Reflection on this semester

At the beginning of the semester, I didn’t really have a good understanding of what good diverse literature is. I knew what issues of diversity it could entail, but I didn’t really know much more about it. I had never really thought about all the stereotyping that occurs in books and had definitely never really thought about the importance of the author, or making sure I have diverse literature in my own classroom library. These are all things that I have learned so much about over the course of this semester.

Stereotyping is something that can be so easy for authors to do when writing about diverse issues. By stereotyping, it sort of relates to the reader because it discusses common ideas or perceptions people have on a particular topic. But what I have learned is to find those stereotypes within children’s books and make it clear that those stereotypes aren’t always true for every individual that is either from a particular culture or have a particular disability. I just always found myself believing whatever the author wrote about, never thinking of whether or not the author is stereotyping.

Another topic in this class that I learned a lot about is insider/outsider authors. This is something I had never thought about or heard about before this class. It never crossed my mind when I would read books about any topic how the author knows all this information. Are they an insider or an outsider to the particular topic? I again just always believed everything the author was writing about was accurate information. But this class has taught me to really research about authors, especially authors of diverse literature because maybe they really have no previous experience on the diverse issue they’re writing about and are making it all up. This is so important to do in order to have accurate portrayals of diverse literature in my classroom that will give the students a true understanding of the diverse issue instead of something made up by the author.

The last really big idea I have learned this semester is the importance of having diverse literature in my classroom library. I always knew that I needed to have a classroom library, but it really never crossed my mind to make sure I have diverse literature available too. This is so important because it is informing children of diverse issues and making them more accepting of the issues when they’re reading positive portrayals of these issues. But the one thing I have learned about having a diverse classroom library is to take the time to research about books and really read them first before putting them in my library. It wouldn’t be beneficial to my students at all if I were to put books that were either stereotyping throughout the whole thing or representing the diverse issue in a negative way. So I’m going to need to be picky about the books I chose to have in my classroom.

Overall, I have learned so much this semester about diverse literature. This class has changed a lot of my views on particular topics into more positive views. I’m really glad I took this course and learned about each of the diverse topics and got to read some really interesting diverse books.

My text set as a whole...

For our final project, I chose to focus on children's picture books about disabilities. I didn't focus on one particular disability but instead focused on a wide range that represents both positive and negative pieces of diverse literature. It did however take me a long time to find books that were written by insider authors. I know that it's hard to find books written by someone with a disability, but I found ones written by people who work with or have family members with a disability. That's about as close to an insiders as I could get. But I felt as though my text set as a whole has a wide range of books that can be inspirational and informational to all readers.

The majority of my books represented disabilities in a positive way and showed how people can learn how to manage their disability. Almost every book was either an inspirational story, informational story, or sometimes even both. While I tried to find books that were both positive and negative representations of diverse literature, it turned out that only one book was a negative representation, while the others were all positive. In that one particular book, the author was very stereotypical throughout the entire thing. The others seemed to avoid stereotyping which was one of the main reasons why the rest of my text set is considered positive representations of diverse literature.

The authors of the books in my text set are all considered insider authors. Two of the authors wrote stories about their own children with disabilities while the others have been working with people with disabilities form many years and have a lot of experience working in the field. However, one thing I did notice about the authors in my set was that they're all female, which was surprising to me. This children within the books were mixed with both boys and girls, just the authors were all female for some reason.

Overall, my set of books represents a wide range of disabilities. Each book was a quality pice of literature, while only one I wouldn't really recommend for others to read. These books can be used as great inspirational and informational tools in any classroom.

Book Review: The Flight of a Dove

Day, Alexandra. The Flight of a Dove. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2004.

The Flight of a Dove is a story about a young girl named Betsy who struggles with autism. Up until she was three years old she would never say or make a sound other than a clicking noise. Betsy would sit for hours in a complete motionless state and absolutely hated it when people came near her or tried to touch her. Her life changed when she saw a dove fly by her who opened her eyes and put a smile on her face. She became attached to this dove and eventually to other animals. Soon Betsy became more social and active within her classroom, but still never saying a word. Then finally one day she went running into her mother’s arms yelling “Mommy”.

