Multiple Viewpoints
Analyzing Multiple Medium Posts
Recently, I had a conversation with my mom where I revealed that in high school, I lied during an interview because I knew my real opinions could hinder my chances of receiving the honor I was applying to receive. It was associated with a military organization, so when asked about the Pledge of Allegiance, I talked about the merits and amazing qualities associated with having students say the Pledge every day (or Monday at my high school). To my mom, I talked about how I felt the Pledge encourage cult-like devotion to one’s country, promoted non-secular ideals about how the United States should be run, and put too much praise on a government that I do not feel is running efficiently right now. My mom then talked about a fifth-grade teacher she had that talked about the meaning of the Pledge with her class (something that was never done by any of my teachers). He broke the Pledge down as a pledge about the ideals that the United States strives to achieve. It is not a pledge about defending every decision the United States makes, but always trying to make it better; therefore, the term “United States” is “indivisible” with the term “liberty and justice for all.”
The conversation stuck with me because in the four years since I decided not to say the Pledge of Allegiance, I had never decided to analyze the Pledge in a different way. It made me think about research papers where students could find opposing explanations and viewpoints about the Pledge, analyze them, and then write their own opinions based on their findings. It also made me think about my college experience, and how listening to differing opinions on books made me enjoy them more or at least not hate them as much.
In English Language Arts classes, looking at books and papers from multiple viewpoints is something teachers need to do in order to make classes interesting, and they also need to be able to do it so they can teach students how to look at multiple viewpoints. By having to think of a new viewpoint, students have to dive deeper into their analyzations and understandings of the text, ultimately improving their literacy comprehension skills. Teaching students to expand their views on a text ultimately could help them enjoy books they originally found boring if only because now they can write crazy, deconstructionist papers.
There are also multiple other medium posts that talk about the benefits of multiple viewpoints in ELA classrooms even if that was not their original point. The first article, “I Voted for Hilary, But I’m Glad Trump Won,” by Shannon Faulkner talks about the language Trump uses ultimately leading to a positive outcome for progression in the United States. Faulkner uses the example of Nancy Mair’s essay, “On Being a Cripple,” to explain that people tend to use terms that incite hopefulness. Instead of calling someone a cripple, the term “differently abled” is used to give non-crippled people the sense of mind that crippled people do not have as hard of time as is actual. The same idea is applied to struggling nations when they are called “developing,” giving the sense that nothing needs to be done because developing means they are headed in a positive direction. Civil rights issues are similar in the United States, but Falkner argues that Trump being so blatantly racist, sexist, homophobic, and xenophobic pushes civil rights issues in citizens faces, causing a more radical positive change in the long run. Applying Faulkner’s reasoning to an ELA classroom, which she already does by teaching “On Being a Cripple,” teaches students to analyze the multiple meanings and reactions behind both the words they use and the words characters in books use. Starting with characters, everyone looks at Romeo and Juliet as a beautiful love story, but if one of their friends talked the way Romeo talks, would they truly believe their friend is in love? Or if they had a partner talk with them that way, would they believe their partner’s commitment? Moving onto words used in essays, how does a student’s word choice either improve or decrease the value of their argument? For example, using the word “proves” leads no room for alternate opinions about a text, meaning alternate viewpoints on the meaning of a symbol or motif ruins the validity of their essay. Lastly, students should be able to start thinking about the multiple viewpoints that surrounds the words they use in everyday conversations. Is a joke actually a joke, or is it belittling to people? Looking at the multiple viewpoints of word meaning and phrase intent within ELA classrooms ultimately leads students to being more critical of their meaning in everyday life.
Another article, “We Don’t All Teach Literacy. We Do Teach Students, Though,” by Joe Vilson, talks about teaching literacy in all subjects, not just ELA classrooms. Vilson is a math teacher, and he talks about deepening the understanding of different subjects also deepening the passion that students have for it. Deepening student understanding in math or science classes ultimately helps them improve their literacy for the subject, meaning all teachers teach literacy. Vilson also compares traditional essay format (make a claim, provide evidence, and explain how those correlate with a personal theory) matches the scientific method or mathematical proofs. Looking at essay writing in a scientific or mathematical sense is a different viewpoint that could ultimately help ELA teachers help struggling writing students. Many students find they prefer one or two subjects over the others, and if they prefer science or math over English, they can start to enjoy English more when it is compared to math or science. Instead of having a student write a traditional English outline, they could fill out each step of the scientific method or create a mathematical proof to help improve their writing because it forces them to look at the content from a new viewpoint.
Lastly, an article, “Is the World Too Big for Shakespeare?” by Aristo Orginos discusses Originos opinions on whether or not Shakespeare still has a place in modern and diverse English classrooms. Originos decides that ultimately, it is up to the teacher to decide if Shakespeare is at their students’ reading levels and if it is the best text to teach what is needed, but teachers shouldn’t be censoring what is taught in other teacher’s classrooms. This article shows the epitome of multiple viewpoints because it discusses two differing arguments, which requires being able to analyze multiple viewpoints, but it also brings up the issue indirectly that teaching Shakespeare can become more relevant when teachers do not force their students and themselves to stick to a traditional view on the play. As said above, instead of looking at Romeo and Juliet as a love story, students can gain more by looking at it as a cautionary tale. On the other hand, they can have fun and gain insight by looking at it as a love story. The same idea applies to poems being dissected. It is more fun and meaningful to relate the analyzation of a poem to what a person knows instead of being marked down because the author meant for the metaphorical flowers to symbolize loss instead of happiness or something similar. As long as students can support their claim, there is no reason to encourage multiple viewpoints within the classroom.
Sadly, standardized testing does exist, so sometimes students do have to be taught how to analyze prose and poetry while looking at the most straightforward meaning. On the other hand, that can be just thought to be the standardized viewpoint! Overall, students can still use comprehension and literacy skills to increase their understanding of literature, increase their love for it, and improve their lives, and all that begins in the ELA classroom.
