In the second decade of the 21st century, cultural diversity has become an incredibly popular idea. The awareness of cultural diversity has integrated its way into all aspects of American society. America is one of the most culturally diverse societies in the world, containing a multitude of different ethnic and cultural groups. Though, success looks different to us all, some studies suggest that literacy skills are vital for cultivating a fruitful society. Children learn best when they can identify with the literature they are reading. The relevancy of the character’s, plot, and setting are especially important to early learners, thru literature they begin to absorb the world around them. That is why we must expose early learners to …show more content…
I wanted a book that did not feature just one specific group of people so, I decided to return to the web and narrow my search. I came across a book written by Mary Hoffman and Ros Asquith titled, The Great Big Book of Families, it was published in the UK in 2010. Next, I previewed the book online to determine if it was a quality text. Then, I researched where I could find a hard copy of the book. I located a copy of the book at Barnes and Nobel. After viewing the book in person, I decided to buy it for my own children’s book collection. The book is about how different families live, and features vivid illustrations to accompany the text. The book begins with “Once upon a time most families in books looked like this- But in real life, families come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.” (p. 6). The illustration depicted your typical heteronormative, Caucasian nucleus, containing a dad, mom, brother, sister, dog and cat. They live in a cottage style home with a white picket fence. The text at the bottom of the illustration read, “In this book are a lot of families living in different ways. Perhaps there’s one that looks like yours” (p.7). This hooked me, I wanted to turn the page. The book featured several types of families’ including, single parent families, adoption, and same sex parents, to name a few. It also introduced different ways families live, work, go to school, and celebrate special occasions. I was surprised to
A multicultural classroom needs to provide a safe and accepting environment for successful learning, prevents prejudices and discriminations from the class, and have a strong cultural consciousness. (E.K. Garcia, 2016) To accomplish this, teachers should be integrating a diverse list of reading materials, introduce
In today’s society, family is often attempted to be organized within a social structure. Within this structure family typically is consisted of mom, dad, daughter, and son. However, many families do not fit into this configuration. These families may include same sex couples, separated or divorced families, extended families, or even blended families. Even though these families may be happy and healthy, to many they are not considered real families. Going along with the topic of imperfect families, both Barbara Kingsolver and Richard Rodriguez try to break down the traditional family structure through their writing. While Kingsolver’s “Stone Soup” and Rodriguez’s “Family Values” explore the ideas of different family structures and traditional American values, “Stone Soup” breaks down what an actual family is like while “Family Values” expresses the value of family in different cultures.
Most families share similar issue. Regardless of race, wealth, or even religion, all families, at some point, hardships or even joys to share. In Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” a family is force to face issues caused by poverty, misunderstandings, and separations. Momma, Maggie, and Dee all seems to appreciate their heritage, but the problem is that they do not view the same way. This lack of understanding is universal. In “Everyday Use” the family shares similarities and differences with my family concerning the disrespect, sibling relationships, and hard working parents.
“Pioneer researcher, Florez-Tighe (1983), was one of the first educators to advocate the use of multicultural literature in school curriculum. Her research indicated that culturally authentic children’s literature enhances language development and thought processes of African-American children (Florez-Tighe, 1983)” (Pirofski). By having different cultures expressed to students in literature, they will more likely become more accepting and understanding of those who follow those customs. The languages expressed in the literature can also help strengthen the left frontal lobe of the brain which is the language dominant part of the
Until quite recently, the traditional view of family that has predominated society has been comprised of gender roles. The “ideal” family in the past has consisted of a white, middle-class, heterosexual couple with about 2.5 children. In this heteronormative nuclear family, the father is the head of the household and the breadwinner of the family, while the mother is the one who cares for the children and completes household duties. Of course, most families do not fit into this mould and those who do not fit have been repeatedly marginalized due to their differences. It is no question that race, class, sexuality, ability, and many other identity markers intersect in how forms of family may vary. As explained by the concept of intersectionality, gender must be analyzed through a lens that includes various identity markers which contribute to how an individual experiences oppression. It is through the use of intersectionality, the discussion of patriarchy, and the deconstruction of “family” that bell hooks (1990) and Michelle K. Owen (2001) paint family as a site of belonging and contestation.
