Looking back on this past semester I can see how my ideas and knowledge have evolved from what I have done in this class. Before I stepped into the first class in January I felt that I was not to say "knowledgeable", but I felt that I knew enough about diversity and I thought I was sensitive enough to know how to handle it in my classroom through the books I would provide to my students. But now I understand what I did know wasn't enough and that there is so many more issues on diversity that we didn't get to cover that I should go out and learn more about. This class taught me that diverse literature has many more components than just accepting and welcoming books that are multi-cultural and that you should have a variety of books on these different cultures in your classroom library and not only that, but that there is a correct way to do this and to choose those books.
One topic that seemed to be ongoing was the insider/outsider debate. Before this class when looking at and reading books I never even took into consideration who wrote the book and if they were qualified or not to be writing this book. Now before I am going to pick a multi-cultural text I know that I should do some research on the author to make sure that I am picking an authentic representation of that culture. I thought it was very beneficial to have all the articles we read along with the novels because every week it gave us a new perception on a different culture and their thoughts of the insider/outsider debate. What I took from these articles every week is that more often than not if the author is an insider than that book is most likely a great and an authentic representation and that usually outsiders are ill-informed. So because of this class I have developed my own thoughts and ideas on this debate and feel a little better going into a library or bookstore and picking out culturally diverse books!
Another topic that I felt that I really grew from was the People with Disabilities literature and the film about the woman who has Autism. When reading books about PWD I never thought about who was writing the book or who was the voice of the book. A lot of disabilities don't allow the people who have them or give them the opportunity to write their experiences so that leaves it up to other people who aren't insiders to write their stories for them. Because of this it is harder to know if the book is really about how the person with the disability feels or how the writer views the disability and how it affects their life. Watching the film it showed me that this woman has so many thoughts and ideas on her disability, but it is very hard for her to get them out, but because of new technology, like the piece of tech. they showed her using, there will be more and more insider books about their disabilities instead of people who work with or are family members of people with disabilities.
Finally, I would just like to add that I really enjoyed this course and I liked the fact that we didn't have to write papers for every book we read because it gave us a chance to just read the text and reflect on it without any pressure about those reflections. I think all the books we read were great and they all opened my eyes to different texts about different cultures. Also by having you bring in all those texts every week showed me that good books are out there about every culture! Because of the weeks I spent in class I feel more prepared for providing diverse literature in my classroom and to my students, but I know that I am nowhere near being an expert and I have a lot more to learn and understand. This class has provided me with a head start on becoming more knowledgeable and sensitive when it comes to choosing diverse literature.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Thoughts on Final Project
First off I want to say that I really enjoyed this final project and I am not just saying that. It was different and a lot less stressful than most other projects and I don't know if its because we are blogging and there is something less intimidating than sitting down and writing a paper. The project forced me to venture out and find books that I might not have come across. I chose to do Jewish-American literature because religion has always intrigued me and I love to learn about different religions other than my own. When I was researching books to review for my project I found some great titles online, but when I was looking around bookstores hardly any were available without having to be ordered special for me. I thought this was interesting and when I was there and asked for help to look through what they did have they could barely help me with that. So that was a real eye-opener that Jewish-American literature is under-represented. I loved all the books that I did get my hands on and liked writing their reviews. The whole semester we discussed the whole insider/outsider debate and I think that this project helped me to understand more my own thoughts and let me come to make a final decision on what I think creates the best and most authentic books. Overall, this final is a great way to wrap up the year and gave us an opportunity to use all the knowledge that we gained to look at these books and review.
My Review of a Review by Linda Ludke of the School Library Journal
School Library Journal:
Pre-Gr 3-A book bursting at the seams with ingenuity and creative spirit. When Joseph's overcoat becomes "old and worn," he snips off the patches and turns it into a jacket. When his jacket is beyond repair, he makes a vest. Joseph recycles his garments until he has nothing left. But by trading in his scissors for a pen and paintbrush he creates a story, showing "you can always make something out of nothing." Clever die-cut holes provide clues as to what Joseph will make next: windowpanes in one scene become a scarf upon turning the page. Striking gouache, watercolor, and collage illustrations are chock-full of witty details-letters to read, proverbs on the walls, even a fiddler on the roof. Taback adapted this tale from a Yiddish folk song and the music and English lyrics are appended. The rhythm and repetition make it a perfect story time read-aloud.
-Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
I think that the review by Linda Ludke is a great representation of "Joseph Had a Little Overcoat! It got in all the main parts of the book into the review and even mentioned all the little Jewish details that Simms Taback spent so much time sneaking into the artwork of his book. I also am glad that she included the moral of the story that "you can always make something out of nothing". Not only did she include the great aspects of the story, but also included why it would be a great read aloud for the classroom. I did my review before I found her review and I found that I had mentioned all of the items, minus the reason why it is good for read aloud, she mentioned and I think that that shows this book is a great read and it can easily be seen not only by a professional reader, but also by just someone coming across the book.
Pre-Gr 3-A book bursting at the seams with ingenuity and creative spirit. When Joseph's overcoat becomes "old and worn," he snips off the patches and turns it into a jacket. When his jacket is beyond repair, he makes a vest. Joseph recycles his garments until he has nothing left. But by trading in his scissors for a pen and paintbrush he creates a story, showing "you can always make something out of nothing." Clever die-cut holes provide clues as to what Joseph will make next: windowpanes in one scene become a scarf upon turning the page. Striking gouache, watercolor, and collage illustrations are chock-full of witty details-letters to read, proverbs on the walls, even a fiddler on the roof. Taback adapted this tale from a Yiddish folk song and the music and English lyrics are appended. The rhythm and repetition make it a perfect story time read-aloud.
-Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
I think that the review by Linda Ludke is a great representation of "Joseph Had a Little Overcoat! It got in all the main parts of the book into the review and even mentioned all the little Jewish details that Simms Taback spent so much time sneaking into the artwork of his book. I also am glad that she included the moral of the story that "you can always make something out of nothing". Not only did she include the great aspects of the story, but also included why it would be a great read aloud for the classroom. I did my review before I found her review and I found that I had mentioned all of the items, minus the reason why it is good for read aloud, she mentioned and I think that that shows this book is a great read and it can easily be seen not only by a professional reader, but also by just someone coming across the book.
Book Review: "Number the Stars" by Lois Lowry
Lowry, Lois. Number the Stars. New York: Yearling, 1989.
This chapter book is the chilling story of one girl's life during the Holocaust and the Nazi's relocating of Jews. Annemarie is a young girl living in Copenhagen as the Nazis slowly take over the city and start to relocate Jews living in the city. To save her friend ,Ellen whose family is being hunted by the Nazis because they found their names on the list of families at the synagogue, Annemarie's family takes her in and pretends that she is their own daughter. Annemarie's family goes to their Uncle Henrik's house where a lot of Jewish families show up to a fake funeral, to fool the Nazis, so that they could be taken to safety in Sweden. Ellen's family, the Rosen's is one of these families and Annemarie, after the war is ended, is told they will return safely a bit later. Annemarie wears her friend's Star of David as a tribute to her.
I think this book is a great story and informs its readers of something that had happened in the past and is an important part of Jewish history. Lois Lowry is an insider author and with this book won the Newberry Medal Award. Not only does this book tell the struggles that Jewish families experienced through a fictional story, but still made sure to include a lot of historical facts within the text. For example, the handkerchief that Annemarie is delivering that was used to hide the scent from the German dogs was really used during the Holocaust. I think this is a great book for 5th and 6th graders to educate them on events that happened during the Holocaust. So not only do this story share the struggles Jewish people endured, but also provides an educational reading.
