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Qualitative Inquiry

DOI: 10.1177/107780049700300407 1997; 3; 468 Qualitative Inquiry

Suzanne J. Baff Literature in 11th-Grade English

"Realism and Naturalism and Dead Dudes" Talking About

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468

"Realism and Naturalismand Dead Dudes"

Talking About Literaturein 11th-Grade English

Suzanne J. BaffState University of New York at Albany

In this microethnograpic study of literature discussions, the author spent 4 weeks in an11th-grade English class. Data came from classroom observations, audiotaping ofdiscussions, interviews, and written artifacts. Classroom discussions were affected bystudents’attitudes toward reading, self-perceptions as readers or nonreaders, and home-work completion rates. The quality and quantity of the interactions were also affected byinterruptions, prior student and teacher experiences, required textbook use, time con-straints due to preparation for the state examination, and setting or context of thediscussions. The perception versus practice disjuncture applied both to teacher andstudents; the schedule left little reflection time. Curriculum changes were planned forthe following school year; one goal is increasing student engagement in class discussions.In consonance with the context of the author’s inquiry (literature class), she used poetryto represent these results. This article focuses on content and on the author’s positiveexperience with poetic representation.

It happened once too often in my advanced Spanish classes. After thevocabulary had been defined, after information about the author had beenshared, after pertinent cultural information had been introduced, after we hadreviewed poetic structures and devices, after we had read the poem out loud,and after I had asked the students to read the poem to themselves at homeand answer some reflexive questions about their experience came the ques-tion, &dquo;What does the poem mean to you; why, and how?&dquo; &dquo;Wait time,&dquo; I wouldthink. &dquo;A good teacher gives adequate wait time to let students think.&dquo; Andso I waited. Silence. Finally, I would try to start the discussion rolling with afew questions. The students would answer in single words or short phrases

Author’s Note: Please address all correspondence to author at 108 Echo Hill Road,Gloversville, NY 12078-6018; telephone: 518-725-4327; e-mail: [email protected]

Qualitative Inquiry, Volume 3 Number 4,1997 468-49001997 Sage Publicabons, Inc.




469

despite the fact that during this first literature unit, I was conducting this partof the class in English, hoping to get them to transfer English-language literarydiscussion patterns into subsequent Spanish-language discussions of litera-ture later on during the course. I tried small-group activities. I tried responselogs. Why? Why did these normally articulate, intellectually active 16-year-olds turn to stone when faced with a 10-line poem that should be well withintheir second-language and interpretive capabilities? I experimented. I used apoem in English with a similar theme. The stone students sat quietly in theirchairs, willing me to talk. I went to their English teachers and compared notes.Behind the usual collegial social routine of complaining about student disen-gagement, I sensed in them the same frustration I was experiencing. And sowhen the opportunity arose to do a small study, the English classroombeckoned.

I wanted to see these same students in English class, so I arranged to spend4 weeks attending one class daily (one complete literature unit). I began thestudy with a strong belief in the social construction of knowledge (Vygostky,1978), a transactional view of literature learning (Rosenblatt, 1994,1995), anda constructivist approach to teaching (Brooks & Brooks, 1993). Other re-searchers had done studies of literature discussions (e.g. Marshall, Smagor-insky, & Smith, 1995; Nystrand & Gamoran, 1991; Wolman-Bonilla, 1994).Would I see the same patterns in this classroom? Would I find a key to unlockthe interpretive minds of my stone students? What would I find in only 4weeks? I knew the teacher in whose classroom I would be observing, and Ihad seen her 8th graders engaged and active as I passed by the open door toher classroom over the past several years. This year, she was teaching llthgraders, but I felt that I had made a good choice of site because I knew thatshe would include lots of discussion during the course of the unit.

