Education
On a recent afternoon, Musette Castle was sifting through a stack of books on her dining room table: The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway; Dubliners by Joyce; Catch 22 by Heller. The books come from her grandson Louis’ high school English class reading list. Castle, who is African-American, pointed out that the authors and protagonists are almost all white. “My children graduated from Pittsford schools in the ’80s," Castle said. "They’re still reading the same books. Not that they aren’t great books — they are great books. But students don’t get the opportunity to see different points of view.” Louis is now a junior at Pittsford Sutherland High School. Castle met with staff and challenged them to include more diversity in the reading list — for the benefit of students from all backgrounds. “When you have books, and the only people shown in the books are white people, kids begin to say, ‘That’s the world,’ when in reality, the world is a kaleidoscope of many different people," Castle