Video C of Lesson #5 (Teacher's Choice):
Norman Rockwell, Girl with a Black Eye, 1953.
Assessing, Reflecting, Planning:
I do think the image I chose was appropriate for my students because the subject matter is familiar to them. One student noticed the filing cabinet and commented that the picture was older because we don't use filing cabinets much anymore. There was a consensus that the picture is of a student waiting outside the Principal's office. Because the setting is familiar, students were easily able to create a narrative.
The image challenged this group of students to make sense of or find a reason why this person is sitting outside the Principal's office. The very first observation was that she had been in a fight and won. The next student recognized the theme of bullying, but thought this girl was being bullied and finally beat the bully. The discussion moved to the gender of the girl- some thought it might actually be a boy, and the date of the subject matter. One student was reminded of Pippy Longstockings. I felt like they were on the cusp of considering the artist's intent with the choice to make this fighter a girl, but they didn't quite get there. Every time I thought they were warm, they would then focus on specific details, like clothing, to question the gender of the subject. My students live in a rural area, and we have very few behavior issues... I think they were attempting to create a narrative that made sense to them because the idea of this cute little girl beating someone up wasn't a reasonable explanation. I was hoping to challenge them with ideas about stereotypes, but it didn't work out as I hoped.
This group of students does a great job listening to each other and linking their ideas. Everyone was engaged and participating equally, which was a goal of mine since past discussions have been male dominated. I did have them all gather closely around, which helped, but I think the image captivated the students as well. They were scaffolding- a few boys provided evidence of another culture based on their background knowledge, and some students made assumptions about the time period by noticing clothing, hairstyles, and objects in the picture. I wanted to help them delve deeper into the ideas about bullying and gender stereotypes, but I wasn't sure how to without deviating from the prescribed questions.
I would be interested to see how responses might be different if this image was used with students who live in an urban area or with older students. My class did not mention humor at all, which I thought they would notice immediately. Some students are moving into Stage II, but many are still at Stage I, so they did not move beyond making observations with evidence. It's funny, when this discussion ended, the students seemed satisfied, but I had hoped it would have been more eye opening or...what's the word I'm looking for... meaningful, maybe?
It sounds like a GREAT discussion, Ginia! I particularly liked the student comment about this being a young girl who finally stood up to a bully! The filing cabinet as an indicator of the past was also fascinating! Now that you've had a VTS discussion of this, I think it would be totally appropriate to revisit it with your students outside of the VTS discussion to talk about the bullying issues your noticed; perhaps use it to ignite thinking and writing about a time when each of them might have stood up for themselves or even someone else. Great way to introduce not only the topic of bullying, but also empathy. SOOO excited that there was full participation in this one, too! That makes it an even more successful choice! You might place a print of this image up in your classroom in an obvious place and just see if your students return to it (without being asked) to continue the discussion!
ReplyDeleteHi Ginia! I feel that the image you chose was just right as well. There was enough ambiguity in it for the students to engage and offer a considerable amount of possibilities. You seem very comfortable and calm, and I was really impressed by your VTS facilitation skills in general. You paraphrase and link students’ ideas together with ease and sincerity. You remember to gesture and it does not feel awkward or robotic. Your ease at scaffolding the students’ ideas is also excellent.
ReplyDeleteI appreciated your students’ apparent skills with backing up & linking what they were seeing as well. I like Mary's suggestion of using the image again with your students again, to deepen their thinking with it. Art is powerful, and you are giving your students a rich experience. Again, excellent choice of image, and excellent VTS discussion!