Library Visit

Today I went into my local library to pick up some books and DVDs to enjoy over the holidays. Naturally the children's section caught my eye, so I began browsing the books on display. I was pleasantly surprised with selected picture books. I don't remember their specific titles, but one was about a woman growing up in Kenya and another was about raising a bilingual child. It was great to see some multicultural/ diverse literature on their shelves!!

Hope everyone is enjoying their breaks!

Reflection of personal set of LGBTQ books

In Rudine Sims Bishop’s article, Selecting Literature for a Multicultural Curriculum, it states, “students need to recognize the diversity that defines this society, learn to respect it, and see it in a positive light. Literature becomes one of the ways in which schools can affirm pluralism (3).” Our society continues to become more diverse each day in respect to race, culture and sexual identity. Books become powerful vehicles that can help educate, correct misconceptions and give a mirror to students who are in underrepresented groups. Through this final project for TE448 I chose to focus on themes of sexual identity in children’s books. After reading and evaluating many LGBTQ books I chose three that I thought were the highest of quality and that did not encourage any stereotypes. The books I reviewed are, Emma and Meesha My Boy : A Two Mom Story by Kaitlyn Considine, Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman and Between Mom and Jo by Julie Anne Peters.

By reading and reviewing these three books and plenty of others I learned that a lot of LGBTQ books concentrate their theme around sexuality identity instead of just adding gay/lesbian characters to story. When the plot is based off characters being gay/lesbian there is more room for stereotyping. Emma and Meesha My Boy : A Two Mom Story was one of the few books that had a plot that did not revolve around Emma having two moms. The focus of the book was Emma learning to take care of her cat and she just so happened to have two moms.

Also, not being an insider to this group I was unable to relate to the characters of the books. But reading these books gave me the inside scoop of their emotions and personal feelings. Even though Heather was of preschool age, after reading Heather Has Two Mommies I learned that even the simplest of things such as reading a book, can trigger the emotion of feeling left out or different. Also in Between Mom and Jo, Nick struggles because his teachers are not accepting of his lesbian moms and home life.

These three books are of very different reading levels, but were still able to inform outsiders (like me) to topics I am unfamiliar with. A quote that we discussed in class was “Normal is only a setting on a dishwasher.” I have thought about these eight words countless number of times and believe it is something that all teachers should remember while teaching. No student is normal or the same, and therefore a variety of books need to be available in the classroom so that students can not only learn more but also can have their identity confirmed through these books.

Review of Emma and Meesha My Boy: A Two Mom Story by Kaitlyn Considine

Considine, Kaitlyn Taylor. Emma and Meesha My Boy : A Two Mom Story. New York: Xlibris Corporation, 2003.

This charming picture book tells the story of Emma and her chubby cat Meesha My Boy. Emma is a loving little girl who gives her cat lots of attention. Throughout the course of the book, her two moms help her figure out the right way to take care of her new pet. At first Emma wants to clothe her cat in a dress and shoes, but her moms tell her no. She also wants to share her lollipop but her moms tell her that cats do not eat candy. Then Emma learns to give her Meesha My Boy food, water, hugs and kisses.

The story has a rhyming cadence that can best appreciated when read aloud. This pattern gives the book a sing-song feel which adds lightness. “Pet his fuzzy fur and if you’re kind to him, You’ll hear his purr (Considine 23).” The vivid and playful pictures bring life to the simple words found on the page. Each page is very colorful and full of background details such as flowerpots and patterned wallpaper. The illustrations also show the emotions of the characters which range throughout the book. For example when Emma paints her cat brown, her cat’s eyes are wide while Emma is giggling. Also when Emma hugs and kisses Meesha My Boy, her moms are seen in the background smiling with their arms around each other. This shows not only the love between them but also how proud they are of their daughter’s changing behaviors.

While this book does encompass LGBTQ themes they are not blatant nor are the main focus. Emma’s parents, in this case two moms, are trying to teach her the correct way to be nice to her cat. This is a common experience being carried out by a non-traditional family. This book does a great job of showing that non-traditional families are just as ordinary as traditional families. No stereotypes are used in this picture book. On her website Considine notes that the two moms are, “They just are everyday parents guiding her to be nice to the cat. In this fashion, it celebrates the lesbian mom family as it is, living ordinary lives.”

Twomombooks.com presents more background information on the author and why she chose to write this book. Considine stated that she was tired of always seeing traditional family books and wanted a two mom story for her children. She continues, “It's important for children to see stories that show their types of families. I think this is true for single parent families, children raised by grandparents, interracial families, etc. There's a real void in story books for these types of non-traditional families.” Considine is an insider to the LGBTQ community and lives with her partner and two children in Connecticut (Considine, website).

