Course Details

This course examines Theodore Sizer's celebrated education classic, Horace's Compromise, from a teacher's perspective. Students will weigh Sizer's description of the mediocrity and lethargy of the mind in American public high schools against their own experiences. They will also evaluate Sizer's claims that schools do not generally appeal to students' individual inclinations and interests, as well as his proposed solutions. Students will propose strategies and lesson plans for teaching high school students in response to Sizer's ideas. The course will delve into Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. How can teachers enliven students' imaginations and understanding of life's moral complexities when teaching this text? A novel that shows how society's moral laws often differ from an individual's conscience, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn questions the whole notion of institutionalized learning. It also belies the hypocrisy of people who claim to be socially upright while buying and selling slaves. Teachers who take this course will explore how they can help their students to discover that Huckleberry Finn's reliance on his own moral instincts, which he ironically sees as his road to damnation, is a lesson for us all.


This course is applicable towards the following certificate(s):
*Literature for the Classroom