“He Sits Down on the Floor of a School for the Retarded” by Alden Nowlan
Equity and Ethics He Sits Down on the Floor of a School for the Retarded analysis
Before Reading
- Think about an uncomfortable situation you’ve been in, in particular, a situation in which you were uncomfortable and didn’t know the acceptable behavior.
- It might be a new school or classroom. It might be when you’re the outsider: the only person of your race, language, faith, etc.
- Examine the title. What does this tell us about the subject of the poem?
- What is inclusive language?
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Inclusive language: language that does not degrade, offend, exclude, or stereotype people on the basis of disability, gender, or race. For example, parenting rather than mothering; fair play rather than sportsmanship; letter carrier rather than mailman; chairperson rather than chairman, and so on.
During Reading
- Line 21:
- Why is he feeling ashamed?
- Why is the narrator there at all?
- What will the narrator do to soothe his guilt?
- Listen to what the poem is about. Create three brief sketches to illustrate the sequence of events in the poem.
- Line 53:
- What does the young woman do as they listen to the concert?
- What is the narrator’s reaction?
- What might he mean by the reference to the fence?
- Why does he look around for a teacher?
- Examine Nowlan’s allusions. What connections are there between these allusions and the narrator’s situation?
- Finish reading the poem.
- What does the narrator feel by the end of his visit?
- What has he learned?
- What can we apply from the poem?
Sticky note activity
Write on sticky notes or in the margins if the photocopied text:
? – Question or something that is not understood
! – Something that is interesting or amusing
X – Something that is disliked or that you disagree with
+ – Something that is liked or that you agree with
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