III A English II Presentation 1: Bibliotherapy: Where Teachers, Literature, and Therapy Come Together To Impact Students
Location
Stewart Hall
Start Date
30-3-2019 1:30 PM
End Date
30-3-2019 2:45 PM
Session Chair
Kristen Wong
Mentor
Prof. Hannah Allford
Description
This presentation focuses on the impact educators can have on their students, specifically through the tactics of bibliotherapy in the secondary ELA classroom setting. As teachers are in key positions not only to assess students’ academic skills but also emotional needs, teachers can take on various roles during their careers in order to best reach their students. One such pedagogical practice is that of bibliotherapy, which is a form of therapy that uses literature to positively affect mental health. Drawing on the novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, this presentation looks at the influence educator Mr. Anderson has on his student, Charlie, throughout the academic year. In analyzing Mr. Anderson’s pedagogical choices, I discuss his decision to give Charlie out-of-class reading and writing assignments specifically based on Mr. Anderson’s similar high school experiences. In looking at Mr. Anderson’s construction of - or purposeful lack thereof - his literature assignments for Charlie, one can see how teachers are able to use their scholarship to mentor and guide students. Through my analysis of Mr. Anderson’s actions, though fictional, I advocate that educators have a unique opportunity to connect with students in a substantially significant and different way from parents or friends. After witnessing their students go through a variety of moments, teachers are able to use what they have seen in their lessons. As seen through both the positive and dark times and events Mr. Anderson helps Charlie work through, bibliotherapy is applicable to the any educator to reach all students appropriately and in meaningful ways. Finally, I propose that bibliotherapy could be a key practice that aligns with the newly evolving discussions of an English educator’s purpose from the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) about the subgroup English Language Arts Teacher Educators (ELATE). In the English classroom, by strategically choosing books that students are able to connect with and see themselves in, teachers are able to help them move beyond reading a text to “reading themselves.”
III A English II Presentation 1: Bibliotherapy: Where Teachers, Literature, and Therapy Come Together To Impact Students
Stewart Hall
This presentation focuses on the impact educators can have on their students, specifically through the tactics of bibliotherapy in the secondary ELA classroom setting. As teachers are in key positions not only to assess students’ academic skills but also emotional needs, teachers can take on various roles during their careers in order to best reach their students. One such pedagogical practice is that of bibliotherapy, which is a form of therapy that uses literature to positively affect mental health. Drawing on the novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, this presentation looks at the influence educator Mr. Anderson has on his student, Charlie, throughout the academic year. In analyzing Mr. Anderson’s pedagogical choices, I discuss his decision to give Charlie out-of-class reading and writing assignments specifically based on Mr. Anderson’s similar high school experiences. In looking at Mr. Anderson’s construction of - or purposeful lack thereof - his literature assignments for Charlie, one can see how teachers are able to use their scholarship to mentor and guide students. Through my analysis of Mr. Anderson’s actions, though fictional, I advocate that educators have a unique opportunity to connect with students in a substantially significant and different way from parents or friends. After witnessing their students go through a variety of moments, teachers are able to use what they have seen in their lessons. As seen through both the positive and dark times and events Mr. Anderson helps Charlie work through, bibliotherapy is applicable to the any educator to reach all students appropriately and in meaningful ways. Finally, I propose that bibliotherapy could be a key practice that aligns with the newly evolving discussions of an English educator’s purpose from the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) about the subgroup English Language Arts Teacher Educators (ELATE). In the English classroom, by strategically choosing books that students are able to connect with and see themselves in, teachers are able to help them move beyond reading a text to “reading themselves.”