Final Blog

Looking back at everything we’ve covered in TE 448 has amazed me. I feel that this class has been preparing me for my future classroom just as much if not more than TE 401 has. From all of the multicultural groups we’ve been learning about, I still believe that there is so much more to know and to educate myself on. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with how much more I need to gain knowledge of, but I realize that this can be learned with one step at a time. I already feel like I have had an advantage by being a student in TE 448. My mind has become much more open and willing to accept everyone’s individual differences, which I feel is extremely important being a teacher to a variety of students. I know now how essential it is to include many different multicultural group literatures in my classroom so that every student can somehow relate.

An issue that was addressed in the course readings and in my small group was about bullying, stereotypes, and name-calling. By reading and taking this course, I feel more knowledgeable on what are or are not appropriate names for certain ethnicities, religions, genders, sexual orientations, etc. When I become a teacher with my own classroom, I realize that there needs to be a completely positive classroom community where the students know there is no name-calling or bullying allowed. From experience with my TE 401 CT, I see how imperative this is. My CT has no classroom community and all of the students get away with name-calling. The students don’t have respect for one another or for their CT and are not punished for it. Students end up crying and extremely hurt by their classmate’s behaviors and insults. Even though this placement has been difficult for me, on a positive note I have learned how important building a positive and comfortable classroom community is.

Another part of class that highly impacted me was our discussion of Native Americans. When we watched the movie about Native American team mascots, I was completely shocked. This just shows how important it is to be educated on different multicultural groups because I had absolutely no idea that an Indian mascot could be so offensive to their culture. Seeing all of the ignorant fans that wouldn’t try to understand or see where she was coming from was frustrating even for me to watch.

One last portion of class that I’d like to discuss was blogging. I felt like this was very beneficial for me and for the entire class. I think that a lot of times we hear something in class that stands out to us and we just walk away with a thought. This is where I believe blogging is so valuable to express your thoughts and opinions on something you’ve learned in class. This way other classmates can comment on your thought that maybe they would have never thought of themselves. Or you can reflect back on everything you’ve learned later in the semester, like we are all doing now. This class overall has given me knowledge, skills, and an open mind to take into my future classroom. I would definitely recommend this course to future MSU College of Ed students!

LGBT Literature Set

The collection of books I chose for this final project all focus on the LGBT community in children’s literature. I chose a wide array of people included in this community such as two lesbian mothers where the young child struggles to explain or comprehend the structure of her family. Also, I have a separation of two parents where the dad becomes gay and has a man live with him and his son. My final book is about a middle school boy who figures out his identity and struggles to come out and be accepted at school and home. When I was trying to figure out what books to include for this project, I found it very difficult because there was a minimal selection to choose from. The problem is that there are many fantastic books out there about the LGBT community, but very few are chosen to be placed on the bookshelves at bookstores, libraries, and schools. The LGBT community should most definitely be included in the selection of children’s literature just as much as any multicultural group should be.

I have learned that the reason why the LGBT community is non-existent in children’s literature selections is mainly because parents have concerns about this “issue” being presented to their children. Parents have argued that an elementary school should not push the issues of the LGBT community and sexual orientation on children. However, we have to understand that this is not an “issue” but just as much of a multicultural group as any other ones are. Having a variety of books included in libraries is important so the books can reach all individual differences. This way children are able to compare characters and experiences to their own lives. As a child is figuring out their own identity, it is extremely important to have reassurance through books and media that they are not alone. If this huge chunk of LGBT literature is excluded from our public children’s literature selection what can the children who are part of the LGBT community or know someone or a family member who is a part of it, relate to? These books that I have selected for this project are wonderful novels and children’s books that should have the chance to be placed on our bookshelves in our future classrooms. These selected books can educate children who are unfamiliar with the LGBT community and help children who are figuring out their identity or family’s identity as a member of the LGBT community. Also, these books are just wonderful reads written by fantastic authors that should be included in literature selections at bookstores, libraries, and classrooms.

Professional Resource

Emfinger, Kay (2007). Rethinking welcoming literacy environments for LGBT families. (educating children on sex differences). Childhood Education. 84.1 (Fall 2007): 24(5). Academic OneFile. Gale. Michigan State University Libraries. 18 Nov. 2008.

