Multicultural literature is a very important resource for us as educators to implement in our classrooms. Since the world is and the country we live in even more so is incredibly diverse we need to have literature that reflects that diversity and can educate students on the cultures that exist in their country, city, community, and neighborhood. Furthermore, multicultural literature exposes students to challenges, difficulties, and scenarios that they may be or may not be facing and allows them to view the same problem or a different problem from another person’s perspective. They come to realize that we as humans may face problems in different settings but also face many of the same dilemmas in life and this could possibly assist them in coping with their issues. Cross-cultural communication is enhanced as well since students learn about the traditions and customs of some other cultures they are better able to participate in the diverse, global world we live in. In the academic arena children are able to see the numerous contributions that different cultures and ethnic groups have made to the world and help contribute to events that shaped the present world we reside in. Other cultures have always had their own stories to tell but, one area we need to exercise caution in when selecting multicultural literature is to avoid stereotypical depictions of other cultures. Multicultural literature should aim to tell the entire range of a culture’s experience and activities and not just one particular aspect. For example, a story about Native Americans that focuses on their resistance to America’s expansion should not just show the Native Americans shooting arrows and dancing around the fire but instead should also delve into their beliefs that hold a lot of reverence for nature, their complex governmental system, and their attachment to the land. It is important that all students see that a lot of what they enjoy is the effort of a diverse group of people and not one particular ethnic group as sometimes portrayed in history as being limited to white males. My experience with multicultural literature in my classroom has not been as extensive as I would like for two reasons. Firstly, there is little time to include literature that is outside of the curriculum and secondly, often there is not a good reservoir of multicultural literature available at my school. The situation prompted me to take some innovative measures such as hosting what I called a “cultural corner” in my class where my students and I research a particular ethnic group or culture and some interesting tidbit about them. We have done countries such as Russia, Cuba, Nigeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, and even the diversity here within the US. Unfortunately, many school textbooks have yet to become as multicultural as they need to even though it is getting better. Only 6 years ago I graduated and as I progressed in school I did notice that the textbooks were becoming more diverse and when I took the helm in my own 4th grade class I noticed that there entire chapters devoted to the ancient kingdoms and the influence of ancient African and ancient Asian empires on America along with the Native American influence. Black Americans such as George Washington Carver and Granville Woods were included along with the contributions of woman such as Abigail Adams and Florence Nightingale. Hopefully, multicultural literature will become an intrinsic part of the regular classroom environment.
Biographies are not my favorite things to read, but I have discovered that a lot of the students in our building do like them. The students particularly enjoy the biographies about the famous athletes. They like to check out the books about their heroes and learn more about them. It is the book that makes the characters seem real though, and not just heroic, that is the best biography for children. These books are easier for the child to relate to. In the chapter we again have the explanation as to how biographies have changed due to the influences of the social attitudes of the times. How people viewed children and the role that books played in their education has changed over time, but as mentioned, the biographical genre lagged behind other types of literature. It took longer for the genre to become fresh and interesting. On page 468 there is a picture from The Man Who Walked Between Two Towers. I read this book recently for this class, and I really enjoyed it. I highly recommend this book to others; the illustrations are phenomenal. There is a fold-out page with amazing illustration just as the reader reaches the climax of the story. It is also a look at how the Towers can be remembered in a positive way. Biographies can obviously be used in the classroom, but I think as with other genres, it is important to do the research and find the books that are the best written. In order to introduce this genre to children and to create interest in it, the books should be chosen carefully.
Gregg-I commend you on your efforts to improve the use of multicultural literature in your classroom. It sounds like you have done some interesting things. I like the idea of a "cultural corner". With textbooks I always think that about the time you get used to the one you are using it is time to review new ones to pick out.
Biographies are not at the top of my list for leisure reading. However, they should be an important part of all literary curriculum. A well-written biography can spark inspiration, creativity and passion in one who reads it. I wonder why biographies can often be so difficult for people to get through, yet the advent of the Hollywood biopic (Walk the Line, JFK, Ali, Selena) are of such great interest? Biographical information is important to people, you just have to present the information in an engaging manner. Anyone ever heard of gossip? That is one of the most popular forms on interpersonal communication among my friends! I think if biographies were presented in a more voyeuristic view into someone's life, people would be more eager to read about them. I'm sure well-written biographies encompass every, single factoid about a person, but one that is widely-read, often relates minor factual information back to the person that is well-known by society. So, I guess after reading the chapter, by conclusion about biographies may be less about education and more about marketing and package appeal. But, I say, spice it up! A well-written biography can be exciting, and to choose one for a child, may spark a love of biographies.
Linda, I agree with you to take the time to research the biographies that are the best written. Luckily, this text does some of the work for us. But, a ill-timed biography assignment of a poorly-written biography may turn someone off to reading biographies forever. It's important to keep up with trends in biography writing, and to make sure to keep a list of books that are fresh and exciting.
Thank you very much. Sadly, many textbooks are not that multicultural and it is really shameful since at least 30% of the American student body are from minority groups and these groups have contributed much to this country. Currently, many textboks are becoming multicultural but for the longest the experience of other cultural groups and females have been left out of the mainstream experience and it is englightening to see the range of multicultural literature available for children listed in our unit literature. It is my intention to include multicultural literature in my classroom and one of the ways I am going to do this is by every third month I will design a small corner in my class of a specific country or ethnic group and highlight a significant contribution the group has made to our lives since many have.
