As a young reader, I was fascinated with adolescent literature. There was something special about reading a novel that dealt with teens who were going through the same challenges I was facing in my real life. I was able to enter a world where I could safely explore the things I was thinking, worrying, and wondering about. I vividly remember reading Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson in my sophomore year English class. I couldn’t believe that we were being permitted to read something fun, modern, and relevant in school. While reading about Melinda’s struggle, we began to question some of the behaviors and attitudes we were all guilty of engaging in on a day-to-day basis. I remember one student in the class was a frequent victim of another student in the class’ teasing. Without an explicit intervention or conversation between the two, things began to change as we progressed through the novel. I noticed that the mocking came to a natural end. Conversations between the students were cordial. There was also another new development in our class. Every single student participated in our discussions. Every single student had something to say about bullying, parental relationships, academic challenges, loss of friendships, cliques, and more. We came together as a class, in a way we hadn’t while reading Catcher in the Rye. I wondered why we didn’t read more books like this in my remaining high school years.
Many teenagers think of school as its own world, completely separate from their real lives. They have trouble connecting to their learning because they fail to see its value or why it is relevant to them. There seems to be a potential for young adult literature to be used as a bridge to connect school and home lives. The opportunity to study real issues in a classroom setting could open students up to see school as a place where they can freely explore and to learn how to actually apply their knowledge. In bridging this gap, students could also come to experience better relationships with their teachers and with each other. The mutual exploration and enjoyment of YA literature could allow for the “safe space” I once found in reading these novels to extend to the classroom community, much in the way it played out for my sophomore year English class.
Many teenagers think of school as its own world, completely separate from their real lives. They have trouble connecting to their learning because they fail to see its value or why it is relevant to them. There seems to be a potential for young adult literature to be used as a bridge to connect school and home lives. The opportunity to study real issues in a classroom setting could open students up to see school as a place where they can freely explore and to learn how to actually apply their knowledge. In bridging this gap, students could also come to experience better relationships with their teachers and with each other. The mutual exploration and enjoyment of YA literature could allow for the “safe space” I once found in reading these novels to extend to the classroom community, much in the way it played out for my sophomore year English class.