This chapter book is the chilling story of one girl's life during the Holocaust and the Nazi's relocating of Jews. Annemarie is a young girl living in Copenhagen as the Nazis slowly take over the city and start to relocate Jews living in the city. To save her friend ,Ellen whose family is being hunted by the Nazis because they found their names on the list of families at the synagogue, Annemarie's family takes her in and pretends that she is their own daughter. Annemarie's family goes to their Uncle Henrik's house where a lot of Jewish families show up to a fake funeral, to fool the Nazis, so that they could be taken to safety in Sweden. Ellen's family, the Rosen's is one of these families and Annemarie, after the war is ended, is told they will return safely a bit later. Annemarie wears her friend's Star of David as a tribute to her.
I think this book is a great story and informs its readers of something that had happened in the past and is an important part of Jewish history. Lois Lowry is an insider author and with this book won the Newberry Medal Award. Not only does this book tell the struggles that Jewish families experienced through a fictional story, but still made sure to include a lot of historical facts within the text. For example, the handkerchief that Annemarie is delivering that was used to hide the scent from the German dogs was really used during the Holocaust. I think this is a great book for 5th and 6th graders to educate them on events that happened during the Holocaust. So not only do this story share the struggles Jewish people endured, but also provides an educational reading.
Book Review: "The Chanukkah Guest" by Eric A. Kimmel
Kimmel, Eric A. The Chanukkah Guest. New York: Scholastic Inc. 1988.
This cheery book is about an old woman, Bubba Brayna, who lives in the woods is cooking for Chanukkah and all the guests that are coming over including the Rabbi. Her cooking, including latkes, enticed a bear's sense of smell so he headed towards her house. Bubba Brayna, however, doesn't have a very good ability to hear or see so when the bear shows up to her house she just assumes the bear is the Rabbi and is a bit early. Every time she talked to the "Rabbi" the bear would respond with a grunt, but since she can't hear very well she heard real words. They light the menorah together, play Chanukkah games, and eat all the latkes. After this the bear gets sleepy and Bubba gives him a scarf and sends him on his way wishing him a Happy Chanukkah! A few moments later all the guests show up and the real Rabbi, Bubba is very surprised and told everyone there were no more latkes because the Rabbi ate them all. They explained that it couldn't have been him because he was at the synagogue with the rest. The guests saw all the bear paw prints and figured out what really happened. They had a good laugh and helped Bubba Brayna make more potato latkes!
I though this story was very cute and funny! "The Chanukkah Guest" is a great book and great representative of Jewish literature. It was very authentic and within the text it talked about the certain things that Jewish people take part in during the Chanukkah holiday. Eric Kimmel is an insider author and wrote a great and informative picture book. I think he fit a lot of knowledge withing his pages of work. I also really liked that in the front of the book he included a small glossary of terms that he used in the book to help outsiders understand what he was writing about and what the characters were taking part in. I thought that Bubba Brayna was a very warm and loving character that helped convey the message that everyone deserves a nice Chanukkah!
This cheery book is about an old woman, Bubba Brayna, who lives in the woods is cooking for Chanukkah and all the guests that are coming over including the Rabbi. Her cooking, including latkes, enticed a bear's sense of smell so he headed towards her house. Bubba Brayna, however, doesn't have a very good ability to hear or see so when the bear shows up to her house she just assumes the bear is the Rabbi and is a bit early. Every time she talked to the "Rabbi" the bear would respond with a grunt, but since she can't hear very well she heard real words. They light the menorah together, play Chanukkah games, and eat all the latkes. After this the bear gets sleepy and Bubba gives him a scarf and sends him on his way wishing him a Happy Chanukkah! A few moments later all the guests show up and the real Rabbi, Bubba is very surprised and told everyone there were no more latkes because the Rabbi ate them all. They explained that it couldn't have been him because he was at the synagogue with the rest. The guests saw all the bear paw prints and figured out what really happened. They had a good laugh and helped Bubba Brayna make more potato latkes!
I though this story was very cute and funny! "The Chanukkah Guest" is a great book and great representative of Jewish literature. It was very authentic and within the text it talked about the certain things that Jewish people take part in during the Chanukkah holiday. Eric Kimmel is an insider author and wrote a great and informative picture book. I think he fit a lot of knowledge withing his pages of work. I also really liked that in the front of the book he included a small glossary of terms that he used in the book to help outsiders understand what he was writing about and what the characters were taking part in. I thought that Bubba Brayna was a very warm and loving character that helped convey the message that everyone deserves a nice Chanukkah!
