I was very drawn to Pam Green’s Critical Literacy Revisited article because I felt that her stance in regards to literacy and my own connected. One piece in particular that jumped out at me was that presenting students a “juxtaposition of texts will arguably enable students to perceive a range of viewpoints and to consider each in a critical way.” I have discussed this in other classes as well and there has been an overwhelming response by most of my peers that this is a great method to get students to make links between what is new and familiar, thus allowing learning to become more meaningful.
A great way to really instill this into a classroom is to choose a book that has been written in several different viewpoints or versions. The teacher can either read the books aloud to the students or the students can read the versions themselves quietly. After completing the readings, the class can discuss the similarities and differences between the books by either creating a Venn Diagram or any other graph or chart deemed appropriate. Students will find that there are many different versions and perspectives of one story. Some great books to do this activity with are fairy tales and stories of Christopher Columbus.
After completing the readings and discussions, another great way to get students to think critically is to have them write his or her own version of the story. They can then present this version to their classmates and once again they will see that the story can be told from many different perspectives.
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Absolutely, that quote is powerful. I think when we put two types of rhetoric next to each other they can represent such different worldviews, which often seem at odds with one another. What do we make of it as readers and teachers--there are words out there and discourses that are differently nuanced so as to create insiders and outsiders. It is something to explore. . .
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