Alexandra Day has spent a lot of time in hospitals and rehabilitation centers with her dog Zabala. Zabala is a certified therapy dog which was the main inspiration Day had for writing this book. This is why Day is considered an insider to disabilities, because she has been working with people with disabilities for many years. Alexandra Day wrote this book to show her readers how animals are common inspirational tools to people with special needs, especially people with autism. She uses her own personal experiences when writing this book.

The Flight of a Dove is a great example of a diverse piece of literature. Not only is this book informational, but it can be very inspirational to young readers. This book describes in a positive way how a child who was told there was no guarantee she would ever say a word because of her disability can find comfort in animals, leading her to be able to speak her first word, Mommy. The one thing that Day does a great job of doing was she avoided stereotyping within her book. Stereotyping is often times seen as a problem within a lot of diverse literature read today and even more so in the past. For example, one of the big stereotypes that the Linton article mentioned was using the phrase “overcoming a disability”. Day never used that phrase but instead said Betsy’s mother wanted to “help her condition”. It’s simply not physically possible for someone to overcome a disability, which is why this phrase should not be used in books. Day also describes common behavioral and emotional problems that people with autism can face, but stays clear or stereotyping Betsy (the main character). Some of the common behaviors she did include within this book are “she dislikes being touched” “she made no sounds except a kind of hissing of clicking” and “she would sit for hours swaying slightly with her arms at her sides”. Overall Alexandra was effective in this book in showing how children with disabilities can change in a way they never were before.

Professional Review of: The Flight of a Dove

Perring, Christian. Mental Health Net. 2008. CenterSite, LLC. 20 April 2008.

Review By: Christian Perring

Christian Perring is the editor of Metapsychology Online Reviews which is part of Mental Health Net. He does a lot of research on philosophy or psychiatry and psychology. He also works with medical ethics, psychology and personal identity. He has written many of his own book reviews while also mainly editing the reviews by others.

Perring writes his review of The Flight of a Dove by discussing the good and bad characteristics of this book. He makes an important connection between what was seen in the book and his review by stating that this was a “hopeful story, showing how the right treatment works so well for Betsy”. He continues by mentioning that the pictures went well with the story line and represented an accurate portrayal of “Betsy’s isolation, frustration and odd behaviors”. The only negative aspect of the book that Perring mentions is he is not clear on who might want to read this book. Since it is a children’s book, he knows parents aren’t going to want to read this on their own time, but a child with autism probably won’t benefit from this story, even if their parent read it to them. The only people that will benefit from it are siblings and friends of someone with autism. The only thing I would argue about that comment is what’s wrong with that? Isn’t that the whole point of writing books, to make them available to all readers, not just insiders?

While Perring wrote a decent review on The Flight of a Dove, I do feel as though he failed to go on and explain what he meant by “the right treatments working so well for Betsy”. I thought that this was a pretty significant part of the book, and pretty much the main point of the book and he never went on to explain anything about it. So I would have to say that not mentioning this was definitely a weakness of this review.

Perring’s review also fails to mention if this is a diverse piece of literature. This was obviously not what he was focusing on in his review but is something he could have definitely talked about. But I would have to say that I highly recommend The Flight of a Dove as I think it is a great piece of diverse literature, despite if Perring thought so or not. I think it could be used as an educational tool to people who want to know more about someone with autism and what they can do to help or to anyone who wants to read a well-written children’s book.

Book Review: This is Asperger Syndrome

Gagnon, Elisa. This is Asperger Syndrome. Kansas: Autism Asperger Publishing Co., 1999.

This is Asperger Syndrome is about a young boy with AS and the experiences he faces in school on a regular basis. Some common occurrences range from random outbursts, becoming easily frustrated, not adjusting to change and having bad social skills. After the author described each scenario, she ended the page with “This is Asperger Syndrome”. At the end of the book Gagnon gave a page of information about Asperger Syndrome.

This is Asperger Syndrome is not a very good representation of a diverse piece of literature. Gagnon was extremely stereotypical throughout the entire book. She made it seem to the reader that the experiences this young boy faces are the same experiences every person with AS faces. She does this by ending each page with “This is Asperger Syndrome”, making the reader assume that these scenarios apply to everyone with AS, which is not necessarily the case. For example, Gagnon describes this boy laughing too hard and then says “this is Asperger Syndrome”, and also says that people don’t get his jokes and then says “this is Asperger Syndrome”. These are very stereotypical examples because these aren’t necessarily things every person with AS will face. As the Tal article mentions “when the focus is on providing information, there is very little or no character development. Instead, stereotypes prevail because the disability is “the main personality trait emphasized to the reader”” (Tal, 31). This is exactly how This is Asperger Syndrome is because Gagnon didn’t really provide a plot and character development but instead stereotyped throughout the entire book. She was trying to inform her readers of the disability but ended up stereotyping instead.

