A balance of voices in literature
The 21st-Century Students Demand a Balanced, More Inclusive Canon is an article written by Tonya B. perry and B. Joyce Stallworth explaining canon. It shows that those who sit at the dinner table influence how good literature is defined by imagining two scenarios. In the first scenario, the dinner table is filled by only the guests, and in the other plan, the dinner table is open to many distinct writers, multiple perspectives, and free space of ideas. Since the canon selection should be an open practice first scenario is highly criticized because it perpetuates membership in the cannon leading to a canon that is always one generation behind. Not an invitation is gathering the first scenario. The second scenario is honored as it leads to a highly rich conversation in the table because of spawning discussions about cultures and technology. Moreover, the article also describes the present canon, which includes thinking of great minds that are not limited to a narrow perspective that may restrict our cultural memory because the global adolescent of the 21st-century demands for expansion of canonical culture( Tonya 15) .
One of my reactions towards the article is the influence that lies between the guests who sit in the dinner table and how literature is defined. Those who acquire a position in the decision-making table are the ones who influence the reading curriculum by determining who canonical writers are. For instance, strong writers who come later determine the membership of canon and not the current generation(Tonya 17) .
In my opinion literature that can increase students’ cultural knowledge need to be included in our expanded canon. The reason is that 21st century young adults and young adolescence thinks from multiple perspectives because of the influence of technology( zappata 24).
The idea of canon greatly matters because the quality young adult literature expands the level of complexity available to all reader by meriting prominent place in the curriculum of its own. As a result the students will become more adept at self-reflection because multicultural literature plays great role in transformative practice creation (Tonya17).
Work cited
Perry, Tonya B., B. Joyce Stallworth, and Lisa Fink. “21st-century students demand a balanced, more inclusive canon.” Voices from the Middle 21.1 (2013): 15.
Zapata, Angie, Monica Kleekamp, and Christina King. “Expanding the Canon: How Diverse Literature Can Transform Literacy Learning. Literacy Leadership Brief.” International Literacy Association (2018).