I think the main thing that I learned over the course of the semester is that everyone interprets literature differently. The two times that everyone in our group had to write a paper, I do not think that one person had the same sort of idea for their paper. When we were writing about Boy Meets Boy Katie and I both ended up writing about religion, however the way that we interpreted the book was completely different. Especially in our discussion groups every week, I do not think there was a single time where someone said "I didn't even pick up on that" or "I didn't think of it in that way before." This will cross over in my teaching, because it reminds me that all students come from different backgrounds, and so they will come in with different experiences, different interpretations and different perspectives to bring to class discussions.
Also, one thing that I realized is that it is a lot easier to pick out negative components to childrens literature, especially in diverse literature in picture books. I would finish a book in this class, and think of how great a book it was. (Because I truly believed that all of the literature that we read was quality literature) However, in a chapter book, there are a lot more component so a reader is less likely to pick up on every single detail in a novel. However, in a picture book, you have 30 short pages of information where it is much easier to retain the details of the story. So I am using this bit as a piece of caution for picking out novels to read throughout my teaching years. When I read a novel through to see if it will be appropriate for my class, I know that I will not see every aspect of a novel. After taking this class however, I feel more confident in picking books out because I feel as if I'm better equipped to look at literature and diverse literature in a more nit-picky way. After having discussions, and reading the articles, there are different tips that I've picked up to look for. However, my one concern is that I will start looking at all literature in this way, and thinking that I have to find something wrong with it, because I do not think that there is a perfect piece of literature out there. I do have hope though, since I read all of the novels in this class, I enjoyed them as they were, so my hope is that I can continue this in the future.
While looking over the course readings in the coursepack, there is soemthing that I noticed. That in at least one article from every group of diverse people there are books that are examined. I'm really excited about this, because I will make sure to use these lists in the future. They not only give us positive books to look for, but I was also noticing (like in the Native American section) that there are books that we should avoid using in our classroom. I have often thought though, that it would be interesting to teach a book that has positive attributes of a culture or race and then a negative view on it. I think that it would be a great comparison and contrast lesson that you could teach. Also, students would be exposed to negative stereotypes, which would then make them cautious about using those stereotypes towards others. This would also be an opportunity to disucss that everything that we read is not necessarily a good book just because it was published. So these lists that we are given, both bad and good will come of good use to me in a classroom.
Overall, I'm glad that I took this class. Even though I have a decent background in children's literature, I had never focused on diverse literature before. This class gave me the tools to disect a piece of literature and not only look for the negative attributes, but the positives as well. It gave me a tool to look at literature in a different way that will be beneficial to me as a teacher in the near future.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
Final Project Reflection
The literature that I chose to read about for my final project was African American literature. There were a few reasons for this. First of all, next year I will be doing my student teaching in the Chicago Public Schools and will be teaching predominantly African American students. For this reason, I wanted to read a few more books by insider authors to have more experience with this group of underrepresented authors. For my future students, it will be important to involve this literature into their lives, and I need to have more of a foundation besides reading Bronx Masquerade in class.
The second reason I chose these books was because they were all a part of my personal library. I had bought or received these books for various reasons over the past few years. I bought Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor and The Watsons go to Birmingham-1965 by Christopher Paul Curtis because I know that they are renoun books not only within African American literature, but in all aspects of literature. Roll of Thunder reveived the Newbery award, while Watsons won the Newbery Honor, which are the highest awards in children’s literature. The third book was given to me by a fellow teacher who teaches in the Detroit Public School system. I had heard of the author Jacqueline Woodson before, but never heard of the title Miracle’s Boys. Since I have enjoyed other books of hers, I wanted to read this book. All three of these books were also awarded with the Coretta Scott King Award.
Lastly, the main reason why I chose these three chapter books was because they are all set in different time periods and different settings. I wanted to look at the African American experience throughout from different decades to see how the stories changed, and how perspectives changed. Roll of Thunder is set in the 1930’s in Mississippi, Watsons takes place in 1963 in Flint, Michigan as well as Alabama, and Miracle’s takes place in New York City in the 1990’s.
