I appreciate the responses (both personal and to the list) about the
AP English situation.The teacher was responsive to my request for
more diversity. He said he would replace one of the books by Zora
Neale Hurstons' book, "Their Eyes Are Watching God" and another book
by an Englishman. Progress is slow, but it does come.
Some people thought I should judge the whole curriculum. As a matter
of fact, in three years at this high school, I think the English
curriculum only included one major work by an author of color. He
came as a sophomore, so I don't know what would have happened at his
freshman year, but I doubt that it would have been much different.
Concerning the people who have said that the College Board and the
NCTE should not be blamed for this situation. I did not mean to blame
anyone, but I think someone needs to take responsibility for what is
happening and will happen in the future. A good policy is not
sufficient to overcome racial and gender bias. The educational
leaders in this area will need to take action to see to it that
centuries of racial and gender bias are overcome. It won't happen by
just writing good principles in a document.
Some questions:
Has NCTE or the College Boards done a study on what is actually being
taught in AP English around the country? I would be surprised (and
delighted) to find out that my son's class is a rarity.
Has the College Board attempted to ensure that the curriculum
includes authors of color and women? I know that in my son's AP
Calculus class and AP Government class there is a very prescribed
curriculum. At open house, both teachers said they spend most of
their time teaching directly to the AP test - much to my
consternation. So I assume the College Board could ensure that the
curriculum is diverse if they chose to.
What kind of professional development is being offered English
teachers on multicultural literature? On eliminating racism and
sexism?
Julian Weissglass
Director, National Coalition for Equity in Education
(http://www.math.ucsb.edu/NCEE)
CECIMS/MATHUniversity of California, Santa Barbara, Ca 93106
Phone: 805-893-7722
Fax: 805-893-2190
email: weissgla@math.ucsb.edu
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