“Reading Pop Culture and Young Adult Literature Through the Youth Lens” from the January 2015 edition of The English Journal discusses a professor’s implementation of a curriculum for teacher candidates that encourages future teachers to identify and consider the portrayal of societal constructions of adolescence in various texts. Through biological, psychology and pop-culture perspectives, teacher-candidates learn to question the dominant narratives of adolescence and see future students on an individual level. The article also periodically offers suggestions about implementing a similar curriculum in a secondary classroom. By applying a youth lens to pop-culture texts, the teacher-candidates begin to see some of the harmful ways that adolescents…
goal that goes far beyond simply improving language skills. This goal is to spark a passion for English, whether it be reading or writing, in the hearts of students. However, this poses a challenge to teachers, as they must find a balance in the classroom that will engage students. It is difficult to create an environment in which students will enjoy English when educational standards have to be me. A solution for this is to incorporate more young adult literature in English curriculums…
birth one is not truly conscious; in marriage one has a partner, even death is faced with a life’s experience by one’s side,” said David Van Biema in. Throughout these “coming of age” years, young people are trying to adapt to the world around them while struggling to fit in. Young adult literature often helps students to understand and cope with social issues, pressures, and other problems relevant to their age group. Additionally, these books create an “escape” from reality for the reader.…
One major problem with censorship consists of arguments over inappropriate reading for students. Even with a little rough language, some families feel that their kids need to abstain from such books. Others argue that many teens’ lives are much more difficult than any book and overall books help them learn how to deal with their struggles in life. Challenged several times, the novel, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”, written by Sherman Alexie asks whether the challengers…
Much of the Young Adult Literature written today, especially in the fantasy genre, involves death which is frequently used as a way to push the plot line further and motivate the protagonist, whether it’s the death of a loved one that they need to avenge or a villain they seek to kill. Often times, death is also used as a way to identify the villains in the story. It is something that is also used as a way to emotionally relate to its demographic. However, does a dangerous pattern emerge from…
High School is a unique time period life for teens. Social development, physical maturation, and academic learning can all be noted as important aspects of High School. Personally, I loved high school and learned a lot in looking back. Within Young Adult Literature, readers watch characters learn and develop time and time again. Often, protagonists are able to look back at their journey at what has happened throughout their experiences and see their own development. With high school being of big…
For this assignment, I chose two current trends in young adult literature and explored titles which showcased those trends. The two trends I chose were ethnic diversity, and strong female role models. Both of these trends have become more influential in this genre in recent years. There were many books to choose from, and I found multiple titles that exemplified these themes. I evaluated those titles for how well they displayed the chosen themes and fit into the genre of young adult…
As this research focuses on the female protagonist in young adult dystopian literature, it is necessary to know the meaning of “dystopia”. John Stuart Mills first used the term dystopia in 1868 and the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary now defines it as, “an imaginary place where people lead dehumanized and often fearful lives” (Merriam, 2018). It began from the Greek ‘dis topos’, meaning ‘a bad place. Dystopian literature is a genre that lends itself for feminist criticism and is a…
Essay #2 Censorship and Banned Books A person that challenges a book so it will get banned is foolish, ignorant ,and absurd. The American Library Association defines a Challenge to literature as an attempt by a person or a group of people to have literature restricted or removed from a public library or a school curriculum . Challenging a book is making a book more famous, because people now become curious and wonder why it's being challenged. People that want a book banned and decide to…
are considered a time of many challenges and difficulties. These changes can cause stress leading to negative mental health and wellbeing (2014). Adolescence is a critical time of development in cognitive, physical, psychological, and social development that impacts relationships with peers and adults causing confusion and stress due to the multitude of life decisions that await them. Stressors may include learning difficulties and challenging relationships with teachers at school and conflicts…