"Reading makes immigrants of us all. It takes us away from home, but more important, it finds homes for us everywhere." Jean Rhys

In Mrs. Alpert's Language and Literature class students are challenged to experience and analyze literary texts from a variety of cultures, genres, and periods. Over the two-years of the Diploma Programme, students build an understanding of the techniques involved in literary criticism as well as how the cultural context of a work impacts its interpretation. 

Currently, our 12th graders in Mrs. Alpert's class are reading Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Set in Enugu, Nigeria, the story follows the lives of 15-year-old Kambili and her older brother Jaja as they navigate adolescence first in the confines of their privileged life and then later when they move outside the city and are exposed to a new way of life. 

As an added layer of immersion, the students welcomed Rose McGill, a CDS parent, to the classroom to share her Nigerian heritage. Ms. McGill brought traditional Nigerian clothing for the students to try on, including gele (cloth to wrap around their heads), buba's (loose fitting blouse), iros (long wrap-around skirts), and sokotos (loose-fitting trousers). With the smell of Jollof rice, yams & stew, and garnished chicken wafting through the air, Ms. McGill talked about how places and experiences in the novel reminded her of home. She explained the traditions that the book touched on like bringing baskets of food to relatives and friends as a sign of respect and love and of the reasons why some of the traditional clothing is worn. The students were encouraged to eat with their hands and to smell, not just taste the Nigerian spices that might be different from what they are used to.

The day was a wonderful immersion into the Nigerian culture they are reading. Thank you to Mrs. Alpert for facilitating this lesson and to Mrs. McGill for sharing a little bit about her culture.