The poems that follow are both the substance of the study and the livedexperience of all who were involved in it. They include many voices; those ofthe classroom teacher, the English teacher across the hall, the students, andmyself can all be heard. I quoted directly from the discussion and interviewtranscripts wherever possible. I chose poetry not only because it is a naturalform of expression for me personally but also because I wanted to give athree-dimensional picture of the experiences of all of us during the study. Anarrative would have given too much linearity to a situation that appearedin my mind’s eye as more circular (see &dquo;Circle,&dquo; &dquo;Student Reflections, 2,&dquo; and&dquo;Dark Clouds&dquo;). Yes, the teacher was sometimes frustrated. But, stating thatdoes not even begin to communicate the depth of her feelings: her sense ofbeing boxed in by forces beyond her control (see &dquo;Circle&dquo; and &dquo;Dark Clouds&dquo;),her anger at the constant interruptions from outside the classroom (see&dquo;Realism and, Naturalism and Dead Dudes&dquo;), her resigned acceptance of




470

these things as part of the way things have to be, and the ebullient reemer-gence of her hope when planning for the future (see &dquo;Next Year&dquo;). In herargument in support of sociological poetry, Laurel Richardson (1994) writes,

If a goal of ethnography is to retell &dquo;lived experience,&dquo; to make another worldaccessible to the reader, then, I submit that the lyric poem, and particularly asequence of lyric poems with an implied narrative, come closer to achieving thatgoal than do other forms of ethnographic writing.... That is, lyric poems areconsciously constructed through literary devices such as sound patterns,rhythms, imagery, and page layout to evoke emotion.... A lyric poem &dquo;shows&dquo;another person how it is to feel something. (pp. 8-9)

The section following the poems further addresses my choice of form forrepresentation and delineates how it affected the interpretive process.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The junior-senior high school where the study was conducted is in a smallcentral school district in upstate New York with about 580 student in grades7 through 12. The population is racially and ethnically homogeneous; bothstudents and teachers are overwhelmingly White, Christian, and mainstreamAmerican. Less than 2% of secondary students are Jehovah’s Witnesses; therewere 2 Jewish students, 2 Latinos, no African Americans and 1 Asian Americanat the time of the study Socioeconomically, students are more diverse; thereare sharp class divisions based on income and living conditions. Most of thestudents are middle or lower middle class, with a small number from upper-middle-class families. There are also students who are very poor and who livein substandard housing. Unemployment due to factory closings, child abuse,teenage pregnancy, domestic violence, and alcohol and drug addiction areserious problems in this area.

The study was done in an llth-grade English class taught by an experi-enced teacher in the district. This was her first year as an llth-grade Englishteacher; she was previously assigned to the 8th grade. The Regents-track(college-preparatory) class had 19 students (10 males, 9 females) of which 2males and 1 female did not participate in the study, giving a total of 16 studentparticipants. All students were preparing to take the New York State RegentsComprehensive Examination in English at the end of the school year. The classmet daily for 43 minutes during the last instructional period. All names usedto identify participants are pseudonyms.




471

Theoretical Framework

Transactions

I open the book and readand soon the black and whiteblossoms into technicolor.I squeeze between the pagesand begin to live.This is real.This is life.As I take a peekat the world I left behind,it holds no lure for me.A voice calls from farawayand reluctantly, I climb off the pageand slip into the bodysitting in the chair,and close the book.

We sit in the classroom, all of us,and tell our stories of experience.Was it a dream we all shared last night,or did everyone travel to the same time and place?It was this way, says one.

Yes, says another.But why? Says a third.And I, too, begin to tell of my lifein the other world.But wait!

Something is missingfrom the story.What about the ... ?And so we continue our narrative medley,with the teacher as maestro

leading the wayTogether, we weave a web of melodywith colors even more brilliantthan before.

Once again, I open the book and read.Eager to return, I climb into the pages.It looks different here, this time, I think-The edges are sharperand the air is clearerand I can see farther toward the horizon.




472

I continue my journey,but after awhile, the mist drifts in.I cannot see so clearly-I must go back.A voice calls from farawayand reluctantly, I climb off the pageand slip into the bodysitting in the chair,and close the book.

Once again, we sit in the classroom together,some of us here, some there,and to a few we tell our stories of experience.I got lost in the mist, says one.I did, too, I say.What mist? Says another. Didn’t you see the ... ?And so we continue our journey together,helping each other,until everyone can see the way ahead.The bell rings, and I go on to the next class,but I can’t wait until I can

Open the book and readand soon the black and whitewill blossom into technicolor.I will once again squeeze between the pagesand begin to live.

