Shaping Minds with Varied Literature in Education

Selecting books that engage diverse learners from all backgrounds and abilities.

The role of literature in shaping young minds is more crucial than ever. Imagine a high school where the shelves of its library and curriculum collection are not only stocked with the so-called classics but also teem with voices that reflect the richness and diversity of human experience. This vision became a reality at Eagle Hill thanks to its pioneering curriculum curation practices.

In 1998, two teachers spearheaded this effort at EHS in conjunction with the development of a course in the English department. The course was called New Traditions in American Literature, and its purpose was to focus attention specifically on underrepresented authors and literary traditions. With the help and support of faculty, students, and parents, the first iteration of the course was very successful. For the course, the teachers needed to purchase a range of new texts, which had two lasting consequences. First, that effort required the teachers to expand their own reading and research to include voices in American literature with which they formerly had only a passing familiarity. That effort benefited them immensely—as teachers and personally. The second and unforeseen consequence of their effort to restructure the curriculum library was simple but ultimately profound: other teachers and students began to expand their curriculum to utilize the newly available texts.

In time, the policy designed to promote inclusivity and empathy—focused on incorporating works of fiction and nonfiction by and about marginalized groups such as people of color, LGBTQ individuals, and other underrepresented communities—led to the development of a wide range of literature and writing courses. Today, courses such as Jewish-Arab Literature, African American Literature, Women Writers and the Art of Fiction, Indigenous Literatures, and Postcolonial Literature are among the frequent offerings in literary study. Alongside these, composition courses like Writing Ourselves and Writing Wicked Problems afford students the opportunity to explore their own identities through composition—as well as to craft their own provisional solutions to the problems of a complex world.

Today, courses such as Jewish-Arab Literature, African American Literature, Women Writers and the Art of Fiction, Indigenous Literatures, and Postcolonial Literature are among the frequent offerings in literary study.

One of the most far-reaching effects of this fundamental shift in curating a curriculum collection has been the opportunity to both endorse and challenge our often-unexamined assumptions as students, teachers, and community members. By encountering stories that resonate with their own experiences or expose them to new perspectives, students feel validated, understood, and inspired. This validation is particularly significant for marginalized students who often feel invisible or misrepresented in traditional curricula.

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