Who Writes Your Story?

Kelly Dickson, a senior Honors student from Rexburg, Idaho is intrigued by the concept of human agency. It shaped her own educational experience, but she has also been researching how teachers can better help youth understand agency in the classroom. In an “unexpected connection,” Kelly is exploring agency by analyzing children’s fantasy—classic, supernatural, apocalyptic, and folklore genres in her Honors thesis. What can these stories tell us about the way we learn about choice and identity from beloved fantasy characters?

Kelly, a major in Elementary Education, has a background of teachers in her life. Her father is a science education professor at BYU-Idaho and her mother is a voice teacher and choir director. However, Kelly discovered her love of teaching on her own. “It’s kind of funny because growing up I never really thought about how my parents were both teachers,” she explained, “and when I was deciding what I wanted to do, I was like, ‘Wow, I think I want to be an elementary school teacher!’ like it was this new amazing thing that I had come up with!” Kelly’s decision to major in Elementary Education was unique and personal to her, and she finds deep fulfillment in her studies.

The Honors program has been another unique experience for Kelly. As an Elementary Education major, her senior year schedule will be filled with teaching in schools so she worked hard to complete Honors requirements ahead of student teaching. Kelly loves that Honors classes focus on integrated learning. She told me that this is a theme in education as well: “That’s valuable in helping you learn how to think and approach the world in a way that doesn’t separate everything, but sees it as interrelated.”

When Kelly was deciding what to research for her thesis, her starting ground was children’s literature—one of her passions. She chose to study “what kinds of books kids like to read, and why and how that helps them develop as learners and as people.” Kelly then narrowed her topic to focus on agency. In children’s fantasy books, she explained, often the children are the heroes and are free from having adults around them telling them what to do. They have more opportunities to make their own choices. “It can be a really powerful example for kids to see themselves as capable of being the heroes of their own life,” Kelly told me. “That’s a really big issue in education because children need to learn how to be agents in their own lives.”

Kelly’s research process is intriguing; thesis research setup differs for each discipline, and education studies have their own flavor. She started by choosing five award-winning fantasy books. After some research about the definition of agency itself, she read each book, took notes, and codified each decision the characters made based on various agentic actions. Some categories include rebellion, compliance with guardian figures, lying, and using storytelling to process life events. She’s currently completing a literature review to see what other researchers are saying in this area. Then her next steps will be to refine the codes and pick out overarching themes.

One of the most inspiring aspects to me about Kelly’s research was the theme of being the author of your own story. Kelly told me about a character in the book Flora and Ulysses who frames her experiences as a heroic comic book and reshapes her life “story.” Eventually, Kelly’s research will bring more fantasy to classrooms, where children need to learn they are in control of their own narrative. The final part of her project will include a discussion section of key takeaways for teachers. Armed with fantasy novels, educators can inspire the rising generation in their own coming-of-age quests.

Kelly has loved working through her thesis research despite the difficulties with tight scheduling. She said she would love to see more education majors in the Honors program, but understands why there are fewer since it’s so hard to work into an already packed schedule. She also hopes for a perspective shift about education majors. “Sometimes people see Elementary Education as not being very hard, academic, or ambitious,” she said. “It’s so important and academically rigorous. Being a good teacher is one of the most important and most difficult jobs that there is. Anytime you do or say anything as a teacher, you might change the world.”

When I asked about her hobbies, Kelly immediately said, “reading!” with a grin. She enjoys books by Diana Wynne Jones (author of Howl’s Moving Castle) and, of course, Harry Potter from her childhood. Music is a big part of her identity, and she was even in the Cougars marching band. She likes rock climbing and roller coasters—despite a fear of heights. In her hobbies as well as her education and thesis, Kelly is pushing beyond boxes and choosing to be what she wants to be. “You’re not limited by what you think other people want you to do,” she told me, and has proved it herself.