6: From Hell’s Heart to Homer Simpson: Why Urban Kids Need Old School Literature

In her passion to encourage the democratic empowerment of the culturally diverse and economically disadvantaged urban students she teaches, the author resorts to the classic canon of American literature. She observes that her high school presents a curriculum designed for basic skills and entry-level employment training, but denies students the kinds of courses that would best prepare them to take charge of their own futures. She argues that a curriculum designed to involve her students in the dominant discourse of mainstream America will give them the background they need to become public dissidents. In her approach, the canon is used to demonstrate historical, geographical, and political contexts that have limited the inclusion of her students’ voices in American thought.