This class connects to my professional goals of striving to create a community of learners that understand, appreciate, and respect the differences of one another. Literature is an excellent tool to build connections and understanding and this class helps me by providing me valuable tools and discussion prompts that can be used in my classroom. Additionally, I am learning to view literature with a more critical eye and therefore see stereotypes that may not be as obvious but are just as hurtful as other that are more blatant. I am also becoming more self-aware of my own thoughts and misconceptions. As these things are made more clear to me I recognize how they could potentially show themselves unconsciously in my teaching. Being made aware of them is important so I can be sure to focus on and recognize what messages, both implicit and explicit, my actions and words send to my students.
Issues of diversity play a strong role in teaching and learning literacy because all forms of literacy portray either characters or narrators in a certain light. The way these people are portrayed is an open window through which the reader absorbs knowledge about them. It is so important when teaching literacy to consider diversity and the messages being sent by the literature. Literature itself is so varied that it can be successfully used to teach and promote diversity. Diversity is so important to teaching and learning literacy because literacy involves so many different perspectives and viewpoints. Literacy can also send messages about diversity that are either implicit or explicit that are important to consider when learning or teaching literacy and can also prompt valuable discussion.
My personal philosophy about multicultural education is that it is vital to all people of all ages. Not beneficial, not recommended, but necessary. The importance of discussing multiple perspectives is extremely high. Students can learn so much merely by comparing and contrasting as well as discussing views different from their own. Ignorance is one of mankind's worst faults and multicultural education is the solution. Children's literature fits into this philosophy as a catalyst of meaningful connection and understanding. By taking large issues of multiculturalism and diversity and integrating them into a story that children can connect to, children's literature is the gateway to promoting, connecting, and blending multicultural education into everyday curriculum. Drop-in diversity lessons are hardly productive. Multiculturalism must be embedded intimately within the curriculum and it is children's literature that allows us to do this so seamlessly.
What challenges me most about bringing this philosophy into my classroom goes back to the insider/outsider debate. Am I at liberty to speak for another culture? But that is where children's literature comes in. Through this literature I can share another's perspective without being the authoritative voice. In this way we can all learn together. I am most interested to hearing young students debate on diverse issues. I do not believe that elementary aged students are given enough of an opportunity to become informed, develop an opinion, and then share that opinion. This is an important lifelong skill to develop so why not teach it through significant issues such as diversity and multiculturalism.
