Teaching Literature to Average Students

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Cover of Confessions of an English Teacher Book 7

About Confessions of an English Teacher Book 7

The public is unaware that the average high school student is not receiving the best English program to support their literacy growth. While honors and Advanced Placement programs are custom-designed for those students, average students are forced to use textbooks that are neither culturally nor linguistically appropriate. This book argues that average students can increase their literacy exponentially with a culturally and linguistically appropriate program. When students read books that match their culture, their interest in reading rises significantly. This book argues that a predominant ethnic group needs access to their own literature, not the literature supplied by textbook publishers. The literature also needs to be linguistically appropriate for their reading levels, not several grade levels above them. Confessions of an English Teacher: Teaching Literature to Average Students makes significant suggestions for reading for four ethnic groups: African-American, Hispanic, Asian, and White students can enjoy readings from their cultures and significantly expand their literacy if their programs were custom-designed, as they are for advanced students. It takes people power to make that happen.

Published: 2026/09/10

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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.

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