@Parent/Pound Ridge
Thank you for your response. At your suggestion, I went to the website for the AP course in Literature and Composition:
https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-english-literature-and-composition/course
On Page 10 of the syllabus provided on this site, under the section Representative Authors, it says,
“There is no recommended or required reading list for the AP literature and composition course. The following authors are provided simply to suggest the range and quality of reading expected in the course. Teachers may select authors from the names below or may choose others of comparable quality and complexity.”
Under the poets listed, Sharon Olds does not appear. Curiously, Langston Hughes does.
Thus it appears that Mr. Albano has substantial freedom to choose any author he wishes for any discussion he wishes in this AP Literature Class. He is at the helm, not the College Board. Accordingly, I stand by my previous assertion that he appears to be advancing an agenda without considering the flip side of that agenda. Our students are entitled to hearing both sides of any discussion. That is education.
My understanding of the reason for Black History Month is to honor the contributions that African Americans have made to our Nation, from Booker T. Washington, to the Tuskegee Airman to Vivian Thomas. It saddens me that you seek to reduce that celebration to a controversial construct such as “white privilege.”
Did you actually read the quote I posted from Langston Hughes? Nowhere in that quote does he even suggest wanting to be “white”. In fact, he clearly and eloquently states the opposite, and the substantial pride he has in being black. Please read it again. It’s amazing.
Finally, have the moral courage to sign your work, as I have done.