As teachers, it’s important to create a safe learning environment for all children and to teach the importance of accepting differences among students. All students should be treated and treat each other equally. A huge strategy to create an equal and warm classroom environment is by providing a plethora of literature with all religions, cultures, sexual orientations, ethnicities, etc. This way the students will not feel left out when reading pieces of literature.

It’s important for students while reading to be able to connect and relate with books, especially at younger ages when they’re searching their own identity. “Young children need to see their own experiences reflected and validated in school (Emfinger, p. 24).” Literature is a perfect way for the children to relate. However, the LGBT community is often excluded from classroom and/or school libraries in fear of raising debate and concern from families who disagree with this “issue.” We need to realize that it’s not an issue but an actual multicultural group. Excluding the LGBT community from our literature selection in schools is like excluding Native American literature because a parent isn’t comfortable exposing their children to this issue. The LGBT community is just as much as a multicultural group as any other. It’s a way of life for certain individuals and deserves just as much respect and inclusion as any diverse group. We also need to realize that there is literature out there on LGBT, but the problem is few teachers and librarians are putting these books onto bookshelves. We need to reach all of our students and it’s important to include every student and family’s individual differences.

The inclusion of this literature can have a positive effect on your students who are tomorrow’s leaders. “Modeling and teaching behaviors appropriate in a diverse society creates paths to equal opportunity for all learners (Emfinger, p. 25).” First, it’s important to recognize our own stereotypes and biases by education ourselves. Then, we can not only tolerate other multicultural groups but also understand them and accept them. By us as teachers modeling this openness and acceptance, our students will learn through us the importance of equality. “Teaching provides a new lens through which to see the world...a way to let students know that everything is possible (Emfinger, p. 25).”

So Hard To Say

Sanchez, Alex (2005). So Hard To Say. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

http://www.alexsanchez.com/So_Hard_To_Say/So_Hard_To_Say_Home_Page.htm

So Hard To Say is a book being targeted to middle school readers as well as teens. This book focuses on two characters, Xio and Frederick. Frederick is the shy new boy who moves to Xio’s school and they become friends quickly. Xio is fascinated with Frederick and wants a little bit more than just friendship but Frederick realizes he doesn’t like her that way. For some reason he cannot get his friend and soccer buddy Victor out of his mind. This book shows Frederick’s struggle for an identity and the tough choices that come along with it.

Alex Sanchez is an author of the Rainbow Boys, Rainbow High, and Rainbow Road, which are all books on high school characters. In an interview with Alex Sanchez about this book So Hard To Say, he stated that he was hearing from middle school teachers and librarians asking if he’d write books for younger readers. He also said that he thought about this and realized that middle school is when most kids reach puberty. Middle school is also when bullying and homophobia takes place. Romantic relationships develop at this time period and this book can address members of the same sex who may be attracted to one another. Boys and girls who can relate to this book might find that by reading about someone with a similar situation, it might make them less confused or alone. Having a variety of books included in libraries is important so the books can reach all individual differences. This way children are able to compare characters and experiences to their own lives. As a child is figuring out their own identity, it is extremely important to have reassurance through books and media that they are not alone.

This book does not only touch on the topic of homosexuality and homophobia but a variety of situations that middle schoolers have to face. These include moving to a new school, trying to fit in to different cliques, bullying, name calling, the separation of parents, different racial backgrounds and ethnicities, and new love. So Hard To Say tells the combined story of a boy and a girl who touch each other’s lives and who grow, change, and learn from each other. What makes this book so brilliant is that so many people can connect and relate to certain characters. For these reasons and because it’s an adventurous, hilarious and all around great novel, this book is the winner of the Lambda Literary Award.

This book is great assistance and reassurance to children who are gay or lesbian. Homophobia is very apparent in our society. You never know how people will react about homosexuality. This book shows that there is no rush when coming out and to not make any sudden moves until you yourself is ready. This book displays the importance of loving yourself and accepting yourself for who you are among all of your individual differences. Even within Xio’s group the “Sexies,” each girl is different from the next. There is the jock, the brains, the one the guys chase after, etc. This book is a fantastic array of differences and identities among middle schoolers making it easy for more students to relate. I feel that this book is essential in children’s literature today.