One thing that was very apparent in this book was the different perspectives. There was the African American perspective, and outlooks on their oppression; and on the other hand there were glimpses of the white perspective as well. Even though it is told from the African American perspective, it shows their thinking and the way that they acted towards people of another race. Also, Roll of Thunder and Watsons seemed very real to me. They are both based on true stories, which makes them come alive to me more than they would otherwise. Besides oppression, the other aspect that jumped clearly out at me was typical stereotyping. In Miracle’s Boys one of the brothers was sent off to a teenage correctional facility, while the older brother was the primary caregiver of the family and worked so hard for barely anything. These are stereotypes and generalizations that we see often within this culture. In Watsons go to Birmingham- 1963 we see the stereotype of Byron who is the rebellious teen who gets in all sorts of trouble, and gets sent down to his grandmothers. And finally in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, we see the stereotypes of white southerners still angry about the Civil War and before the Civil Rights Movement. All three novels had different themes, but were also similar in certain ways. I think that all three overall are good representations of African American Literature, and would teach any of them in my future classroom.
The second reason I chose these books was because they were all a part of my personal library. I had bought or received these books for various reasons over the past few years. I bought Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor and The Watsons go to Birmingham-1965 by Christopher Paul Curtis because I know that they are renoun books not only within African American literature, but in all aspects of literature. Roll of Thunder reveived the Newbery award, while Watsons won the Newbery Honor, which are the highest awards in children’s literature. The third book was given to me by a fellow teacher who teaches in the Detroit Public School system. I had heard of the author Jacqueline Woodson before, but never heard of the title Miracle’s Boys. Since I have enjoyed other books of hers, I wanted to read this book. All three of these books were also awarded with the Coretta Scott King Award.
Lastly, the main reason why I chose these three chapter books was because they are all set in different time periods and different settings. I wanted to look at the African American experience throughout from different decades to see how the stories changed, and how perspectives changed. Roll of Thunder is set in the 1930’s in Mississippi, Watsons takes place in 1963 in Flint, Michigan as well as Alabama, and Miracle’s takes place in New York City in the 1990’s.
One thing that was very apparent in this book was the different perspectives. There was the African American perspective, and outlooks on their oppression; and on the other hand there were glimpses of the white perspective as well. Even though it is told from the African American perspective, it shows their thinking and the way that they acted towards people of another race. Also, Roll of Thunder and Watsons seemed very real to me. They are both based on true stories, which makes them come alive to me more than they would otherwise. Besides oppression, the other aspect that jumped clearly out at me was typical stereotyping. In Miracle’s Boys one of the brothers was sent off to a teenage correctional facility, while the older brother was the primary caregiver of the family and worked so hard for barely anything. These are stereotypes and generalizations that we see often within this culture. In Watsons go to Birmingham- 1963 we see the stereotype of Byron who is the rebellious teen who gets in all sorts of trouble, and gets sent down to his grandmothers. And finally in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, we see the stereotypes of white southerners still angry about the Civil War and before the Civil Rights Movement. All three novels had different themes, but were also similar in certain ways. I think that all three overall are good representations of African American Literature, and would teach any of them in my future classroom.
Review on Critical Review
I agree with the Horn Book review of The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963. This is a review from a section of the publication that reviews new literature that they feel is worthy of writing about. The Horn Book is one of the most popular and well respected magazines focusing on childrens literature.
I enjoyed how this review focused more on the end of the story. It reads more in depth into the last few pages much more than the average reader would. It gives the imagery of death, and the “Wool Pooh” and how to a young persons mind, something so simple as Winnie-the-Pooh’s evil twin brother can be the grim reaper knocking on your door. This book does provide a lot of death imagery at the end with Kenny almost dying from drowning, the thought of Joetta being killed with a bomb in church, and being there while the four little girls were killed in the bombing, death is a very real thing for Kenny at the end of this novel.
The review also mentions something that I also talked about in my review of the novel, and that is Curtis’ ability to move from the somber movements into the humerous sections that make the reader laugh out loud picturing what he is depicting. I defiantly agree, especially for a first time author, this is something that he does seamlessly, and makes the novel more enjoyable to read.
From the way that this review has been written, it seems as if Martha Parravano, the critic enjoyed this story. This review is defiantly a representation of a pre-curser to this novel winning both the Newbery Honor, and the Coretta Scott King awards.
Publication Info: Parravano, Martha. "The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963." The Horn Book Magazine Mar/April 1996: 195
I enjoyed how this review focused more on the end of the story. It reads more in depth into the last few pages much more than the average reader would. It gives the imagery of death, and the “Wool Pooh” and how to a young persons mind, something so simple as Winnie-the-Pooh’s evil twin brother can be the grim reaper knocking on your door. This book does provide a lot of death imagery at the end with Kenny almost dying from drowning, the thought of Joetta being killed with a bomb in church, and being there while the four little girls were killed in the bombing, death is a very real thing for Kenny at the end of this novel.
