Journal #2: Learning to Use Diverse Children's Literature in the Classroom: A Model for Preservice Teacher Education - 7 views
started by Elly Salkic on 05 Feb 12
started by Elly Salkic on 05 Feb 12
/ TEMS520/ Journal #2: Learning to Use Diverse Children's Literature in the Classroom: A Model for Preservice Teacher Education
started by Elly Salkic on 05 Feb 12
Since a big focus of our class is reading, what are some things we should be reading or have part of our classroom library?
Although we all know the importance of representing all of our students in our classroom, many classroom libraries that I see do not represent all students in the class (including mine). Not that we may not want to represent these students, but also due to the lack of books on specific cultures.
This article talked about the importance of using diverse literature in the classroom. Although it is geared for the pre-service teacher, many teachers that have put this on hold, can learn something from it. The article talks about how using this type of literature in classrooms will create more accepting classrooms, and provide opportunities for new possibilities.
Not only did it talk about the importance, but about what teachers need to do to feel comfortable using diverse literature. More specifically, it talked about the ABC's model; "The model contains several tasks…write an in-depth autobiography, a biography of a person from outside the students' culture, and a cross-cultural analysis explaining students' thoughts about the similarities and differences discovered…It is through this analysis that teachers begin to construct awareness of their own perceptions regarding race, class, gender, and related social issues." (Leftwich p.1) Often times, teachers are not comfortable teaching something if they themselves do not know how they feel about a certain topic. That is why it is important to first look at the way you as the teacher feels by completing the ABC's model.., before going on and introducing the literature to students.
Then the article went into a study of how this model looked in an undergrad class, and what needed to be done for this to be effective in the classroom. Osborne argues that "…teachers must identify their own biases and prejudices before they work with children from minority groups." (1).
I chose to do this article because I teach in a very diverse school. I started looking at my own classroom library to try to find books to represent my students, and out of hundreds and hundreds of books, I have about 5 that I can really call culturally diverse and relevant. It is my goal this year to find as many books as I can that will represent all of my students. I have a huge Middle Eastern population, and while searching for books, I have realized that there are not even that many books out there. It is surprising to me since, especially Michigan, has a huge Middle Eastern population. I think this article has good points on showing us teachers what we need to do first in order to have a successful culturally diverse literature classroom. It is not just about teaching reading, but about what we are teaching through reading. Acceptance of one another is very important.