANTS IDENTIED THAT WE DIDN’T

Racism is somehow “Very American”--------------------------------------------------2Race (Black) trumps everything, including being a nun----------------------------1As teachers nuns are strict----------------------------------------------------------------1


Into the Forest – Underlying Messages

Intact families give children security; single-parent families, absentfather families, or broken families are associated with fear, anxiety, and insecurity---------------------------------------------------------------16

Fairy tales often play with the notion of children left to their own devices and often have characters that act like wolves--------------------------------10

Adults reinforce fears by not offering explanations---------------------------------10Forests are dark and scary where bad things happen-------------------------------8Girls need protection; boys can be left on their own--------------------------------7Mothers stay at home; fathers don’t----------------------------------------------------7Even children have an obligation to help others in need---------------------------7Color in pictures signal safety whereas black and white signal scary------------6Boys ignore rules----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6Women (girls) are nurturers; men (boys) are not-------------------------------------6Old women (grandmothers) are both weak and fragile-----------------------------2Children are lost and rather helpless without an adult around--------------------2Authors use stormy weather to signal that something is amiss-------------------0

Into the Forest – Messages Participants Identified That We Didn’t

Children in certain cultural groups are more likely to be raised inabsent father families than are children in other cultural groups--------2

Children are vulnerable--------------------------------------------------------------------1Men (boys) don’t cry------------------------------------------------------------------------1


Evening the Odds

Because stories had unequal messages to be uncovered one has tolook at hit rate:

Willy and Hugh 21 messages 103 hits = 4.91 hit rateSister Anne’s Hands 18 messages 85 hits = 4.73 hit rateInto the Forest 16 messages 91 hits = 5.69 hit rate

Conclusions

As a group participants did get more critical, although minimally and slowly. Supporting teachers in taking on a critical stance calls for a long-term investment in time and effort on everyone’s part.

As a group participants were much better at identifying explicitmessages in text (signed by either words or pictures) than they were at identifying implicit messages.

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Conclusions Continued

After responses had been collected we had whole class discussions of the book. These discussions were misleading as we felt participants were growing more than they were. Collectively they were able to identify almost every implicit and explicit message.

These observations support:

(1) the power of collaboration, as well as

(2) the fact that our (both the participants and the researcher’s) rhetoric often gets ahead of our ability to apply what we know.

Conclusions ContinuedThere is an old Cree saying, “To say the name is to begin the story.”

Participants initially did a lot of “naming” – bullying, racism,abandonment – without fully articulating the system of meaningthey saw operating. Over time and the opportunity to unpack lotsof texts they came to be able to elaborate the systems of meaning they saw operating.

Initially participants relied on the frameworks they had been taughtto use in comprehending texts rather than to critically deconstructthe stories we presented. Early responses showed that participants had learned their district inservice lessons almost too well as responses were full of “text to self,” “text to text,” and “text to world”connections. (Example of “text to world” connection:

“As a reader I am to accept her removal from the school based on her race. Despite the fact that this is not directly mentioned, I feel it to be true. Especially since the story takes place during the time of Martin Luther King Jr.” – Gina).

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Initially participants read the “What do you find problematic ?”question very personally:

“I found the use of metaphors very problematic” (Cathy);

“I find it problematic that the child’s parents presented a problem to her that she would not have considered” (Lori).

It took time for participants to understand “the problematic” as messages being explicitly and implicitly endorsed by the text.


No participant was outstanding. Paddy probably identified the most implicit and explicit messages on the average (6.67) whereasthe class as a group typically each identified 4 or 5.

Nonetheless, participants were insightful:

Willy and Hugh: “Willy never got to be strong on his own. Hewas strong only in Hugh’s presence.” – Lori

“I am interested by the images and animals usedto represent Willy and Hugh….I wonder about theuse of them to represent intellectual ability, race,and gender.” -- Gina

Insightful Comments Continued

Into the Forest: “Expecting a wolf, but instead just got a fewirresponsible grown-ups!!” -- Michael

“Sketchy places always have sketchy people.” -- Kristan

“What I’m made to accept is that when peopledon’t like something, they just “leave,” theydon’t “act.” --Lisi

Sister Anne’s Hands: “I felt aligned with the narrator despite thefact that her values did not agree with me?!A strange perspective but perhaps it is harderto be critical when – as a narrative techniqu –the “storyteller” is a vulnerable child…” -- Paddy

Interesting Comments

Sister Anne’s Hands: “The children (or maybe just Anna?) feelguilty when Sister Anne reacts with silenceto the airplane, but I think her gentleness andforgiveness is atypical. I think it also suggests thatit’s okay to treat black people in this mannerbecause they will accept and forgive.” --Catherine

“Should kid books be the vehicle for adult lessons? -- Morgan

“All too often we tend to forget or lose sight of the need todo right once a matter is out of sight. In this case Sister Anne’stransfer may be a forgotten matter for most and they move on,while for Sister Anne this issue may continue elsewhere.” -- Tony

Culminating ExperienceAs a culminating experience we read Faithful Elephants to the participantsand asked how they would use this book in their curriculum.

We then gave them an article called “History Into Myth” by Kawabata & Vandergriftwhich argues that Faithful Elephants was written as propaganda to convince Japanesechildren to hate Americans. Further, no such incident occurred at the Eno Zoo and the book, they document, is far from “a true story” as the cover states.

Following reading the article, we asked participants to revisit how they might use the book in their curriculum. We were interested to see if after working withthese participants for an entire year, they would elect to censor (or not use) the book.

Happily no one censored the use of the book, though 3 participants said theywould not use it with lower elementary students as they thought that childrenat that age were too sensitive and needed to be protected from such a harsh reality.

The question we now have is, “If a teacher sees her or his role as protecting theInnocence of children, can she, in fact, become a critical educator?

nrc revised 2010

Education