The article “The Family of a Different Feather”, written by Sarah Yoest Pederson, touches deeply on the issue of same-gender parents and how to explain it to a curious, yet ignorant, child using a well written children’s book. Pederson proposes that children are mostly “egocentric”, unable to grasp the emotional simplicities between two parents of the same gender. Pederson goes on to explain that it is unfortunate our society has deemed a children’s book as “most challenged and inappropriate material for its age group” only based on the taboo of same-sex parenting.
Recognize Families as They Really Are?” Families As They Really Are. Risman, Barbara J. Ed. W.W. Norton & Co., 2010, pp.75-90.
The transcendent demand for equal cultural representation in America can no longer remain unrecognized. Citizens are infuriated with public school systems, demanding more diversity in the curriculum. Unfortunately, any attempt to expand public knowledge of multiculturalism in the past has always ended with a cry from white privileged cis males falsely claiming multiculturally focused curriculum disparages American literacy. In 1987, with the (somewhat) arrival of cultural representation in education, an English professor by the name of E.D Hirsch Jr. published a list of common cultural vocabulary that he argued every American should recognize. The volume severely lacked diversity, causing Hirsch to receive an overwhelming amount of condemnation for his definition of fundamental American culture. In 2015, a journalist by the name of Eric Liu provided a second attempt to defining common cultural literacy in an article titled What Every American Should Know. Liu suggested expanding Hirsch’s pre-existing common cultural vocabulary with a compilation of influential, multicultural people, places, and events. Once the list has evolved into a canon of diversity, America must then ingrain the vocabulary throughout the educational networkings, developing a true definition of American literacy. Creating such a vast, multifarious list to teach America’s youth is undeniably challenging, however it is most definitely accomplishable and will extremely benefit our nation. Passionately
In books I was not too American to be Mexican and not too Mexican to be American. This is not the only time I was stuck in a cultural divide nor was it the only time I noticed a cultural divide between the United States and Mexico. As my love for reading grew I became more aware to what degree both cultures valued reading. Reading in Mexican culture is regarded as unimportant due to the fact that there are many flaws within the country’s education system, the scarcity of reading materials, and the lack of encouragement among youth to
Kong, A., & Fitch, E. (2002). Using Book Club to engage culturally and linguistically diverse learners in reading, writing, and talking about books. Reading Teacher, 56(4), 352.
The quality of representation affects how people understand themselves and others in the world. It helps people of marginalized groups understand themselves while normalizing their existence and validating their humanity to people unlike them. Books have the power to change individuals and shape entire societies. The Harry Potter series, vastly popular across the world, is no exception. A generation of readers and more grew up with the books, and an aspect about the books that have and will likely influence people is the representation of different social groups and the relations between them. People that identify with underrepresented groups benefit from quality representation because it, at the very least, validates their identity and helps
Quote: “ Both children and young adults may adapt to these changes more easily if they know about and respect cultures other than their own. Using multicultural literature is one practical way this process can begin ( p.221). I feel that every child and young adult needs to learn about other cultures than their own, therefore, they won’t be judgmental towards others. In addition, in our world we have so many changes within cultures, our global society consist of many cultures and is so diverse, that our students need to understand why changes occur within cultures.
The types of books children read can either reflect whom they are and they can relate to the characters (mirror) or it may bring upon a new perspective while the child will gain a new understanding of the world (window). The types of literature that we encourage and provide our students to read are very important. Providing diverse literature for our students and having diverse literature in our classroom has been an educational mission for many years, due to the lack of multicultural literature students are exposed too.
Throughout our course I have become more and more interested in the idea of Westernized pedagogical practices in the classrooms of U.S. schools. More specifically, during our course I was inspired to explore how literacy and the teaching of reading have perpetuated dominant stereotypes in the classroom and how these Western ideas and canon have affected students’ perception of a culturally diverse and inclusive classroom. Traditionally, Westernized approaches to literacy education have excluded and assimilated many non-native individuals, and even with good intentions; it is difficult for educators to incorporate non-mainstream speakers into their pedagogical framework as our Westernized education practices have centered themselves on not
Reading develops a person’s creativity. Unlike movies where everything is determined by the producer, writer and director, books allow students to create in their minds how a particular character looks like or imagine how a scene plays out.