Beyond the Textbook

 Every day is a chance to learn something new. We know this as educators, but how do we model this behavior in the classroom? Do we teach the same texts year after year because it is "safe" and it's "easy?" While reading Ambyr Rios' published piece in Kansas English, "The Kansas Literary Canon: A Study of Texts Taught in High School English Courses," it appears that many teachers forget trying to teach new, engaging books and opt instead of something they have done for years or something that has been done for many years by educators of the past. In a study done by Rios, the top 20 most popular books being taught in Kansas ELA classrooms are books written by white, (mostly) male authors (29-30). 

As someone who wants to teach their students for the future, I would want my students to read diverse texts and expose them to unique ways of storytelling. Incorporating these diverse texts will help students feel seen and heard in a classroom that encourages people to be different. However, just as we want our students to be open to new experiences and perspectives, we as teachers must also be willing to take a step forward to do so as well. Trying new things can be scary, but it can also be relieving after you just made yourself vulnerable to something new and enjoyed it. In my own curriculum, I don't want to ignore the literary canon, find unique themes or different ways to connect these old texts to the new generation. Students don't get an easy way out, just as teachers shouldn't get the easy way out of doing the same teaching year after year.

Another way to bring social justice and complex issues into the classroom, besides diverse book selection, is to get involved in the community. Throughout another course this semester, I learned about ICT Food Rescue. A non-profit organization that rescues food that was going to be thrown out. This rescued food is then redistributed to many places around Wichita to help community members. Not only did we do research on this organization, but we worked with them. This opportunity elevated my learning, instead of just reading about this organization, we had the founder come into our classroom with pictures of rescued food and them redistributing it to the community. The whole process of working with them highlighted the importance of making learning "real" to students. We can discuss inequality and read about it in books, but some students have a hard time connecting book to real life. One thing I want to try in my future is connecting my choice texts to real-world social justice issues and making opportunities for service learning projects.

With a plethora of options to engage students with complex issues, there are many options teachers can take to ensure their students stay interested in these texts. Along with debates and in-class discussions about these complex issues, I also want to build a classroom community of collaboration, peer teaching, and reflection. These topics may be difficult to bring up in class, but looking at GLSEN's National School Climate Survey, my first priority, as the adult in the room, is to make sure that there isn't anything being said that is harmful or aggressive. With a diversifying world, looking at this report, I was hoping to see a decrease in the percentages of harassment and hate, I was shocked (to say the least) that there is more hate in the world towards people of the LGBTQ+ community.