Human rights books/story recommendation for 9th and 10th lit?

Posting this in several different communities to get lots of input.

Hi r/education! I would love to start a dialogue on some of your best recommendations for books and stories that deal with human rights?

Given the political climate and the fact that, according to my superintendent, teachers are supposed to be “politically neutral in the classroom,” - which, btw, Paulo Freire said that teaching is NEVER apolitical, so, f that- I want to give my kids the opportunities to draw their own conclusions. Hopefully this will inspire them to take action in the areas they can. I teach 9th and 10th literature to ESOL students in America, who are well aware of humans rights violations and violence and I think it would be amazing to give them some stories that are genuinely applicable to their own lives as well as the current events happening.

I teach students who have literally walked miles and miles in the dead of night across boarders to safety; I teach students who have had their parents, grandparents, siblings, and cousins killed mercilessly in drug wars; I teach students who were raped in their home country, fell pregnant with a baby with special needs, and forced (due to either family expectations or finical constraints) to give birth and mother their child at the ripe age of 14; I teach children whose families lived rich and prosperous lives in their home countries, only to be torn from their beds in the middle of the night by drug cartels needing their land and home for “business” and safety; I teach students who lived in countries with corrupt politicians with bribe-able police forces who are supposed to keep them safe. My students LIVE the inequities, violence, and fear every day so why shouldn’t my curriculum reflect their lived lives?

I’m interested in Spanish-speaking authors, women authors, and those authors whose voices are not commonly studied. In 9th lit, I’ve taught March I, which the students were kind of able to connect with when taught in tandem with the Civil Rights Movement, and “The Pearl” by John Steinbeck, which they love because it’s based in Mexico and they identify with the treatment of poorer classes. I’ve also taught “Long Way Down” by Jason Reynolds, which the kids identify with and loved because it’s about drugs and gangs -something they live with everyday. In 10th lit, the only thing I really want to save is an end-of-the-year project where they write their own bilingual picture books to read to the local Elementary ESOL students. Other than that, I’m open to upheaving my entire curriculum and starting with something new. If I have to teach Shakespeare’s ”Romeo and Juliet” or “Othello” one more time to a bunch of kids who clearly and appropriately see no validation and reflection of their own lives in the white-washed stories one more time, I’m going to tear my hair out.

So teachers, what do you recommend?

Submitted June 29, 2022 at 05:51AM by Veggiemnstr https://ift.tt/6oRnXhM