Setting

(The Arrow on the Map Says) You Are Here

A small schoolin a small town.The school-it’s where it’s all happening.There’s nowhere else to goin down-at-the-heels Upstate New York.

White-collarversus blue-collar,pink-collar,and no-collar.

Unemployment,




473

underemployment.Welfare,workfare.

They leave at sixteen,some of them-but they come backwith their babies

a year later

(just to visit).They hang aroundin front waitingfor their still-in-school buddies.

They walk the hallslooking for their favorite teachers-just to say hi.

They graduate at eighteen,some of them.Off to work or on to welfare,to the armed forcesor the ivy-covered hallsof a college campus-but they come back(just to visit).They walk the hallslooking for their favorite teachers-just to say hi.

A small schoolin a small town.A small staffwith a small budgetand big hearts.The school-it’s where it all can happen.Walk the halls and feel-it’s family




474

Talking About Literature

Realism and Naturalism and Dead Dudes

I want themto not be afraid to read literature,to not feel that everything they readmust have a deep meaning.

I want them

to find fun in reading,and joy.

I’m not a reader.I have no time to read.What? &dquo;The Open Boat?&dquo;Oh, I just skimmed it.Took me five minutes.

I did read parts in class.While looking for answersfor the question sheet.

Discussion of literature?

It’s all I can doto get them focused on the storyby giving them questionsto answer.

If I don’t ...

Beep.Please send Kimto the Main Office.

... they wouldn’t read at all.

Well, I answer questions..during class discussion.I’m pretty good at it,’cause Mrs. B always talksso I can understand.

Yes, I do adjust my speechto fit the students’ style.I want them

to feel comfortable,not tense

and afraid to respond.

Beep.




475

Not again!

Joe’s Pizzeria,would you like to order?

Please tell Colleen and Lennythat they have overdue library books.

Did you hear that, you two?Now, where were we?Class, open your booksto &dquo;The Sculptor’s Funeral.&dquo; &dquo;

Now, just before we start,some peoplein the morning classesthought this storywas about that they couldn’t findthe will.The will is only mentioned once,and that’s not what the storyis about.All right-get startedon those questions.Working together.

Do you know why, Jesse?Why what?

Do you know why thetownspeople ... ?Hmm?

Why they felt that HarveyMerrick was not a success?

’Cause he never made

anything with life.Really? Are you sure?I didn’t really read it.And now we have twentyminutes to get thesequestions done.

It was a stupid story.There’s no point to it.Except the will,and they never foundthe will.




476

All right,put your pens down.I want to start on this.I always run out of timewith you guys,I wanted to ask you yesterday,at the end of class,a couple of questionsabout the dead.

Door opens.Enter teacher aldewith envelope.

WHAT? Do I owe more?

They send meon these lovely Jobs.Don’t kill the messenger,you know.

OK, what was I saying?

Who took him for granted?

EverybodyThe townspeople.

Everybody

Do you think?You’re shaking your headno.

You disagreewith the Joanie-Jesse group.What do you think?

I think they ...’Cause it says something,like, he was well-educatedand they weren’t.He wasn’t the normal...

He definitelywasn’t the normin this society.Um ... Lenny




477

What?

Tell me who Henry Stevens is.

His buddy.

Whose buddy, hon?

The dead dude.

Yes, They Can!

English class.Question sheets.Realism and naturalism.Tell me what it’s about, will you?I never read it-too busyto do my homework.

Anyway, I hate short stories.And I’m not really a readerof literature.

Spanish class.Taco time.

Six students sitting and munchingand licking gooey fingers,and then someone saysThe Great Gatsby.

Like a volcano,simmering too long with pressure unrelieveddiscussion eruptsand buries Spanish classunder a layer of literary ash.Everyone has something to say-characters and scenarios, reactions and questions ...And it goes on and onuntil the bell.

Yes, they can!




478

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480

Next Year

Next year.I’m gonna do it next year.Carve out the first three hundred pagesof the literature book

and forget about it.Next year.

All right-next year.Pretend ...we’re gonna wipe the whole slate clean,and you’re gonna call the shots.Create their literature programfrom the bottom up,What’ll it look like,next year?




