I am one for food for thought. I am one for debate. I am one for questions. I am one for discussions. And no other class has made me do these things more than this class. I love reading between the lines and digging into the deeper meaning of things. These YAL books has allowed me to do just that.
As we grow up, we are constantly developing and changing our beliefs, ideals, connections and who we are as people. My beliefs are planted strongly within me, never wavering or bending. However, there is a new flower on my stem of beliefs, and it has come from reading these books. The one that moved me the most was By The Time You Read This I'll Be Dead. I do not believe in suicide, not one it. I don't believe that it is the right thing to do, even if it is your own body. However, this book help me to see the insight of someone who might be considering it. It shows what is in their mind, their heart, their feelings and their beliefs. We can never truly understand anyone but ourselves because we are no one but ourselves. However, these books make it a little easier to understand other people and situations.
There were many times that my faith was tested and pulled a little bit. Some Assembly Required was one of those texts. I believe that if God made you a girl, you were a girl. And if he made you a boy, then you were a boy. That is that. So, naturally, I would not normally pick this book out for myself. I was really uncomfortable reading it at first because of my beliefs. However, a book can do wonders. It did not change my beliefs on the subject, but it did in fact help me to better understand and see a little clearer.
Though these YAL books can be disputed on whether or not they are appropriate for our students, there is one thing that is for certain. These books introduce us to new worlds, new ideas, and new was of life that we might of not ever known of not for the book. These books can change the way we view the world when we read with an open mind. This is the effect that I want my choice of books to have on my students. I don't want my students to walk away with just a new grammar vocabulary list or some new sentence structures. I don't want my students to leave my class with just a general paper with no more thought into it than a text message. I want my students to be challenged. I want them to feel encouraged, changed, inspired, and open. I wanted my students to discover themselves on their own and in their own time. I want my students to feel like I did reading these books. Understanding.
Taylor, I am so glad you opened your mind and didn't shy away from reading these books. So many of these books were eyeopening for me too! It will be important for us to remember to show our students the beauty of the written word, the human experience, and the development of empathy, all through reading. I love it.
ReplyDeleteTaylor, I agree with you about some of the books we read being challenging to my own moral code. I came aways from this class with an extended code that understands things a little differently.
ReplyDeleteTaylor,
ReplyDeleteI love your perspective and thought it was so beautiful when you said that you didn't believe in certain topic areas that we discussed this term but you were open minded enough to explore them. THIS is what life is about in my opinion. We might miss out on amazing lessons and life experiences if we limit ourselves to what we currently know or believe. Like you said it doesn't mean that you changed your beliefs, it just meant you sat in someone else's shoes for a while and began to understand their perspective; beautiful!
Lastly, since you love a good discussion and debate, as do I, I was thinking last night about transgender struggles. I was thinking hmmmm if a woman has a hysterectomy is she no longer a woman because her insides don't prove that any longer? I thought a little deeper, a woman who has had a hysterectomy still appears to be a woman on the outside and you would never know what's missing or not missing inside. It kind of made me think. :)