Book Review: "Joseph Had a Little Overcoat" by Simms Taback
Simms, Taback. Joseph Had a Little Overcoat. New York: Viking, 1999.
"Joseph Had a Little Overcoat" by Simms Taback was actually inspired by an old Yiddish folk song called "I Had a Little Overcoat". This book starts off with Joseph in his overcoat, but through out the story his coat gets old and tattered so he makes a jacket out of it and when that gets ruined he makes a vest and so on and so on until he ends up with a small button, which he ends up losing and inspired to turn this overcoat's story into a book. In each of his new creations from this overcoat Joseph attends different events and does different things such as visiting his married sister in the city and drinking hot tea with lemon. Every time Joseph had to make his worn out overcoat into a new item there was a cut out on the page giving the reader a clue of what he was going to make his clothing into.
I thought this book was very cute and great for young readers. Although it is not identifiable as Jewish just by reading the text on the pages, but looking at the illustrations it is blatantly a piece of Jewish literature. Through out the book there are little things scattered in the back round of the pages. For example, on page 4 there is a newspaper on the ground that has its title written in Hebrew and has a story on the cover about a Rabbi. Through out the pages most of the characters are wearing Jewish garb and are pictures of historical Jewish figures. Also through out the book Joseph has letters in his house from Poland. There are also other newspapers scattered through out with Yiddish and with titles about Jewish people and events, such as "Fiddler on the Roof". Not only is this a very good and creative book, but also has a message the author was trying to convey, which is "you can always make something out of nothing." Simms Taback is an insider author and with this book won The Caldecott Medal! This book sheds positive light on Jewish literature and even though is not out right informing people on the Jewish religion through words it still does through the pictures and images on the pages. I also thought it was great that he included a note to the readers explaining why he wrote this book and also gave the folk song that inspired this fun book.
"Joseph Had a Little Overcoat" by Simms Taback was actually inspired by an old Yiddish folk song called "I Had a Little Overcoat". This book starts off with Joseph in his overcoat, but through out the story his coat gets old and tattered so he makes a jacket out of it and when that gets ruined he makes a vest and so on and so on until he ends up with a small button, which he ends up losing and inspired to turn this overcoat's story into a book. In each of his new creations from this overcoat Joseph attends different events and does different things such as visiting his married sister in the city and drinking hot tea with lemon. Every time Joseph had to make his worn out overcoat into a new item there was a cut out on the page giving the reader a clue of what he was going to make his clothing into.
I thought this book was very cute and great for young readers. Although it is not identifiable as Jewish just by reading the text on the pages, but looking at the illustrations it is blatantly a piece of Jewish literature. Through out the book there are little things scattered in the back round of the pages. For example, on page 4 there is a newspaper on the ground that has its title written in Hebrew and has a story on the cover about a Rabbi. Through out the pages most of the characters are wearing Jewish garb and are pictures of historical Jewish figures. Also through out the book Joseph has letters in his house from Poland. There are also other newspapers scattered through out with Yiddish and with titles about Jewish people and events, such as "Fiddler on the Roof". Not only is this a very good and creative book, but also has a message the author was trying to convey, which is "you can always make something out of nothing." Simms Taback is an insider author and with this book won The Caldecott Medal! This book sheds positive light on Jewish literature and even though is not out right informing people on the Jewish religion through words it still does through the pictures and images on the pages. I also thought it was great that he included a note to the readers explaining why he wrote this book and also gave the folk song that inspired this fun book.
Book Review: "The Keeping Quilt" by Patricia Polacco
Polacco, Patricia. The Keeping Quilt. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1988.
