Thursday, May 28, 2015

CHICAGOLAND: Schools purge ‘white male’ authors from required reading lists

CHICAGOLAND: Schools purge ‘white male’ authors from required reading lists - EAGnews.org
CHICAGO – Chicago area schools are replacing white male authors on student reading lists with minority and women authors who delve into themes like power, justice, humanity and social responsibility.
“I think yes, book lists in schools are sexist, but I don’t think it’s the school’s fault,” senior Sarah Eiden told the Gapers Block Book Club blog.
“I think it’s because we still think good literature is only written by white males, which simply isn’t true.
I do see though that teachers are trying to change that.”
...Those changes include books like “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” which is actually a fictionalized story about a 14-year-old Native American teen that attends a mostly white high school with themes of alcoholism, sexuality, violence and bullying, according to the blog.
Other titles like “Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A.” focuses on gang life, unemployment, drug addiction, incarceration and suicide.
“But in the end, it’s a positive, uplifting story of a man who realizes his potential as a Chicano activist and artist and manages to turn his life around,” Gapers Block reports.
“This book gives readers a raw look at what it meant to be Latino in Los Angeles during the ‘80s and how community involvement can truly impact marginalized groups.....”

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