Linking
Literature
for the
Student Self
PURPOSE
This website aims to equip secondary language arts teachers with research-based ideas that support and nurture their students' unique identities. Specifically, it provides ideas for contemporary and classic texts that can be paired in ways that provide perspective and opportunities for critical discussion and dialogue.
BACKGROUND
This project delivers actionable ideas from Carla Beuning Obleman's research to fulfill the Master of Arts in Teaching Program at Hamline University. The capstone paper upon which this research is based can be accessed in Hamline University's online library at (link).
ABOUT ME
The human capacity to make meaning through stories fascinates me. As a parent, educator, analyst, and writer, I take personal and professional interest in how literature can affect who we are, how we connect, and how we develop. I've enjoyed a dynamic, writing-intensive career that includes many years of analytical work in banking and finance, the privilege of teaching business and English classes at the high school level, and completing a Master of Arts in Teaching degree at Hamline University.
Carla Beuning Obleman
In my experiences teaching and studying, I saw that texts can affirm how we think, change how we think, make us comfortable or uncomfortable, connected or disconnected, and thus will prompt us to position ourselves in the world. In educational and professional settings, the topic of identity is central to burning questions: "Who am I? What purpose do I have here and what do I contribute to the world for being me?" These questions are ever-present in my life and work, and seem to universally affect people's learning and engagement. Seeking these answers gave me motivation to investigate ways that teachers can use literature to support healthy identity development and inspired this website project.
CONTACT ME