Author: Carrena McHugh
Carrena’s #teachread work can be found at: http://joyfulreadingexperiment.blogspot.com/
Categories: YA Lit, Identity, Conflict Resolution
Tags: blogger, America, urban america, identity

Connections: One’s Identity & YA Lit

During class this week, I articulated my memory of “Identity” assignments during my personal high school experience; my friends and I tended to roll our eyes every time we received yet another “Who Am I” prompt for whichever text we were working on at the time. Even though we were in the throes of adolescence and definitely struggling with questions of our own identity, these reading assignments were not effectively stimulating our interest in the subject, it was turning us off.

This makes me wonder what types of assignments will connect the youth to the presented texts and keep them engaged through the unit. I think the Identity theme is important since it is universal and can be extremely compelling in a personal way, but how can you make those assignments specific to each student at once so that they explore their own personal struggles and are able to simultaneously associate that area in connection to the text. That’s where Web 2.0 comes into play! This forum — including social networks, blogs, twitter feeds, etc — gives students a chance to reveal their own identity and style, while still speculating on literature and growth within the educational setting. Students have the opportunity to create an online avatar and composed identity which can have any range and texture they choose, and then apply that persona to their lens of the work they are reading in class.

This idea even relates to theater in the fact that students can create their own character as a way to dive deeper into the story presented and establish a connection where they deem it necessary and appropriate.

When I was reading America by E.R. Frank, I felt a strong connection to the protagonist off the bat, even though I felt like it was an unfair comparison to my own life since I’ve never struggled with his issues of abuse, poverty, lack of a family, or suicidal intentions. I felt it was unfair to feel empathy as opposed to sympathy, since I had clearly never been in his shoes. However, as a re-read America for a second time, I realized in my own lifetime I have experienced several moments that connect to America’s life path. This made me realize that all students can make that connection if they look hard enough and let their emotions take off as they read the text. This means they must already be engaged and motivated to continue with their reading so that is necessary as well.

We all wrestle with the choice of identity and it pops up often in YA Literature, especially in America’s personal struggle with the definition of good and bad. I want to use this idea to translate into my work with conflict resolution between teens in urban areas who deal with conflict on a daily basis. These students can utilize their emotional experiences with the YA Lit books they are reading, channel their thoughts in a Web 2.0 style journal, and then use that work to translate into theatrical improvisational activities.

Overall I’ve learned a good way to relate to today’s youth on an emotional level and also a connection to modern technology and their knowledge of that field. This will assist my work with conflict resolution and bringing the theater arts to groups of children that may not seek it out on their own. Hooray!

You can contact Carrena at carrena.fall at gmail dot com .