'The Giver' Reading Response 5

After reading these two articles, I have been enlightened to view student-teacher relationships in a different light. Based on Carl Jung's theory about archetypes, these readings describe and analyze three of the many archetypes: hero, trickster, and sage. In the hero narrative, a person, typically younger, endures trials and tribulations which ultimately help all of society. The trickster's narrative is more simple and tends to be perceived as the villain. The trickster's story typically begins with them feeling trapped and then rebelling towards which they may or may not learn anything about themselves. The sage, on the other hand, is a mysterious and yet complicated archetype. The sage is described to typically be physically different, isolated from society, and yet compose "dangerous knowledge" or wisdom. These three archetypes have made me realize how I view certain teachers and even students. In my own experiences, I have been taught by a sage and also a trickster but I have never been taught by a "hero." I do not expect my teacher to be a hero because personally, I do not and have not known my teacher's personal lives enough to declare them as heroes. The heroic journey has been studied and described for hundreds of years and is depicted as having a clear outline. For a teacher to be a hero, not only do their significant others or coworkers have to know about their personal lives, students do too. In most, school settings, the student-teacher relationship is bounded by specific social guidelines and expectations (i.e. no touching or outside relationships). Although, if one understands a teacher's personal life, describing them as a hero can be more appropriate. In the reading, "Exploring the Heroic Teacher Narrative...", the authors argue that teachers can do heroic actions for their students but do all teachers have to as well? In the movie, Freedom Writers, Erin Gruwell decides to help her students by buying new books for them amongst other activities, but in doing so, she needs to get two other jobs outside of being a full-time teacher. Her bravery and willingness to give up her freedom for her students is heroic, although, is it sustainable? Not all teachers are as invested in their students' learning and well-being. With that in mind, the sage is an archetype that is not always the constant hero in people's lives.

The sage archetype has a more flexible role in students' lives. As depicted in countless movies and novels, the sage is an aloof character that does not seem to be interested in all students' lives but instead is focused on one or a few. In The Giver, Harry Potter, and The Hunger Games, the sage characters (The Giver, Professor Dumbledore, and Haymitch Abernathy respectively) all take an interest in a specific character (which is often the hero). Sages act more as mentors in the sense that they help guide people on their own journeys. They do not necessarily care about the life choices of their mentees but rather the overall outcome of which they know their mentees will accomplish.

In terms of applying the sage archetype to teachers, most teachers do not have the time nor are allowed to focus on one student. Although, I wouldn't mind having someone their dedicated to helping me. If I were to be Jonas in The Giver, I would be excited to have someone to experience unfamiliar territory with and I would appreciate their perspectives. Despite this, I am not sure if I would like a student-teacher relationship that is portrayed in The Giver. Most relationships in life are not like Jonas' and the Giver's, for parents often fill in the role of caring for their children the most. Teachers are generally distant from all of their students and do not act as a mentor like the sage archetype. I would appreciate a teacher who had the time to focus on my personal well-being but in the classrooms that we are in today, that is nearly impossible especially when classroom sizes are growing. As mentioned in the reading, "Wisdom, Mystery, and Dangerous Knowledge...", the problem with the sage character is that it insinuates the idea that only certain people are worthy of the sage's attention. In current school settings, I have witnessed teachers being forced to focus on certain students. These students are often the trouble-makers or disrupt the class to the point where the teacher needs to intervene- at least this is what I have experienced. Who is to argue which student is "worthy" enough of the teacher's attention then- if there are students who are more respectful compared to others? In nearly all sage and prodigy relationships, the prodigy already has the ability to express respect, therefore, comparing the sage to teachers is not always adequate. 

Renga, I.P. (2015). Exploring the heroic teacher narrative with help from the trickster. In D.P. Liston & I.P. Renga (Eds.) Teaching, learning, and schooling in film: Reel education. New York, NY: Routledge.

Renga, I.P., & Lewis, M.A. (2018). Wisdom, mystery, and dangerous knowledge: Exploring depictions of the archetypal sage in young adult literature.Study and Scrutiny: Research on Young Adult Literature, 3(1), 25-50. DOI: 10.15763/issn.2376-5275.2018.3.1.25-50