“Interview With Alex Sanchez.” Journal of Adolescence and Adult Literacy. 48.7 (April 2005).

Daddy's Roommate

Willhoite, M. (1990). Daddy's roommate. Los Angeles: Alyson Publications.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/imageviewer.asp?ean=9781555831189

Daddy’s Roommate is a great children’s book to display diversity in families. A main point of the story is to open the reader up to the idea of having two fathers but another main crucial point is that gay is just another kind of love. This story is about a boy’s mother and father getting divorced and now the boy’s father has a roommate, which is also a man. This book shows the two men doing everything together, everything that any relationship would do. In the end, the mother explains to the boy that his father might be gay and what exactly “gay” means. The mother says that gay is just another kind of love. The boy sees that his father is happy with this man and so in return, he is happy for him. This little boy easily accepts his father and his father’s relationship with another man. Daddy’s Roommate displays vibrantly colored illustrations and a simple text that a child could easily read with no help.

Yet, still there are concerns of displaying homosexual orientation to a elementary classroom in fear of influencing and changing a child’s own sexual orientation. Parents believe that this issue of homosexuality is best left out of classroom and/or school libraries. However, I believe that this is not an issue but an entire multicultural group that needs to be addressed in the classroom rather than continuously excluded.

Also, there has been dispute about the part of Daddy’s Roommate, which says, “Daddy and his roommate sleep together.” That’s all it says, sleep together-just sleeping in the same bed. A sister, brother, or a friend could sleep together in the same location. Also, some pictures display affection between the two men. Based on this small portion of the text, there is controversy about whether or not this story is appropriate for young children. The main point in these children books is not about the sexuality of the character. These books are meant to help children relate and see the diversity of family make-ups so a child with a similar family doesn’t feel so alone. This book could comfort a concerned student or help any child understand that not all families in today's world are made up the same exact way. The moral of this story, if you see past the sexual orientation, is the love and happiness that this boy in the story receives from all family members. It’s meant to show the diversity of families and how not every family structure is the same.

Molly's Family

Garden, N. (2004). Molly's family. New York: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux.

http://www.pinkbooks.com/mollysfamilycover.htm

Molly’s Family is a children’s book based on a kindergarten class getting ready for an Open School Night where everybody’s family is welcomed to attend. The students in this classroom draw pictures of their families but when Molly draws hers, Tommy tells her that her drawing is not of a family because you can’t have a mommy and a mama. Molly becomes confused by Tommy’s statement because she’s the only one in the class with two moms. Molly doesn’t know if she wants to put her picture up and display it for Open School Night if it’s so much different than the rest of the student’s. However, Molly discusses her concerns with the teacher and her two moms and realizes that just because her family is different than other students doesn’t mean that her family isn’t happy, loving or a real family. Molly sees the variety of families of the students in her class and realizes how loving and real her family is to her.

Molly’s Family is a book that has caused controversy in allowing this in classrooms. People have argued that an elementary school should not push the issues of the LGBT community and sexual orientation on children. I however believe that this is a fantastic book to include in an elementary classroom setting. Although the main character has two mothers, I think the main points in this children’s book do not have to do with homosexuality. This book tells a great story of how different each family can look from one another and steers away stereotypes that all families look like the American styled family with one dad, one mom, children and pets. A majority of families have only one mom, one dad, divorced parents, homosexual parents, or maybe no parents at all but live with a grandparent. This book reaches out to the diversity of families so children in all families can relate and see that their family is perfectly normal. This book also portrays the importance of love and happiness in a family rather than the structure of the family. It states a clear, important message that is it doesn’t matter how the structure looks but what matters is there are people in your family that love and care for you. In our society, a lot of times we see past this point and worry about placing labels on people.

The author of this book has recently won the Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement in Writing for Young Adults. After reading this book, I can definitely understand why she is the award-winning author of many books for children and young adults. She reaches a variety of children in this book that can relate to this content.

This story shows a different kind of family that is usually portrayed as the norm. Molly’s Family displays a way of explaining to children that families come in all different make-ups and that the make-ups do not matter which is very important for a child to understand. These are the reasons for why I believe this book is fantastic to include on our shelves as teachers.

