Dana M. Buckmir
This unit will explore the "coming of age" process experienced by adolescent girls on their journey from children to adulthood. It will focus on the middle years or limbo period in which girls decide who they want to become as women or rather, society decides who they have to become because they are women. I will present the idea that during adolescence when girls mature into women they experience an identity crisis which inevitably alters their sense of self; that is it empowers or diminishes the way they view themselves and the world around them. At the same time, the self splits into an authentic self and a false self; that is the true self the adolescent is and the self that the adolescent presents to others. During adolescence when the self splits "identity is lost when there is no one to identify with and stereotypical messages are constantly fed to the individual (Erikson 120)." For example, if young girls do not experience or observe positive female role models that project the image of self-respect, intelligence and ambition, but on the contrary are repeatedly told through rhetoric and discourse that they are expected to be submissive, unintelligent and self-sacrificing they will likely lose their sense of self. This crisis experienced typically in the early years is affected by internal and external factors resulting in how women ultimately evaluate their self worth and the worth of those around them. Mary Pipher, author of
Reviving Ophelia
notes in the preface to her work, "in the sixties Betty Friedan wrote of " the problem with no name"(14).
I would like to consider a few essential questions that I have based my unit upon: What exactly is the catalyst that forever alters the psyche of a young girl and molds the woman she will become? How does the media's portrayal of women affect female identity formation? How do central themes imbedded in cultural expectations affect the roles that women inherit? There are numerous factors that influence this process; however, I will concentrate on relationships (interpersonal and intrapersonal) and how they affect the identity formation or lack of in adolescent girls. As an educator I would like to encourage the authentic self to come through reading, writing and communication with others as an effort to reach some resolution or answer to these questions. If no specific answers appear, at least we gain knowledge and awareness of a topic that affects our students during a crucial time in their lives.
The student oriented long term goals are assessed by classroom observation and frequent evaluation of progress. Also, I assess student learning and performance through rubrics, maintenance of records and continual student self-evaluation and reflection as well as peer evaluation. Students will be able to think critically about the world by responding to prompts that initiate critical thinking. I will rely on higher order questioning from "Bloom's Taxonomy" which emphasizes six levels of cognitive skill building. Students will be able to think independently about the literature, their lives and the world. In other words, students will form their own opinions about what they think the author means, the author's purpose and whether the author meets criteria for requirements of good literature. Students will be able to find a place or voice in the literary community through verbal and written expression. Ideally, all English teachers would love for their students to view the literature with the same passion as they do; however, if the students do not take away an appreciation for the text I would like them to have successfully mastered the ability to use language to learn written and verbal communication and apply their learning to various settings comfortably. At the same time, I would like the students to increase vocabulary through consistent exposure to literature and interaction with text. Also, students will be able to view the literature as the human experience and apply their experiences to the literature and vice versa. I would like my students to begin to think outside of the box using the connections they make about the literature to analyze their lives and critically think about their goals, dreams and purpose.
My student centered goals in the classroom are to provide a safe and productive learning environment. Also, as an instructor I would like to create a community of learners and discover the similarities and differences that make each of us unique individuals contributing to the multicultural aspect of the classroom setting. In addition, I intend to model and emphasize mutual respect, reciprocity and accountability by consistent discussion, reinforcement of classroom objectives and positive reinforcement. Lastly, I would like to harbor diversity by teaching tolerance and acceptance in the classroom through activities that encourage listening to others opinions and discovering that right and wrong are not always the learning objectives of the lesson.
Relationships are basic human interactions. In its most basic sense they are the bonds or lack of that humans form intentionally or unintentionally to function in society. Relationships are the most primitive yet most complicated motivator for an individual. External relationships affect the individual whether apparent or not. External relationships as so powerful, especially during adolescence with the emphasis on peer groups and the transfer from parental influence to peer influence that they have the propensity to create and eliminate an identity by forming and/or destroying self-esteem. Many people never realize how much power and control others actually hold over their lives and their livelihood in general. For this reason, the way an individual views the world and how he interacts with others is directly correlated to his views of himself. Adolescents learn early that no individual lives in a bubble isolated from others. They are continually tested and displayed for an audience of their peers while at the same time struggling to discover themselves as individuals.
My hope with this unit is to utilize the literature to provide a positive outlet for students to form their own identity by using the literature and the human experiences provided therein. Although this unit emphasizes the experience of women it is not by any means exclusively for female students. The intention of this unit is not to exclude men but to use the experiences of women to share a different perspective. In that sharing we may discover the commonalities present within humanity. I would like my students to attempt to think outside of themselves and notice the central themes that everyone experiences regardless of gender, race or ethnicity. This is no way an attempt to instill my values on my students but to present multiple issues on a valid topic that affects both men and women, at that time the students can use the material to form their own judgments about the literature, their lives and the world around them. I have chosen to emphasize the female experience because of my own experiences, the fact that traditional education often emphasizes male dominated literature and accomplishments, and my observations that many adolescent females are very lost concerning who they are and who they want to become. I believe that this unit will assist my students on their journey to discover their personal identity.