How Do We Develop Rationales?

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How to Write a Rationale

Adapted from SLATE Starter Sheet, NCTE, April 1994

Jean E. Brown, Saginaw Valley State University, Michigan

Region 4 Representative to the SLATE Steering Committee

The purpose of this Starter Sheet is to help teachers and English language arts departments to develop

rationales for the literature they use in their classrooms. It is organized into three areas: What is a

rationale? Why develop them? How do we develop rationales?

What is a Rationale?

We frequently hear the term rationale defined as a justification for doing something. Certainly that

perspective is a vital one as we explore the need for developing rationales for books or other instructional

material. Both Diane Shugert (1979) and Margaret Sacco (1993) advocate writing and keeping a file of

rationales in advance as a defense against potential censorship. We will frame the discussion in a

broader context, describing the overriding role of rationales in classroom planning. Teachers must make

decision about what they will teach and how they will then teach it, decisions that will achieve their

purposes and address their students' needs. The value of developing a rationale is that it provides a

framework for this planning.

A rationale is the articulation of the reasons for using a particular literary work, film, or teaching method.

Minimally, a rationale should include:

 a bibliographic citation and the intended audience

 a brief summary of the work and its educational significance

 the purposes of using the work and how it will be used

 potential problems with the work and how these can be handled

 alternative works an individual student might read or view

Shugert (1979) identifies criteria for assessing rationales. Among these guidelines are that they are well

thought out, avoid specialized technical jargon, are specific and thorough, and are written so that they will

be readily understood by teachers who use the work. These and other components of rationales will be

explored in the section on Guidelines for Writing a Rationale.

Why Develop a Rationale?

Rationale development should be part of thoughtful planning for classroom instruction. If we have not

reflected on the whys of what we teach, we will be unprepared to meet the needs and challenges of our

students and to respond to potential complaints, either from parents or from others in the community who

seek to influence the curriculum.

While rationales are important in every aspect of teaching, we will focus here on the need for welldeveloped

rationales for books used in the classroom--whether in whole-class instruction, small-group

work, or classroom libraries. Teachers who make curricular decisions based upon mere expediency leave

themselves vulnerable. Problems can be averted by carefully analyzing the audience (the students), the

school, and the community and taking into full account the most effective means for meeting students'

interests and educational needs.

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How Do We Develop Rationales?

Teachers are frequently advised to have a written rationale for every book that they use. Realistically, this

issue might be better addressed in a less absolute way by exploring four levels of rationale development.

In an ideal situation, teachers would automatically write a rationale for every book that they teach, assign,

including on a reading list, or keep in their classroom libraries. But mandating teachers to take on such a

task when they are already overburdened is unrealistic and unreasonable. If teachers were required to

write rationales for every book, many might simply stick to their literature anthologies and even avoid

potentially controversial selections in those books. So while Shugert (1979, pp. 190-91) rightly cautions

about using shortcuts to rationales, we do suggest options in the belief that the circumstances and

conditions will determine what the teachers will do at any time.

A brief written statement of purpose for using a particular book--the why for using it and where it will fit in

the curriculum. This is prepared by individual teachers based on the students, school, and community

noted above and on curricular and instructional objectives and needs. At this level of rationale writing it is

essential for teachers to have a written statement. Just thinking about the reason is not enough to

demonstrate thoughtful planning, if a protest should arise, nor does it provide teachers with opportunities

to be reflective about their decisions.

The second level involves a more detailed accounting through use of forms. Figure 1 and figure 2 show

sample forms from the Connecticut Council of Teachers of English (Shugert, 1979, pp. 192-93). These

samples provide two approaches--the first for an individual teacher to complete and the second for

department