The review also mentions something that I also talked about in my review of the novel, and that is Curtis’ ability to move from the somber movements into the humerous sections that make the reader laugh out loud picturing what he is depicting. I defiantly agree, especially for a first time author, this is something that he does seamlessly, and makes the novel more enjoyable to read.
From the way that this review has been written, it seems as if Martha Parravano, the critic enjoyed this story. This review is defiantly a representation of a pre-curser to this novel winning both the Newbery Honor, and the Coretta Scott King awards.
Publication Info: Parravano, Martha. "The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963." The Horn Book Magazine Mar/April 1996: 195
The Watsons Go to Birmingham
The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963, by Christopher Paul Curtis is a novel that takes place in the middle of the Civil Rights movement, in 1963. This is a story about a family from Flint, Michigan who has been having a rough winter. The main character Kenny’s older brother Byron has been getting into trouble. He isn’t listening to his mom, and she is at her wits end with him. Throughout the story we hear about Momma growing up in Alabama, and so when her and Dad decided that there was nothing more they could do, they pack up and take a trip to see Kenny’s grandmother. However, while they are in Alabama, something horrible happens. While at church, someone threw a bomb into the Sunday school classroom, and it ended up killing four little girls. Luckily, Joetta (Kenny’s little sister) was not one of them. However, this changed the family, and their outlooks on life. In Flint, they had not experienced this kind of hatred. This novel shows how one event can change your life.
I really liked this book. I found myself laughing out loud while reading it. This is one of the aspects that made it a quality piece of diverse literature for me. Even though there were humerous parts, there were also very serious parts and they intertwined beautifully and made a seamless story. Apparently the critics thought so as well because it won a Newbery honor award and the Coretta Scott King award. I think this is a quality piece of diverse literature because it highlights a true event that I had never heard of before. The climax of the story is when a bomb is thrown into a Sunday school classroom and kills four innocent children. Usually when we think of the Civil Rights movement we think of Rosa Parks and the bus boycott, or the Dr. Martin Luther King, “I Have a Dream” speech. It’s little events like this church bombing that affected more people than we know, and it has historically been dropped from teaching, if it ever was taught. I liked that Curtis included an Epilogue that gave a little history on the time period in Birmingham so that children that read this have a context for the story. The epilogue ends “And one of them could be you” talking about people who will change the world. I think that it ends the novel on an optimistic note.
One thing that the book does however is stereotype the “typical black thug”. Kenny’s brother Byron was always getting into trouble, whether it be at school, or out of school, it always seems as if Byron is getting into a scuffle. However, on the other spectrum of that, Kenny’s character is a positive role model for young students. He is ahead in his class in academics, is a great reader and is enthusiastic about school. I thought that this was a good counter balance for the characters in the books. This way Curtis is representing a few different character types into the story. The balance of these characters enhances it’s appeal and the audience that it reaches.
Book Info: Curtis, Christopher Paul. The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963. Scholastic Inc, 1995.
ISBN: 0-590-69014-0
I really liked this book. I found myself laughing out loud while reading it. This is one of the aspects that made it a quality piece of diverse literature for me. Even though there were humerous parts, there were also very serious parts and they intertwined beautifully and made a seamless story. Apparently the critics thought so as well because it won a Newbery honor award and the Coretta Scott King award. I think this is a quality piece of diverse literature because it highlights a true event that I had never heard of before. The climax of the story is when a bomb is thrown into a Sunday school classroom and kills four innocent children. Usually when we think of the Civil Rights movement we think of Rosa Parks and the bus boycott, or the Dr. Martin Luther King, “I Have a Dream” speech. It’s little events like this church bombing that affected more people than we know, and it has historically been dropped from teaching, if it ever was taught. I liked that Curtis included an Epilogue that gave a little history on the time period in Birmingham so that children that read this have a context for the story. The epilogue ends “And one of them could be you” talking about people who will change the world. I think that it ends the novel on an optimistic note.
One thing that the book does however is stereotype the “typical black thug”. Kenny’s brother Byron was always getting into trouble, whether it be at school, or out of school, it always seems as if Byron is getting into a scuffle. However, on the other spectrum of that, Kenny’s character is a positive role model for young students. He is ahead in his class in academics, is a great reader and is enthusiastic about school. I thought that this was a good counter balance for the characters in the books. This way Curtis is representing a few different character types into the story. The balance of these characters enhances it’s appeal and the audience that it reaches.
