In class we were talking about how stereotypical childrens books can still be found on shelves today. I thought this was very interesting and decided to find some more information about it. I found this
article which listed some major things childrens literature are missing.
- non- gender biased works
- multicultural works
- inclusion literature (highlighting children with disabilities)
This article makes the point that we do not have enough diversity with children's books today. There are so many types of people in this world but that is rarely reflected in children's books found in American classrooms. I think this is terrible. How can we expect children to treat people equally and have diverse world views if they are not exposed to that through literature?
This article dose list some good books that are not sexist or that bring in a lot of information about other cultures. Here are a few examples
- The Story of Ferdinand, by Munro Leaf
- Jess Was the Brave One by Jean Little
- Jambo Means Hello, by Muriel Feelings
- Tar Beach, by Faith Ringgold
I think these are the types of books are what we need to promote in schools. We need to show children through literature that there are many types of people out there and everyone is equally important. I think the best way to start to get children thinking about diversity is to introduce it through literature.
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7 comments:
I understand where you and the article are coming from. I agree that more diverse literature needs to be presented in classrooms, and this includes more than multicultural works. Different literature also needs to highlight people with disabilities, sexual orientations, and non-gender biased works. However, you simply suggest that these different types of literature need to be represented in schools, but is it really that easy?
How do you incorporate new pieces of literature that were never taught before in schools? It would be nice to simply add the pieces to the school’s library, but parents, and even some students, could be offended at the new literature. I am not saying the literature should come off as offensive, but changing something after many years can be difficult. Who is to say that some of the minority students may not even feel uncomfortable by the new readings? Although they may feel appreciated for being represented, how do you change the “traditional” literature to incorporate diversity without making it seem forced? If people are in disagreement over the new literature, students are not going to appreciate the differences among one another, but rather build on their already negative feelings towards each other.
So, as I agree that more diverse literature needs to be represented in society, I question how this transition can be done, without causing many people to either feel offended or even more like a minority.
I agree that we do not have enough diversity with children’s books today. However, I think it will be very difficult to make literature diverse. For example in TE250, I did my service learning in Red Cedar Elementary school and the school was very diverse. The class that I was in had at least 5 different cultures and they were all very different. The teacher was not familiar with any of their cultures or the other American students were. However, it was hard for the teacher to cover all different cultures in the class because they had very tight schedule that the class have to cover for other subjects. Also, if teacher have to teach other cultures in that classroom, then she had to teach all other cultures not just chose one or two cultures. Also, another reason it is hard to make literature diverse is that I feel like we don’t have enough or many diverse authors such as African American or Chinese American compare to Caucasian American. If we have more diverse authors then we will get more diverse literature. However, I definitely think that we need to enhance our literacy more diverse.
I agree with the fact that there is hardly any diversity in the literature today. Since our country is becoming more and more diverse I believe it is important to increase the amount of diversity in our learning and literature in classrooms. It would be hard to switch the literature right away especially in areas of the country where the diversity is slim to none (which is what I grew up with). If the administration in schools with limited diversity gradually incorporate these new book into classrooms I think students will be more willing to accept differences in people compared to drastically changing the curriculum.
If this would have happened when I was in middle school and high school I think I would have been more prepared for what I was about to face as I came to Michigan State and progressed into volunteering in the East Lansing area. Being thrown into a culturally diverse environment you are not used to definitely comes as a shock to people and it would be beneficial for the future of these students to be exposed to these differences.
I defintely see where you are coming from with your post. Today's world is so diverse with many ethnicities now in schools. Children need to understand there isn't just one race. There are many types with many backgrounds and we need to understand that. Once they get older they can have good relationships with those people. Books are a great way for children to learn about other cultures and what a better way, with pictures.
Along with many who have books for children, we can come to some kind of agreement that there isn't very much diversity in literature. And when there is, it is very limited to stereotypical representations of that culture. A lot of literature presents itself to the dominant culture, and well the dominant culture is changing too. Soon there won't be a dominant culture, so you are right, as well as the article it does need to change in all aspects of diversity.
We don't only need to bring race, religion, sexual orientation, but also disabilities, and many other multicultural differences that make us unique and children unique. But how exactly do we do this? I think by possibly having schools or parents of children looking into more diverse books. Lets face it, there are a lot of cultures out there, we can't cover them all. But what if you choose a different book every week that had some type of diversity in it. It would be more beneficial than ignoring it altogether. It is the responsibility of parents and educators to prepare these children for the future.
Also not only reading literature about diversity is important, but recognizing it. Discussing it with children, and then finding literature to back it up or help supplement it. Literature alone is not enough, but it gives kids that first look into a different world other than their own.
As a future teacher in an urban environment, I know that diverse literature will be needed. Classrooms are some of the most intergrated places and allowing students to connect with different aspects of their identity is vital. Whether we like to admit it or not, not all students have a "mom and dad", some have two mom's or two dad"s. Children are faced with issues of sexual orientation, race, gender, class and many other controversial topics.
Children's books are supposed to be a form of an outlet for them. Keeping our students away from books that discuss issues as popular as these, in my opinion, may hurt more than help them. Children need to see that there are other people who are "different" from them and some students need to see that there are some people out there that are facing some of the same issues they are. Exposing students to these broader topics in books, helps them deal with some of the everyday situations they come in contact with, and may not know how to handle. Or they may help them to accept differences in themselves and in others.
Yes it is true that there is not a lot of diversity in books today. There are still a number of stereotypes ranging from gender issues to races. I think that those books you should mention should be introduced. There is only one problem to think about. That is do people want it to change. There are a number of parents out there who like the books the children read now and think that it doesn’t need to be changed. They want their kids to get the same education they had. How many times have you heard parents say s, “Oh, I remember reading that in school”? It is just the way some parents are. I say if you want your classroom to be more diverse to teach kids to treat others equally that is awesome you should. It will be your classroom run it your way. But it truly is a shame like you said that books have not become more diverse over the years and that kids can’t truly learn about inequality if they do not see it. Me personally, I am very pro adding the diverse books. It gives the kids a connection something you can relate to when talking about equality and will y open their eyes to the issues at hand.
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