Publication

Every semester one of the authors of this article, Catherine Prudhoe, chal- lenges many of her preservice students’ perceptions of a familiar and often favorite children’s book, The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein (1964). She begins the class by reading the text aloud to the students. Most smile, fondly remembering hearing the book as a child. A few become teary- eyed as the tree selflessly gives to the boy throughout his life. After reading the text, it is then discussed. The students usually comment on how the book teaches children to share and to love their friends. They talk about their remembrances of hearing the story read to them by a parent or teacher. Everyone is feeling happy. Then, the instructor asks the students to listen to the story again, this time paying attention to gender issues. Which gender is implied for the tree? Who is always giving and who is always taking? What messages does the story suggest for girls/women and for boys/men? As the class reads the book a second time, there is a definite change in the atmosphere of the discussion. The students begin to perceive the story in a different way. After debriefing, one brave student may say, “Well, thanks for ruining one of my favorite childhood books!” The other students will laugh and agree, how- ever all are now more attuned to looking at texts from different perspectives. While it’s not our intention to ruin anyone’s favorite childhood story book, it is our hope to develop in our students the ability to read and teach critically. In this article, we share the way we have ap- proached introducing our early childhood preservice teachers to critical literacy. Very few of our preservice teachers have experienced critical literacy as learners in school, so we must engage them both as simultaneous learners and prospective teachers.