Book Info: Curtis, Christopher Paul. The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963. Scholastic Inc, 1995.
ISBN: 0-590-69014-0
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred D. Taylor, is a story about Cassie Logan and her family. Living in the south during the Great Depression was not a good time for African Americans. It was hard to find work, which is apparent in this story by her father having to leave and work on the railroad in Louisiana; and it was lucky if you had work at all. A large portion of the African American families in this story are sharecroppers, so they work the land for someone who literally owns them. They are still slaves in a sense, since they never see a penny of the money that they earn. This story takes place over a school year where Cassie and her brothers, Stacey, Christopher John and Little Man grow up a lot emotionally. They have to deal with the bus splashing them every day on the way to school, and the realization that the white bus drivers and children (except for Jeremy) do not care about them at all. They also have to deal with their mother getting fired from her job since she teaches accurate portrayals of history, of which the school board does not approve. I think that the biggest event in the story however is then T.J. robs the store over in Strawberry and as readers we get to see the brutal mentality of the “white man” towards the “black man” over nothing. These children have to grow up quickly to protect themselves from the times around them, and the year that we view in this story shows an immense amount of growing up.
This novel in my opinion is a great piece of literature. This is a story that has been passed down by Taylor’s own family, and she felt the need to share it with others. The novel is set in the 1930’s in the midst of the Great Depression in rural Mississippi. In this novel, the focus to me seemed to be the unfair treatment of African Americans by some of the white population in their town and surrounding areas. I think that this aspect of the story made it a true quality piece of literature. Cassie, the main character was naïve in a variety of ways to the world outside her house, especially when it came to dealing with children her own age, and not realizing why a white girl was considered better than her. I liked how Taylor included the white population, such as Mr. Jamison and his family in the book. This shows the perspective that not everyone thought that African Americans should be oppressed, and that they should be treated fairly. So in this way I think that the novel has been quite authentic, and culturally accurate because it encompassed all perspectives. This novel has won both the Newbery Award for excellence in children’s literature, and the Coretta Scott King award for excellence in African American literature by an insider author.
Book Information: Taylor, Mildred D. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Scholastic Inc, 1976.
ISBN:0-590-98207-9
This novel in my opinion is a great piece of literature. This is a story that has been passed down by Taylor’s own family, and she felt the need to share it with others. The novel is set in the 1930’s in the midst of the Great Depression in rural Mississippi. In this novel, the focus to me seemed to be the unfair treatment of African Americans by some of the white population in their town and surrounding areas. I think that this aspect of the story made it a true quality piece of literature. Cassie, the main character was naïve in a variety of ways to the world outside her house, especially when it came to dealing with children her own age, and not realizing why a white girl was considered better than her. I liked how Taylor included the white population, such as Mr. Jamison and his family in the book. This shows the perspective that not everyone thought that African Americans should be oppressed, and that they should be treated fairly. So in this way I think that the novel has been quite authentic, and culturally accurate because it encompassed all perspectives. This novel has won both the Newbery Award for excellence in children’s literature, and the Coretta Scott King award for excellence in African American literature by an insider author.
Book Information: Taylor, Mildred D. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Scholastic Inc, 1976.
ISBN:0-590-98207-9
Miracle's Boys
Miracle’s Boys by Jaqueline Woodson is a true story of brotherhood. This is a novel about three brothers Ty’ree, Charlie, and Lafayette who have lost both their mother (who died in her sleep from insulin shock as a result of diabetes) and their father when they were much younger when he was attempting to save a woman who fell through thin ice. We find out later in the book that Ty’ree was there to witness his fathers death, and the youngest brother Lafayette was the one who found his mother dead in bed. After Ty’ree admits this to Lafayette that he saw his father die, they became a lot closer. These two were also a lot closer because Charlie was not at home. He was sent away to a juvenile delinquent center. Charlie is the stereotyped “thug” of sorts, and was beat up by a gang, and his trouble on the streets sent him away. There is conflict between the brothers as well since Charlie blames Lafayette for not catching his mother before she died. This book overall is a coming of age story of three brothers who have to learn to live without their mother, and learn how to take care of themselves as well as one another.