Considine, Kaitlyn Taylor. "Two Mom Books." http://twomombooks.com/index.html.

Review of Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman

Newman, Leslea. Heather Has Two Mommies : Tenth Anniversary Edition. New York: Alyson Books, 2000.

Between the covers of this book, the emotions of a child without a traditional family are captured. Heather is a preschool aged girl whose favorite number is two. She has two arms, two dogs and also two moms. Her moms, Kate and Jane lead regular lives, being a doctor and a carpenter, respectively. This family goes on walks to the park and enjoys eating gingersnap cookies with milk. On Heather’s first day of play group she is nervous at first but then gets excited to see all the activities that she can engage in. She enjoys painting and building towers out of blocks. After naptime their teacher reads them a story about a boy’s father who is a veterinarian. When the others kids in the class start talking about their fathers, Heather feels left out. She begins to cry, but then her teacher assures her that she is not the only one without a father. The other kids in the class begin talking about their non-traditional families, including divorce, single parents and adoption.

In Heather Has Two Mommies the text tells the whole story. The illustrations are black and white and only modestly supplement the text. The pictures do show that some of the children in the classroom are multi-racial along with having non-traditional families. For example, David has dark skin and was adopted.

While the story focuses on Heather and her two moms, it also illustrates other non-traditional families. Stacy and Joshua both have two daddies, one through divorce and the other is gay. Miriam only has a mom and David was adopted. While it is wonderful that these are shown, this is not typical of most classrooms across the nation. This would not be culturally accurate, but it still helps to prove a point that there are multiple different styles of families. No stereotypical themes are used in this book.

At the end of the book there is an afterword written by the author to parents and teachers. Newman says that the idea from the book came from running into a woman and her partner who recently “welcomed a child into their home” (Newman, afterword 1). Being an insider to his group, she knew there were not many books published with LGBTQ themes and decided to write one herself. She wanted to “create a book that would help children with lesbian mothers feel good about themselves and their family” (Newman, afterword 2).

Review of Between Mom and Jo by Julie Anne Peters

Peters, Julie Anne. Between Mom and Jo. New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2006.

In this novel, Nick faces many of the traditional challenges of growing up. He has trouble in school and also with friends, but his main obstacle is his family life. Nick has two moms who vary in character. Mom is the protective and rational parent while Jo is outgoing and outrageous. He loves each of them but realizes that his family is different from others when entering school. Teachers don’t display artwork of his family because they don’t want to support the gay community. Nick’s babysitter wants to see his moms’ bedroom and thinks if she gets into their bed she will also turn gay. When Jo starts drinking too much Nick’s family life starts to dissolve. Not only does Jo move out but his Mom gets diagnosed with cancer. This book proves that a family’s love can get you through even the toughest of times.

Between Mom and Jo was told from Nick’s perspective which helps the reader connect even further with the main character and experience the events along with him. Dialogue is also used and helps the book have a more personal feel. The chapters are titled either Mom or Jo and focus on one of his moms.

Stereotyping is seen only within the context of the book itself. Nick and his moms are seen as this nontraditional family and the babysitter even worries if they will seduce her into becoming a homosexual. This stereotype is broken when Nick is outraged that anyone would think that way or that his moms would even consider doing that.

Author Julie Anne Peters has a very informative webpage which explains that she is an insider and wanted to give gay/lesbians their own genre of literature. Her inspiration to write this story was because “One day I was in the teacher’s lounge eavesdropping on a group of teachers. Parent-teacher conferences were coming up and one teacher said, ‘I made these special certificates for any of the fathers who come. What if both of Nick’s moms come’(Peters, website)?” She said that that this conversation stayed with her for a long time and needed to write a story about it.

I would recommend this book to not only to adolescent readers who are insiders but to anyone. Between Mom and Jo captures the magic of the love of a family which is a universal theme.


Peters, Julie A. "The Story Behind the Story of Between Mom and Jo." Julie Anne Peters. http://www.julieannepeters.com/files/MomJoInspiration.htm .

Review of Professional Resource

Hermann-Wilmarth, Jill. "Full Inclusion: Understanding the Role of Gay and Lesbian Texts and Films in Teacher Education Classrooms." Language Arts 84 (2006): 347-56.

