I am lucky enough to teach in a diverse, arts-focused, Title 1 charter high school in Woonsocket, RI. Our students are creative and welcoming, and every day I feel lucky to get to work with them. We take kids from all over the state and literally have students who live on farms seated next to students from the inner city. In my mind, our diversity is our greatest strength, and it is a joy to see students become more open, confident, and empathetic over the course of their four years at our school. In addition, our school is a haven for LGBTQ students, special ed students, and students who have endured trauma. Our school is often the first time they've felt safe, seen, valued, and cared for by their school.
We are so rich in so many beautiful things, but, unfortunately, our students do not have access to high quality literature, especially that is relevant to them and to their cultural experiences.
Too often our students come into my English class thinking that literature is not for them, mainly because of the types of books they have been exposed to throughout their schooling. I want to change this!
My Project
Everyday, I have students tell me that they do not "read" and books are not their "thing." Sometimes, they tell me they haven't finished a book since elementary school. I understand where they are coming from, but every time my heart breaks a little. Our kids are smart, they have potential, they are creative, they are good people: how can reading not be for them? Reading is so important to students' development -- as students and as citizens of a complex world -- and I know that not reading is only hurting them more and more each year.
It's hard to change their minds when my school does not even have a library.
Neither my students nor I can afford to buy the books that could actually help them believe they are readers. When they can't see these books, they don't believe they exist. I have given students books out of my own personal library because I knew what it could do for that student; however, I'm unable to do the same for everyone.
Too many of my students have been discouraged because they have not seen themselves reflected in the literature shown to them. Most of their English classes have centered around "canonical" literature, mostly written by straight, cisgendered white men. My students do not look like the characters in these books, and they do not sound like the characters in these books. Those books are important, but so are my students, and I need help showing them that.
I cannot wait to hand each kid the perfect book and to create a culture of reading at our school. I cannot wait to see the look on students' faces when they come to tell me they finished their first book in years.
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