Disciplinary Text Set

I recently was placed at a high school for the next two upcoming semesters. I will be assisting and student teaching Milwaukee School of the Arts. I have met my mentor teacher, and I will be in a classroom full of high school seniors. Below I have included a text set, that could be valuable to the classroom and being a representative body of work. It has an amalgamation of poetry, novels, film trailers, performative poetry, and ted talks. All of which center on the idea of acceptance, being a part of a community, representation, and understanding the capabilities that a person has within themselves. While they may seem like they are pulling at different themes and in a variety of ways, but they all point to the theme at the very heart of the content. Allowing the students to connect with a different theme in various ways is important to feeling represented, and to being able to analyze and understand an eclectic collection of texts.

 If Beale Street Could Talk - James Baldwin (Novel)

Baldwin, James. If Beale Street Could Talk. First International ed., New York, Vintage Books, 1974

It is a story that centers around two young lovers, Tish and Fonny. Expecting their first child and looking forward to spending their lives together. Fonny is falsely accused of a crime and is imprisoned. Their love for each other never wavers, as Tish and Fonny's family go to great lengths to get him out of prison and see the levels to which love can carry them through. 

It is rated at the grade level of 7-12th grade. It discusses topics of love, hope, despair, incarceration, and racism in communities. It certainly touches on some heavy or mature themes, but is very palatable for a wide age ranged of students, especially for this class of seniors.

Some vocabulary words that need to be understood prior and post reading of the novel are:

Incarceration, vultures (how it can be used in an analogy), despair, vulnerability, corridors, elitism (American)

Finna - Nate Marshall (poetry collection)

Marshall, Nate. Finna. One World Trade, 2020.

This is a collection of personal poems about Nate Marshalls life growing up in Chicago. Deeply personal, digging into what makes him him. He discusses his friends, family, and how the city he lives in shaped him to be the person he is today. Written in his own specific style, using AAVE, and reading the words, but hearing them straight from Marshalls mouth. It gives you a chance to see  potentially see yourself on the pages of the collection, and help better understand how everything we come into contact with shapes us into the people we eventually grow into.

This is deeply personal poetry, so it does have some mature language sprinkled throughout the collection. This is a great reading for high school seniors. It allows them the opportunity to see poetry from a different kind of voice than is generally taught. The lived Black experience, and modern, so the use of pop culture is more relatable than some canonical poetry. 

Vocabulary words that need to be discussed prior to reading:

Finna, Chicago (riots, relation to race), etymology, association, reparation, suppression, hip hop

Frederick Douglass Fourth of July Speech (Speech)

Douglass, Frederick. "Fourth of July". 1852.

This is a classic speech given by Frederick Douglass, in which he writes what the fourth of July means to him, and what it would mean to the slaves. This is important as patriotism comes in at the forefront as a controversial topic, and as we see the American flag plastered over tee shirts and other merchandise, and we (as a country) celebrate the holiday, there is a part of the country that may not feel as strongly, and there is a reason why. It is an important document that is overlooked by many, and should be acknowledged and read by everybody.

This is a heavy read, it is a letter to the country in the doldrums of one of the darkest periods of American history. It is necessary and palatable for older high school students that can understand and analyze the context at hand. 

Vocabulary words to be aware of prior:

American Exceptionalism, patriotism, independence, rebellion, greed, tyranny

Letter to 5 Presidents - Clint Smith (Poem performance)

Smith, Clint. "Letter to 5 United States Presidents." PBS, PBS, 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohB8UfLd93M&t=30s

This is a poem performed by Clint Smith on PBS Newshour. It tells a story, an accurate history of our US Presidents. In a narrative letter format he is speaking to the presidents who owned slaves, and the chain reaction and generational effects that those people have had on the functionality of this country. It is a view of the government that we do not see inside a text book and is overlooked as being part "of a different time" the truth is, it was harmful then and it is still harmful now.

It is a powerful demonstration of words, and can be seen by 8-12 grade level. There is a level of analysis that could be missed by the younger crowd, but it is still information that can be learned and understood, and should at worst be acknowledged.

Words to know prior to watching:

Slavery, oppression, assault, freedom, brands

Flee Trailer - Jonas Poher Rasmussen (film trailer) 

Poher Rasmussen, Jonas, director. Flee. , NEON, 2021.

This is a trailer to the memoir animated film Flee. It was released in 2021 and tells the life story of Amin, a gay Afghani journalist. It tells his life story as he has grown up and how his life has shaped him this far. In the trailer it is inferred that he is approaching his wedding day. He details how he escaped a dangerous life, especially as a gay man; including feeling human traffickers, bombings, and many other hardships. Flee, as a title is apt as Amin has to flee to get where he is in the present day, and as he is still fleeing from his past. It is a representative text as it is LGBTQ+ film, as well as Middle Eastern film, so it presents a point of view we are not privileged to see very often, but allows us to relate on multiple levels.

The film is rated R, so this would only really be appropriate for 11-12 grade, it is only a trailer, so it can be watched by people a little younger as well. It alludes to a point of view of another part of the world, so there is some context that needs to be addressed before being able to fully understand the film, but gives us the chance to analyze the trailer and the information presented to us. 

Vocabulary words to know prior to:

Kabul, orientalism, Flee, LGBTQ+, trafficking, memoir

A 3-Step Guide to Believing in Yourself - Sheryl Lee Ralph (Ted Talk)

Ralph, Sheryl Lee, actor. 3-Step Guide to Believing in Yourself. 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy2Zj8yIe6c&t=240s.

This is a Ted Talk from Emmy winner Sheryl Lee Ralph. It is a personal talk about believing in oneself. I think it is important to watch things like this that emphasize humanity and empathy within ourselves and how we treat ourselves and other people. She discusses the high points of her career and where she is now, but discusses the low points of being a young struggling actress, and emphasizes how we feel about ourselves and how important perseverance is.

This is a talk that everybody should see, and should listen to. As a student seeing people overcoming hardship and a continued emphasis on self belief is so important. Stressing the themes of empathy and humanity is such an important idea in a sometimes cold world.

Vocabulary words to review prior:

Triumphant, perseverance, confidence, Emmy's, empathy, and humanity