Job Discussion Forums

[kev7161]

Many teachers teach what they know in a manner they are comfortable with. I personally never read the Diary of Anne Frank and remember vaguely seeing a movie version of it many years ago so this is not a topic that would be interesting for me to teach. The Holocaust was a tragedy and teaching about it in conjunction with other similar global tragedies would seem appropriate to me. Personally, I read comic books and I enjoy them and feel they are a good medium for readers of all ages (the content varying depending on age) so I introduce aspects of comics from time to time in my primary school lessons. I don't inundate them with comic books, but I can talk Spider-Man and Superman with them without batting an eye. Connecting this with the topic at hand. Anyone read Art Spiegelman's "Maus"? Some strong Holocaust-related material and actually may be more interesting to the students as it is a graphic novel and is somewhat in a diary format.

Our OP may have had more exposure to Anne Frank and it may have personal resonance to her. Perhaps she has taught this type of unit before. Perhaps she has other personal reasons. Regardless, I don't think introducing a certain book or topic should be something so horrible that some of you are getting VERY riled up about! OP: You got the feedback, now go do what you'd like. Let us know how it turns out.

[Hansen]

Although not exactly a diary, "A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" is a great book which, details the triumph of humanity over inhumanity. True, it is in English translation from Russian and did not take place in an English speaking country. Not so different from Anne Frank's diary.

What you seem to be fishing for is a kind of response from your students that has little to do with English learning. That's ok. You certainly are entitled to do something that you consider has existential value.

Frankly, had you said, these students are morons so superficial and self centered, that I'd like to impart to them something in the guise of English learning that would ennoble their soul, I would better relate to that.

[taramisu]

Kev7161--

I taught it this week and it went really well. Like I previously said, I didn't have time to cover the whole book this semester so I showed them excerpts. I explained who she was, her family background and the limited choices they had before making the decision to go into hiding.

It's interesting because my students all live in the dormitories with 6 people per room. I said, "Imagine that but have two extra people and not being allowed to leave for two years, and not being able to use the toilet when you need to." Of course, circumstances vary, but seeing that light trigger in students' eyes, when you know they understand what you mean, is very rewarding.

It's been many years since I read the book so pulling excerpts from the web allowed me to get reacquainted with the story. Plus, no matter how shy my students may be, they love to read out loud. So I had students volunteer to read the entries and discuss them.

I thought this was a valuable lesson because it gives a human face to tragedy. When the earthquake hit China, I was still in the States. The only kind of news I received was the number of people dead or missing. No names or anything about who they were as a person. The same applies to how many people died in concentration camps, over 6 million. Wow that's a lot, but it's still a big number with no face. I realized this after teaching it this week, that Anne Frank's diary is a good example of giving tragedy a face. It's not the ONLY example, but it's the one I chose. Overall I hope they are encouraged to keep their own journals.

Anyway, you said to let you know how it turned out so that's pretty much it. I'm really glad I taught it. I was a bit nervous at first but everything was fine.

[eddy-cool]

Taramisu,
you have converted me to your approach in teaching that diary to Chinese students. Well explained and reasoned.
I have always felt Chinese students singularly lacked the ability to relate to topics and to people with whom they are bnot familiar. Occasionally, however, they can jump over their own shadows.

[xiao51]

I raised this thread with a friend of mine, who is Chinese, and who is a mid-level professor of history at a very solid university in the greater Shanghai area. Her own thoughts were similar to those of another poster here who wrote that this entire matter is very Eurocentric. She actually went a bit further and felt that it was mildly colonialist (her words, not mine) insofar as it introduced events in history that were neither germane nor relevant to the Chinese cultural experience, etc., etc. She echoed another poster who felt that introducing this at all in an English-as-a-second-language environment was highly inappropriate. She also wondered aloud at what the reaction of the Department was and above all, what was the underlying agenda of the foreign teacher who did this and whether in the end the person who did this had been summoned for a little "chat" or not.