Elisa Gagnon is considered an insider to disabilities because she is the coordinator of the Asperger Syndrome Project at the University of Kansas Medical Center. She has a ton of experience working with people with Asperger Syndrome as well as teaching others about the disability. It appears as though she has a lot of knowledge about AS and enjoys sharing this knowledge with others through her writing.

Book Review: Cory Stories

Kraus, Jeanne. Cory Stories, A Kid’s Book About Living with ADHD. Washington, D.C.: Magination Press, 2005.

Cory Stories is about a young boy named Cory who struggles with ADHD. It wasn’t until he met with a doctor who diagnosed him with ADHD when he realized why he was feeling and behaving the way he was. Then with the help of the medications, the “talking doctor” and especially the help from his parents, Cory’s life becomes not so complicated and made a turn for the best.

Jeanne Kraus is an insider to disabilities because not only does her son have ADHD (who inspired her to write this book) but she is an educational specialist with expertise in ADHD. She is a frequent speaker at conferences and workshops where she discusses topics such as organizational and study skills, parenting and classroom management tips. Her goal is to make people more aware of ADHD and how to become familiar with ways to coop with the disability. Cory Stories provides an insider look at the life of a child with ADHD, Cory being Jeanne’s son. She writes about accurate first hand experiences she sees her son going through on an everyday basis. The only some-what negative aspect of this book is that Jeanne Kraus makes generalizations throughout her book as she is explaining some of the experiences her son faces that may not be true for all people with ADHD. For example, she writes, “I have trouble making friends” and “writing neatly is impossible. My pencil doesn’t work right.” These instances may be true for her son but not necessarily for all people with AHDH which is why these are generalizations.

Cory Stories is a great representation of a diverse piece of children’s literature because it turns all of the negative characteristics that a person with ADHD can face into positive characteristics. It proves to the reader that with not only the help of medications, but with the help of a psychiatrist and most importantly with the help from parents, a child with ADHD can look at their life in a positive way. Kraus avoided uses stereotypes throughout this book but instead described accurate examples of behaviors and feelings a child with ADHD can experience. This story shows that Cory can still do normal everyday things like making friends, doing homework, paying attention in school, etc. without his ADHD getting in the way.

Book Review: Victoria's Day

Campos, Maria de Fatima. Victoria’s Day. Great Britain: Frances Lincoln Limited, 2007.

Victoria’s Day is about a little girl named Victoria who has Downs Syndrome. Throughout the entire book it describes all the activities Victoria does on an every day basis ranging from eating breakfast in the morning, walking to school, playing with friends to going to sleep at night.

The author, Maria Campos, is the mother of Victoria. This means that she is an insider to this group of people with disabilities because she experiences what it’s like raising a child with Downs Syndrome. Maria Campos wrote this book to show readers the similarities between Victoria’s pre-school experiences and those of her classmates. She wanted to make it clear to her readers that her daughter’s life isn’t much different from anyone else her age. Victoria is capable of brushing her own teeth, painting her own pictures, playing on a computer, cooking with her mummy, etc. These are all the same activities people without Downs Syndrome do on a regular basis.

This book is considered a diverse piece of literature because it portrays Victoria’s disability in such a positive way. Never once does the author mention anything negative about Victoria and the way she accomplishes her tasks. Maria stayed clear of stereotyping throughout her book and avoided using “nasty words” as the Linton article mentions to describe Victoria. This book does a great job of showing how Victoria’s disability isn’t stopping her from doing anything and she can still live a life like anyone else.

Book Review: Ballerina Dreams

Thompson, Lauren. Ballerina Dreams. New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2007.

Ballerina Dreams is about five little girls with cerebral palsy who have a dream of being able to dance. They have their first big recital for their friends and families and are extremely nervous for it. But with the help of their teachers they accomplish this dream and perform their very first ballet recital. At the end of their performance each girl receives a red rose and an “I’m so proud of you” from their teacher. These girls could never have been happier.

