High School English Teachers Come to Smith

High school English teachers from across the United States gathered this summer at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business to develop lesson plans that will blend literature with the history and philosophy of enterprise.

English students in one class will have their names replaced with assigned numbers. Then their teacher will inform them that all grades will be averaged — regardless of individual accomplishment — and everyone will get a B-minus. The expected fallout will lead to a discussion on individualism and self-interest versus collectivism and the greater good.

Students in another class will start their day with a writing prompt on the board: “What is the ‘sin of forgiveness’ described in ‘Atlas Shrugged’?” Students in a third class will research the tension between Uber and traditional taxi companies. Then they will discuss the pros and cons of creative destruction.

The lessons, developed during an Enterprise Through Literature workshop July 20-21, 2015, in College Park, Md., potentially will reach hundreds or even thousands of high school students.

“The idea of Enterprise Through Literature is to use books that showcase the value of enterprise and innovation in society, both at the individual and economic societal levels,” says Smith professor Rajshree Agarwal, director of the school’s Ed Snider Center for Enterprise and Markets. “These are things we should be teaching our high school students so they can be critical thinkers.”

The Snider Center workshop, sponsored by the Cato and Ayn Rand Institutes, brought together 17 high school English teachers from California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Texas and Utah. Overall, 187 teachers applied to participate.

Agarwal says the program helps fill a gap that persists at most U.S. high schools. She says secondary education programs typically require history, but rarely with a focus on the evolution of institutions that foster or hinder enterprise. Other courses that might address these themes — such as economics, philosophy and entrepreneurship — are mostly electives, if taught at all.

“English literature is required for everyone,” Agarwal says. “And there are lots and lots of books that can be used to illustrate principles of enterprise.” She says topics such as capitalism, greed and inequality of outcomes can make some educators nervous. But students welcome these themes. “They are dying for it,” she says. “They are thirsting for it.”

For evidence, she points to the popularity of young adult novels that explore utopian versus dystopian societies. These include newer titles such as “Hunger Games,” “Maze Runner,” “Matched,” “Divergent” and “City of Ember,” and classics such as “The Giver,” “Fahrenheit 451,” “Brave New World” and “Animal Farm.”

“These books cut to the fundamental nature of what makes for an ideal society,” Agarwal says. “The only choice we have is not whether we’re giving this to them or not, but whether we are doing so in a more integrated and rigorous manner.”

Besides the teacher workshops, Enterprise Through Literature includes a nationwide student competition that will debut in fall 2015, building on a 2014 pilot program at River Hill High School in Clarksville, Md.

One teacher who uses Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” in her Advanced Placement English course is Kristin Mitchell, a 16-year veteran at River Hill High. Mitchell says many students feel pressured to agree with their teachers on controversial topics, so she conceals her beliefs about Rand’s objectivist philosophies. “I don’t need to agree with you,” she tells her students. “But you need to support your opinions well.”

Mitchell says many of her students get accepted at top-tier universities, and some are made to feel guilty about their educational advantages. She says books by Rand and other authors help these students consider difficult social issues — such a privilege and inequality — from multiple perspectives. “It’s all about making connections within a text but also to the real world,” Mitchell says.

Classroom discussions often get emotional as students explore different viewpoints, but Mitchell says her students learn that they can disagree with each other and still get along. “They’re pretty divided,” Mitchell says. “But they listen to each other and sometimes change their opinions based on what another classmate has said.”