Van Andel Museum

When I went home for Thanksgiving this break, I decided to check out the Van Andel Museum in the downtown Grand Rapids area. It had been a while since I have looked around in there and apparently the Van Andel Museum contains one of the state’s largest permanent collections relating to Native American culture.

I learned that 2,000 years ago, the Hopewell Indians lived at the Grand River Valley, which is now what we call Grand Rapids . Around 1700 A.D., the Ottawa Indians founded several villages along the Grand River but not until later did they live alongside European settlers and get along with them. Grand Rapids is now proud of this heritage and welcome the fight for their power and place back into our city.

The exhibit was set up showing numerous artifacts and pictures of the history of our people in West Michigan. Along with the artifact and/or picture, there is a story of these people displaying their diverse cultural backgrounds.

When seeing these exhibits of Native Americans and how important their cultural background is to them, I couldn't help but think about the movie we watched in class on the Team Mascots. It's great to see the history behind the Native Americans, especially in relation to my hometown AND view the movie presented in class in order to appreciate their culture. I think this goes with all cultures as well and possibly the basis of this class, that the more we understand other cultures, ethnicities, genders, etc. then the more we appreciate and decrease hurtful stereotypes presented to them. This class has definitely taught me to not be scared of addressing the issue of diversity, but to engage and educate myself in this diversity!

Museum Visit

http://www.grmuseum.org/gallery

I really enjoyed this visit to the MSU Museum! I don't think I would have paid as much attention to the exhibits that we viewed if I had gone alone. When filling out the questions assigned and asked to pick a narrative, I chose Rebecca Lobo. I thought it was really interesting that there was more than just diversity of race covered in this exhibit, but also gender. Her narrative was about how she began playing on the boys' basketball teams because there were no teams for the girls. Her mother told her never to be limited by her gender but to do what her heart told her to. I was really drawn to this piece because my mother always told me this exact thing, to never feel limited by my gender. I played basketball from elementary school up through high school and always knew who Rebecca Lobo was, which is another reason why this exhibit caught my eye.

While walking around and exploring all of the exhibits, I really liked the fact that they were split half and half of the Spanish and English language. Each half had the exact same paragraph written which, I thought, was really cool. You could chose which half to read and gain the exact same information from either side. To me it showed equality.

Blindness

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Blindness_poster.jpg

Watching this movie trailer in class was completely disturbing. I looked around the room and people were shaking their heads during it showing complete disgust with the idea of this movie. The way they show blindness as an epidemic to be contained was appalling. It's terrible that the "hero" in this film is the wife of a husband with blindness that leads them and saves them. She is not blind and is the only one shown who can save these people and make a difference. I feel as though this showed that the blind people in this movie were incompetent and is completely offensive to people who are blind in real life. I would absolutely not support this movie by going to see it and it makes me sick that someone would actually think it was okay to produce this movie. No one would ever choose race as an epidemic so why would we think it's okay to choose blindness as an epidemic that needs to be contained?

LGBT

I am extremely happy that I got to witness this LGBT meeting on Wednesday night. I loved that they really addressed issues that will help me a lot as a future teacher. I really encourage everyone to sit in on a meeting with this group because I thought it was extremely beneficial and informative. Not many people are comfortable discussing such issues but I think that it's important to open up and become aware of diversity. There were four different leaders in the front of the classroom each offering a unique experience to share with us. The first leader was a teacher from a New York school where she had many students in her classroom with gay or lesbian parents. The second leader was a lesbian women who works for MSU and is in charge of a group with issues of sexual orientation. The third was a man with a lesbian daughter who had a daughter (his granddaughter) and some issues she had at school with two moms in her family. The fouth leader was an MSU student who was a gay man in the college of education. I really loved how diverse the leaders were from one another in their situations they've experienced.