I enjoyed this story, but did not love it. It took me a while to get into it, and I was not able to relate to it. However, this novel has gotten critical acclaim, won the Coretta Scott King award, and was even turned into a T.V. movie. This novel defiantly qualifies as a piece of diverse literature. The boys mother is Puerto Rican while their father is African American. Therefore the brothers come from two different backgrounds. However, there is not much discussion in the novel about how this affects them. We do occasionally see other people’s reactions to them when they go out, but other than that, the focus of the book is their lives, their history according to them. Even though Woodson portrayed a negative stereotype in the story (Charlie), she also made Ty’ree a positive role model. Ty’ree was extremely smart and would have gone to college, but had to stay home, get a job, and take care of his family when his mother died. His dream is to work for NASA, and plans on continuing those dreams ones Lafayette grows up. However, the character Charlie is a stereotypical troublesome African American teen. He gets in trouble by joining a gang, because he feels that it is his family. We hear so many times that this is why young adolescents get involved with gangs, so that they can feel as if they belong. This is why he gets sent to a juvenile delinquent center. However, when he gets out, he has changed a bit, and tries to be a positive member of his family. I think it’s important that she included both in the story, so that she is more representative of a group than just one stereotype.
Book Information: Woodson, Jaqueline . Miracle's Boys. Puffin Books, 2000.
ISBN: 0-698-11916-9
I enjoyed this story, but did not love it. It took me a while to get into it, and I was not able to relate to it. However, this novel has gotten critical acclaim, won the Coretta Scott King award, and was even turned into a T.V. movie. This novel defiantly qualifies as a piece of diverse literature. The boys mother is Puerto Rican while their father is African American. Therefore the brothers come from two different backgrounds. However, there is not much discussion in the novel about how this affects them. We do occasionally see other people’s reactions to them when they go out, but other than that, the focus of the book is their lives, their history according to them. Even though Woodson portrayed a negative stereotype in the story (Charlie), she also made Ty’ree a positive role model. Ty’ree was extremely smart and would have gone to college, but had to stay home, get a job, and take care of his family when his mother died. His dream is to work for NASA, and plans on continuing those dreams ones Lafayette grows up. However, the character Charlie is a stereotypical troublesome African American teen. He gets in trouble by joining a gang, because he feels that it is his family. We hear so many times that this is why young adolescents get involved with gangs, so that they can feel as if they belong. This is why he gets sent to a juvenile delinquent center. However, when he gets out, he has changed a bit, and tries to be a positive member of his family. I think it’s important that she included both in the story, so that she is more representative of a group than just one stereotype.
Book Information: Woodson, Jaqueline . Miracle's Boys. Puffin Books, 2000.
ISBN: 0-698-11916-9
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Boy Meets Boy
I just finished reading the novel Boy Meets Boy. It is an interesting story in where may of the characters within the high school and town are gay, or transvestites, and it is considered completely normal. Outside of the town however, it's not so perfect. This story, and the Utopian has made me think about whether or not this situation is possible in our lifetimes? Sure there are communities that are gay accepting (think of cities like San Francisco) but there are always those people who are closed minded, and will not accept homosexual lifestyles no matter what. Even Tony's parents were more progressive than some people that we find in our society today.
Another interesting thing that I thought about after I finished reading the novel was that this story is overall just a love story. All of the aspects of a teenage love affair were there. In my mind this should just go to show to everyone who is against gay relationships that they are just like their relationship that they have with their significant other. They should be able to see that if you were to substitute one of the two main characters in the book into a female, that it would be like any other. I think that this novel would be a great book to open people with closed minds. It would make them see that we are all the same, no matter what sexual preference we have
Another interesting thing that I thought about after I finished reading the novel was that this story is overall just a love story. All of the aspects of a teenage love affair were there. In my mind this should just go to show to everyone who is against gay relationships that they are just like their relationship that they have with their significant other. They should be able to see that if you were to substitute one of the two main characters in the book into a female, that it would be like any other. I think that this novel would be a great book to open people with closed minds. It would make them see that we are all the same, no matter what sexual preference we have
Monday, April 7, 2008
Confessions of a Closet Catholic
