Chasing Personal Meaning: Pedagogical Lessons through Always Running

Abstract

In this autobiographical narrative, the author recounts her experiences teaching the novel Always Running with her English classes at a high school in a gang heavy area. When she first started teaching, this teacher struggled to engage students. One particularly disruptive student requested to read Always Running, but the teacher initially resisted teaching the text. However, student interest in the novel endured, and the teacher finally decided to take a risk and teach it. She used the novel in both her freshmen “intervention” and junior English classes. Throughout the resulting lessons, the teacher formed meaningful relationships with her students and both she and they learned valuable lessons about academic content, themselves and humanity. Amidst the unit’s success, the teacher wrote a grant to bring the book’s author, Luis Rodriguez, to speak to the campus. His visit served to deepen the novel’s impact and emphasize the importance of finding personal meaning.