The author, Lauren Thompson had spent many months working with these five girls to really get an understanding of what their disability is. She had spent time in physical therapy centers to get as much first hand experience as she could on the struggles these girls face because of their cerebral palsy. Although Lauren doesn’t have cerebral palsy herself, she is still considered an insider to this disability because of the research she has done to become knowledgeable about cerebral palsy. She wrote this book as a true story of these five girls who dream of becoming ballerinas as an inspirational tool to others with the same or similar disabilities. She is also very informative of what cerebral palsy is within this book as she describes the difficulties these girls can face. She even included additional information at the end of the book in case readers want to know more about the disability.

Ballerina Dreams is a great representation of a diverse piece of literature. Thompson did a great job of showing how cerebral palsy doesn’t get in the way of these young girls dreams. She shows that with a lot of practice, help for their teachers, and positive attitudes these girls can become ballerinas. Thompson shows how a child can look at their disability in a positive way and shouldn’t let it stop them from doing the things they like to do. This book can be used as an inspirational tool to other children with cerebral palsy or other disabilities for the matter to show how they should never let their disability let them down or get in their way.

Confessions of a Closet Catholic

Confessions of a Closet Catholic, I thought was a great book to use to show how people, not matter what age they are, can question their religion and their beliefs. I was amazed at how Jussy who is only 11 years old, was able to think so deeply about her religious background and wonder if this is the religion she wants to follow. I know that when I was that age and even today, I never questioned my own religion. I am a Catholic and grew up with strict Catholic parents, going to church every Sunday and have the beliefs of a Catholic. I don't think it ever crossed my mind to want to be of a different religion. This is why I was shocked that Jussy was so incredibly concerned with which religion she was going to follow. I also thought it was strange that she actually studied the different rituals of a Catholic and practiced those rituals secretively in her own closet.

I was also shocked about this because of her relationship with her grandmother,Bubbe. Since her and Bubbe have such a close relationship, I would have thought she wouldn't want to do anything that would offend Bubbe and that could possibly ruin their relationship. She knew everything Bubbe had been through growing up and how important it was to her to be Jewish, so why would Jussy even start questioning that. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that her parents aren't very committed in their Jewish religion while her Catholic friends are very committed to be Catholic. So maybe she's thinking that being Catholic is better than being Jewish, which has made her want to convert.

I really enjoyed reading this book and can definitely see myself using it in my own classroom. I think this book helps to show how everyone can have their own individual beliefs and even though their parents might not agree with them right away, they will always find a way to try to understand them as best as they can and will always support them. This was what happened with Jussy, and her parents found a way to understand her and relate to her the best they could.

My Personal Philosophy

To be honest, the reason why I'm taking this course is because it took the place of one of the horrible English credits I would have had to take. I hadn't really thought about the issues of diverse literature or the importance of it. Before taking this course I hadn't really been exposed to that much diverse literature. I don't remember reading a lot of it when I was in elementary school or in high school. This class has really opened my eyes and given me a different perspective to look at. I have realized how important it is to start exposing young children to it at an early age. I think that by doing this it will help them see this other perspective and be more open to it than if they aren't exposed to it until they get older, like me. It's been hard for me to relate and find agreement with some of the issues we have been discussing in class. For example, when we were discussing the book Little House on the Prairie I had never thought about any of those issues before. When I was younger I would read a book for enjoyment, I can't remember it ever crossing my mind that a book was being stereotypical in any way. I always just believed what the author was saying and trusted their words and opinions.
So when it comes to my personal philosophy I think that it's extremely important for people to grow up learning about different cultures and diversity issues. This will help clear up any misconceptions and give people a better understanding of people and cultures around the world. I think that it's important for young children to develop the mind set that everyone in this world is unique and different in their own way, and that's perfectly okay. That doesn't make one person better than another. I think that if I would have been exposed to it more when I was younger I would definitely be more open to some of these diverse issues. I don't consider myself a racist person by any means, but some things I don't find to be as big of an issue as others. I'm glad I'm taking this course because now I will have a different mind set when I'm teaching my own students than I would have been before. I can now see how important it is to expose children to diverse literature because it is something that affects how people view things later on in life.

