If
you are interested, here is a brief synopsis of my banned book project:
As an English instructor, I have noticed a continual lack of
investment in the research process on behalf of students. They either see it as stifling creativity, or
they hid behind the work of others because they lack confidence in their own
voice, writing, and ideas. For example,
this semester in his diagnostic writing assignment intended to familiarize me
with the student’s writing history, this student wrote,
I utterly despise academic writing. I hate research papers. I dread recording findings of other
people. I loathe taking a general
concept and paraphrasing it into “my own words” because quite frankly, this can
never be my idea alone. I do not enjoy
having topics being put in front of me and being told to research and write
about it (ENG 111 Diagnostic 1).
His
response perfectly illustrates the problem with academic writing in its
traditional form. There is often a lack
of balance between students’ thoughts and opinions and their research, or they
fall victim to self-censorship and do not think their ideas are important. These problems are perpetuated by traditional
research papers in which students choose topics and simply regurgitate the
research of others instead of taking a stance on an issue and then using
research to construct and support an original argument. As an antidote to
the problems I encounter in ENG 111, I introduce the topic of banned books into
the classroom and require students to construct an argumentative/persuasive
proposal centered around one banned book.
I give students a list of the Top 100 Banned/Challenged books from the
last decade compiled by the ALA.
Students choose a book off of this list to read and research for their
final paper in which they have to argue for or against the banning of this
book.
This activity has significantly impacted student learning in
four areas: topic selection and investment, audience awareness, critical
thinking, and original research. The
course theme has generated interest in the class because of the shock value
these normally “forbidden” topics possess.
Similarly, the theme of banned books offers a way into the often
inaccessible research and writing processes.
In choosing a book to partner with for the rest of the semester,
students discover an “intimacy,” as Suzanne Britt describes it, with the course
and with their writing that encourages immersion in both (230). Students are exposed to a variety of
viewpoints on censorship and the sensitive issues censored books often deal
with through their research, which facilitates discussion on tone and
objectivity in argument presentation.
Students are instructed to write for an audience of school board members
contemplating the banning of their book, so they must look at the issue from
both sides and supply evidence that would convince the audience that their
argument is sound. This project works
especially well in a community college environment where the diversity of ages
and backgrounds ensures thoughtful discussion on the issues and intended
audiences of banned books. Before I
implemented the banned books proposal project, students struggled with creating
original arguments. Now, however,
students work to creatively validate original arguments. When researching, they expect to find a
source that says exactly what they are thinking; however, as any writer who
creates truly original work can attest, that is not going to happen. Therefore, students have to engage more fully
with the research process by trying different search terms, critically
assessing the credibility of sources, and making connections between the
sources they do collect. Although it is
hard work, students have expressed a genuine enthusiasm to read and learn more
throughout the semester.
*If you read this far, I realize "brief" may be a
misnomer, but I am an English teacher and tend to be a bit verbose - sorry!
