Help support Mrs. Forcum's Classroom

If you were to step into the textbook/core text room in any number of high schools today, you would notice a number of similarities. You would notice a slew of titles like "All Quiet on the Western Front", "The Great Gatsby", "The Sun Also Rises", "Of Mice and Men", "1984", "To Kill a Mockingbird", and "Romeo and Juliet". I imagine that you, regardless of your current age, read some of these books when you were in school. The most recent book on this list (and coincidentally, the only one written by a woman), "To Kill a Mockingbird", was published in 1960. None of these novels feature BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) protagonists. Any BIPOC characters in these novels are victims of oppression (in part because all of them live before the civil rights movement in the US), and none see justice. These books have value and speak to many people; however, these stories cannot continue to be the only literary models our diverse students have. In the wake of so many tragedies involving Black men and inequities in the US justice system, we cannot stand by and allow this teachable moment to pass unacknowledged. But we need a literary jumping-off point, and we think "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson is the perfect place to start. Reading this novel with our tenth-grade students will help guide kids to think critically about race and power in the United States.

About my class

If you were to step into the textbook/core text room in any number of high schools today, you would notice a number of similarities. You would notice a slew of titles like "All Quiet on the Western Front", "The Great Gatsby", "The Sun Also Rises", "Of Mice and Men", "1984", "To Kill a Mockingbird", and "Romeo and Juliet". I imagine that you, regardless of your current age, read some of these books when you were in school. The most recent book on this list (and coincidentally, the only one written by a woman), "To Kill a Mockingbird", was published in 1960. None of these novels feature BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) protagonists. Any BIPOC characters in these novels are victims of oppression (in part because all of them live before the civil rights movement in the US), and none see justice. These books have value and speak to many people; however, these stories cannot continue to be the only literary models our diverse students have. In the wake of so many tragedies involving Black men and inequities in the US justice system, we cannot stand by and allow this teachable moment to pass unacknowledged. But we need a literary jumping-off point, and we think "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson is the perfect place to start. Reading this novel with our tenth-grade students will help guide kids to think critically about race and power in the United States.

�ǿմ�ý

Help teachers & students in your hometown this season!
Use code HOME at checkout and your donation will be matched up to $100.

Mrs. Forcum's Classroom

Support her classroom with a gift that fosters learning.

Support Mrs. Forcum's classroom with a gift that fosters learning.

About my class

About my class

�ǿմ�ý

Help teachers & students in your hometown this season! Use code HOME at checkout and your donation will be matched up to $100.

Mrs. Forcum's Classroom

Support her classroom with a gift that fosters learning.

Support Mrs. Forcum's classroom with a gift that fosters learning.

About my class

About my class

Help teachers & students in your hometown this season!
Use code HOME at checkout and your donation will be matched up to $100.