Aurora Needs more Cultural Diversity in the Classroom

There is an exhausting amount of articles (as the never ending scroll onlines, when researching for this article, demonstrates) proving over and over again that reading improves empathy as Owlcation mentions, “The act of reading fiction gets people to see things from a different point of view and gets the reader to have more empathy along with better awareness of social standings within a community or culture.” By reading fiction, specifically literary fiction (books considered to have artistic merit and not conferred to standard trends or genres) people seem to have a better understanding of other people and their place in society at large and there's actually scientific evidence to suggest this change. Owlcation talked about a study where readers of literary fiction brains were scanned, they say of the results  “When their brains were scanned in the mornings after reading, their brains displayed ‘heightened connectivity’. The central sulcus (a part of the brain responsible for sensations and movement) was enhanced in its connection to other parts of the brain.” So, the importance of literary fiction can not be overstated and, thus, the value of English classes for they build the foundation of communication, understanding and social relations. 

English class, then, has problematic choices for their standard, preferred readings. With a slim selection of authors it creates an unbalanced understanding and valuing of white, european, culture. There are only two books in the school curriculum that are written by females of color (“The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros and “Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry) but they both come from a U.S. background which puts there value in brooding understanding into question, this is not to discredit the literary and social value these two authors and their works and learning of the perspective of POC from the U.S, however their life, as POC, are radically different from that of someone raised in Africa or South America. Not only this, but also we can't victimize people because, as bad as it is to ignore or discriminate against literary works of different, non-europe peoples, it is equally horrible to only give these people to voice their pain because this archives the same thing, seeing these authors and their lifestyles as “other” “ less then” or  more “disturbing” than mainstream european writing which we see as “normal” or “standard”. We can't ignore them nor should we fetishize their pain. If we wish to respect their autonomy, which we should if we want to build an equal and just society like this country claims to do, then it means seeing the whole picture, the entire scope and range of literary talent and emotion. It means English classrooms giving students then studying the translated works of stories from Latin American, African, Asian, ect authors like we would with any Hemingway or Fitzgerald.