Aronson & Pinkney articles

After reading the Aronson and Pinkney articles, it is clear that there are two distinct view points as to whether or not books should be honored in a specific cultural/social category. Aronson is one who argues strongly against this. He claims that "it's a wrong way to bring more kinds of books to more kinds of readers. " He thinks that people might not read a particular book if it's written by an author that is of a certain race. It has been pushed that people should be reading diverse literature, but he feels that if a book is put into a certain category based on the ethnicity of the author, then it may sway a person away from reading that book. Aronson also feels that "it shifts it's focus from literature to biography"because if focuses on the authors community and ethnicity before their talent. Aronson's last point was that "we should continue to encourage diverse literature, but not predefining who will create it." Pinkney is one who argues for honoring books in specific cultural/social categories. He feels as though when a book is labeled as receiving the CSK award, then "it let's other black parents know instantly that a book has been created by someone who is black." He said that he has faced instances where his children are looking for books that are written by a black person, so he thinks that it's great having the CSK award because he can point his kids to the books they are looking for. By having the CSK award it's letting people know that there are black writers out there. Pinkney says, "These awards are meant to lift up and inspire."
When it comes to my viewpoint on this debate, I can see both perspectives. I can see how black people like having this award because then they don't feel neglected. This way they know that blacks are being recognized as well for their writing. There are way more white writers than black writers which may make black writers get lost in it all and not get as credited as they deserve. But I can also see the arguments against all of this. I can see how Aronson may think that blacks are getting recognized not for their writing but because they come from a particular ethnic group. I can see how he said that the focus shifts from literature to ethnicity. I guess it just depends on how people look at it.

Group discussion on The Heart of a Chief

When my group met to discuss The Heart of a Chief, an interesting question was asked that none of us really knew how to answer. The question was: why did teacher's stereotype Chris in his other schools? Now this wasn't something that was brought up a lot throughout the book but is definitely something to think about. My response to this question would be that maybe it's because Chris isn't afraid to speak what's on his mind. This can be seen when Chris picks the topic for his group about the Indian mascots. He knew this could be an awkward topic to talk about but he didn't care, he wanted to do it anyway. I also wonder if Chris' previous teachers had this stereotype of him because a lot of the time Indians are usually thought of as being quiet. Well Chris was definitely not a quiet student so maybe his teachers we bothered by this. Another topic we talked about within our group was how unrealistic this book was at times. Chris was trying to cover too many issues going on in his life all at once. He was worrying about his father being an alcoholic, he was trying to take care of Auntie and Doda, he was worrying about the casino issue taking place on their reservation, he was organizing this project for his class and he was also worrying about the loss of his friendship with Pizza. All of this seems like way too much for a middle schooler to have to worry about. I know that when I was in middle school the only drama I had to deal with was friend drama. I had no idea what was going on in my community or what was happening with my family members. It just doesn't seem realistic to me. Overall I thought our discussion went well and we all contributed some really good ideas about the book.

Insider/Outsider Debate

When it comes to who has the right to tell and illustrate stories about specific cultures I believe that anyone, both insiders and outsiders should be allowed to partake in this. I don't think it's fair to say that an outsider cannot write about a culture they are not from. I do believe that if an outsider is going to write about a specific culture, I think they need to do an extensive amount of research on that particular culture and/or have physically been around that culture before. This gives the author more accurate knowledge and experiences that they can write about and use in their stories. I also think that it gives a new perspective to the reader when it's written by an outsider. I do think although that a book may be a little bit more accurate and believable to the reader when it's written by an insider. I think this because insiders are able to write about real-life experiences they may have faced at some point in their life. I do believe that people should be able to write about whatever they want to write about. Who knows, someone who is not from a Chinese background could have lived there for years and could potentially write an amazing story about the Chinese culture. Although they have to be given the chance to do this.
There is just so much that plays into the idea of insiders and outsiders being able to write about a specific culture because it can be seen either way.

Introduction to TE448

My name is Jennifer Metz and I am a senior right now at MSU. I'm studying Elementary Education with a specialization in Language Arts. I am interested in learning about diverse literature because it is something I have never really studied in-depth before. Even though I am a Language Arts major, I have never read and/or focused on children's literature books, especially books that are related to diversity. So by taking this course I hope to be able to reach the needs of all my students by including texts that are diverse. Diversity is such an important issue that is often times over-looked in elementary classrooms. So throughout this semester, I hope to become more aware of diverse issues and how to approach or solve those issues. I also hope to accumulate a large list of good diverse books that I could use in my own classroom. I know we have already focused on a few diverse books during the first two class, so I hope to continue adding to that list.