Mary K. Donahue
Before anything else can commence, the students must understand the literature that is being placed before them. By this point the students should be well versed in the process of close reading and note-taking. They will also have been introduced to a full list of literary vocabulary which will be used to discuss these pieces of literature. Through making a visual comparison between what is ‘society’ and what is an ‘individual’ the students will begin to form their own opinion of such. As they are doing so, they will become better equipped to understand Emerson’s ideas. However, although we are choosing to aid the understanding of this literature with artistic representations, this is fundamentally an English class. Each and every activity must in some way apply to this field, and one of the goals which has been reiterated here is to ensure that the students comprehend the ideas behind the literature. Therefore, in an effort to simplify and clarify their readings, we will go through all of the literature before we get to working with the art. In this way, the students will be well versed in different ways to approach the paintings and the themes associated with them.
After a short discussion on the goals of this unit (I am a firm believer that students work better and more efficiently when they know what it is they are working toward), the students will receive some background notes on Emerson and his work. Then the students will begin reading various excerpts from Emerson’s work. The most accessible excerpts seem to be from the following essays:
Self-Reliance, Nature, Fate,
and
The American Scholar
. You will have to do some work to pick out choice selections from these essays to give to your students, but in the end it will be worth it. They will glean much more information out of a choice page or two that you have chosen, than expecting them to read twenty-five pages of thick prose. The goal is for the students to read closely these excerpts and understand the basic philosophical ideas that Emerson is putting forth. All four of these essays center around the idea of acting on individuality, but sharing a respect for the world around you. If the students can engage with the text in various ways they will be more likely to fully comprehend the reading. Therefore have them paraphrase certain excerpts and present them to the class. ‘Decoding’ the text before they even receive the art will aid them in understanding the nuances of a piece. After this exercise the students will begin to build vocabulary and knowledge so that they can discuss the art the way we do the literature. This should take about one, or two ninety minute block classes.
It is imperative to have a discussion with your students around this time about what ‘society’ is. For this unit, a definition of society as simple as ‘popular opinion’ should do. The goal here is to facilitate the students in understanding that majority opinion and personal opinion do not always mesh, and do not have to. This is where a lot of discussion work must come in. We are attempting to get the students to both connect to the idea of individuality and the idea of society, and then aid them in understanding that they are part of both. Therefore these paintings will depict people in settings where they are reacting to society in some way. For this week of lessons, we will be focusing on reading excerpts from Henry David Thoreau. Being Emerson’s disciple, the students will recognize that while Emerson philosophized about these ideas, Thoreau attempted to embody them. The students should be given an excerpted version of
‘Civil Disobedience’
and some parts from
Walden
. Selections from Thoreau can be a very effective way to let students realize the power they can attain from just paying attention to their internal desires and ignoring outside influences, even for a short time. Once again the first lesson should be devoted to doing some close reading of Thoreau and going over his ideas. You can either replicate reading and presenting, like with the Emerson, or do a close reading in class. I find this method very effective with either of these pieces. Essentially you have the students sit in a circle with the essay on their desks. You then read a paragraph at a time, asking key questions as you go, and checking for comprehension from all students. This may take a while, but allow it time to run its course, because you will usually find that this sort of discussion group is really quite effective. I usually like to give them a follow up reading for homework, and possibly give them a short quiz the next class to both ensure that they have done the reading and check and see if they have gotten the main ideas Thoreau is writing about.
Now the students may begin to feel a bit amiss about these two men who proclaimed to be living the ‘individual’ life. They may have questions about why the paths that Emerson and Thoreau chose to take are more individual than the path they may currently be taking. Spend a good deal of time discussing these questions. Do not be afraid to go off on tangents, because this is often when the best class discussions concerning this issue develop. The students will only begin to really understand making individual choices and the ideas that we are juggling with if they feel safe in their classroom environment. Although each day we suppose the students are relatively comfortable speaking aloud, volunteering, etc., it is discussions like these where it becomes painfully obvious that students do not feel like they are in a safe environment to share their true views. Ensure that the classroom climate is as respectful and non-judgmental as you can before proceeding with these discussions.
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