We began by writing about (well, I had them write about this anyway) what our lives would be like ten years from now. Then I asked them to explain what they thought of when they heard the phrase "The American Dream."
We brainstormed a list of terms and discussed them. Then that night I used their essays on what their lives would be like 10 years from now to see if any were living "The American Dream" - at least according to the definitions and ideas we brainstormed in class.
The second day of class we spent discussing that. Then I charged them with texting two other people, preferably of differing generations, and ask them to define their versions of the American Dream.
The two responses I received are listed below --
"I believe that through life, the only way to become a complete person is a composite of all the important people that come and go in your life. You have to really learn to love yourself. How can you help but do that by loving and learning from other people that you admire. However, I think the American Dream is to learn to adjust to every situation in your life. Then you can be happy and fulfilled. There it is 'to be happy and fulfilled.'
And the second one --
"The American Dream to me is a society that is safe and where people have the ability to better their lives if they so choose (education, etc.). I think a big part of the American Dream is the ability to dream. In many societies they don't have a chance to dream because they are so busy trying to find food and survive."
Both excellent answers and much better that what I had come up with.
Once we gathered these, we again discussed the American Dream to revise our evolving definition.
Then I asked students to bring in one photo or image that they thought best represented THEIR idea of the American Dream. From that I began to create a classroom collage of "The American Dream '09."
We also looked at different images that I thought reflected the American Dream, and I had students write short responses to them.
This led us into "Of Plymouth Plantation" and discussing how whether the dream the pilgrims wanted when they came to the New World is still what we want out of our concept of "The American Dream."
While students read Bradford's piece, I had them keep a reader's notebook to help them work on summarizing and focusing on the big idea of a piece.
Once that was done, I gave students a Vanity Fair article called "Rethinking the American Dream."
Then I gave an essay assignment in which they were to explain how - using the Vanity Fair article's premise - the American Dream came to mean fame and fortune rather than simply improving one's lot in life. Here I wanted students to build off of summarization and strive for analysis. Not entirely happy wit the resulting essays (many just gave me their version of the answer, without actually referencing the article)
The next day I gave them a list of a dozen or so words taken from the Vanity Fair article and told them to use at least six of them to show how each were related to the American Dream. Results were better.
The article led us into looking at the recession and discussing whether we should rethink our version of the American Dream (most students were willing to confess that they thought the American Dream was "a million dollars in the bank"). We talked about how simply having a sound 'quality of life' was not too shabby for part of the American Dream (having our $2.50 Starbucks coffee, our iPods, our designer clothes, our weekend trips to the movies, and all of our fast food). I then contrasted that with what I learned from reading several blogs from people who have visited China, where many workers get one day off . . . ALL YEAR. That really hit home and made the students re-evaluate some of the simpler aspects of life that previous generations would consider luxurious, but that we now take for granted.
That eventually led us into the outsourcing episode of 30 Days.
Then we discussed that and how other countries now want their own version of our American Dream, all of which means our own American Dream is in jeopardy like never before.
From there we read Ann Petry's brilliant "Like a Winding Sheet," that explores the dark side of the American Dream (we also discussed the flip side of the American Dream - The American Nightmare) - such as when the pilgrims arrived to fulfill their idea of the American Dream, it was the beginning of a nightmare for native peoples across the continent. Petry's story looks at the American Nightmare through the themes of poverty, discrimination, and racism.
That led us into another 30 Days episode, this one on minimum wage.
And that, gulp, has led us to Upton Sinclair's classic "American Nightmare" novel called The Jungle.
I have never taught it before, so that is a little worrisome. Also, I don't know how students will react when I plop the 400 plus page novel on their desks! That should be interesting. But really I like the idea of squeezing three novels and one play into my curriculum.
I have to be honest. Since Schmoker's talk at in service, I have been expecting more of myself and I have really trimmed the fat - so to speak - off my curriculum.
And I cannot think of a better novel that gets at the hope of the American Dream and the sad reality of the American Nightmare than Sinclair's novel.
I'll keep you posted on how it goes.
No comments:
Post a Comment