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Thread: Teaching Into the Wild: A Lost cause for teens?

  1. #1
    Mr. T
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    Teaching Into the Wild: A Lost cause for teens?

    I am teaching Into the Wild to my group of general sophomore students. I am finding, along with other teachers, that students cannot grasp the idea of romanticism and trascendentalism. They think it's stupid that some one like Chris would go into the wild and live like that. They said "he must be a pothead" and assume the only people who go out into the woods are stoners.
    Needless to say, I think they live in a world so exposed to electronics and consumer driven goods that they can't think outside their own world to see the other side. Do you guys have any ideas on teaching these 14-15 yr olds to teach outside the box?

    ~Ed
    ~~Ed T.~~
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    Ahah no offense but I wouldn't waste your time.
    My class (I am 17 as are the rest of them, mostly) had a discussion on material possession today and most of them are stuck on the idea that cars and houses are very very important.. so I doubt you'll be able to teach kids who are three years younger the idea that all those things are only temporary.

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    Have you tried to get at it from the doesn't-like-authority angle? That's essentially what's going on with McCandless, isn't it? Yes, he's looking for something transcendent, but in the end, just like Emerson, who rebelled because he was forced to become a minister when he didn't want to, and just like Thoreau, who once wore a green coat to a school function simply because he was asked to wear a black one, isn't McCandless out to prove he's a big boy who doesn't need anyone--government, parent, et cetera--to tell him how to live?

    Kids don't like authority either. Perhaps if you emphasize this aspect of his character they will begin to see what could drive McCandless to act as he does--he isn't a "stoner," or a "freak"; he's just a kid who can't cope with authority. He thinks the wild represents freedom just like your kids probably think having their own car or their own money is freedom.

    They can grasp transcendentalism and romanticism, as long as you can ground his character, give him practical motives for his--in their opinion--strange beliefs. Remember, people thought Thoreau and Emerson were out there, too, in the beginning. And let's face it: your average American is hardly a Transcendentalist today. So you can't blame your students for thinking that McCandless is bizarre. The best you can do is help them understand how his personal life might have shaped his views.

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    Yes! crazefest456's Avatar
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    my english class (in 9th grade) had no problem grasping the idea of romanticism and Transcendentalism, and we read Thoreau and Emerson. I guess my teacher forced us to analyze every single line and relate it to the prevalent philosophy, by making us write lots of short answer responses. It was pretty intense, but our class enjoyed it..

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    Mhh, I shouldn't really comment on this as I'm only 20 years old, but my advice would be;

    Try getting them to read some simple books, e.g. Animal Farm, then tell them the background of the book, what it's all about, politics and the like. Then introduce them to this "amazing thing" called romanticism and transcendentalism, and they'll be like "oh wow cool, let us have a go at it", and voila, you've got a happy bunch of wanting-to-learn-more about the topics.
    Last edited by Nico87; 12-08-2007 at 06:10 AM.

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    Mr. T
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    So I found some things that worked well....

    first off: Barbara Waltlers did a story on 20/20 in 1998 on Chris McCandless and his journey. I let the kids watch that so they could see Chris, see the bus, hear from a new news authoirty on the matter. I then assignmed them a one page double spaced writing assignment on if they think Chris is "nuts" and what would inspire some one to make a journey like that. Part two involved how could you make a journey like that to feel "free?" Where would you go? They kind of liked that.

    The best assignment so far that other teachers have asked me for was our "round table discussion." I made a two page survey about trends in society, student behavior, and attitudes and made them fill it out anonomously. We had round table discussion on each of the questions for the 80 minute period relating it back to transcendentalism. It seemed to work out well. I even managed to get a mini lesson in on the circle of Thoreau, starting with him, moving to Ghandi, and back to the United States with MLk. So far, so good....
    ~~Ed T.~~
    "I like beans with ketchup"--Of Mice and Men

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    Registered User Nick Rubashov's Avatar
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    Sounds like a success to me edsbar. You and the other teachers may have been experiencing trouble teaching Into The Wild earlier because I think the concepts in the story are a little hard for kids that age to grasp clearly. The ideas presented by Chris McCandless' journey are better understood by seniors in highschool or freshmen in college, as that's the age where the feelings which drove Chris McCandless are more prominent and significant to the reader.
    Doc awakened very slowly and clumsily like a fat man getting out of a swimming pool. - John Steinbeck

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    Some thoughts

    Well, I'm getting ready to teach this to my Pre-AP sophomores and we prepared by reading Bradbury's F451 first. We discussed extensively this idea of detachment from nature and learning and we've read a few articles that discuss "useless" technology: "Garbage Gone Wild" by Mary Roach, August 2007 Reader's Digest, and also "Remote Control" by Dave Barry. I've really hammered away at this detachment from nature idea and of course, we discussed how the renewal of civilization begins for Montag when he leaves the city and goes into nature with the exiled book lovers. They seem to understand and feel guilty about their own easy acceptance of technology and most chose to focus on the detachment from nature and learning as their topic for their theme essay, versus censorship. I have high hopes for Into the Wild and I plan on accompanying it with some Thoreau and some passages from Call of the Wild. I'm crossing my fingers though.

