I have to admit, it took me a little while to figure out what Momaday was doing as he wrote his people's traditions and history in The Way to Rainy Mountain. The coupling of his own personal experiences with the myths and traditional folklore of the Kiowa people made for an interesting contrast; on the one hand myth, and on the other hand his own experiences. I am no expert in Kiowa lore, but I doubt there are many accounts of this type that help the Kiowa understand their cultural heritage. On the other hand, many of us can point to countless books that tell something of our own culture. Sometimes, confronting what we find can be difficult to share, as McKoy and Sabis-Burns (2007) discovered with their student-teachers. While literature from our own culture helps us expose our own preconceived ideas, multi-cultural literature brings other cultures into our classrooms and helps us examine them in light of our own. As we read books like The Way to Rainy Mountain we get a sense of what it must have been like growing up in Momaday's culture. Circumstances look very different from ours, but since we're all human we all understand each other on the deepest levels. Understanding each others' contexts helps us make sense of the choices and desires of other people we may not understand at first. I think that's the most important part of multi-cultural literature: we are able to walk a mile in the shoes of another person because the books give us a pair of shoes to wear.
McKoy, R., & Sabis-Burns, D. (2007). From borders to bridges: Making cross-cultural connections through multicultural literature. Multicultural Education.
Momaday, N. S. (1969). The way to Rainy Mountain. https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA30189497
Hi Ben!
ReplyDeleteI loved your metaphor for multi-cultural literature: "We are able to walk a mile in the shoes of another person because the books give us a pair of shoes to wear." I think this is a perfect way to describe multicultural literature. When we can experience what characters are experiencing, we can come to a better understanding of said character's culture. I believe The way to Rainy Mountain was Momaday's way of exploring his own culture and discovering how he fit in with the culture. Throughout the narrative, he describes the decline in the Kiowa culture with the increase of immigration to the U.S., which made it difficult for the Kiowa to participate in their ceremonies and beliefs.
Ben,
ReplyDeleteI struggled with the formatting of the book as well. Because this structure is so unique, it's important to share that aspect of the text with students, and to be up front with them about your experience with the text. Sharing some vulnerability with students can help them to better understand that learning is a process. So often, students shut down when they are confronted with something that is challenging. Being open with students, and showing them how we "figure it out" can be really powerful for them.
I really liked your analogy that, when walking a mile in another's shoes, "books give us a pair of shoes to wear." This helps to illustrate for students the purpose of reading multicultural literature. It is important that we are intentional about articulating this purpose to students early and often when diving into text.
That's a good point about needing to explain this up front with students. I also agree that students have more "buy in" when we explain how we figured it out for ourselves the first time.
DeleteHey Ben!
ReplyDeleteI very much agree with you and Jennifer. The structure is definitely something that you would have to explicitly talk about while going through the novel. Due to the high level of detail and the complex structure, I struggle to see how beneficial this specific book would be in 6th grade, the grade that I teach.
I really like how you mention the importance of context. While I think it is important to consider context in many different types of novels. Making sure that students have a complete picture to help them navigate the choices that author makes really helps with comprehension and allows for deeper understanding and discussion!
Kennedy, it does seem like a book that might be more aligned with high school. At the same time, I wonder if maybe reading some of it out loud to 6th graders might be feasible since that allows you to hand pick what you read and you can explain passages as you go. Just a thought! :)
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