481

Next year.The first thing I would dois give them ownership.It’s their choice.

ConstantlyEvery day, go grab a book.And if it’s the same bookten times,that’s fine.Go for it-it’s gonna enhance their language.So-free choice on reading.Next year.

Next year.Assessment would be

completely different.If I didn’t havethat bloody Regents,I’d be completely different.Literature-based vocabulary,classes more like a seminar.Sit down and sit back,and make it so they have to talk.Next year.

I feel bad for these kids.’Cause every day,I walk out the door saying&dquo;Next year....&dquo;

Student Reflections, 1

Anne and Jenna,1’m wondering ...what kind of experience you’re havingin English class this year,with literature.Have you read anythingthat really caught your fancy ?Be honest, now.

Some of them were pretty good.But I don’t like the book we’re reading now.The Great Gatsby?It’s pretty good, actually

Moby Dick was pretty good.Poetry Ugh.




482

I like poetry.We all like novels.

Yeah. And plays.Yeah.

Our class goes fast.It feels shorter,like there’s not enough time.

It really does go fast.But there’s enough timeto discuss.I have enough opportunityto express-

Yeah.We discuss,half an hour,maybe forty minutes.

(Discuss? For forty minutes?!)Do you thinkthat you’re challengedby this English class?

(Pause).

I don’t think it’s challenging, but ...No, not really.

It’s not the easiest course,but it’s not super hard.When we were much younger,everybody always did their work.All of it.

People weren’t really into it,they weren’t excited by it,but they did it.They were scared of a bad grade.But now that we’re older,either you do it,or you don’t.

I would guarantee it,that most people don’t read itwhen she assigns it.

I think it wasin seventh grade




483

when people changed.It’s not that reading isn’t cool,or anything.It’s just that peoplefind more interesting things to dowhen they get older.

English class-it’s always the same.

Student Reflections, 2

I read before I come to class.

OccasionallyLike, if I read it,I can pretty much figure it out.But I haven’t reallyfelt involvedin anything we’ve readso far this year.The Scarlet Letter.That was the pits.I couldn’t get into it.I don’t know why

English class.It’s always been the same.Short stories,learning about the authors first.But Mrs. B is, like,into it more.

She, like,explains things.Better, I think.And she’ll always ask usour opinion, like,and she’ll give us different viewsuntil we can see it,and finally we’ll see itexactly the way it was,and we’ll realizehow different we wereas compare to what ...it was.




484

From the Back of the Room:The Observer Observes

Connections?

I’m not a reader.

I have no time.I just hate to read.

When they are not good readers,they don’t respond wellto free, peer-led discussion.Teacher-domtnated discussionis what they construct.Their non-responsebacks the teacher

into a cornerand they get what they needto feel comfortable. (Wolman-Bomlla, 1994)

If I’m really into it,I learn.If I use the guide questions,it helps me to understand.If I hate it,I stop reading.

Studentswho are truly engagedachieve the best.Studentswho are superficially engagedby classroom procedureshow modest gains.Students who are disengaged... (Nystrand & Gamoran,1991)

I can do it,but not the way Mrs. B does.I need herto help me understand.I don’t know if I couldon my own.She explains it so clearly,and then I can seehow I was wrong.




485

Teachers who controland modelhave studentswhose peer discussions

fall flat.Teachers who providespecific practiceallow for learningby doing. (Marshall, 1995).

Rosenblatt?In college.I did that in college.What I don’t understand is,why can’t I get them to talk?

Dark Clouds

Students.Stuck.In a rut.

Comfort zone.Sloth syndrome.Paradigm paralysis.

Teachers.Stuck.Boxed in.Bounded by timeand tests.Persecuted

by percentilesand public opinion.Paradigm paralysis.

Community.Stuck.

Suspendedin the past(The Way It Used to Be).Learn for jobs.Read for jobs.For jobs.For jobs.Not for joy.Paradigm paralysis.




486

Silver Linings

Take a picture,one with color,one with movement,with excitementand action.

Take a text,one with drama,one with intrigue,with beautyand strength.

Take a teacher,one with energy,one with dedication,with true caringand flexibility.