I felt extremely close to Jussy's character in the book Confessions of a Catholic. In high school I dated a boy who was half Catholic and half Jewsih. Growing up a methodist my entire life, I had only been exposed to the Christian religion. Even though my boyfriend's family did not practice either religions, except for the holidays, I always had a fun time when the did celebrate the Jewish holidays. There is so much tradition that I was able to see with the Seder before passover. The stories told, the food that represents different aspects, and the family feel that is associated with it. I had never felt that sense of family and tradition for a religious holiday before. I had often thought that if we ended up tsaying together, that I would want our children to be raised with awareness of their Jewish heritage. So, in that way, I related to Justine's character because I had questions and was intruiged by a religion that I was not brought up in. The other way, was that I in the past week I lost my grandmother. She had fallen, become weak, and a month later passed away. The times in the book when Jussy's mother came over to Mac's house to tell her the news, or show up at school, those were very real times for me. In the end, I didn't have a revelation, and start going back to Sunday services, but I have to say that there is a spiritual connection there that there wasn't before. I think that if someone is going through a death, even though it is hard to read at the time, you will be able to become closer to Jussy's character, and really understand where Littman is coming from when she writes this novel.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Project Mulberry Thoughts
We recently read the book Project Mulberry by Linda Sue Park and I really enjoyed this book. There were many different aspects that were looked at, and I was waiting to see whether or not the person in our group writing their paper this week focused on the aspect of race in the book, and they didn't. There is an interesting aspect that I found in the book that dealt with racism from a minorities standpoint. In my opinion, when we think about racism, it is usually a white person who has a prejudice towards another person of race, religion, etc... However, we see racism in this case coming from Julia's mother. Her obvious uncomfortable state around Mr. Dixon who is allowing the children to use the leaves off of his mulberry tree. Julia can't believe this about her mother, but it is explained to us that as a child, in Korea, during the Korean war young children were witnesses of black soldiers, and so their only experiences with people of this race were negative. Especially since Julia's family lives in a very caucasian town, her mother is not used to a race differentiation. Julia tries to figure out how to explain to her mother that he is a nice man and that he is just helping them out, but her mother still does not trust him. A few chapters later, he is trying to be nice and send home peppers with Julia. He also calls her Chinese. I know that this is a stereotype that often occurs with Asian people, that they all get lumped together even though their cultures, traditions and religions are all quite different. Julia's character struggles through this throughout the novel, and in the end still can't decide how she feels about her mother's views. I thought it was good how Park had Julia's character struggle with these questions. I think that it is representative of children's views and questions about their parents views if they are growing up in a prejudiced household. I also like that Park did not answer the question at the end. Not only does it leave the reader questioning the text at the end of the novel, but it also leaves the reader questioning themselves.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Naomi's Growth in Becoming Naomi Leon
I just finished reading the book Becoming Naomi Leon. I was intruiged to read this book since in our last children's literature course we read one of the authors other books, Esperanza Rising. I have to say that this is one of my favorite books that I have read in a long time. There is one thing that stuck out to me after I started writing my questioning the text paper, so I figured that I would write a blog about my thoughts. We are able to see Naomi's struggle throughout the book with wanting her mother back in her life. Until she finds out that Skyla is wanting her to move to Las Vegas to basically babysit her boyfriends daughter, Naomi was enthralled with her mother. I noticed that throughout the novel, Naomi was never very secure with how she looked. She always commented about how she stuck out from others. This theme became apparent to me when they actually travel to Mexico and she tells us that the clothes really make the person, and the fact that she had on an embroidered blous and other articles of clothing that she finally felt like she was Mexican. She finally felt as if she fit in. She was able to be successful at the turnip carving competition, and feel good about herself. I thought thatit was interesting that after this trip to Mexico, her self confidence goes up. We hear throughout the story that she is always soft spoken and that no one can ever hear her, but this changes. We see her thoughts of remaning silent about all of the things that Skyla has planned for her, but in the end, in court, she decides that she has to say something or no one is going to say anything. She stands up for herself, her brother owen, and her great grandmother. Because Naomi found out who she was and where she came from, she was able to say something. I thought that this was an interesting growth throughout the novel and wanted it to be brought to the forefront. I think that this is an important novel that brings up issues of different family situations, and real world contexts that happen in our lives today.