6 comments:
Multicultural literature is a very important resource for us as educators to implement in our classrooms. Since the world is and the country we live in even more so is incredibly diverse we need to have literature that reflects that diversity and can educate students on the cultures that exist in their country, city, community, and neighborhood. Furthermore, multicultural literature exposes students to challenges, difficulties, and scenarios that they may be or may not be facing and allows them to view the same problem or a different problem from another person’s perspective. They come to realize that we as humans may face problems in different settings but also face many of the same dilemmas in life and this could possibly assist them in coping with their issues. Cross-cultural communication is enhanced as well since students learn about the traditions and customs of some other cultures they are better able to participate in the diverse, global world we live in. In the academic arena children are able to see the numerous contributions that different cultures and ethnic groups have made to the world and help contribute to events that shaped the present world we reside in.
Other cultures have always had their own stories to tell but, one area we need to exercise caution in when selecting multicultural literature is to avoid stereotypical depictions of other cultures. Multicultural literature should aim to tell the entire range of a culture’s experience and activities and not just one particular aspect. For example, a story about Native Americans that focuses on their resistance to America’s expansion should not just show the Native Americans shooting arrows and dancing around the fire but instead should also delve into their beliefs that hold a lot of reverence for nature, their complex governmental system, and their attachment to the land. It is important that all students see that a lot of what they enjoy is the effort of a diverse group of people and not one particular ethnic group as sometimes portrayed in history as being limited to white males.
My experience with multicultural literature in my classroom has not been as extensive as I would like for two reasons. Firstly, there is little time to include literature that is outside of the curriculum and secondly, often there is not a good reservoir of multicultural literature available at my school. The situation prompted me to take some innovative measures such as hosting what I called a “cultural corner” in my class where my students and I research a particular ethnic group or culture and some interesting tidbit about them. We have done countries such as Russia, Cuba, Nigeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, and even the diversity here within the US. Unfortunately, many school textbooks have yet to become as multicultural as they need to even though it is getting better. Only 6 years ago I graduated and as I progressed in school I did notice that the textbooks were becoming more diverse and when I took the helm in my own 4th grade class I noticed that there entire chapters devoted to the ancient kingdoms and the influence of ancient African and ancient Asian empires on America along with the Native American influence. Black Americans such as George Washington Carver and Granville Woods were included along with the contributions of woman such as Abigail Adams and Florence Nightingale. Hopefully, multicultural literature will become an intrinsic part of the regular classroom environment.
Biographies are not my favorite things to read, but I have discovered that a lot of the students in our building do like them. The students particularly enjoy the biographies about the famous athletes. They like to check out the books about their heroes and learn more about them. It is the book that makes the characters seem real though, and not just heroic, that is the best biography for children. These books are easier for the child to relate to.
In the chapter we again have the explanation as to how biographies have changed due to the influences of the social attitudes of the times. How people viewed children and the role that books played in their education has changed over time, but as mentioned, the biographical genre lagged behind other types of literature. It took longer for the genre to become fresh and interesting.
On page 468 there is a picture from The Man Who Walked Between Two Towers. I read this book recently for this class, and I really enjoyed it. I highly recommend this book to others; the illustrations are phenomenal. There is a fold-out page with amazing illustration just as the reader reaches the climax of the story. It is also a look at how the Towers can be remembered in a positive way.
Biographies can obviously be used in the classroom, but I think as with other genres, it is important to do the research and find the books that are the best written. In order to introduce this genre to children and to create interest in it, the books should be chosen carefully.
Gregg-I commend you on your efforts to improve the use of multicultural literature in your classroom. It sounds like you have done some interesting things. I like the idea of a "cultural corner".
With textbooks I always think that about the time you get used to the one you are using it is time to review new ones to pick out.
Biographies are not at the top of my list for leisure reading. However, they should be an important part of all literary curriculum. A well-written biography can spark inspiration, creativity and passion in one who reads it. I wonder why biographies can often be so difficult for people to get through, yet the advent of the Hollywood biopic (Walk the Line, JFK, Ali, Selena) are of such great interest? Biographical information is important to people, you just have to present the information in an engaging manner. Anyone ever heard of gossip? That is one of the most popular forms on interpersonal communication among my friends! I think if biographies were presented in a more voyeuristic view into someone's life, people would be more eager to read about them. I'm sure well-written biographies encompass every, single factoid about a person, but one that is widely-read, often relates minor factual information back to the person that is well-known by society. So, I guess after reading the chapter, by conclusion about biographies may be less about education and more about marketing and package appeal. But, I say, spice it up! A well-written biography can be exciting, and to choose one for a child, may spark a love of biographies.
Linda,
I agree with you to take the time to research the biographies that are the best written. Luckily, this text does some of the work for us. But, a ill-timed biography assignment of a poorly-written biography may turn someone off to reading biographies forever. It's important to keep up with trends in biography writing, and to make sure to keep a list of books that are fresh and exciting.
Linda,
Thank you very much. Sadly, many textbooks are not that multicultural and it is really shameful since at least 30% of the American student body are from minority groups and these groups have contributed much to this country. Currently, many textboks are becoming multicultural but for the longest the experience of other cultural groups and females have been left out of the mainstream experience and it is englightening to see the range of multicultural literature available for children listed in our unit literature. It is my intention to include multicultural literature in my classroom and one of the ways I am going to do this is by every third month I will design a small corner in my class of a specific country or ethnic group and highlight a significant contribution the group has made to our lives since many have.
Gregg
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