As juniors, you are emerging citizens of your country. When you are 18 you will have the right to vote. But is that right also an obligation? It is important for you to consider your role as a citizen and how your voice can make a difference. Much of the literature we read this year concerns characters or people who struggled for their rights for freedom, for their voices, or for justice.
As you consider this page, you might think, 'hey, this isn't supposed to be a social studies class.' You're right. But discussing pertinant issues is something we can learn to do better in an English class. Therefore, we will use these thematic lenses to look at the literature we read more critically. They will also help us understand our own role and examine our future as citizens of the United States and of the World. These thematic lenses may also help you focus your Seminar presentation and give you ideas about a book to read independently. You may find also that one of these themes serves as a catlyst for your writing.
American Voices
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Social Justice
The Pledge of Allegiance proclaims "freedom and justice for all." This statement is an ideal rather than an absolute. What philosophies underlie the premise that the United States of America is the "land of the free"? Is everyone free? Throughout history, how were civil rights denied, fought for, and gained.
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Americans as Global Citizens
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