Take some students,ones unawakenedones still responsive,and open them upwith ownership.

Take a program,one where change is happening,one where reflection could become actionand where next yearis only a summer away

Take a lookfor yourselves-see what is obvious,find what lies hidden.All of the piecesto the puzzlelie scatteredon the classroom floor.

Pick them up, people,pick them upand see where they fit together-

together !




487

SO WHAT?

This study supports the results of other studies in terms of patterns ofliterature discussions (&dquo;Connections?&dquo;). It also addresses the significant, andoften negative, effects of noninstructional factors (&dquo;Realism and Naturalismand Dead Dudes&dquo;). Students’ attitudes toward reading, perceptions of them-selves as readers or nonreaders, and the rate of homework completion had asignificant effect on classroom discussions (&dquo;Student Reflections,&dquo; 1 and 2).The quality and quantity of the interaction during literature discussions werealso strongly affected by such factors as interruptions of class time, priorstudent and teacher experiences, use of the required textbook, time con-straints due to preparation for the New York State Regents ComprehensiveExamination in English (&dquo;Circle&dquo;), and setting or context in which a discus-sion occurred (&dquo;Yes, They Can!&dquo;). However, most salient was the disjuncturebetween perception and practice, for both teacher and students (&dquo;Assump-tions&dquo;), and a schedule for curriculum coverage that left little time for reflec-tion or constructivist teaching.

However, it is in terms of form rather than substance that I argue for the

significance of this study The issue of representational form has been thefocus of some recent books (e.g., Ellis & Bochner, 1996; Van Maanen, 1995)and articles (e.g., Richarsdon, 1994). It was also the basis for a publishedsymposium on the question of &dquo;What is ’good enough ethnography’?&dquo;(Denzin, 1996; DeVault, 1996; Richardson, 1996; Schwalbe, 1996; St. Pierre,1996). For me as researcher, using a creative form such as poetry liberatedinsight and got me quickly to core issues within the data. Because thissmall-scale project was done as part of my doctoral course work, I did notwrite a standard research paper and add the poems to provide richer descrip-tion. Encouraged by my professor, Dr. Sandra Mathison, I made a consciousdecision to use poetry as the sole form of representation for this limited studyAlthough I went through the typical process of theoretical framework dia-gram, data collection, tape transcription, coding, and analysis, the use of thepoetic form to represent my findings added a new dimension to my under-standing of the data and also shaped the interpretive process in a way thatwas both intense and productive. It was a challenge and a joy to produce arepresentation of a complex, many-layered situation in the concentrated timeand space of a series of poems. In describing her own experience with poeticrepresentation, Richardson (1994) characterizes her &dquo;Nine Poems: Marriageand the Family&dquo;: &dquo;Each lyric poem represents a ’candid photo’ or an ’episode’or an epiphany&dquo; (p. 9). I would add that the process of creation can also be anepiphany I had envisioned the writing as difficult. Instead, I experienced itas bursts of insight during which strong visual images coupled easily with




488

words. I quickly learned to write memos in verse so as not to lose a particularturn of phrase. As part of a poem (not included in this article) written duringthe study, I reflected on my experience:

A strange process,this writingbefore The End.You think you’ll never get goinguntil you sit downand do a complete analysis-never realizing that your brainis always analyzing.And suddenly, a piece of the puzzlehangs in the air.Before your mind’s eye, you see itand the words pour out-and it’s another poem.

The actual process of writing the poems was in itself part of the analysis.Trends appeared not only as I consciously thought about the data but also asI included various voices within one poem, and then another, and heard thesame themes repeated across poems. As Norman Denzin (1996) so succinctlystates, &dquo;Writing is interpretation and cannot be separated from the process ofanalysis&dquo; (p. 526).

