Engendering gender equity: Using literature to teach and learn democracy

Kraver Jeraldine R. (2007). Engendering gender equity: Using literature to teach and learn democracy. English Journal,96(6), 67-73.

This sort of sounds like a way to “sneak” critical literacy into instruction that we already have to do. I don’t mean that in a bad way at all; it probably is the most sensible way to get it done. The author worked on two levels, as she engaged future teachers in critical literacy and had them plan critical literacy activities for their future secondary literature students.

Here, gender equity was the broad theme, and examples of how Kraver’s preservice teachers used a five-step model to design literature lessons that addressed that theme are provided here. Other themes could be addressed as well.

In fact, gender equity struck me as a relatively “safe” theme, somehow, though if issues of gender orientation were allowed in, it could get livelier. Themes of race, and themes related to war or corporatization would be dicier to do in many high schools, but are the themes we need to be thinking about if needed social changes are ever to occur.