I have the most spunky, creative students this side of the Mississippi, and there is never a dull moment in my classroom. Three of the courses I teach are composition classes, which are writing intensive. My students joke that after completing one of my writing courses, they have the stamina to each write their own novel. I have high expectations, but my students always exceed them (and we have a lot of fun, too).
One problem we face is that not all of my students are represented in the literature they are assigned to read in school.
One of my goals for the upcoming school year is to change that. I plan to add more culturally responsive literature to my curriculum so that all students can see themselves in the books that we read.
My Project
We still don't know what school will look like this fall, and I want to be prepared with a captivating and culturally responsive text to kick off the school year. The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater tells the tale of Sasha, a white agender teen, whose skirt was lit on fire while they were riding public transportation. An African American teenager named Richard was charged with this 2013 crime.
Reading The 57 Bus will serve many purposes, but the most important may be the opportunity to discuss inclusion and racism.
Sasha's part of the book includes an explanation of pronouns and terms used to describe a person's gender, sex, and sexuality. Sasha, who attends a private school and prefers the pronoun "they," is readily accepted by their parents and peers. Richard, the African American male accused of lighting Sasha's skirt on fire, is described by his friends and family as a prankster, someone who never meant any harm. He started attending school regularly and was taking great steps toward his graduation before this incident on the bus. I think all teenage males can relate to Richard in one aspect or another.
In addition to being a culturally responsive text with characters who are not always well represented in our classroom literature, the book encourages classroom discussion and questions with no right or wrong answers. It's a captivating true story that will engage students, whether we meet face-to-face or virtually this fall.
Nearly all students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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