![]() ![]() While much of the discussion about racism involves white, black, and brown communities’ interactions with each other, the Native American experience is often forgotten. ![]() Perhaps most importantly, the theme of racism is a hot button issue. Finally, the author’s background as an Indian, a survivor of abuse and alcoholism, and growing up with a disability give students insight into the lives of individuals facing these challenges. Additionally, plot includes episodes dealing with issues related to family, friends new and old, sports, romance, heartbreak, and other events that are familiar to high school students. Although Junior is Native American his experience will be familiar to students from all backgrounds. First, the themes of this novel expose universal truths about the experiences of being a teenager including alienation, finding a peer group, embracing new challenges, and other aspects of growing up. The themes and plot of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian are relevant to these students for several reasons. Even students who are more like the well-off students in Reardan, Junior’s new school, the novel will provide them with an idea about the challenges their classmates are facing. These aspects of student demographics offer an abundance of opportunities for students to engage with this text at a meaningful level. Junior’s journey has parallels to their path from a special education class to their first general education class. Several will take this class as their first class outside of a special education environment. Approximately one half of students in this class each year are special education students. Very few students have frequent interactions with people from a background other than theirs. Many students live in rural areas with little daily interaction with the surrounding communities. Several of the communities are small towns, while others are villages with no more than a single stop sign. ![]() Eric Jensen, writing in Education Leadership, cites previous studies showing “low socioeconomic status and the accompanying financial hardships are correlated with depressive symptoms” that may lead to poor motivation and performance in the classroom (Jensen). Some students live in severe poverty, while others are well off however, compared to the whole school poverty has been overrepresented in this class most years. Additionally, this high school combines students from six fairly distinct communities. Freshmen students in this district find themselves in a new school for the first time in many years - most attend the same school from 4th-8th grade. The text presents a wealth of opportunities for students to connect with the novel’s themes in unique ways. He also deals with addiction, heartbreak, loss, death, and other issues that impact young people. Throughout the novel the main character, Junior, moves between these two worlds and ultimately learns that there is much to appreciate about himself and each of the communities he inhabits. This unit will encourage students to examine the issues presented by the main character’s journey from a poverty stricken, dysfunctional Indian reservation to a school in a wealthy, seemingly ideal white community beyond the reservation gates. The major focus of this unit will be the exploration of the themes of racism, poverty, and identity found in Sherman Alexie’s novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. The school has a 93% graduation rate as of 2018 (“FREEBURG CHSD 77”). 11.5% of students in this school receive special education services. Their grade levels range from 9-12, but they are predominantly freshmen. Some skills, such as independent reading, still need to be developed by many of the students in this class. This is the only general education course with special education support in the English curriculum. Approximately ⅓-½ of the class receives special education services for learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, or other health impairments. Students in this class present a range of reading and writing abilities as well as learning disabilities that complicate their interactions with course content. The student to staff ratio from year to year in this class is approximately 13:1. This will be the first unit of the new school year in a freshman, co-taught classroom. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |