"Dead white guys... again?" This is a question English teachers dread when teaching upper level students. Traditional Literature often doesn't speak to our current student population in a way that is meaningful for them.
Our students need to read about a struggle for independence, a choice between cultures, and what it means to forge your own identity. In The Namesake, the main character feels he must choose between his Bengali heritage and his American upbringing. Through his trials and tribulations, he realizes that his identity is his own to create, and it's not the label, his name, that defines him.
This novel is not currently provided to our students, and yet I am compelled to get this story into their hands. The novel will serve as the crux of a unit on identity, where students will have an opportunity to explore questions about adulthood, culture, diversity, and self-expression.
About my class
"Dead white guys... again?" This is a question English teachers dread when teaching upper level students. Traditional Literature often doesn't speak to our current student population in a way that is meaningful for them.
Our students need to read about a struggle for independence, a choice between cultures, and what it means to forge your own identity. In The Namesake, the main character feels he must choose between his Bengali heritage and his American upbringing. Through his trials and tribulations, he realizes that his identity is his own to create, and it's not the label, his name, that defines him.
This novel is not currently provided to our students, and yet I am compelled to get this story into their hands. The novel will serve as the crux of a unit on identity, where students will have an opportunity to explore questions about adulthood, culture, diversity, and self-expression.
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