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    Overlord of Cupcak3s 1n50mn14's Avatar
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    I'm 16, and I would murder to be in that class... however, I don't beleive that the majority of 14-15 year olds are going to be able to grasp the concepts that you are trying to teach, as valid and important as they are. Somebody has to try, though- it's infuriating and disgusting to see how low we've sunk.
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    Know what you mean. I brought up an issue for discussion in a Comm. College comp class: a Wall St. Journal article about the growing number of kindergartens in Germany that are held entirely in the forests; no books, no chalkboards, no electronic gizmos. Students simply could not relate to the idea, which is rather sad. I can only guess that in metropolitan locations, many young people are simply not nature types; just not in touch with trees, the wind, stars, etc. That is regrettable in my book.

    I found his decision after Emory Univ. to be a very interesting choice: counter-culture.

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    Registered User bounty's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by edsbar101 View Post
    I am teaching Into the Wild to my group of general sophomore students. I am finding, along with other teachers, that students cannot grasp the idea of romanticism and trascendentalism. They think it's stupid that some one like Chris would go into the wild and live like that. They said "he must be a pothead" and assume the only people who go out into the woods are stoners.
    Needless to say, I think they live in a world so exposed to electronics and consumer driven goods that they can't think outside their own world to see the other side. Do you guys have any ideas on teaching these 14-15 yr olds to teach outside the box?

    ~Ed

    edsbar, ive got college kids where what youre talking about is still a problem! (different subject matter though) but if i can take a slightly different (and hopefully encouraging) tack than what your question poses. sometimes the seeds we sow take soooooooo long to bear fruit we wonder if we've even sowed them. but i think in many regards we do indeed sow them, even though they may seemingly lay dormant for a long time...so maybe they dont "get" into the wild right now and youre struggling with methods to help them get it but i suspect your efforts will bear fruit down the road, somewhere, sometime, in their lives...

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    Registered User curlyqlink's Avatar
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    Chalk it up to the arrogance of youth. When I was that age, I'd have had no patience for a story like that. Kids usually think they've got the world pretty much figured out, they're judgmental about other people's mistakes, and they don't have a whole lot of sympathy for the foibles of other people. At least I didn't.

    I don't know if I'm recalling the right book... is this the one about a man who goes off into the Alaskan wilderness living in an old bus, and dies over the winter? I seem to remember browsing it in a bookstore but never read it. If so, the kids do kinda sorta have a point: it wasn't the smartest thing the guy could've done. Maybe acknowledging that it wasn't a well thought out plan would help? Try to get them thinking past that? That people do impractical things, and placing blame is not the end of the story?

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    Quote Originally Posted by curlyqlink
    I don't know if I'm recalling the right book... is this the one about a man who goes off into the Alaskan wilderness living in an old bus, and dies over the winter? I seem to remember browsing it in a bookstore but never read it. If so, the kids do kinda sorta have a point: it wasn't the smartest thing the guy could've done. Maybe acknowledging that it wasn't a well thought out plan would help? Try to get them thinking past that? That people do impractical things, and placing blame is not the end of the story?
    Yep, that's the story. And based on this thread it looks like I am the only one around here who sees McCandless's actions as self-centered, selfish, and somewhat immature. This wasn't a story about a guy getting "back to nature" and away from the rat race of society. This was a guy running from life, from the real things of life, like his family, for example. Maybe because I'm a father, I just kept thinking about his parents. I see nothing heroic here or honorable. This guy was a tragedy waiting to happen and I'm not seeing why he should be taught in any way that might promote any kind of emulation.

    Yes, the kids do "kinda sorta have a point." Indeed they do.

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    Yes, he realizes his mistake too late, but on the other hand he marched to his own tune, and didn't cowtow to society. He authenticated his life, and was very nice to people during his travels. Everybody liked him, and wanted to adopt or advise him, but he followed his destiny, which is more than many of us can say. Did seem an excessive loner though, not much on the "doing for others" side.

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