Confessions of an English Teacher Book 6

The Problem and the Solution to Teaching Literature to Average Students

Learn More

About Confessions of an English Teacher Book 6

What if the standard high school literature textbook isn't helping average students become stronger readers, but is quietly standing in their way? In this volume of Confessions, Rich Sinay argues that many English classrooms ask average and below-average students to read works that are too difficult, too remote, and too ill-matched to their language and cultural experience. The result is not deeper literacy, but frustration, disengagement, and a curriculum that serves the textbook better than the student. Sinay makes the case for a different literature program: one built around works students can understand, enter, and identify with, while still expanding their language and reading confidence. This is a practical argument for English teachers, reading specialists, department chairs, administrators, and parents who believe literacy improves when students are given literature that meets them where they are and then moves them forward.

Published: 2026/09/10

Where to Buy

About Richard Sinay

Richard Sinay
Richard Sinay taught English and reading in high school and college in Orange County, California, for 35 years. He spends most of his time reading and writing. His most recent publication is Confessions of an English Teacher: An Analysis of Common Core. His first, Who We Met on the Way to Stanford: A Father's Memoir, tells how he and his son met famous golfers while pursuing a golf scholarship at Stanford. His second publication, How to Get a Golf Scholarship to Stanford: A Parent's Guide, is intended for parents who want to see their golfer play for Stanford. His third publication, Observations of America and My Ancestral Past: An Epistolary Autobiography, is a daily account of a twenty-five-thousand-mile trip around the country. His subsequent work, Crazy Little Children Are Jangling the Keys of the Kingdom: The Estrangement Epidemic in America, examines the phenomenon shattering families across America. Next, his Confessions of an English Teacher: A Memoir of My Teaching Years is his first book about teaching English in California high schools and community colleges. He followed that with Confessions of an English Teacher: How High School and Community Colleges Can Improve Instruction. Then he wrote Confessions of an English Teacher: How Textbooks Affect Literacy and What to Do About It, Confessions of an English Teacher: All About the Teaching of Writing in the High School, Confessions of an English Teacher: All About the Teaching of Reading in the High School, and Confessions of an English Teacher: The Problem and the Solution to Teaching Literature to Average Students. With the completion of Confessions of an English Teacher: The Problem and the Solution to Teaching Literature to Average Students, he has fourteen publications. He currently resides in Palm Desert, California, where he reads, writes, and enjoys life in the desert.

Other Books by Richard Sinay

Contact Richard Sinay