While many upper-class students may remember their time in English 10 as the year in which they read “To Kill a Mockingbird” and having a thrilling unit with the “Bear Brook” podcast, there is a unit that is often swept under the rug, though being arguably one of the most influential.
English teacher Bailey Eckert explained that the unit of literary circles focusing on different books is so that students can “[focus] on empathy and being able to entertain a thought or idea without necessarily agreeing to it.”
“It” being the contents of the books which may be seen controversial, as many of the books that can be selected by students have faced the possibility of being banned. Among these books are “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas and “The 57 Bus” by Dashka Slater.
Many, if not all, of these books openly address issues such as racial discrimination and gender identity which in turn has landed them on banned books lists across the nation.
More and more often, books such as the ones above, as well as books that were once predominantly taught in schools have not only been removed from the curriculums, but also wiped from school shelves.
Eckert stated that reading about different perspectives gives students the opportunity to view the world around them through a different lens, and furthermore create more empathy between students and others around them. She furthermore states that even if students could not relate to the characters in the novel, learning how a person may deem a certain situation is an important skill to have.
“In order to be kind, knowledgeable members of society, it is important to learn about various experiences and consider how people might feel in those situations,” expressed Eckert.
