Bronx Masquerade Research Paper

For decades, high school students have been reading great works of literature ranging from William Shakespeare to John Steinbeck. Usually these works are read under pressure which frustrates students and teachers. This leads to detachment from reading. Unfortunately, people don’t realize that these works are modern outside of school and still have literary excellence. Although Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire is not a part of the typical canon of high school literature, it is still a worthwhile book to read.

The teen fiction genre has exploded in the past two decades with a variety of authors producing compelling, relatable works for America’s adolescent market. However, many school systems seem to relegate modern literature to summer reading or book fairs while holding on the traditional lesson plans. While educators are justifiably hesitant to allow modern pop literature to join the ranks of masters, the sixth grade curriculum is lacking in relatable, modern poetry. Kwame Alexander’s The Crossover will fill this void in the curriculum. Alexander exposes preteens to emotionally explosive poetry that blends traditional middle school poetic devices such as alliteration, rhyme scheme and figurative language with twists

Another big point in Prose’s essay is the assignments associated with high school literature. She argues that teachers make students write around the books and not about the books they read. “No wonder students are rarely asked to consider what was actually written by these hopeless racists and sociopaths. Instead, they’re told to write around the book, or, better yet, write their own books,” (430). The assignments that teachers give these days are nto about the book or the story itself. They usually ask the student to rewrite the ending, or ask what the student would do if they were in the same situation as the character. Prose argues that high school students are seen as having the same experience as some of the characters they read about, such as Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby. “And is it any wonder that

There were many diverse aspects to this book. Most of this book is a recall from either the main character, or one of his students. This book is intended to open people’s eyes to see that in order to change the world we must first change ourselves. Being able to go through this story and see the mistakes, and the good decisions, teachers in Michie’s life have made, has taught me that the best way to teach is through love, justice, cultural empathy and imagination. Some of the points brought up in this book include the positive and negative sides of physical contact with a student, classification/stereotyping, race, gangs, police brutality/lack of justice, and children not being able to escape peer pressure.

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson today proclaimed that a Flatbush teenager has been prosecuted for murder and affiliated charges coming from the lethal shooting of a 38 year old father who was trying to retrieve his son's baseball cap supposedly stolen a few days prior to the shooting.

By the early 1990s, the South Bronx had changed. On my visits home from an upstate community college, I noticed that more and more neighborhoods had dried up. The “crackheads” and “crack whores” were gone, along with the drug peddlers who had barked:Red Top! Gold Top! I got Blue!Someone had cleaned the streets, dusting the drug dealers and drug users off the planet, leaving the South Bronx a ghost town.Coño, que pasó?By the early 1990s, the South Bronx had changed. On my visits home from an upstate community college, I noticed that more and more neighborhoods had dried up. The “crackheads” and “crack whores” were gone, along with the drug peddlers who had barked:Red Top! Gold Top! I got Blue!Someone had cleaned the streets, dusting the drug

Many of the students found the reading assignments to be the most enjoyable part of the class. Each of the books were relatable in some way or another. River City Empire by Orville Menard revealed to students the untold history of Omaha’s political past. The book illustrated parts of Omaha that are still around today. Students could easily visualize these areas and recognize what has changed throughout time and what hasn’t. The same goes for Willa Cather’s novel One of Ours and Friday Night Lights by Buzz Bissinger. While reading, students were able to compare the stories and put them into context based on their own past experiences. Unlike River City Empire, One of Ours and Friday Night Lights depict the small town vibe where time really has stood still. These books proved to be significant in following class discussions, because frankly some people are still unaware of the societal realities within their own state. And for those who were never familiar with Nebraska and Great Plains culture, it was lesson over how the progressive, 21st century ideology really hadn’t

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck portrays a story about human dignity. Maya Angelou's poem "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" displays a caged bird who deeply yearns for freedom. Both texts share a common theme: The feeling of being unloved is the most terrible hardship.

