Overwhelmed

I'm starting to feel overwhelmed. As a teacher, I want my students to learn so much that I don't think they are going to be exposed to before. I want them - my English students - to know and care about their environment. They are just as responsible as anyone else for the climate, and they should be aware of that. So many people are ignorant these days, and that's just ridiculous. And it would be so easy to work that into our curriculum. My 12th grade teacher did; I wrote a paper about it. Furthermore, students aren't exposed enough to politics; I certainly didn't know all the facts surrounding the Iraq war; I voted for the president that my Dad voted for. Students should be well-informed and excited to be participating in their community. Of course, most of my students won't be of age, but I can still prepare them and make them curious. This, too, can be implemented using a paper or project, but I'd really like to find a novel about it that would be relatable. Maybe Anne Frank would have a good correlation? - I could argue that Germans weren't aware of what was going on around them, so my students should be aware....Or maybe something different.

Also, students should be expressing their own opinions; a journal is perfect for this because it allows them to get their own ideas out. Maybe that's how I'll get them interested in all this stuff. Because I also want them to be aware of their surroundings and aware of the racism and discrimination in their schools and homes. Journal entries prompting them to discuss this would certainly raise awareness; and we could discuss it in class. A good book to tie this in: Anne Frank, while I'm on it! Also, The Color Purple is good, the Awakening, and the Merchant of Venice. Another way to promote multiculturalism is to have my students read a diverse selection of books: Their Eyes Were Watching God; Haroun and the Sea of Stories; Good Luck Club; When I was Puerto Rican; Merchant of Venice again; Arabian Nights; Fall Apart; Frankenstein.