"The Keeping Quilt" is a touching story about the author's, Patricia Polacco, family history and the quilt that has been there through out their lives in America. This keeping quilt is made out of Patricia's Great-Gramma's dress and babushka and other clothing from family and friends. The quilt was used for many religious holidays, different events and was the wedding huppa for each generation of daughters. Through out the story readers notice how the times are changing between each generation, for example how the guests at the weddings behave and even the minor changes in the contents of the handkerchief that is present at each wedding and at the birth of a child, but the quilt always is there exactly how it was many many years ago. This aspect is shown beautifully through the illustrations by they only thing colored on the pages is the quilt representing the staying power of not only the quilt, but the family and its traditions.
After reading this story it brought a tear to my eye. I thought it was very sentimental and not only told the story of Patricia Polacco's family, but also the strong Jewish traditions that even after going through some alterations still hold the same values they did long ago. Patricia Polacco is an insider author of Jewish literature and with this book won the Sydney Taylor award from the Association of Jewish Libraries. Making this book feel even more authentic was the mention of different religious terms, such as wedding huppa, and describing the way things were and how they are today in Jewish tradition. I think that this book is a great edition to any classroom library, about K-3 or 4th grade, because it shows an accurate and positive view on Jewish culture and tradition that only an insider can bring to the pages.
"The Keeping Quilt" is a touching story about the author's, Patricia Polacco, family history and the quilt that has been there through out their lives in America. This keeping quilt is made out of Patricia's Great-Gramma's dress and babushka and other clothing from family and friends. The quilt was used for many religious holidays, different events and was the wedding huppa for each generation of daughters. Through out the story readers notice how the times are changing between each generation, for example how the guests at the weddings behave and even the minor changes in the contents of the handkerchief that is present at each wedding and at the birth of a child, but the quilt always is there exactly how it was many many years ago. This aspect is shown beautifully through the illustrations by they only thing colored on the pages is the quilt representing the staying power of not only the quilt, but the family and its traditions.
After reading this story it brought a tear to my eye. I thought it was very sentimental and not only told the story of Patricia Polacco's family, but also the strong Jewish traditions that even after going through some alterations still hold the same values they did long ago. Patricia Polacco is an insider author of Jewish literature and with this book won the Sydney Taylor award from the Association of Jewish Libraries. Making this book feel even more authentic was the mention of different religious terms, such as wedding huppa, and describing the way things were and how they are today in Jewish tradition. I think that this book is a great edition to any classroom library, about K-3 or 4th grade, because it shows an accurate and positive view on Jewish culture and tradition that only an insider can bring to the pages.
GLBTQ
Last week was one of the most interesting weeks because this type of literature I know very little about. Before this class I have never, to my knowledge, any other GLBTQ piece of literature. I learned a lot from class last week especially some terms and what words are considered offensive to some people. One word that I was really surprised to be part of GLBTQ lingo was "down low" I never knew that that's where its meaning came from. I have heard tons of people say it, but I don't think they know its original meaning either!
While reading "Boy Meets Boy" I focused more on the romance between Paul and Noah and sometimes Kyle more than the fact that it was a piece of GLBTQ literature. I loved the book and there was a character for everyone, no matter what sexual orientation you identify yourself as. Even though the book was a little out there with some of its events, like the cheerleaders coming in on Harleys and the quarterback of the football team being a cross-dresser, I thought it was very creative and created an ideal world where everyone gets along and things aren't always so cut and dry! This week made me want to go out and seek more books featuring GLBTQ characters as the leads!
While reading "Boy Meets Boy" I focused more on the romance between Paul and Noah and sometimes Kyle more than the fact that it was a piece of GLBTQ literature. I loved the book and there was a character for everyone, no matter what sexual orientation you identify yourself as. Even though the book was a little out there with some of its events, like the cheerleaders coming in on Harleys and the quarterback of the football team being a cross-dresser, I thought it was very creative and created an ideal world where everyone gets along and things aren't always so cut and dry! This week made me want to go out and seek more books featuring GLBTQ characters as the leads!
