Developing a personal philosophy

As a future teacher I feel it is very important to teach literature in the classroom. More importantly in relation to this, I feel that it is essential to make sure I am using multicultural literature that represents a great variety and span of diverse groups and does so accurately. Representing diverse groups authentically through literature is something that I highly value and will be sure to do as a teacher in my own professional career. The skills I need to develop an understanding of how to make sure this goal is being met are currently developing through the experiences within this class and will be carried with me throughout my teaching profession. Because children come from various backgrounds and life experiences it is important that all children know they are equally as important as everyone else in the world around them. Teaching multicultural literature helps to develop this idea and notion within children. By teaching about diverse groups within our society, children will gain a better understanding of the culture, experiences, hardships that people of that group may encounter, etc. This will help them to develop empathy towards others. It will also help to gain in their understanding of difference in people in which they will encounter directly within their own diverse classrooms as well as those they may encounter in the future outside of the classroom. When thinking about the importance of teaching multicultural literature and the impact it has on children some concerns about incorporating this arise. One thing that slightly worries me is that the event will occur that while reading a particular piece of multicultural literature in the classroom, we will encounter something stereotypical or offensive to a group that I did not previously notice. While I know that it will be important to point this out and discuss it with the students, I fear that if a child in my class is someone that is representative of a particular group that the offence in the literature was found against, it may make them as well as myself uncomfortable when discussing this issue. However, the more multicultural literature that I incorporate into my teaching, the more the students in general will be comfortable with issues of diversity and they will be able to recognize stereotypes and disregard them as true. Hopefully this attitude portrayed by the students in my classroom, that I strive to develop through the diverse literature, will help my students to feel more secure when things are brought up in literature that may offend their particular group.

Al Capone Does My Shirts - Response

I really enjoyed reading the novel Al Capone Does my Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko. This has been my favorite book we have read in the class this far. I felt that I was able to connect to this book because of my own experiences. I have worked with many children with autism. The children in which I have worked with have been autistic on varying degrees of the spectrum. In reading about the actions and behaviors of Natalie in this novel, it reminded me of several of the actions and behaviors that I personally have seen in the autistic children that I have worked with. I thought the ways in which they represented autism were accurate for the most part. However I do think it is important to keep in mind that children can be diagnosed with autism and still be very high functioning. It seemed to me that Natalie had a more severe level of autism. One thing that concerns me about what this book may portray to people who do not know much about autism is that all children with this particular disability have as high behavioral needs as Natalie does.

Insider/Outsider Debate

To me this issue of the insider outsider debate is tricky. I don’t feel that just because someone isn’t actually from a particular culture that they do not have the right to write about that culture. However, if an outsider is to write about a culture in which they are not a part of, it must reflect accuracy. A great deal of research would need to be done and proof that the author is credible to be writing on particular topics should be noted. I don’t think it is true that outsiders cannot write correct and accurate pieces of multicultural literature just the same as I disagree that any insider can and should write about their own culture. Insiders of a particular culture can be just as bias in their writing if they are taking in to account only their own immediate experiences and surroundings. One insider cannot speak for all of that particular group and therefore it is just as important that they be educated and accurate about the culture when representing it as a whole as the outsider should do. I can see the arguments of both sides of the authors in the articles for this week. I think that because both sides are valid, the debate is complicated. If both insiders and outsiders could work together and take into account both and all perspectives then that would be ideal for the creation of multicultural literature.

In class video - January 23rd

I found that the video we watched in class informed me as well as evoked emotion within me. The Native American woman who spoke in the video allowed me to see how much the use of Native American sports team names and mascots really affected her. Hearing her point of view and the challenges she has gone through with this issue really made me sympathize with her.
When she went to the Illinois football game and saw all of the people dressed as chiefs and ‘playing Native American’ she felt as though she was being mocked. She had said that while they were there she watched her daughter "try to make herself invisible" and her son "try to laugh it off." This comment really stuck out to me. Because everything she has taught her children to respect about their culture was being made fun of she felt she needed to do something. It really was amazing that her main drive in what she was fighting for was her children and wanting them to not have to feel the need to be embarrassed of who they are and where they are from. To me this was really moving.
Lastly, I was shocked at how horribly she was treated throughout her journey. People called her horrible names, spit on her, threw things at her and basically treated her as less than human. I thought it was admirable how brave she was to stand out with signs on the street protesting against using Native American related sport team names. At times she was all alone and had the majority against her but she did not give up. I think this is true courage in standing up for something you believe in.

I am a senior majoring in child development here at MSU. I have experience with children of all ages and have a special passion for young children in the preschool and early elementary grades. I will be student teaching next year in Grand Rapids.

Throughout this course I hope to gain further knowledge as to how I can critically examine diverse literature. My goal is to learn what types of questions I need to be asking about the text to help decide if it is a good piece of multi cultural literature and whether or not it is truly representative of a culture, life style, religion, etc.