Friday, March 14, 2008
My Educational Philosophy
I have never wanted to be anything else besides a teacher. (except for the brief broadway and acting stage that most young girls go through) I wanted to become a teacher after I finished fourth grade. My fourth grade teacher was an amazing woman (her name was Sue Bright) and I knew after that year, that teaching is what I want to do. Over the years I have seen individual teachers reach out and affect certain students. There are some children that can't be reached, but the extra attention, and the caring of a good teacher can change that. This is why I am teaching. I am teaching so that I can positively affect the children who come in and out of my life, and let them know that they can be whatever they want to be. This class pertains to my professional goals 100%. I have always loved children's literature, but this class has really opened my eyes. I would like to think that I have a decently diversified classroom library, but looking back at my books, I have mostly just African American literature. I need to step up and start getting different kinds of diverse lit. Literature however is a great medium in a classroom so that we will be able to learn about different cultures. It exposes children in a fun way, through reading over more traditional learning in the classroom. I think that multicultural education should be involved in every classroom. It is important for children to learn about other cultures when they are young so that they are more accepting to them in the future. It is interesting to see this now, because I am in an all caucasian classroom and have not seen much multicultural learning. These children grow up seeing only one thing, and I don't think thats right. Since I love childrens books, I think that diverse literature will be prominent in my classroom library as well as the lessons that I teach in the future. The only concern I have is the previous notions put into childrens heads about certain cultures in our midst. I hope that I am able to catch them at a young enough age that they will grow up to be accepting of everyone. I have to realize that everyone comes from their own unique background, and that I will not be able to reach every single student. However, I would like to think that I can touch a good percentage of them. I hope that my students by the time they leave my classroom will have more world knowledge than when they left. I feel as if I will be able to do this as long as I continue to put into effect critical pedagogy and critical literacy.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Autism in Adolescent Lit
I just finished reading Al Capone Does My Shirts on the plane this weekend. I enjoyed it, and took me just the plane-ride from Chicago to San Francisco. The basis of the story is that a 7th grade boy, his fifteen year old autistic sister, and both parents move out to the island of Alcatraz. The story occurs however before they know much about the developmental disorder of autism, and they aren’t able to diagnose her. I think that this author did a good job of portraying what happened to people who had mental disorders in the 40’s and 50’s. There were two parts that come into my particular mind, one being when they are at a relative’s house and an aunt suggests that they just put her into an asylum. The other part that I think of is when they start to test her at a hospital, shave her head, and start doing all kinds of tests on her. Back in the 50’s that is what they did with people who they felt they had some sort of mental incapability or sent them away to a place where the family didn’t have to deal with it.
This actually reminded me of another piece of literature that I read over Christmas break. It was Corner of the Universe by Ann. M. Martin. It is a story about a girl who’s uncle comes home from an institution because of the closing of the place. Both of these stories include a close relationship between the autistic person and the child that they are involved with. Even though the basis of the stories are completely separate, they still deal with autism before it is recognized as a what it is today
I am happy to see that stories of these different diseases are starting to pop up in literature that is geared towards middle school readers. It is just as important to have books on mental and developmental disorders since they are prevalent in todays society. Just from experience in my classroom, having a child with Downs-Syndrome and having a child with Autism, it is important for books like these to be readily available to students who are interested.
This actually reminded me of another piece of literature that I read over Christmas break. It was Corner of the Universe by Ann. M. Martin. It is a story about a girl who’s uncle comes home from an institution because of the closing of the place. Both of these stories include a close relationship between the autistic person and the child that they are involved with. Even though the basis of the stories are completely separate, they still deal with autism before it is recognized as a what it is today
I am happy to see that stories of these different diseases are starting to pop up in literature that is geared towards middle school readers. It is just as important to have books on mental and developmental disorders since they are prevalent in todays society. Just from experience in my classroom, having a child with Downs-Syndrome and having a child with Autism, it is important for books like these to be readily available to students who are interested.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Insider or Outsider
When looking at diverse and multicultural literature I am sometimes stuck as Patrick Shannon is. I am a white, female elementary school teacher. What do I know about literature that is written by or about different cultures and races than mine? The fact is that I know a lot. During my time in Radical we would discuss literature that was mainstream, which was controvercial, but we also read books that was very diverse. This short, nice, shy school teacher actually knows somewhat about multicultural literature. But the real question of today's post is, can you really write a book on someone elses cultures and customs being an outsider, or do you have to be an insider, and have experienced this first hand. My personal belief is that you can write from either. However, if you are writing from an outsiders perspective, you better know exactly what you are talking about. There is absolutely no reason to provide sub-standard multicultural literature for children. For some children growing up in isolated communities, these books are the only thing that they have to judge other people on. They have no first hand experiences, so they rely on books to tell them. So if you are an outsider writing about someone else's culture, you need to have done your research. As we were able to see from Claire's collection last week with her Indian American literature, that at least with her collection, we are lacking insider's perspectives. They are there, and some will argue that these perspectives are more trustworthy, but there need to be more. If you are writing on the inside perspective however, you need to think of the audience that will be reading the story that you are putting out there. The audience will need to understand certain things about one's culture, traditions, celebrations rather than just slapping it on a piece of paper and saying that its finished.