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Interpretations
Taking this class and looking back on other classes I have taken I have really started to notice how many opinions there can actually be about a book and or author. While being in class I get to share my own points of view and opinions on certain books and I also get to hear what others have to say. With all these thoughts swirling around about a book it has opened my eyes to how much scrutiny a book is up to when it is published to the public. I think I would be very frustrated if I was an author because there is a great chance for the book that you have written is going to be interpreted wrong or looked into to deep. When we are sharing opinions in class about books there are things that stuck out to some people that really bothered them that I didn't even notice and I am sure there are things that I have found that might not have even crossed the mind of anyone else. I was just going over things I had to do for this class and I started to reflect on the course and this idea just popped in and it made me think for a second and I thought I would get my thoughts on this blog. It just shows how carefully an author has to put a book together to make sure their ideas get across in the text.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Asian-Pacific American Literature
This week in our semester long discussion on multicultural literature we focused on Asian-Pacific American literature. I have really enjoyed learning about all the different classifications of multicultural literature. This specific genre of literature I have the least amount of knowledge on so I was eager to learn more about it. I thought that it was really cool the way that we started off class this week. We started off by viewing some stand up comedy by Margaret Cho. It was very entertaining and funny. During her standup she was poking fun at herself and also her mother. I thought it was good introduction to what we were focusing on this week. One big thing that I learned is actually how many countries are included, that I would have never thought, in the title of Asian-Pacific. Obviously Hawaii is included in this grouping, which I already knew, but because it is one of the 50 states it didn't come to my mind right away but I was reminded when I did the readings for the week.
I believe that this is one genre of literature that is the most under represented. When I look back on my educational careeer I can't really remember reading a lot of books by or about Asian-Pacific Americans. The only books I sort of remember had to do with WWII and I don't really know if they were good representations. By watching Margaret Cho it put it out there that there also isn't a big representation in the media. Yeah there are famous actors and actresses who are Asian-Pacific, but I can't think of one prime-time show that the main family unit or group of friends are Asian-Pacific. And then Margaret Cho mentioned in her comic performance that the producers of the show didn't think she was being "Asian" enough on her series, but then pulled her the opposite way by saying her face was too round. I thought that was ridiculous. I don't like how a lot of things are going on in Hollywood. Nobody is ever perfect as themselves there is always something to change about yourself and it really effects young children. I know I have been pulled into the nonsense of what Hollywood thinks the perfect body is.
This week opened my eyes to some new ideas to think about when it comes to multicultural literature especially when picking out my classroom library. I want to make sure to represent ALL cultures and do it successfully with credited authors.
I believe that this is one genre of literature that is the most under represented. When I look back on my educational careeer I can't really remember reading a lot of books by or about Asian-Pacific Americans. The only books I sort of remember had to do with WWII and I don't really know if they were good representations. By watching Margaret Cho it put it out there that there also isn't a big representation in the media. Yeah there are famous actors and actresses who are Asian-Pacific, but I can't think of one prime-time show that the main family unit or group of friends are Asian-Pacific. And then Margaret Cho mentioned in her comic performance that the producers of the show didn't think she was being "Asian" enough on her series, but then pulled her the opposite way by saying her face was too round. I thought that was ridiculous. I don't like how a lot of things are going on in Hollywood. Nobody is ever perfect as themselves there is always something to change about yourself and it really effects young children. I know I have been pulled into the nonsense of what Hollywood thinks the perfect body is.
This week opened my eyes to some new ideas to think about when it comes to multicultural literature especially when picking out my classroom library. I want to make sure to represent ALL cultures and do it successfully with credited authors.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Personal Philosophy
Today in class we discussed a lot about critical pedagogy and critical literature, which are big components in our own personal philosophies on teaching literature to our own students. The main reason on why I am here in this specific class is so that I can have a more elaborate philosophy and actually be able to reach my own goals about multicultural education when I have my own classroom. This class will and is giving me the tools to go about multicultural education especially when it comes to literature. So in fact this class connects a lot to my professional goals. I want to create an environment no matter where it may be that is culturally aware of others and most importantly accepting. This is class is helping me reach this by starting with the library and literature I will share with my students.
