Teaching Spanish-Speaking: Authors for Social Justice

This project is significant for me because it brings together all my interests: English, Spanish, and education. Without Illinois Wesleyan\u27s education program with the focus in Teacher Scholars for Social Justice, I would not have had the resources or commitment for this research. I would not be Hispanic Studies minor if it was not for my education classes, when I first realized the extent of discrimination towards students and families who were learning English. In the Hispanic Studies department, I am so grateful to have worked with wonderful professors who shared literature and language with me so that I could become both more Knowledgeable and more curious about my world. I also acknowledge that although the literature in my English literature classes did focus primarily on the canon, which was written by mostly white men, my professors also assigned literature from and about people of color and discussed the racial implications in all of our discussions. Both canonical literature and non-canonical literature have special place in my heart, and my professors helped me realize that good teachers need to utilize both. I also must stress that the unite that I have created and explain starting on page 50 of this text are entirely hypothetical. Although I did create a similar unit during my field placement, I only taught one poem by Lorca and a small section of The House on Mango Street. I have not taught a class of students with this material before, but I believe that the texts that I examine would provide eye-opening experience for my future students