Troubling Representation

We started class by retelling and summarizing the second part of When Mountains Tremble. Students first wrote one sentence stating the difference between retelling and summarizing. Next, students used the graphic organizer from yesterday to retell the events of the documentary followed by a summary. While students wrote, I walked around the room to give immediate feedback. Summarizing proved to be a challenge because we have to take a step back from the details and consider what the author or filmmaker's purpose is in presenting the details as she did -- the sequence, the subjects, and the storytelling techniques.




Next, we got into partners and wrote responses to the film as a way of synthesizing what we have been learning and to practice using support in our responses. Students answered 1) what was the "business" relationship between Guatemala and the US during the war in Guatemala and what was its impact on the people; 2) compare how the guerrillas were portrayed in the documentary versus the novel and talk about which seems more "truthful" or accurate and why; and 3) rate the novel, Tree Girl, Discovering Dominga, and When Mountains Tremble  as to which was more effective in several categories. Today was really important because students had time to synthesize what they have been learning thus far. They talked it out with partners, clarified understanding, and began to get the idea of troubling representations of history. Were the guerrillas good or bad? Did the Mayas contribute to the violence, or were they innocent? What questions can the exhumation of the clandestine graves answer, and what do we still need to know? Finally, I asked students to rate the representation of the Maya, Guerrillas, and the U.S. in Tree Girl,  Discovering Dominga,  and When Mountains Tremble.   This rating scale is meant to be a bit ironic. Each text does something different, and not text can say it all  -- realizing that narratives open spaces for further inquiry is the lesson here. Some students gave each box a three instead of using it like a rating scale saying: "I needed to read and see all three to understand what was going on, and I still have questions."

Finally, students who were up-to-date on the study guide for Tree Girl got into a discussion group with me to discuss the text and practice "building on the ideas of others." This was a good time to reinforce the practice of going to the text for support or for clarification. Students who needed more time to work on their study guides had class time to do some reading. In our school, about one third of the students can stay current with independent work or homework, so if you have a teaching assistant or co-teacher, you can do some grouping to support students who need more encouragement or even just a quiet place to read. These students also need the experience of "building on ideas of others," so some chapters should be read and discussed whole class, too.