For the reader who has possibly read numerous scholarly articles and fieldbooks about English education, experiencing a literary or artistic repre-sentation of similar data may provide another lens with which to view thesame scenery. Perhaps one viable role of such a representation is to providean experience that transcends the one particular study. As readers transactwith the representation, they synthesize their experiences with their priorexperiences of similar studies. For this particular study, poetry is an effectivealternative method of representation because the reader actually goesthrough the same process in reading the results and analysis as the partici-pants did during their literature class. Using poetry (form) to representfindings about the study of literature (substance) allows for a consonancebetween form and substance. In addition, the poetic form of the repre-sentation predisposes the reader toward a particular way of reading. A readerwho has prior experience and knowledge of poetry expects to extract concen-trated, strong images and feelings from a poem, and also to look for layers ofmeaning. These expectations allow the reader to get deep into the data andinterpretation in a nonlinear way, matching the many overlaid, connectedlayers of talking about literature in a secondary English class.

Finally, I would argue for the reflexive use of poetry and other modes ofartistic expression as a valuable tool for the researcher. Even in situationswhere the researcher chooses, or is required, to use a narrative or a standard




489

research report format, working creatively along with traditional writing is away to access the emic perspective of both researcher and participants. Asresearchers, we must beware of paradigm paralysis (&dquo;Dark Clouds&dquo;). The oldadage &dquo;A picture is worth a thousand words&dquo; may apply here in that thetrigger of a phrase or a visual image may produce a chain reaction of analyticalthought or may be useful in future work to describe a particular concept orsituation. As a novice researcher, I expect that I will be writing up futurestudies for some time to come. Because of my experience with a particularllth-grade English class, I will be crafting verses as I go. Be they pure personalreflection or part of a final representation, I know they will always enhancemy understanding and guide my thoughts.

REFERENCES

Brooks, J. G., & Brooks, M. G. (1993). The case for constructivist classrooms. Alexandria,VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Denzin, N. K. (1996). Punishing poets. Symposium: Defending Ways of Knowing: Expand-ing Forms of Presentation, Qualitative Sociology, 19(4), 525-528.

DeVault, M. L. (1996). In defense of textual experimentation: A response to MichaelSchwalbe. Sympostum: Defending Ways of Knowing: Expanding Forms of Presentation,Qualitative Sociology, 19(4), 529-531.

Ellis, C., & Bochner, A. P. (Eds.) (1996). Composing ethnography: Alternative forms ofqualitative writing. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira.

Marshall, J. D. (1995). Studies of large-group discussions of literature. In J. D. Marshall,P. Smagorinsky, & M. Smith (Eds.), The language of interpretation: Patterns of discoursein discussions of literature. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.

Marshall, J. D., Smagorinsky, P., & Smith, M. (1995). The language of interpretation: Patternsof discourse in discussions of literature. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers ofEnglish.

Nystrand, M., & Gamoran, A. (1991). Instructional discourse, student engagement andliterature achievement. Research in the Teaching of English, 25(3), 261-290.

Richarsdon, L. (1994). Nine poems: Marriage and the family. Journal of ContemporaryEthnography, 23, 3-14.

Richardson, L. (1996). A sociology of responsibility. Symposium: Defending Ways ofKnowing: Expanding Forms of Presentation, Qualitative Sociology, 19(4), 519-524.

Rosenblatt, L. M. (1994). The reader, the text, the poem: The transactional theory of the literarywork. Carbondale, IL: University of Illinois Press.

Rosenblatt, L. M. (1995). Literature as exploration (5th ed.). New York: Modern LanguageAssociation.

Schwalbe, M. (1996). Rejoinder: This is not a world. Symposium: Defending Ways ofKnowing: Expanding Forms of Presentation, Qualitative Sociology, 19(4), 539-541.

St.Pierre, E. A. (1996). The responsibilities of readers: Toward an ethics of responses.Symposium: Defending Ways of Knowing: Expanding Forms of Presentation, QualitativeSociology, 19(4), 533-538.

Van Maanen, J. (Ed.). (1995). Representation in ethnography. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.




490

Vygostky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Wolman-Bonilla, J. E. (1994). Why don’t they just speak? Attempting literature discus-sion with more and less able readers. Research in the Teaching of English, 28(3), 231-258.

Suzanne J. Baff is a doctoral student in curriculum and instruction at the StateUniversity of New York at Albany. She is also a teacher of French and Spanishat the secondary level as well as coordinator of the elementary foreign languageprogram in the same school district. Her interest is in foreign languageliterature instruction in secondary schools.




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