My Philosophy on Multicultural Education and Literature

Issues of diversity is a very important topic in education, especially when looking at the literature we are exposing our students to, this is why I am taking this class. I feel that a key component of education is to teach critical thinking and to expose students to the idea of reading critically. As a practicing teacher it is important to take classes like this that are not pedagogical but expose you to culturally diverse literature to test your misconceptions, any possible prejudices, your comfort with different topics (such as race, gender, sexuality, ability, and class), and how socially and culturally conscious you are. After taking a class like this you can apply what you have learned to your classroom by exposing your students to diverse literature and pushing them to test themselves, read critically, and read a wide variety of literature that might allow them to see the world or understand other cultures outside of their own.

My personal philosophy about multicultural education is to use multiple sources of literacy, such as technology, signs, symbols, and text, to open student’s eyes to race, ability, gender, sexuality, and class in order to provide them with a different perspective on the world. Children’s literature fits directly into my philosophy, students should be motivated to read and teach them strategies, like reading against a text, so that literature can be a window or a mirror for our students to see people and places from all over the world. However it is to be said that bringing in any diverse literature without analyzing its content for authenticity and validity and reading critically is not teaching the students anything.

My only concerns about putting my personal philosophy about multicultural education and literature are if I can provide enough diverse literature to my students so that everyone can see themselves in a text, and if I can be wise enough to determine which texts are the best representation of a culture. It is important that images and generalizations in texts do not portray stereotypes, topics of unease are discussed, and that students are always open to new perspectives, and all of this has to happen in order to attempt to educate students to read diverse literature well. It is intimidating and in my mind impossible to find only the best multicultural books, which withhold stereotyping, negative generalizations, negative images, and/or text that could hurt one of your students. However, as a teacher it is my role to try my personal best when choosing literature, though it may not be perfect. I will work to apply the ideas I have learned in this class to better my classroom, my library, and my students’ exposure to diverse literature.

Awards for the Elite or for Everyone

Last week in class we jigsawed literacy awards so that each group would present about an award and its criteria. After all of us presented we were asked to discuss if it was better or worse to have more awards than the Newbery Award. At first I felt as though it was not very important to have these new awards that are very specific. I felt this way because I thought the more awards passed out the less they actually meant. I also felt that with all these specific awards the award labels on books began to mean less to the book purchasers. It was obvious in our class that even as studying teachers we didn’t have any or little knowledge about the criteria connected to the awards.

After class, I spent more time considering the subject and our continuing class conversation of insider vs. outsider came into play. Doesn’t it make sense that if the panels of the Newbery are not diverse or insiders in most topics that maybe they are not the best to judge our more diverse literature? After posing this question to myself I decided it makes sense that there be panels and awards for specific groups within diverse literature, rather than one large award. This way the people assessing a group of diverse literature are insiders, making them more knowledgeable and a better critic on the subject. These awards are then given to the best of the best for each group within diverse literature. Together with all of these awards some of the best or upheld literature is given awards and posted online for all people to be aware of phenomenal literature that is available for them to purchase and read.

Perpetuation of Stereotypes or Window for your Students?

When learning and covering African American literature our class raised the topic of “who is structuring these pieces of literature?” To assist us in breaking down “Bronx Masquerade” by Nikki Grimes, our teacher read us a poem called, “Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea, by Joyce Carol Thomas. The girl in the poem questions or is cautious of who is structuring the situation in the story and how she is functioning within society. When I tried to understand where the girl was coming from I felt as though I may have needed to re-assess my understanding of “Bronx Masquerade.”

I began to wonder what the expected roles of African American characters were in this story. It then became a question of if the characters are stereotypical representations of African Americans or if they are a “real’ portrayal of a Bronx school setting? Tyronne is depicted as having no appreciation for the education system or a hope of wanting or having a future within the first 7 pages. Is this stereotypical or a necessary character presented so the story can break down the stereotypes in the classroom through poetry?

Then our student teacher, Cat, brought up the fact that the teacher himself was very stereotypical. He is white and plays the hero role of saving all of his students in the ghetto through on lesson. Is it realistic to think all students would be interested in poetry or be saved in one year by one of their teachers?

Although I do feel like this book maybe read by students who can use this text as a mirror, I don’t think this book is realistic in its plot. I do think that this book contains some negative images that are repeatedly perpetuated, causing a negative idea about African Americans or their character in society. I feel that these stereotypical representations or “expected roles” hurt this books quality and validity as a piece of diverse literature.

