When I first learned about the idea of windows and mirrors in literature, I felt a lightning bolt of recognition. As an English teacher, I appreciate when my class has a shared language around the semester’s enduring questions. Learning a concept early on and returning to it as a metaphor throughout the class discussion and textual investigations, we strengthen early knowledge until it becomes part of our natural conversation that builds community and a sense of belonging.
Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop’s windows and mirror concept presents a simple way to explain and visualize much of what I had studied and believed but clunkily explained in class.
Bishop describes windows and mirrors this way:
Books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange. These windows are also sliding glass doors, and readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created or recreated by the author. When lighting conditions are just right, however, a window can also be a mirror. Literature transforms human experience and reflects it back to us and in that reflection, we can see our lives and experiences as part of the larger human experience. Reading, then, becomes a means of self-affirmation, and readers often seek their mirror in books.
I use this metaphor when I begin planning a unit or syllabus, asking myself if I am providing both windows and mirrors to my students, and I consider how they might interact with the variety of texts. It is an imperfect science, of course, but my reading and film lists have grown in diversity of perspectives in affirming ways.
Students catch the metaphor and make it their own immediately. In class discussion, we take a moment to track our readings and consider individually and collectively whether a text is a window or mirror. If we are leaning heavily towards one or the other, we brainstorm what kinds of stories we might add to balance out the metaphor.
In classes with older students, we do media audits, recoding and categorizing what we read, watch, listen to, and swipe through, noting how many mirrors and windows are in our feed. This exercise is not about shaming or guilting students for what they enjoy; it is to notice and raise awareness so they can become informed and conscientious transmedia consumers. Teachers can participate with students and model the process. It is also helpful to share (or even display if appropriate) some of the cultural content students reported and challenge them to add something from another’s list.
Adopting and sharing this lens with my students has nurtured a sense of belonging in the classroom. More than once, I have students stay after class to express excitement that we are reading about characters or topics that reflect their world. For some of them it is shocking. However, it is important to note that this content expansion should not happen in a vacuum. It is imperative to include students’ perspectives and opinions when choosing materials. I ask them directly and listen closely for recommendations on subjects or stories that have been impactful or transformative in their lives. I also listen to them through in-class writing, casual conversations, and student-to-student discussions. This process has helped ensure I do not offer a banquet of personal mirrors based on my likes. Instead, we build a class filled with windows that stream in light, allowing us to see ourselves and each other more clearly.
Lean more about this framework in Mirrors, Windows and Sliding Glass Doors [pdf] by Dr. .Rudine Sims Bishop
Journeys in Film has created a free printable Windows and Mirrors worksheet that can be used in media audits. Get it from our Teacher Toolkbox: Windows and Mirrors: Media Literacy Classroom Activity.
Written by Amy Bowers