The Importance of Diversity in School Libraries This post contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Book Riot may earn a commission. This post on diversity in school libraries is sponsored by Get Booked: The Handsell. Get Booked has added a weekly bonus episode called The Handsell! The book market here in the UK is experiencing a boom, at least in my opinion. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing – it means there’s tons of choice out there for children of all ages. But what about diversity? In the past I’ve run a “Read Woke UK” reading competition aimed at slightly older students and hoped to celebrate diversity in UK YA. I have since made it my mission to not only fill the library with as many diverse stories as possible, but to bring in authors who have had as many varied experiences as possible. Alex’s visit opened the eyes of many students who saw him, as some of them may have seen themselves going down the same path as he did in his youth. It goes way beyond just statistics, though. Sarah’s response to this was:
Gender, Race, and Class in Media: A Critical Reader Multicultural Fiction for Teenagers | Madison Public Library The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. 2007Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang. 2006Alternates three interrelated stories about the problems of young Chinese Americans trying to participate in the popular culture. Presented in comic book format. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation. Vol. I, The Pox Party by M.T. Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins. 2010Two Burmese boys, one a Karenni refugee and the other the son of an imprisoned Burmese doctor, meet in the jungle and in order to survive they must learn to trust each other. Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez. 2002In the early 1960s in the Dominican Republic, twelve-year-old Anita learns that her family is involved in the underground movement to end the bloody rule of the dictator, General Trujillo.
Opening Up New Perspectives With Literature Students in classrooms across the United States are a reflection of the diverse people, perspectives, histories, and values in our society. Yet if we were to take an inventory of classroom texts, curricula, and literacy materials across classrooms settings, we’d find that these instructional materials do not reflect the diversity of our students, let alone the diversity of our society. Multiple studies have shown the power of using multicultural texts to address critical topics in classrooms—not only for students of color but for all students. Rudine Sims-Bishop provides a pedagogical basis for this in relation to literature as windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors. She maintains that literature can serve as a mirror to those whose lives are reflected in texts that are read in the classroom. Don’t Forget About Sliding Glass Doors Incorporating This Idea in the Classroom Being intentional about text selection is key to honoring the lives and experiences of students.
Why Teach Multicultural Literature? I have taught literature at the college level for almost a decade and at as many as six different campuses. These have mainly been classes that were focused on non-western writing. One semester, I had assigned Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus and only a week earlier her TED talk, Danger of a Single Story had started to circulate on the web. I sent the link to my students and thought we could incorporate it into our discussion on colonialism, multiculturalism, issues of race and of course, the novel itself. Little did I know that this simple talk would elicit the intensely disproportionate response that landed in my inbox the next morning. A young male student had found the video very offensive. Why teach U.S. students literature from different countries? Here is the video that set this off, followed by the student’s letter and my response: About the Adichie talk at the TED conference. But does she mention them? Subscribe to the Black Voices email.
Equity Through the School Library | by Joy Mancuso-Mohsen | EveryLibrary | Medium There is a startling lack of diversity in children’s literature. School librarians around the country are hard at work trying to fix this problem and bring real diversity to their school’s collection. The problem is alarming: only ten percent of all children’s books were written by or about people of color. For the past twenty years, the Children’s Cooperative Book Center (CCBC) in Madison, Wisconsin, has collected data about diversity in children’s literature. School librarians work to champion the diverse literature available. Equity Audits. Collection Development. Professional Development. Improved Library Marketing. In addition, school librarians market their books outside of the libraries, to families and community members. Joining a National Discussion. Seeing a child’s face light up when they see themselves in a character is one of those moments school librarians live for.
The study of novels and poetry is essential for senior secondary students | EduResearch Matters The serious dumbing down of the senior English syllabus in NSW will have significant repercussions for students, employers, writers, poets, and Australian culture. The changes have been widely criticized. The worst ones are the reduction in texts to be studied, the study of both novels and poetry becoming optional and the formerly non-ATAR English course now becoming assessable for the ATAR. Yes we understand the importance of STEM education and why it needs special attention these days. So why worry about our HSC students skipping novels and poetry in their final year of school? So much, so very much. Why studying novels and poetry should be compulsory The intensive study of multiple texts, written from diverse points of view and cultural heritages, gives a vicarious glimpse of the worlds of others. Novels This lowering of standards by NSW represents a lowering of expectations and is a sad reflection of our impoverished educational philosophy. In a few years we’ll (suddenly!) Poetry
Multicultural Music and Songs that Build an Appreciation of Diversity Add some interest to your Social Studies curriculum by supplementing your lesson plans with Multicultural Songs! Whether you need educational music for teaching about diversity, songs from around the world or songs for embracing our differences, you'll find a varied selection below. These Multicultural Songs are for children of all ages... and many will also appeal to grown-ups. These song lyrics about diversity are available from a variety of albums: Songs About Diversity and Embracing our Differences A Train Ride to the Great Wall – Ella Jenkins All Over This World – Two of a Kind All the Children Sing - Wendy Rollin Asikatali - Children of Africa – Traditional Folk Song Because We're Friends – Music with Mar. – Two of a Kind We Are The Children of The World – Donna & Andy We're All Different – Caroline and Danny We're Just Like Crayons – Stephen Fite What Does Peace Mean? Multicultural Songs from Around the World
Multicultural Children’s Literature in the Elementary Classroom By Mei-Yu Lu "When I was a child the teacher read, 'Once upon a time, there were five Chinese brothers and they all looked exactly alike'…Cautiously the pairs of eyes stole a quick glance back. I, the child, looked down to the floor…The teacher turned the book our away: bilious yellow skin, slanted slit eyes. Not only were the brothers look-alikes, but so were all the other characters! The vignette above reveals how a minority child felt growing up in a time when cultural and linguistic diversity was neither valued in American society nor adequately portrayed in children's literature, an important channel for transmitting societal values and beliefs. IMPORTANCE OF MULTICULTURAL CHILDREN'S LITERATURE Jenkins and Austin (1987) suggest that cultural understanding can be reached in many ways, such as by making friends with people from different cultures, and by traveling to other countries. The guidelines above are by no means an exhaustive list. Specialized Selection Sources Dowd, F.