I teach at a private JHS/HS and from this year I’ve been tasked with occasionally teaching a moral education class to the JHS 1st graders. In the first semester, I think I did a pretty job by introducing the book The Giving Tree, reading it out to them a couple of times in English, and then doing some light analysis (with a worksheet written in both English and Japanese). Say what you like about that book, at least it makes you think and has multiple interpretations.
In fact, this went so well that I think I’d like to try another book when my turn comes around in Semester 2, one that is as open to moral interpretations as The Giving Tree. Does anyone have any ideas? It needs to be pretty simple (The Giving Tree was a perfect length/difficulty) or I’ll probably lose the bottom 1/3 of the class.
The other teachers actually use a specific textbook that has various short stories and articles about moral issues (e.g. bullying, friendships, etc.) written in Japanese. I’m tempted to just pick one from there, but I think my school would rather I gave them something more from my “unique gaijin” perspective, which I can understand. One teacher suggested I do something about race issues in the US (I’m from New Zealand by the way), but I really don’t want to touch that one at all. Despite my best efforts at approaching the complex topic of racism, I predict the students would walk away afterwards saying “racism bad”, “poor black people” and that’s about it.
Any ideas would be really welcome and appreciated!
15 comments
Oh, hell, I hope that doesn’t happen to me.
That’s one of those things I get to silently laugh at poor teachers who get stuck with it, I hope it stays that way.
At least you get to choose the topic, you’re not stuck using the textbook.
Best of luck!
My suggestions are probably either Dr Seuss books (Green Eggs and Ham) or If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. They’re both simple enough that you probably won’t lose the weaker students, and have some moral angle to them.
As for talking about racism, I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad idea to give a watered down version to a bunch of 12 year olds (I mean, we all need to start somewhere), but I understand if you feel under qualified/ ill-equipped to talk about it. Ultimately it’s your choice, but as long as whatever you say on racism boils down to ‘don’t be a dick to people based on their skin colour’, then it’s most likely gonna be ok for 12 year olds.
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What did your students make of The Giving Tree?
A similar story with a clearly positive ending is Stone Soup. The interpretation Bone Button Soup by Aubrey Davis is broadcast on CBC Radio every Hannukah. You could probably get a recording of Barbara Budd’s reading.
Stone Soup has many variations which I could imagine building a task-supported lesson unit around.
What about content – videos, picture books – about your own country’s indigenous people?
Does the school give you any guidance? I can see this going horribly wrong if they are letting you go wild. Using the book from the school will help you stay within cultural boundaries because they are written from the Japanese perspective. What is expected of you can vary greatly depending on who is evaluating your class. A student’s parent may be offended by things in moral and ethic books written in the west. Where I work all textbooks must be unanimously approved by all teachers and professors in the department. If I want to use a new or different book, I need to literally run around getting hankos from everyone. (for some odd reason we are free to photo copy entire chapters without approval)
Are you the homeroom teacher?
Who usually teaches moral education at your school, and what is the curriculum they use? What are they trying to achieve with the class?
The rainbow fish is pretty cute and has a good message, but maybe overly simple.
Aesop’s Fables? I like the Lark And Her Young Ones and The Miser.
There was this really great, effectively creepy short story I read about a girl that stole a dead girl’s dress from the funeral home and she was cursed to take the dead girl’s place. It might be too advanced for JHS, but I really enjoy the moral of the story (and the vocab/grammar can be pared down).
[https://www.eslwriting.org/wp-content/uploads/The-White-Dress.pdf](https://www.eslwriting.org/wp-content/uploads/The-White-Dress.pdf)
[https://www.themoonlitroad.com/the-white-dress/](https://www.themoonlitroad.com/the-white-dress/)
I’m not sure if Japanese schools are open to it but, a person I went to school with wrote a children’s book about LGBT issues. It’s called A Girl Named Adam. It’s on Amazon. It’s a picture book. I’ve never read it but it has pretty good reviews.
“The Dot” and “~Ish” by Peter Reynolds are good for keeping around the level and tone of “The Giving Tree.” They consider the degree to which we need to fit in and how much we might be ourselves. You could test the waters as to how wide to let their thinking go.
Maybe not next time, but after a little while, why not try another Shel Silverstein book? The Missing Piece is a pretty good option, and the themes are very interesting, but not politically charged, so you can really engage with them.
You poor soul.
If you’re thinking of children’s books, there’s the one about the fish with the rainbow scales. Some lesson about sharing in there
Try The Sneetches by Dr Seuss