Introduction
Liar.
The word is not capitalized simply because it is the first word in the sentence. And, yes, Liar is a complete sentence since it holds a position in many parts of speech. It is, for example, capitalized because it should be thought of as a proper noun - a nom de plume, standing in place of all of our names. No one wants to touch Liar. It's a leper - contagious and catastrophically hazardous to one's health. It stands isolated while hissing out its venomous deception. It is a noun formed from a verb. It slithers and coils around you, either silencing you or swallowing you whole and making you a part of it. And, if you've ever been on the receiving end of a lie then you understand that the word is also an expletive, totally deserving of its 'four-letter word' status.
When a person makes the claim, "I do not prejudge!" that person is lying. We all prejudge; therefore, we all lie. Prejudging is a survival instinct, but left unchecked, prejudging can lead to our demise. Stereotyping is at the root of prejudice. Stereotyping is the lack of respect for individualized truths. It is a well-masked lie. We make assumptions about the character of another person. We feign superiority. Teachers are routinely guilty of this and we pass it all on to our students. I confess; I, too, am guilty.
It is often difficult to tell the truth, especially for children. In an effort to lead by example and to curtail the perpetuation of my own failings as a teller of non-truths, I have set out to create a unit of study that will allow both my students and me to examine the origins of a habituation of lying that perpetuates stereotypes. Particularly, this unit makes use of the memoir genre to help students to bridge the gulf of imposed stereotypical notions that lead us all to live as liars. No holds barred. No holding back. This unit requires the teacher to limit the amount of answer giving and, instead, to increase the amount of time spent helping students to dig deeply within their own experiences to arrive at their own questions and their own truths.
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