Here is a question that some of us may encounter from time to time:
Hi Ben,
First of all, thanks for the Invisibles. They do work and all the support in writing, in the FB page and via Tina’s videos make possible that other teachers (like me) learn how to use them.
So my question is and what if the students make dark connections between the characters? So I had the baguette, perfect. Then came the round box with fried chicken legs and wings… Except that because they were fried, they were naturally dead. From there to say the story of the second character developed into an unhappy/furious character because of the dead of his chicken’s friends at the hands of the first character… Well the story was one of murder. And I went along. And the students were super ultra mega engaged.
I should have changed the course of the story, but I went with the students. Am I to blame?
Here in the attachment characters 1, 2 with their description made in class and the story with the comic. Oh dear!
Best wishes from NZ,
Margarita
PS: These students are in French 1 and they have only 7 weeks of French.
I responded:
Wow they are doing Invisible stories, not just one word images, in a 7th grade exploratory course. You are to be congratulated. That really is an achievement.
In my opinion yes you are to blame as the adult. When things get dark, and the kids don’t know it (how can they when the whole world is so dark now everywhere these days, somebody has to step in as the adult).
Your inner radar to dark things like this, dark developments in the story, has to be turned up a bit. That’s all. I have been “there” many times. No blame. Before you know it the story is over and it happened that way.
The moment my “dark content radar” goes off I go right into English saying “This is making me uncomfortable.” And if they protest and/or can’t take it somewhere else, I just stop the story and give a dictee (it sends a message) and drop the entire story.