Using Picture Books to Foster Inclusivity - 1 views
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Alysa looked up at me and said quietly, "This could be our family.
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As an educator, I have long agreed with the notion that we often don't know who we affect in our teaching. Alysa's response to Polacco's book solidifies my commitment to read books that serve my students from diverse backgrounds, and I must continue to trust that they will speak about them when they are ready, and possibly away from me. It also reminded me that while she loves us both very much, having two mothers causes tension in her life.
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I use picture books for a whole lot more than graphophonemic lessons. I use picture books that offer the reader multiple ways of understanding the world around them, through people and the communities we all live in, through surface and deep structures. When I choose books, I carry an agenda of finding books that will help each individual and our community of readers discover and understand the people around us more. I hope they are surprised by what they notice and connect with, and I trust that our repeated readings of the text cause them to have multiple a-ha moments. With an agenda like this, it is obvious that I must choose books carefully.
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I'll just say it. For many reasons, I hesitated about posting this article. The idea of gay or lesbian parents can be a loaded topic in an elementary classroom. As was expressed at L2L2, picture books can be powerful tools for creating an inclusive classroom. We don't need to be diversity preachers. We don't even represent many of the diversities we may share or read books about. Diversity IS. Maybe that's the first simple step.