I really enjoyed the first leader who worked in a New York school because she gave us examples of how we should be cautious when dealing with diversity. She stated that we need to be careful on mother's day or father's day and possibly make it a day where we celebrate someone that is important in our lives instead of including or excluding certain people. I thought this was a great idea because many teachers wouldn't necessarily think about this and how it might affect some students. Coming from a family with two moms, I can especially relate to that issue and how confused I was as a kid. It would have definitely been easier if my teachers were aware of these kinds of situations.
Also, I think it was a great point when she said that things are made into bigger deals to the students when we as teachers make them more dramatic than they really are. If we are just up front and honest with the students, issues won't get blown out of proportion.

I encourage everyone to attend one of these meetings! Everyone was extremely kind and helpful, wanting to answer as many questions as we had. They also handed out a sheet of definitions to clear up some confusion we might have which I thought was a fantastic idea! I will definitely be attending another:)

The Bronx Masquerade Class Discussion

http://www.nikkigrimes.com/books/bkbronx.html

I really enjoyed reading this book and discussing it with my group. I believe that The Bronx Masquerade touched on numerous diversity issues, not just ethnicity. This text included kids that struggled with learning disorders, kids that desperately just wanted to be loved, overweight students, etc. I think that this text is a great book for children to read because there are countless ways to relate to a specific character or learn from certain characters or themes in this book.
During our class discussion, I know quite a few people had an issue with the fact that Nikki was putting certain issues and connecting them with a person based on the color of their skin. Some people thought that this is putting negative stereotypes with these ethnicities and is unfair. After our class discussion and semi debate, I read the Nikki Grimes' website which explained reasons as to why she wrote the book the way she did. She said that she actually knew people like this and the teacher in the story who organized the poetry readings was a real person and was her friend. This made me think twice about our discussion in class. I understand where people were coming from saying that Nikki is putting negative stereotypes with certain ethnicities but at the same time, she was just writing about actual experiences that have taken place in her life. Reading her website and seeing her very own perspective made me realize her point in writing this story. She has a great theme she tries to portray in this text overall and that is you should not judge someone on based on outward appearances. I honestly enjoyed this book and loved the fact that every character in the story had their own voice and shared their own experiences.

Blogging

Blogging is going really well so far! It's really easy to access this blog and other's blogs to view what the class has to say over similar topics. I love that there is a teacher's blog with the entire class listed where you can click on their name which assists you right to their page. I really enjoy the fact that you offer a prompt to follow in case we don't have any ideas what to write about. But, I also think it's important to let us free write about something that might have moved us in class or in a reading assigned to us. I believe it's important to leave that option open in case there is something other than the prompt we wish to discuss. I believe it would be really frustrating or limiting if we didn't have that opportunity. In the future, I could imagine my use of writing in blogs being helpful to summarize what happened during each day of my student teaching. I think that seeing from the very beginning how much I've learned in the classroom would be completely beneficial. Also, looking at the positives and negatives over different lessons I give would be really important to look back over and see how far I've come as a teacher.

Team Mascot Movie

Now that we've watched the Native American movie on team mascots twice in class now, it's really opened up my eyes and see things from a different perspective. I had no idea how hurtful the Indian/chief team mascots were to Native Americans. I applaud the mother in the video protesting against College teams. She had to stand up against all of the fans at the University of Illinois who were extremely rude and were not even willing to listen to what she had to say. My jaw literally dropped during half of the movie with the hurtful words that came from some of the fans mouths. I was completely moved by this movie and believe that it should be shown in many schools to set an example. This movie displays discrimination and can really open people's eyes who are willing to take into consideration the mother's feelings and compare it to a variety of cultures, ethnicities or any diverse group who has been discriminated against.

Insider/Outsider Debate

I believe that there should not be a specific regulation as to who is qualified to write diverse/multicultural literature. I think that it is important to have literature out there from both insiders and outsiders. Although outsiders may not have directly experienced the culture, race, religion, etc.; they can still do their job and research in depth about whatever it is they're writing about. Yes, I do believe that insider authors have one up on the outsider authors and that it's important to see multicultural literature from the person who has actually experienced it. However, I don't think that this means that outsiders can't do just as good of a job researching and observing a diverse group and collecting information to formulate a solid text. I think the only requirement diverse/multicultural literature should have is that the author should have proper and accurate information about that diverse group. It does not matter if that author experiences it first hand or collects information from insiders, as long as the literature reflects accurate information about that certain race, religion, gender, etc.