Saratoga needs more diversity in its humanities classes

The invisible problem: diversity.

Some people say we talk about it too much. Others, as the New York Times article “The Danger of Not Talking to Your Children About Race” puts it, cling to the “hope that not mentioning it will show our children that it doesn’t matter.”

The truth is that even though we have an African-American president, we have yet to have a non-Christian one, even though 24 percent of American adults do not identify themselves as Christians (American Religious Identification Survey). Even though we have a Hispanic woman in the Supreme Court, Hispanic women earn, on average, 54 cents per dollar that a white, non-Hispanic man earns.

We just don’t recognize minority cultures enough in the adult world. And we don’t at Saratoga High either, especially in our humanities curriculum. In order to provide students with a more balanced education, we need to put more emphasis to minority cultures and religions.

For instance, the average student going through English classes will read more plays by Shakespeare than novels written by women or non-white men combined. The only books in the latter category that I have read are “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini and “Beloved” by Toni Morrison.

Inclinations toward the “dominant” American personality — a white, Christian person — are even more obvious upon examining the content of these books.

For instance, I’m reading “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller in my English class right now. The play offers both literary quality and historical relevance, but has a storyline and characters centering heavily around only Christian values — and the corruption of those values. Not only is it littered with biblical references that many students don’t understand, it deliberately demonizes voodoo, a legitimate religion with African roots.

To diversify the English curriculum, the department should also teach books such as “One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Nobel Prize laureate Gabriel García Márquez, a metaphoric interpretation of Colombian history, or “Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison, which describes a black man’s search for identity in 1930s New York.

In history classes, it’s clear that virtually every single person we study in-depth was Christian. Of course, people like John Adams and George Washington should be studied because of their contributions to history, but why don’t we give some time to Siddhartha or Mother Teresa?

Yes, junior year U.S. history deservedly has a white, Christian focus, but there’s no reason for sophomore World History to focus so strongly on European history. Last year, my teacher would almost always preface a lecture on a non-European topic with the phrase, “This isn’t in the state standards, but I think it’s important anyway.”

Coincidentally, it’s always events that make Western civilization look bad that seem to be skipped over. History we don’t study in depth includes the Dark Ages, in contrast with the Islamic Golden Age, or how our meddling in the Middle East decades ago is fueling conflict in the region right now.

Some may point to how students in other nations are just as guilty of this bias as we are. Indian students focus all their energy on learning every last detail about the different kings that ruled their ancient country, while Chinese students memorize the different dynasties that ruled China. By focusing more of our attention on our own country's history, one might ask, are we really discriminating against other religions and cultures?

The answer is yes. Unlike India or China, the United States is a decidedly diverse nation. The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that non-Hispanic whites will make up only 61.8 percent of the general population by 2015, thanks to growing numbers among Hispanic (17.8 percent) and African American (13.2 percent) populations. In contrast, China’s population is 92 percent Han Chinese, the dominant ethnic group.

In short, we need to change the content of classes to reflect the reality of America’s changing landscape.