Broadening the English Language Arts Classroom

After reading Robert P. Moses’ chapter “Algebra and Civil Rights” from his book Radical Equations: Civil Rights from Mississippi to the Algebra Project, I was surprised to see how much I could relate to this chapter. I always had a hard time understanding math. In high school and college I took the minimum requirements. I also remember my parents not getting as mad as me if I failed a math test. However, if I failed an English test or did poorly on a paper, my parents probably would have been mad.


Moses reflects on how the illiteracy in certain subjects keeps African Americans from being successful in today’s economy. Moses states in this chapter that according to the Department of Labor “70 percent of all jobs require technology literacy; by the end of the year 2010 all jobs will require significant technical skills” (9). This is a very true statement. During my observation in a seventh grade English Language Arts classroom, the teacher has to be pretty savvy with technology. The use of a traditional grade book is now obsolete in this middle school. All grades are posted on the computer and then e-mailed every Friday to the parents or guardians. This classroom also has a smart board. Most of the lessons incorporate the use of a smart board. Teachers now have to understand the computer and all its applications and they also have to understand other technologies such as the smart board.


Our schools are failing African American students. Our students aren’t learning the skills needed to participate in today’s workforce. Many of our jobs require computers skills. For example, an automobile mechanic not only needs to know how to fix a head gasket or a carburetor but they also need to know how to fix the computer under the hood that runs the entire car.


English Language Arts has often been denied to minority groups. Most of the authors that we read in school are from the canon which consists of dead, white men. The curriculum doesn’t usually include minority authors or women authors. Also many students do not succeed in ELA because they don’t speak Standard English. The ELA classroom doesn’t allow different dialects of English to be spoken in the classroom. For these reasons, among many more ELA is often denied to minority groups.


As an educator, I want all my students to know that their culture and languages are important to me and that I respect their culture and language. While there is not enough time in the school year to read and write able all the cultures in the world, I will encourage my students to connect to the stories that we read and explore and share books and other writings from their culture.