Humanity, Empathy, Internalized Racism & The Bluest Eye
My students need 65 copies of "The Bluest Eye", as the school only has 40 available, for a very powerful and important unit on humanity, empathy, and internalized racism.
The beauty of literature is how it has the power to show us the world around us and reveal to us profound truths. "The Bluest Eye" is a beautiful, powerful, and popular text at my school, but we cannot afford enough copies for my students, who would be so moved by this book.
My students are brilliant!
I teach a very diverse group of 10th graders in one of the most under-funded, high-need districts in California. They represent a variety of backgrounds and experiences, and they crave materials that will engage their intelligence and curiosity, but also materials with which they can identify. They are critical thinkers and are keenly aware of the injustices that they face daily and the numerous ways their schools are failing them and their community. We draw from the entire city, so we have students who have experienced the worst of racism and poverty as well as students who live comfortable, affluent lives. They are learning to understand each other and find their commonalities.
My Project
"The Bluest Eye" is a deeply moving novel that will get my students thinking about the idea of internalized racism and the subtle messages of our culture. Many students often feel that they aren't represented in what we read; Toni Morrison's work is inspiring and important for all races, while bringing a unique African-American voice to the curriculum. We will be able to utilize some documentaries and non-fiction texts that I have on hand, students will make their own creative identity projects to help them find their voices, and we will work with the text in the kind of in-depth analysis that students need to excel with the new Common Core standards and in their future college careers. There are many rich resources for "The Bluest Eye" and it was one of the most popular units in the 10th grade curriculum last year, but we do not have enough books for all my students to read this valuable text.
This project will give many students a voice, and it will help give words to experiences that they see or feel every day living in an underprivileged urban community.
It will help build bridges between races and classes in the classroom. Furthermore, it will inspire them with the passion that is beautiful, moving literature.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Pustell and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.