Issues of diversity play a lot of roles in literacy teaching and learning. An indirect role it has is that no matter what piece of literature you read there is some type of culture or race represented in that text. However the way these different cultures may or may not be represent correctly or fairly. So this is when multicultural literacy teaching and learning comes into play. Teachers need to recognizes this and teach their students about the cultures or races they are reading about so that their students have accurate knowledge and accepting views of people who are different from them. These are important things to do in school because that is where students become culturalized a lot of the times because they meet and interact with a diverse group of students and outside of their home life. My personal views on multicultural education definitely are going to be included in my classroom. I think it is very important to be a teacher and have a diverse view on education because you aren't going to get students who are clones of eachother. There are going to be diverse back rounds. I don't think that it is appropriate to ignore that fact and should embrace it so your students will as well. This will make, I think, a more comfortable and inviting learning environment. Literacy is a great way to introduce new cultures and races and good representations of multicultural literature should be included in all classrooms. There are many ways to include different multicultural literature in all subjects.
When I think about multicultual education and my own classroom of course there are concerns I have in insuring that I do it correctly and well. I am very nervous being a white female I will have a difficult time relating to some of my students, but I will try my hardest and try to bring in as many resources I can so that everyone feels that they have good role models. I also am concerned about choosing the right literature. I am excited to see what I can do and what resources will be available to me. For starters I think this class is giving me some great ideas and representations of multicultural literature to use on my own.
Issues of diversity play a lot of roles in literacy teaching and learning. An indirect role it has is that no matter what piece of literature you read there is some type of culture or race represented in that text. However the way these different cultures may or may not be represent correctly or fairly. So this is when multicultural literacy teaching and learning comes into play. Teachers need to recognizes this and teach their students about the cultures or races they are reading about so that their students have accurate knowledge and accepting views of people who are different from them. These are important things to do in school because that is where students become culturalized a lot of the times because they meet and interact with a diverse group of students and outside of their home life. My personal views on multicultural education definitely are going to be included in my classroom. I think it is very important to be a teacher and have a diverse view on education because you aren't going to get students who are clones of eachother. There are going to be diverse back rounds. I don't think that it is appropriate to ignore that fact and should embrace it so your students will as well. This will make, I think, a more comfortable and inviting learning environment. Literacy is a great way to introduce new cultures and races and good representations of multicultural literature should be included in all classrooms. There are many ways to include different multicultural literature in all subjects.
When I think about multicultual education and my own classroom of course there are concerns I have in insuring that I do it correctly and well. I am very nervous being a white female I will have a difficult time relating to some of my students, but I will try my hardest and try to bring in as many resources I can so that everyone feels that they have good role models. I also am concerned about choosing the right literature. I am excited to see what I can do and what resources will be available to me. For starters I think this class is giving me some great ideas and representations of multicultural literature to use on my own.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Awards
Last week in class we got to quickly overview all the different types of literature awards. I had no idea there were so many awards for all the different types of literature. I knew that there were book awards for African American literature, but I didn't even think about there being awards for Middle East literature, Asian-Pacific American literature to just name a few. After learning about all these different awards I understand why I had never heard of them before. There isn't a lot of information or publicity for these awards. My group was assigned the Middle East award and when we researched we could hardly find any information about the award except for a small paragraph rattling off general information. The website that we did find had all the books that had won the award from the past and when one of our group members went to the library none of the books she found had a seal or any recognition that it had won the award. Our assigned award wasn't the only award that was like this. I was surprised that there weren't seals for these awards that were put on the book. I think that these awards are important because it points out exceptionally good work for these different groups of literature, but most of them end up being pointless if these awards aren't recognized on the book or in the inside covers of the book. No one will even know that these are good books to read or have in your classroom just by going to the library. Obviously teachers and readers should do research on the literature they are reading, but if you are just browsing the library you would be more likely to read a book if it had won an award. So I personally think that these awards should get more publicity and have recognition on there books. I learned a lot this week in just about an hour I had no idea there were so many awards and I am looking forward to reading books from each of the different categories.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Bronx Masquerade