[eddy-cool]

[quote="]I raised this thread with a friend of mine, who is Chinese, and who is a mid-level professor of history at a very solid university i

here who wrote that this entire matter is very Eurocentric. She actually went a bit further and felt that it was mildly colonialist (her words, not mine) insofar as it introduced events in history that were neither germane nor relevant to the Chinese cultural experience, etc.[/quote]

I wouldn't have the thought to ask a CHINESE 'professor' whether a particular piece of Western literature is 'suitable' or 'appropriate' for my (not that 'professor's) LITERATURE STUDENTS.

I deem it the FT's privilege to judge what is good material for classroom work and home study. Eurocentricism is the wrong word here since English Literature per definitionem can hardly be sinocentric. What is the purpose of Chinese English students attending English Literature classes? Right - to be exposed to EUROPEAN literature that reflects life and history of European societies.

Very few Chinese English 'professors' are up to task when it comes to teaching English literature! What's more, students that do not develop the ability to relate to people from another culture are not your ideal students.

If they only want to study topics with which they are familiar and for which they have a cultural affinity then teaching English, especially teaching English Literature, is a waste of resources.

[eddy-cool]

I made a mistake - sorry, the students are taking Writing classes, not English Literature.

BUt even so I don't think my mind has to change.

[kev7161]

Eddy, you and I are on the same page with this one. I think probably one reason foreigners are hired (along with our vast knowledge of the English language) is to expose our students to culture from other countries. I teach kids from American textbooks where many scenarios of the subjects are definitely of a USA bent. In our literature book, there are even hispanic-flavored stories that most Asian kids either know nothing about or perhaps could care less about . . . until they are exposed to it. Some of my students think it is "cool" to learn some simple Spanish words that have been in some of these stories. We also just finished a story about a Chinatown somewhere in the US (possibly New York, but it wasn't a specific location) and the kids were keen to find out that these Chinatowns existed. We're going to start a chapter in Math next week covering standard measurement. These kids don't need to know standard measurement for their daily life, but it's okay that they are aware of it and compare it with the metric system (besides, I actually have the time to cover it this semester!).

So I'm glad the OP's lessons were successful for her and that some of her students seemed to have gotten something out of her lessons. If it opened up some of her charges' minds and made them think about something outside of their life box, so much the better.

[eddy-cool]

Glad to see that Kevin could agree with me this time...

Gladder still thatthe OP had the success she was aiming for. As I said before, I have learnt something this time.

[mattycat]

The scary, irrelevant answers to this very good question certainly highlight the difficulties of trying to open up this discussion. Firstly, one doesn't teach a language divorced from human reality and culture. The Holocaust is an ENTIRELY APPROPRIATE field of discussion, as in the English-speaking world, still, for now, WE talk about it and it informs our reactions to political events occuring now. If one 'should not discuss controversial subjects', you will just be another enabler of Chinese genocide and dictatorship. The Chinese can't have it all. They can't demand inclusion into the (largely) English-speaking business world without understand the culture that underlies it. To slough off this discussion and 'replace it' with others is akin to Holocaust denial, which is clearly fully in force and viral, judging from the comments. What you all are basically saying is, "Just shut up about it!" Now, I could understand avoiding the Mao question and things like the 'Great Leap Forward' because, let's face it, you're living in a dictatorship that sees that creep as a sort of God. Why one shouldn't talk about other issues is totally beyond me. Should we not mention Jane Austin's literature, just because many Chinese may not know who she is? And if we teach Dickens, are we not allowed to mention the poverty and suffering caused by rapid industrialization during the Victorian era? If one is teaching "The Diary of Anne Frank", which, btw, is an accepted work of literature taught in many schools in North America, one HAS to talk about the Holocaust, or else it makes no sense. But I guess that's par for the course in this current era of incipient anti-semitism. Shame on you! And you all want to be called 'Educators'!