Meeting Diversity with a Multicultural English Elective Course
High school English teachers need to respond to the diversity of cultures that our schools possess, and be open-minded in our construction of the curriculum that English classes should encompass. There is a disconnect between the “core” books that drive curriculum and what really interests students. I am invested in the process of altering the “traditional” English curriculum at a suburban high school north of San Fran implementing a multicultural/ethnic literature course. My research examines student engagement in English classes when multicultural/ethnic texts are included, and whether or not an elective class with such texts would be of interest to students. Several theorists and researchers support multicultural education such as Sonia Nieto, Joan Rasool, Cheryl Curtis, James Banks, and Christine Sleeter to name a few. I am looking to adapt a multicultural approach in the formation of an English elective course. I will anchor my curriculum with the research and theoretical justifications that surround multicultural education, resistance theory, and critical/feminist pedagogies.
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