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LITR 4332 American Minority Literature Model Assignments Research Project Submissions 2013 research post 1 |
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Jennifer Longoria
Minority Literature in the Classroom
My interest in minority literature has steadily increased as the semester months
progress. From the words of Frederick Douglass to the poetry of the Native
American Indians, this type is literature not only intrigued me but also baffled
me. Now, I say baffled because I have never been exposed to this type of
literature before. The more the class continued, the more I wondered why in my
27 years of living, I have never heard of some of these authors or texts. In
today’s society, our youth can gain so much more knowledge and insight by being
exposed to various types of literature. Each race and culture has their own
distinct voices and distinct stories. As diverse as America has become, why has
the literature we teach in school still remained predominantly white? Am I just
being ignorant and only think minority literature is not being taught. I do not
recall any minority literature in my high school but this may just be a singular
experience by one individual. As such, I decided to set out and research just
how much minority literature was being taught in schools.
I decided to begin my research by interviewing one of my friends who is
an elementary school teacher. I asked her how much literature they read in a
school year and how much literature was written by a minority author. She
informed me that other than reading Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream”
speech, she did not recall any other literature their class had read that was
considered minority literature. When I asked her why none of the literature her
class read, her class being predominantly Mexican American and African American,
was written by a minority author her answer was to shrug her shoulders and reply
“I just don’t know any minority authors, especially any for children’s
literature.” I recall in class a discussion Dr. White brought up suggesting that
many times, minority literature is dismissed because teachers tend to teach
those literary authors and texts that they were exposed to in school. If they
are not exposed to this type of literature, they do not tend to teach it in
their own class. This fact was now staring me in the face. It is not the fact
that there is no minority literature available for elementary schools, but
rather, this type of literature is just not very well known.
After our discussion regarding minority literature in the classroom, my
friend suggested finding a reading list for a high school online and finding out
what literature they were reading so as not to limit myself just to the
elementary school experience. An excellent suggestion, if I do say so myself. I
googled “high school summer reading list” and fell upon Royal Palm Beach High
School’s Summer Reading List 2012-2013. There were many great texts and authors
on this reading list but the only minority authors I found on the list were
available in the 11th and 12th grade. I do commend the
author of this list on their choice of literature altogether. The fact that you
are allowed to read The Hobbit, or
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, or Rick Riordan is amazing and though I
know this is only a summer reading list, I am glad that the types of literature
suggested for reading is so diverse. However, I am curious as to why no minority
authors show up on this list until the 11th grade. Is the
comprehension level of minority literature too great for the 9th and
10th grade or did the author decide to simply challenge those that
are juniors and seniors?
After these two short researches I was left quite unfulfilled as I think
my topic question was a little too broad. Each school is unique and I cannot say
no school is adequately teaching minority literature without performing a very
lengthy research project. However, I daresay that minority literature is still
not being taught as much as one would hope. Andrea Fishman’s essay Blinded by
the Light, suggests that from her experience, many students do not wish to read
minority literature unless they were born into that specific culture. It is sad
to see that our youth are not interested in reading such a great words from so
many different great races and cultures. It is up to the teachers to not only
make this literature available but also create the drive in their students to
want to read as well. Luckily, many teachers wish to incorporate more minority
literature into the classroom and there seems to be more of a push to accomplish
this. How well this has succeeded I cannot even begin to guess. But, I will
consider these individuals to have one more ally in creating an environment
where minority literature is a staple in every school’s curriculum.
Works Cited
Brown, Kayla. Personal Interview. 6 May 2013.
Fishman, Andrea. "Blinded by the Light."
The English
Journal. National Council of Teachers of English, 1996. Web. 6 May.
2013.
Royal PalmBeach High School Summer Readin List http://www.rpbhs.org/pdf/Summer%20Reading%20List%202012%20-%202013.pdf
