Week 3 Term 2 - Mirrors and Windows

The term 'mirrors and windows' has been something that I have heard more in recent years. This year notably I have heard my colleagues use this term and as I understood what it meant, I have begun to use it more. Kimberly Moran writes "The phrase “mirrors and windows” was initially introduced by Emily Style for the National SEED Project. A mirror is a story that reflects your own culture and helps you build your identity. A window is a resource that offers you a view into someone else’s experience. It is critical to understand that students cannot truly learn about themselves unless they learn about others as well." I wanted to delve into this more and explore how I interpret 'mirrors and windows' into my own teaching practice. 

MIRROR: show a reflection of. 

Thinking about the texts I studied in my bursary year (Year 13) and even at university (a part from POPMUS) there was no real connection to them. From the characters to the storyline to even the social context - there was nothing in Shakespeare that I found a real connection to. I studied them because I had to, it was a requirement. I wrote about them - made references to Beatrice and Benedick's chaotic relationship (Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing), did the character analysis for Catcher in the Rye, analyzed Baz Luhurmann's rendition of Romeo and Juliet (1996) to death - it goes on. I learnt so much from these texts and studying them broaden my scope of English literature and the depth it entails. The problem is that this is all that I studied. I was not exposed to 'other' texts that had characters or storylines that were told or shown from a lens that I could identify with. I never studied Albert Wendt, Whiti Ihimaera or Willie Davis until I started teaching. To be honest, I did not see texts and resources that were locally and  culturally connected as eligible texts for English. This is because my understanding of English literature and texts has been centered around very Eurocentric voices, ideas and concepts. I now see that there is a huge value in texts and resources that are locally and culturally sound and rich. The impact that this has on students is huge. As a teacher, I not only see the impact but can feel impact in that I can connect more to a text - I feel more comfortable and confident with my understanding of it. 

Kimberly Moran states "A mirror is a story that reflects your own culture and helps you build your identity." I have found that the texts that really connect to my students are texts that have characters or themes that they can relate to, that they identify with, that they can see themselves in. When you come across a text that really speaks to your own life experiences or mirrors the experiences of those around you, the connection is between the reader and the text is intimate. The learning that comes from this is beyond measure and as a teacher, when you can find that text that actually resonates - song, film, written text - it is gold. 

WINDOW: an opening in the wall or roof of a building or vehicle, fitted with glass in a frame to admit light or air and allow people to see out.

The late Tate Simi's poem 'Identity' is a beautiful text. It is one that I use with my senior students (both Level 2 and Level 3). I am hoping to use this as a talking to my students about the importance of knowing who we are, where we come from, our sense of purpose. This is my way of getting them really to explore themselves and using this as topic for their writing portfolio. 

Identity - Tate Simi

Educate yourself enough
So you may understand
The ways of other people
But not too much
That you may lose
Your understanding
Of your own

Try things palagi
Not so you may become palagi
But so may see the value
Of things Samoan
Learn to speak Samoan
not so you may sound Samoan
but so you may
feel the essence
of being Samoan

Above all
Be aware and proud
Of what you are
So you may spare yourself
The agony of those who are asking
“What am I?”

I love this poem. It is confronting in the most respectful and gentle way. It is encouraging us to appreciate other cultures in the hope it will help us to appreciate our own. It is challenges the reader to see the value in others - culturally, emotionally, mentally  - so that we can understand that our moral and cultural grounding is great. As Kimberly Moran states "A window is a resource that offers you a view into someone else’s experience. It is critical to understand that students cannot truly learn about themselves unless they learn about others as well", a text and resource that can help provide a gateway for our students to explore other perspectives and gain new or greater understanding of their own is powerful. It builds understanding for others, connection to self, empathy and respect. It goes beyond the classroom and becomes a mental growth experience. I hope to find and use more texts that are 'mirrors and windows' for my students.