This past week I got to the pleasure to read "Bronx Masquerade" by Nikki Grimes. It was a refreshing novel to read. The poems that followed each character's feelings really broke up the readings and made the book read much faster. I did however think that focusing on 18 different characters was too much for me to handle. I found myself forgetting who was who. Sometimes characters were mentioned and then not revisited to later on and I thought they were completely new characters. So I had to write down every new character with a little description so I could keep everyone straight. Also the amount of characters made me wonder why the author focused on some of the characters more than the others. She started to talk about one character, but then not really elaborate on them except for one poem by that certain character. Also I felt that some characters were developed more than others and I would like to know why she chose those certain characters to develop more instead of the others. I thought all the poems were very well written and it made me wish I could express my feelings and thoughts as eloquently as the students did. I felt all emotions and events that a teenager might experience in high school were touched on, which made the novel relatable to almost anyone. I found myself going back to my high school years and relating to a character or two. Some issues that the students were dealing with were very deep and sometimes taboo to talk about, such as losing a parent to an Overdose. Obviously these issues are out there and I think it is important to talk about them and to let the children who are experiencing these issues to know they aren't alone. Besides the confusing characters overall I really enjoyed this book and it definitely didn't feel like homework when I was reading this novel.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Insider/Outsider
When most people pick up a piece of literature that claims to be diverse they niavely believe that it is an authentic representation of that culture. Most of the time though you will come across books that claim to be diverse literature, but are written by authors who might have never had any interaction or knowledge with the culture they are writting about. Or for example a book might portray African American characters, but the story could be applied to any culture i.e. a story about adopting a pet from the shelter. I do think it is important to show everyday stories that could happen to anyone with pictures of diverse people, but these aren't really examples of diverse literature.
It is very important for a reader and/or teacher to really examine and research the literature they are about to read or teach. Especially if they are trying to find a book that is diverse and explains more about a different culture, race, or religion. Deciding whether or not it is diverse there are a few questions you should ask of the book that lets you know whether or not it is accurate. One question that always arrises when deciding is if the author of the book is an insider or outsider of the culture or religion that they are writing about. Some people believe that for the book to really be authentic it should be written by an insider, but I don't think that always have to be true. Now I don't think that just anyone can pick up a pen and start writing about a culture or religion that they have never experienced or researched. For an outsider to really compose a great piece of diverse literature, for me at least, is for them to have researched, interviewed and experienced aspects of that culture they are writing about. It seems to be that there are more diverse pieces of literature written by outsiders than insiders so you have to sift through those to really find great books.
It is very important for a reader and/or teacher to really examine and research the literature they are about to read or teach. Especially if they are trying to find a book that is diverse and explains more about a different culture, race, or religion. Deciding whether or not it is diverse there are a few questions you should ask of the book that lets you know whether or not it is accurate. One question that always arrises when deciding is if the author of the book is an insider or outsider of the culture or religion that they are writing about. Some people believe that for the book to really be authentic it should be written by an insider, but I don't think that always have to be true. Now I don't think that just anyone can pick up a pen and start writing about a culture or religion that they have never experienced or researched. For an outsider to really compose a great piece of diverse literature, for me at least, is for them to have researched, interviewed and experienced aspects of that culture they are writing about. It seems to be that there are more diverse pieces of literature written by outsiders than insiders so you have to sift through those to really find great books.
Monday, January 21, 2008
First Impressions
This past Wednesday in class we really started to explore different types of diverse literature and what really made a piece of literature diverse. The class split up into groups and each got a different book to read. My group got an abc book that featured homosexual parents. When I first thought about diverse literature I thought of books about minority groups only based on race, religion, or culture. I never really thought much about gay and lesbian literature being diverse, but being introduced to this book I realized it fit in perfectly to diverse literature. I thought this specific alaphabet book took an interesting way to include diversity in a subtle way. Through out the book it never really addressed that the family units were gay and lesbian, but just had pictures and mentioned things such as my dads or my moms. This really opened my eyes to my view on diverse literature. Also there was another group who had a book on an Amish family, another group of people that have slipped my mind in the field of diversity. This class really broadened my view on diverse literature to more than just what I am used to as being considered as diverse!
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