What Do You Do?

I have never been more conscious of racist, ignorant, and discriminating jokes and remarks that occur in my everyday life from people all around me. I believe that it is important to take a stand in some form of protest to let these people know that those types of comments are simply not okay. Even if this protest is as small as not laughing at the person's joke. I remember talking about this subject in class and our instructor suggested asking the joke teller, "Why do you think that joke is funny?" Then the joke teller will really have to run around in circles to not feel like the ignorant person they are posting themselves as. I know this can cause for some really difficult situations, especially when you encounter this with your friends or family. But, at the same time, you are given the opportunity to open someones eyes a little bit wider and see the other side to their joke. Sometimes this is the best time to address an issue because the person might learn something from you when they were least expecting it. I know life throws you some situations where you have to choose your battles. I try to look at it this way, if I can stop on person at a time from telling those jokes or making those comments, then I am making a small difference that could eventually turn into a big difference. So let's all be a little more aware of the comments made by those around us who have not been fortunate enough as us to learn about all the other great groups of people this world has to offer, and take a minute to educate them.

Describing White-Americans as European American

I have repeatedly come across the term "European-American," as a way to group all whites in the United States into one category. While I understand the origin of the term, I have a hard time accepting it when it comes to discussing multicultural literature. We constantly attempt to identify groups for their unique culture and distinct identity. For example, just in our class alone we have studied Native-American, Asian and Pacific-American, Arab-American, Jewish, and so on. While we have touched upon the fact that it would be impossible to address every group in a semester long course, I think it would be important to recognize the diversity just within the European-American group instead of constantly clumping them together. We have been comparing these other groups against what our society labels as the "norm," in other words "European-Americans." I would just like to address that within that clumped group is another vast range of cultures and identities including but not limited to, Greek, German, Polish, Irish, Italian, French, and I could go on and on. My main point is that I hope that when we discuss the term "European-American," we keep these additional identities in mind, and consider them when discussing the different areas of multicultural literature.

Developing a Personal Philosophy of Multicultural and Diverse Literature

I have really enjoyed my experience in this class because it has completely opened my eyes to another dimension of education. I think about the issues raised in this course now in my everyday life. Whenever I encounter a situation where I hear a racist remark or joke I feel responsible as an educator not just for students, but for society as well, to speak up and fight for acceptance which embraces our world of diversity. Diversity plays such an intricate role in education that the possibilities are endless. Whether your classroom has a diverse population or not, diversity is an important concept to teach. When a classroom does have students from a variety of different backgrounds, those students should feel as if they are being represented in the curriculum. Then, even if the students in your classroom are more of a homogeneous group, it is beneficial for those students to learn about people outside of their community, and realize there is more to our world than the "bubble." I grew up in a white suburban neighborhood and went to a school that comprised of 99% white students. I had one African American friend, two Asian-American friends, and one Native American friend in all 12 years of public school. I was naive to the rest of the world around me, until I came to Michigan State and began to meet new people and learn about many different cultures. I believe that literacy is the best avenue to take when introducing topics of diversity. Books can help students relate to the characters and apply the events in the book to their own lives. This is a great method to give your students an experience of empathy for other cultures and ways of life. My own personal philosophy of multiculturalism and diversity in the classroom, is to incorporate it into all areas of the classroom. Although it would require more planning, this method would be more effective because it just becomes a part of the classroom, versus a month long unit on diversity. I also think that the ideas need to be introduced gradually starting at the beginning of the year and continue to add in more bit by bit. Some of the issues can get very personal for some students, so it is most important to establish a comfortable community of learners in your classroom so everyone feels comfortable sharing ideas and experiences. My biggest concerns about bringing multiculturalism into my teaching is that I will arrive at a difficult situation and not know how to handle it. Being the teacher in the classroom, the students rely on you for the answers and management of the discussion/activity. I realize that there are some of those difficult questions that don't have solid answers and I just hope that I will be able to manage those "gray" areas with my students. Regardless of my fears, I have higher hopes and am so thankful to have this diverse children's literature course as a background in my education.

