CCBC-Net Archives
Middle Passage
- Contemporary messages sorted: [ by date ] [ by subject ] [ by author ]
From: Dean Schneider <schneiderd>
Date: Tue, 22 Jun 1999 16:22:30 -0500
The Middle Passage is, without a doubt, a powerful work of art, and I had the good fortune to see Tom Feelings present the art with slides on a big screen, narrating the story of his research and work as he presented the slides. A similar presentation in the classroom would be ideal, too, though I simply have my eighth graders sit on the floor around me as I show them the book. It is difficult to gauge the impact the book has on students. They certainly sit there quietly and see the art, but whether they are moved by it or are impressed by the raw power of the images or even by the amount of work that went into the creation of the art, I do not know. It's like a lot of what teachers and librarians do: we share what we love and hope others will love and value and share it, too. But the impact of the books and art and writings we do with students is not necessarily immediate. Students need time, often years, to absorb, integrate, and process all that they are presented with in their lives.
It is certainly important for powerful works such as The Middle Passage to be a part of a real education. When I present The Middle Passage to my eighth graders, they have a context for it. They have read The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, they have seen a very good video about F. Douglass and the underground railroad, they have heard me read aloud several picture books on slavery, they have seen and heard books such as Julius Lester's From Slave Ship to Freedom Road (art by Rod Brown) and James Haskins's Bound for America, and they have read and discussed lots of poetry by Robert Hayden and others (from Arnold Adoff's I Am the Darker Brother) about Frederick Douglass and various issues and themes raised by the experience of slavery. (I present lots of poetry and art and literature by African American artists and writers to counter students' impressions that African American history is only the story of slavery.)
So, I agree with other comments that The Middle Passage is most appropriate for students in fourth or fifth grade on up. Shocking students with pictures without trying to teach the history and the meaning is irresponsible teaching. And we should take the time to find sources to help create the historical context all students need. There are lots of good picture books appropriate for quite young students who are not ready for The Middle Passage.
I do not agree with the comment that The Middle Passage is somehow incomplete without a discussion of slave resistance. It is one book, and one book need not say everything about everything. It is a book about the middle passage. However, I believe Mr. Feelings is working on another book about the African American experience in the South prior to the Civil War. In the meantime, there are lots of good books about slave resistance, including big sections of Julius Lester's To Be A Slave, illustrated by Tom Feelings. Also, William Loren Katz's Breaking the Chains: African-American Slave Resistance, The McKissacks' Rebels Against Slavery, Fiery Vision by Clinton Cox, and North Star to Freedom by Gena Gorrell.
This has taken me a bit too far from The Middle Passage itself, I'm afraid, but I wanted to offer some of the sources that might provide a context for The Middle Passage, one of those books that makes me proud to be a teacher, lucky to get to pass it on to students and other teachers.
Dean Schneider Ensworth School 211 Ensworth Avenue Nashville, TN 37205
Received on Tue 22 Jun 1999 04:22:30 PM CDT
Date: Tue, 22 Jun 1999 16:22:30 -0500
The Middle Passage is, without a doubt, a powerful work of art, and I had the good fortune to see Tom Feelings present the art with slides on a big screen, narrating the story of his research and work as he presented the slides. A similar presentation in the classroom would be ideal, too, though I simply have my eighth graders sit on the floor around me as I show them the book. It is difficult to gauge the impact the book has on students. They certainly sit there quietly and see the art, but whether they are moved by it or are impressed by the raw power of the images or even by the amount of work that went into the creation of the art, I do not know. It's like a lot of what teachers and librarians do: we share what we love and hope others will love and value and share it, too. But the impact of the books and art and writings we do with students is not necessarily immediate. Students need time, often years, to absorb, integrate, and process all that they are presented with in their lives.
It is certainly important for powerful works such as The Middle Passage to be a part of a real education. When I present The Middle Passage to my eighth graders, they have a context for it. They have read The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, they have seen a very good video about F. Douglass and the underground railroad, they have heard me read aloud several picture books on slavery, they have seen and heard books such as Julius Lester's From Slave Ship to Freedom Road (art by Rod Brown) and James Haskins's Bound for America, and they have read and discussed lots of poetry by Robert Hayden and others (from Arnold Adoff's I Am the Darker Brother) about Frederick Douglass and various issues and themes raised by the experience of slavery. (I present lots of poetry and art and literature by African American artists and writers to counter students' impressions that African American history is only the story of slavery.)
So, I agree with other comments that The Middle Passage is most appropriate for students in fourth or fifth grade on up. Shocking students with pictures without trying to teach the history and the meaning is irresponsible teaching. And we should take the time to find sources to help create the historical context all students need. There are lots of good picture books appropriate for quite young students who are not ready for The Middle Passage.
I do not agree with the comment that The Middle Passage is somehow incomplete without a discussion of slave resistance. It is one book, and one book need not say everything about everything. It is a book about the middle passage. However, I believe Mr. Feelings is working on another book about the African American experience in the South prior to the Civil War. In the meantime, there are lots of good books about slave resistance, including big sections of Julius Lester's To Be A Slave, illustrated by Tom Feelings. Also, William Loren Katz's Breaking the Chains: African-American Slave Resistance, The McKissacks' Rebels Against Slavery, Fiery Vision by Clinton Cox, and North Star to Freedom by Gena Gorrell.
This has taken me a bit too far from The Middle Passage itself, I'm afraid, but I wanted to offer some of the sources that might provide a context for The Middle Passage, one of those books that makes me proud to be a teacher, lucky to get to pass it on to students and other teachers.
Dean Schneider Ensworth School 211 Ensworth Avenue Nashville, TN 37205
Received on Tue 22 Jun 1999 04:22:30 PM CDT
