The Shakerite VOL 91 ISSUE I

A DIVERSE STUDENT BODY CALLS FOR DIVERSE CURRICULUM
C
harlotte Bronte. F. Scott Fitzgerald.
John Steinbeck. These are just a
few of the authors that most Shaker
Heights High School students will
read during their four years here.
Students will learn about the heroes
of the Revolutionary War, the kings who ruled
Europe, the poems of Emily Dickinson. They will
learn about white culture, history and literature
from white voices.
Depending on the classes a student chooses,
they will read a minimal amount of Black literature.
Before the district eliminated levels at the
high school this year, honors English students did
not read a Black-authored novel until studying
Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching
God” in the tenth grade. Teachers note that Hurston’s
novel was criticized by other Black authors
of the Harlem Renaissance
because it was so easily embraced
by a white audience.
They argued that Hurston’s
work did not represent the
Black experience and that
it appeased white readers
because it did not challenge
their stereotypes of Black
people.
Despite that critique, we should still read
Hurston’s book. However, because of that critique,
it should not be one of the few books by a Black
author to appear in the curriculum. Black literature
is vast and diverse. Our curriculum should
integrate Black authors into every English class to
truly embrace Black literature and teach students
about the world in which they’re growing up.
Black stories are also too rarely taught in history
classes. For example, all freshmen are required
to take Global Studies, a class encompassing global
history. But some events studied in this class, such
as the French Revolution and World War I, repeat
throughout a students’ time in the district. Both
of these examples are taught again to juniors who
take AP European History and AP World History.
Education is the
first step to an
antiracist society.
It is vital that students study these events, but it is
not worth relearning them at the expense of other
important stories.
Sophomore year, students have the chance to
learn Black American stories when they take U.S.
History, but most classes don’t cover these stories
deeply. Instead, students learn about the founding
fathers and the World Wars. Teachers discuss
the brutality of slavery, Jim Crow and the war on
drugs, but in less depth than necessary to fully
understand how these events contribute to the institutionalized
racism of today. Black accomplishment,
which was vital to the growth of America, is
also hard to find in the curriculum.
Students can study AP U. S. History during the
sophomore year, and there is often pressure to do
so. Because the class is governed by the College
Board and the AP exam at the end of the year,
teachers can’t individually
change the curriculum to
broaden the range of events
and perspectives studied.
Students who choose the
course to gain college credit
and prestige may miss out
on learning a vital part of
history. The district must
put more emphasis on being a well-rounded learner,
instead of one who just takes difficult classes
to fill up a college application. The College Board
and AP exams are not going anywhere, so it is
imperative that the school uses the resources and
time available to teach Black history. Shaker must
require all students to take a class that focuses on
Black American history. Perhaps a semester long,
scheduled opposite Health. Doing so would mean
all students would learn Black history rather than
relying on teachers to fit it into existing courses.
Junior year, students are given their first opportunity
to take a history class that focuses less
on white history. They can choose to take AP World
History and learn about African kingdoms, the
Mongols, global revolutions and other topics that
are important but brand new to most students. AP
Spring 2021 THE SHAKERITE 49