Change what we teach or the way we teach? (2016)

Undergraduate: Abigail Evans

Faculty Advisor: Patrick Akos
Department: English & Comparative Literature

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The high school English literary canon consists of eight or nine novels that have been read since 1928 and are taught in current classrooms. These works are written by white European or American authors ranging from William Shakespeare to Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Common Core provides a list of book suggestions citing textual complexity for teachers which includes largely canonical literature. The canon is criticized for the lack of diversity and lack of connection students have to the authors and characters. The lack of diversity and ability to relate in classroom literature causes a decline of interest in reading for students, creating a classroom environment where students fail to practice critical thinking or literacy skills. While the debate of the canon in Common Core is complex, this project explores two solutions. One solution is to teach the novels already in the canon through different approaches, such as New Historicism lens or any other literary theory. The other is to replace or add more diverse authors including more young adult novels to the canon. This paper examines the two choices through research, classroom observation, and interviews with teachers. This argument is just one piece of the national Common Core debate in American and illustrates the complexity of change of established teaching method or resources.