Met a guy at a party tonight who is an English lit teacher at a Catholic high school. He's teaching 100% books written by men about male protagonists. Further, all the authors are deceased.
I asked why he's teaching those books in particular and he said...
I asked why he's teaching those books in particular and he said...
... because those were the books they had classroom sets of when he got his job.
I offered to buy his class any book he wanted to teach.
I offered to buy his class any book he wanted to teach.
And I told him I didn't want to tell him what books to teach, but that I'd like to challenge him to ask himself WHY he isn't teaching anything written by women, featuring female main characters, or the work of living authors.
I will donate the books, write the school a check, and/or attend the next school board meeting and advocate for changes to the curriculum if it means furthering the cause of parity in curriculum.
Assigning titles to today's youth "because these books are what we've always read" isn't a good enough answer anymore.
What's the goal of teaching literature?
Are the books we're assigning as required reading really supporting the goal?
What's the goal of teaching literature?
Are the books we're assigning as required reading really supporting the goal?
