Toni Morrison's Bluest Eye

My Students

Nobel Prize winning author Toni Morrison writes literature delicately balanced on that fine line of traditional canon versus non-traditional canon. For this reason and many others, including thematic richness, cultural relevance, and intellectual challenge, we will delve into her first novel.

The first high school for African American students West of the Mississippi, ours is one of rich historical legacy.

Unfortunately, for years, we have slipped alongside many urban inner city public schools. Our test scores, graduation rates, and drop rates were among the worst in the state for the past few years. But, this year's seniors are a notable departure from classes of the past. Eager, engaged, supportive of each other, and large in number, they are determined to change the numbers that judge them and their community.

My Project

For students in AP, one of the numbers they are aiming to surpass is "3". For many colleges and universities, a score of 3 on the AP Exam will count toward Freshman 100 Literature and will guarantee my students a moment's step ahead of their peers. More concretely, a score of 3 represents the preparedness with which these students will enter college. Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye provides us with a great opportunity to examine, read, and write about important, complex, artful literature. It is the richness of texts like these that will enable us to prepare for the upcoming AP Exam, prepare for Freshman 100 Literature classes in college, and develop overall critical reading and writing skills.

I began teaching in 2007 with a schedule full of freshman students.

This year, those same freshman are the graduating class of 2011. More than 30 of those students are in one of two AP English Lit. sections. They tease me about my upcoming graduation, "Mr. B, you getting ready for graduation this May?" I nod, smile, and remind myself that for three years I've told them I would "graduate" with them, that when they complete their four years, I will complete mine. We all see the stage. Do you?