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Promoting Adolescent Voice Through Latina Fiction

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Abstract

The voices of adolescent girls are often lost around the time they reach the middle school classroom. This paper reflects my experience in incorporating Latina literature into a curriculum that speaks to this disaffected group. Focusing on the reactions of three students, I examine the potential for this literature to change the nature of the middle school experience, especially for girls. I found that an active approach to reading books such as Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street and Esmerelda Santiago's autobiography When I was Puerto Rican can promote increased confidence, visible through candid writing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Hudson School, Hoboken, New Jersey

    Leslie Averback (Chair of the middle school English department)

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  1. Leslie Averback
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Averback, L. Promoting Adolescent Voice Through Latina Fiction . Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal 15, 379–389 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022832210539

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022832210539

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