Edgar Allen Poe, Mark Twain, Washington Irving, and W.W. Jacobs are some of the best American authors in history, and they are all featured in this performance. This experience will help us learn to understand American literature better. This would also provide exposure to literature that all other kids enrolled in St. Marys Catholic Middle School have. The performance will help us better understand the art of portraying a character. It would be fantastic to see American literature live in

Her self-esteem was easily crushed and it took a song by the valedictorian to remind her of who she was. After that she was motivated to prove Donleavy wrong because her education would help her become as successful as any white man. She didn’t wait and become successful as a writer, dancer, public speaker and civil rights leader.

What makes an individual special from anyone else? Is it their physical attributes, their upbringing, perhaps the effect of their environment? All of these things are the just the beginning layers of what encompasses a person’s identity. Identity is the knowledge of who we are and what groups we belong to, and unfortunately, it is not easily determined from person to person. It is a complex, developmental process that begins at birth and continues throughout an individual’s life (Sheets). One’s identity makes every individual unique, and this uniqueness facilitates growth by exchanging philosophies, ideas, and knowledge. Consequently, the most essential environment for these exchanges to occur is within a classroom. In Gregory Michie’s novel, Holler If You Hear Me, he accounts his time spent teaching inner city middle schools in Chicago. During his time in the Chicago Public School System, conflict of identity between teacher and student is present, which ultimately leads him to assess his teaching methods and reevaluate the processes he uses to connect with his students. Because the identities of his students differ from his own, Michie implements cultural relevant and sustaining pedagogy in his classroom in order to combat the students’ apathy, boredom, and lack of interest in school. There is importance in the way in which student and teacher identities intersect, and throughout Michie’s novel he demonstrates that by bringing in material that relates to the students’

There are a group of students from Woodrow Wilson Classical High School who were apart of the new integration plan following the L.A Riots in 1994. Due to the unfamiliar school setting, students separated themselves into different groups: the Latinos, the African-Americans, and the Caucasian. A new caucasian teacher, Erin Gruwell, comes to the school to teach English to the Freshman and Sophomore class. Before the school year started, the Principal handed Erin Gruwell a list of students who were failing English, the majority of the students had grades in the fifties. Seeing the scores, made her realize that the students needed a great deal of work in order to improve their reading, the mass majority were reading at the 5th-grade level and were the freshman class in High School.

Over the years, across the United States, thousands of books are being banned/challenged, especially in schools. Although some of the books are a requirement to be read in an English class, parents often question the negativity some of the books have. On the other hand, the books that are banned are from within the schools and libraries. Several of the books that are being removed are often the right ones with just a little inappropriate things. To read some of the books, you need to be mature about it. High school students are not always ready for a book that will have a couple of negativity in it, but it does tell a story that can always relate to someone.

Maya Angelou is courageous because she fell silent, but she still managed to find her voice through writing. Growing up in the South as an African-American female in the 30's-40's is complex because of all the racial injustices that happened day to day. Maya Angelou was sexually assaulted at the age of eight by her mother's boyfriend (Biography.com). This was only the beginning. Angelou confided in her brother, Bailey, and her uncle found out. Her rapist was then found severely beaten; as a result, she fell silent for five years and blamed herself for the situation. Angelou was sure of the fact that her uncle was the one killed her rapist, and she could not stand for this. She took the burden of going mute because it was her words that caused a life to be taken. Consequently, Angelou voiced her experiences through poetry because no one could take this away from her. Another example of being courageous is how she overcame the sexual assault. While being silent for five years, she studied writing. Her most famous piece is "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." This book was about her traumatic childhood experiences and how she overcame them. Angelou's story became known as the first nonfiction best-seller by an African-American woman (Biography.com). Maya Angelou has a lot of bravery for falling silent and then soaring through the clouds with success.

"A Wagner Matinee," by Willa Cather is a powerful short story encompassing many themes, the