I think when looking at my argument overall, I think there is a need for both insider and outsider authors. However, I will STRESS my beliefs that the piece of literature that you are putting out for the public to read needs to be truthful to the situation that you are writing about. There is absolutely no need to put incorrect literature into the world, which will only increase others misconceptions.
I think when looking at my argument overall, I think there is a need for both insider and outsider authors. However, I will STRESS my beliefs that the piece of literature that you are putting out for the public to read needs to be truthful to the situation that you are writing about. There is absolutely no need to put incorrect literature into the world, which will only increase others misconceptions.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Heart of a Chief
We were to have read Heart of a Chief, by Joseph Bruchac for class last Wednesday. I had read the book and written my discussion paper on why Bruchac chose to underlay the more serious topic of Indian casino's under Chris's school project on changing the name of the schools mascot. Before I had read this book I was indifferent on whether or not mascot's should be changed. Coming from Ann Arbor, I heard about Eastern Michigan University changing their name to the Eagles when I was younger but didn't really think anything of it. There is this one quote in the book, from page 128 when they introduce the project as "what team are you rooting for in the Super Bowl?" " I'm for the New Jersey Negroes" and "I'm for the Jacksonville Jews." As soon as I read this quote, I decided that all schools should change their mascot's name. There is no way that we would be allowed to go around saying those types of things, so why are we allowed to call someone the Chiefs, when that degrades what American Indian people to be their leader and someone they look up to. I might just think something like this because I'll admit I'm a liberal, but seriously think of what you are saying to a race that we as a nation has oppressed for the past five hundred years, that we don't care about the way that they live their lives or their beliefs? I would hope at this day and age that it wouldn't be the case. However we watched a movie in class entitled In Whose Honor (I think) and all we saw was ignorant people who believe that the tradition at their school is more important than upholding someones beliefs and religions. They believe at Illinois that they are honoring the American Indian people, but if they would just listen to the people who were saying anything at all, they would realize that they aren't. I think that it's absolutely ludicrous. I commend Iowa for not booking any school (besides Illinois since they have to play inside the conference) that has an Indian mascot. I may sound radical for saying all of this, but think of the people you are affecting, and the children you are affecting. Let's make it so the next generation ration of children grow up in a society that is less prejudiced than its predecessors.
Friday, January 18, 2008
First Post
Hi,
I just wanted to introduce myself. This blog is part of an ongoing project for my Diversity in Adolescent Literature class at Michigan State University. Throughout the semester I will be posting on things that are happening in my class, as well as my ideas and comments about my class, and the articles and books that I am reading. A little bit about me. I am a senior at MSU and am graduating during the first week of May. I'm majoring in elementary education with my concentration in language arts. There is nothing else that I would rather do in life over teaching. I love children, and cannot wait until next year when I have my own classroom. One of my passions is children's literature. Ever since I took my first children's literature class my sophomore year, I have re-fallen in love with children's books. I was a member of RADICAL for two years which was a book club of sorts that read and discussed children's lit and how we should implement it into our classrooms. Jackie LaRose who was my 448 teacher and who was the faculty member of RADICAL has inspired the way that I read and teach children's books. I already have over 350 books in my classroom library, what can I say, I love kids books. I am anxious this semester to explore diverse literature, and hope that it will teach me valuable lessons that I can implement into my teaching and classroom.
I just wanted to introduce myself. This blog is part of an ongoing project for my Diversity in Adolescent Literature class at Michigan State University. Throughout the semester I will be posting on things that are happening in my class, as well as my ideas and comments about my class, and the articles and books that I am reading. A little bit about me. I am a senior at MSU and am graduating during the first week of May. I'm majoring in elementary education with my concentration in language arts. There is nothing else that I would rather do in life over teaching. I love children, and cannot wait until next year when I have my own classroom. One of my passions is children's literature. Ever since I took my first children's literature class my sophomore year, I have re-fallen in love with children's books. I was a member of RADICAL for two years which was a book club of sorts that read and discussed children's lit and how we should implement it into our classrooms. Jackie LaRose who was my 448 teacher and who was the faculty member of RADICAL has inspired the way that I read and teach children's books. I already have over 350 books in my classroom library, what can I say, I love kids books. I am anxious this semester to explore diverse literature, and hope that it will teach me valuable lessons that I can implement into my teaching and classroom.
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