Reflection on Habibi

When discussing Habibi by N. S. Nye my class questioned the text through social context, culturally, linguistically, and religiously. As a whole we thought that the book was a good representation of the Arab culture, but not of Islamic religion. We also talked about Omer being the only positive portrayal of Jewish people. Dr. W informed us of the need to the text to be supplemented with another text showing the Jewish perspective of the historical events that are brushed over in Habibi. He went on further to explain that it was not clear which war was being talked about and it was not told from a mutual conflict perspective, but a one sided story.

When talking in small groups, I raised my own idea about a stereotype in the book. I wondered as I read why Liyana was so precocious, strong minded, and stubborn. I think because Liyana identified herself as being half American she was stereotyped as not holding back her opinion or thoughts, which was thought of as inappropriate in Israel. Her father used her American heritage to forgive her offensive nature. Liyana doesn’t play by the rules, which is shown through her relationship with Omer, yet another stereotype of Americans. As Dr. W said, “lines don’t mean anything to her,” and “she is a crosser of boundaries,” which allows her to fit the stereotypical depiction of American teenagers in their coming of age stage. He also used the word “cosmopolitain” to define how accepting of things that were typically not accepted.
This stereotype is also depicted in Liyana’s mother. She is shown as being open to letting Omer take Liyana to the Art Museum and stands up for her daughter’s strong personality. Her mother seems to not understand the ramifications of the differences of the cultures, allowing Liyana to follow her “American” instincts.

It didn’t occur to me until my small group meeting that the stereotype of the book didn’t lay within the Arab culture but within its representation of American and Jewish cultures. My observations don’t make this fact, but it is an interesting perspective to look at when reading critically or against the text.

"Insider" vs. "Outsider" Authors

Before taking TE 348 I did not look past the story line of a book. If I enjoyed reading the book I would have considered it a good book. TE 348 taught me to look deeper into the books that I would choose to put in my classroom library. I learned to look at the bibliographic information, literary elements, artistic elements, creativity and presentation, and author’s credibility and perspective. These factors allowed me to critically look at a book and make an informed decision on whether it was a book I would select for my classroom library.

Now in TE 448 I have run into another element of looking critically at books, does the author of the book have an effect on whether it is authentic and a good book. Are books only considered good diverse literature if they are written by a “insider”? Before reading the articles I felt that books written by insiders were the best books to have in a classroom library because they “had to be authentic and a good representation of the culture, religion, gender or race.” I assumed that “insiders” wrote better books than “outsiders” because of their experiences and knowledge within the subject. But after reading Rudine Bishop’s article I felt better about these questions. She feels that books should be defined by their content not by who the author of the book is or what they identify with. Bishop strongly expresses the need for an author to know a culture very “intimately” before attempting to build a story around it. The best thing for an author to do is be culturally conscious or make sure the content of their book is correct, and if the content is authentic then it does not matter how the author identifies themselves. It seems that the other authors of the assigned articles agree, if the content is authentic, valid, and a positive representation then it is not important if the author is an “outsider” or and “insider”.

The more I thought about it, I realized that one person from a culture, religion, gender, or race can not speak for all of the people or about a whole culture anyway. Just because I grew up in Michigan does not make me an expert on being American. I am also white but that does not mean I can speak for the entire white race. Everyone is different even if they identify with the same group. So I agree with the articles and their authors, the content is what is most important. I no longer believe that an “insider” makes a piece of literature more authentic.

Introduction

First, I would like to introduce myself. I am a senior at Michigan State University with a focus in Elementary education and a minor in Language Arts. I am writing this blog to discuss matters from a class I am currently taking called Issues of Diversity in Children's and Adolescents Literature. I am looking forward to reading the sampling of literature chosen for us. I also am interested in looking at the power of images, parallel cultures, class, religion, ability, gender and sexuality within each of the texts. I am hoping my blog may allow me to further our class discussions, while gaining experience with a new technology.

I am interested in diverse literature because I am specifically interested in literacy within education. I feel that it is extremely important to expose children and adolescents to diverse literature during these formative years. This exposure can make a difference in the lives of your students by allowing them to see themselves in the literature or by allowing your students to use the literature as a window into other cultures.