Minority Authors Inthe Classroom
Minority Authors Should be introduced in the classroom
In talking about the kinds of literature students are reading in the classrooms, one only needs to look back on their own high school education to find the books that are considered “canonical” in Ontario classrooms. Works commonly cited will be Shakespeare, Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” and Golding’s “The Lord of the Flies”. As you can see in Table 1 (Stability and Change in the high school canon, Applebee, 28), while the percentage they are used is varied, the same book titles reappear in the classrooms.
However popular these works are in classrooms, and by no means disputing their importance in the literary canon, there is one overarching theme that can be recognized, and could be considered concerning – the lack of women and minorities within the works taught in school. According to Applebee, “Strong voices have argued that the English curriculum is white, male, and Eurocentric, marginalizing the contributions of women and of people from other cultural traditions. Equally strong voices have reasserted the values of a traditional liberal education, arguing that the curriculum in English has already been diluted too much” (Applebee p.27). While a debate could ensue arguing these two points relentlessly, the purpose of this Wiki is not to debate which side is better, but to look into the strategies of implementing the work of women and minorities into the classroom, as well as their place in the literary canons of today.
-Arthur N. Applebee
Minority Authors should be included in the classroom because it gives hope to those students who are included as a minority, it will motivate minority students to take school more serious, and it will give those underrated minority authors the recognition they deserve.
“Hope is the emotional state which promotes the belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life.” (Wikipedia) This quote
In talking about the kinds of literature students are reading in the classrooms, one only needs to look back on their own high school education to find the books that are considered “canonical” in Ontario classrooms. Works commonly cited will be Shakespeare, Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” and Golding’s “The Lord of the Flies”. As you can see in Table 1 (Stability and Change in the high school canon, Applebee, 28), while the percentage they are used is varied, the same book titles reappear in the classrooms.
However popular these works are in classrooms, and by no means disputing their importance in the literary canon, there is one overarching theme that can be recognized, and could be considered concerning – the lack of women and minorities within the works taught in school. According to Applebee, “Strong voices have argued that the English curriculum is white, male, and Eurocentric, marginalizing the contributions of women and of people from other cultural traditions. Equally strong voices have reasserted the values of a traditional liberal education, arguing that the curriculum in English has already been diluted too much” (Applebee p.27). While a debate could ensue arguing these two points relentlessly, the purpose of this Wiki is not to debate which side is better, but to look into the strategies of implementing the work of women and minorities into the classroom, as well as their place in the literary canons of today.
-Arthur N. Applebee
Minority Authors should be included in the classroom because it gives hope to those students who are included as a minority, it will motivate minority students to take school more serious, and it will give those underrated minority authors the recognition they deserve.
“Hope is the emotional state which promotes the belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life.” (Wikipedia) This quote