Child's Idea About A Different Group of People

When I was in my field placement last week, I overheard a very interesting conversation between a few of my first graders. Many of the students live in the same apartment building and talk about their experiences together about being at home. One student was talking about the building she lives in. She started describing to me that all of the doors in the apartment were green. This really bugged her and she said that she wished they could all be a different color. The other girl agreed and said she wished she could change it too. I suggested to the girls that maybe they could make some artwork and hang it outside the door to decorate a little more. The girls thought this was a good a idea but then started complaining about the smell in the hallway. The first girl said, "Those dang Russians are always stinking up the hallway." I was really taken off guard by this comment. She went on, "Those Russians stink up the hallway because of all the food they make. Their food smells sooooo bad. And they cook a lot. But sometimes though they can cook up some really good meals." Well, I asked her how she knew they were Russian, and she tried to avoid my question. The best answer I got was that she had heard it from an older girl who also lives in the building. Then from the rest of the conversation I got the impression that she had been invited to dinner to eat sometime before, but I wasn't entirely sure because her comments were not consistent. This made me think that this girl had these preconceived notions about the "Russians," based on what she had been told by different people. It seemed to me however, that she very strongly believed that only the Russians in her building would cook strong smelling food. I just found this conversation very interesting and found it worth mentioning. This was the result of a young impressionable girl taking on ideas that may or may not be true of a group of people. I fear that these notions will stick with her, and begin a cycle of stereotypes or worse. It is important that as teachers, we realize how impressionable these kids really are, and that they are influenced by many outside sources. This is why in teaching it is so important to get at the students misconceptions and previous knowledge, ideas, and understandings, in order to start breaking those walls down.

First Grade Religion Debate

In my field placement full of first graders, we were discussing a social studies lesson on leadership. The students were generating a list of leaders on the white board, when one child raised her hand and said, "God." Another child raised his hand and said his leader was Jesus. This sparked a debate between five or six children. They were debating whether God and Jesus were the same person or not. One child said, "God is Jesus so he doesn't count as two different leaders." Another child said, "No God is Jesus' dad so they are two different leaders." My teacher proceeded to write both names on the board and allowed the children to talk it out with each other. Some children did not even know who "Jesus" was. This conversation among six year olds, made me come to a very important realization. Children are bringing their backgrounds, culture, religion, and diverse beliefs to the classroom even this early in their education. It is important to keep this in mind as teachers, even in the younger grades because it does have an effect on the students and how they accept your teaching.

Discussing The Text: Al Capone Does My Shirts

I really loved reading this book. I had never read a fiction piece dealing with autism, let alone any type of learning disability. I thought this piece of literature did a great job of exploring the relationships between those with and without a disability. I liked that the perspective was not of the person who had the disability, but as close as you can get to that, with the character of Moose and his insight. I think it is important to note the changing development of the relationships between the character's in the book as the result of autistic Natalie's character.

Moose's anxiety about Natalie being around other "normal" people really seems to come at ease by the end of the book, as he better realizes his place with her. Moose really struggles between being a brother to Natalie, and a more parental figure to her. He really fills some big shoes and is rewarded greatly.

Piper, the rowdy trouble-maker of the group makes a positive transition from making fun of Natalie, asking if she is "retarded," or "stupid", to becoming compassionate and sensitive to Natalie's needs, wants, likes, and dislikes. She even asks Natalie for help in counting her money and comes to tell Natalie "Happy Birthday."

Moose's mother also makes a great transition throughout the book. At first, she is super stressed out all the time about Natalie and constantly making decisions that may or may not be in the best interest of Natalie. However, she comes to realize that her young son Moose is right about a lot of things and comes to appreciate him even more for it.

I really want to explore these relationships in class, and the cause for their dynamics to shift so much in a short period of time. I believe that when the character's come to a better understanding of Natalie, they accept her and become compassionate toward her. This is a major theme across all multi-cultural diverse relationships. When the "unknown" and "different" becomes more familiar it is easier to understand and get along. A major purpose of this course and our future teachings in elementary classrooms!

Multicultural Literature Awards

There seems to be a little bit of a debate in the children's literature community about book awards for multicultural literature. In class this last week we were assigned to groups for researching a different book award. My group was assigned the Sydney Taylor Award, an award given to outstanding examples of Jewish children's literature. In the rationale for the award, the Association of Jewish Libraries, stated that the purpose of the award was to "inspire authors, encourage publishers, inform parents and teachers, and intrigue young readers." The AJL also stated that the Sydney Taylor award is meant to, "engender pride in Jewish readers while building bridges to readers of other backgrounds." Some would argue that multicultural awards actually draw clearer lines among groups, but in this statement from the AJL, the goal is actually quite the opposite. While I myself am not Jewish, I like that there are organizations such as the AJL who have these award systems to help educate others about our differences. It is important to recognize that there are different groups, races, ethnicities, cultures, etc. and these awards help to shed a positive light on each groups' unique qualities without stereotyping and without racism. The awards enable a sense of pride to know that you can pick up a good book about one of "your own," or if you are an outsider to the group you know that you will be reading without false judgements. This is the beauty of these awards and I am thankful they are here.