In this article, insider to the LGBTQ community, Jill Hermann-Wilmarth discusses the adversity this community has faced and how teachers can help their students accept this non-traditional lifestyle. The first section of the article is titled, “Stumbling Blocks.” Within this section Hermann-Wilmarth discusses how both literature and public and private institutions have restrained information about the LGBTQ community to the public. In regards to literature she explains, “Unfortunately, books that address these issues are not readily available to elementary school students. In part, this is because so few exist, but it is also because few teachers know about the books that are available (1).” She also explains that it is easier to not have this type of book in the classroom, because they can spark confrontations. In regards to institutions she states, “many state and city governmental entities, charged with upholding equity and justice, continue to support book censorship (2).” But because of these factors resisting the inclusion of the LGBTQ community, teachers need to educated about this topic and know how to select quality pieces of literature. Examples of teachers rejecting LGBTQ themed books are found because they want their young students to remain “innocent.” Next Hermann-Wilmarth lists resources for teachers to become more educated in this field, both in the form of books and films. And finally before the conclusion there is a summary of well written LGBTQ children’s books. To conclude she states, “texts have power in classrooms (11).” She says that after teachers can accept LGBTQ books, they will also be able to integrate these issues in their classroom which can only lead to inclusively.

The reason why I chose Herman-Wilmarth’s article was because she was directly speaking to the teachers, in particular pre-service teachers. I was able to learn new issues concerning LGBTQ texts in the classroom. She indirectly states that teachers will make the difference whether or not there is inclusively in their classroom, and because “texts have power” they will be help educate. Herman-Wilmarth provides plenty of resources for teachers, that I could actually see myself purchasing and utilizing. This article is a great guide for pre-service or full time teachers that want to include LGBTQ books within their classroom but don’t know where to begin.

Another e-mail from an author!

For my final project I am focusing on LGBTQ themes in children's literature. One book that has come up multiple times in my searches has been Uncle Bobby's Wedding by Sarah Brannen. There wasn't any mention about the author having ties to the LGBTQ community, so I took Jen's advice and e-mailed her. I received an e-mail back. It just goes to show that authors are approachable and check their email often!

Interesting Discovery- Boy Meets Boy

I just visited David Levithan's (author of Boy Meets Boy) website and discovered that he wrote Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist!! This novel was recently turned into a hit movie that was released last month on October 3rd.

With the success of this movie, I wonder if Boy Meets Boy will also be turned into a film.

Confessions of a Closet Catholic- In class discussion

I thoroughly enjoyed last week's topic and discussion. Religion is usually a subject that people shy away from, but it was obvious that we all enjoyed the book and wanted to state our opinions. Sharing personal experiences was beneficial to the discussion and furthered our education on the topic, if we were uninformed before. I feel that we are very comfortable talking and discussing in this class, which makes the topics easier to grasp and to make our own connections to the material.

I just LOVED Confessions of a Closet Catholic. The style in which the author wrote compelled me to continue, along with the development of characters. I also liked the fact that the author wasn't drilling a certain point over and over again. Her writing was smooth and her purpose was clear without being over obvious.

I looked up Sarah Littman (author of this book) and she has written one other:
PURGE-->
I am interested to see if it is similar to Confessions.
:)

NOTE: This book does not come out until April of 2009... :( we'll have to wait a while to read it.

Course Reading (Asian Pacific)

Even though Sandra Yamate's article was lengthy and focused around Asian Pacific American Children's Literature, I found many quotes that are universal when talking about diverse children's lit.

p.218
"American children of all races and ethnic origins are being offered a disturbingly artificial view of the world in which they live, one that does not begin to reflect the diversity of the society in which they will be expected to live, work, play and grow. Children are our hope for the future, yet they are handicapped when their books and educational materials persists in proffering a grossly distorted view of the diverse races and ethnic groups that comprise the United States."

The former quote should be the subline to the title of TE448. We are taking this class to make sure that children have a well-rounded library. And to do this we first need to accept the fact that the literature out there for children does not cover all groups equally. This is something that I had little knowledge of and didn't think twice about before taking 448. It is beneficial for teachers to have this knowledge so their classroom libraries are diverse and cover a variety of different groups.

Al Capone Does My Shirts- Class Period

As always, I enjoyed last week's last class. The discussion about disabilities really opened my eyes to a topic that I have little knowledge about. The number of different terms for this "diverse" group that we talked about were overwhelming. Even though we discussed the differences between them, I am still unclear what terms to use. It was beneficial to the whole group when Ashley spoke about her CEP class and what terms they thought were appropriate to use.

Thinking about and developing a question we still had on this topic- and then sharing it with the class- helped me see that others are still worried about teaching students WITH disabilities and/or students ABOUT disabilities. As many of my classmates mentioned in class I agree that it would be beneficial for ALL teachers to take a Special Ed class. Professional development workshops or lectures could also substitute for a class on this subject.

If anyone hears of workshops/ lectures- please post them on your blog. I would love to attend and gain more knowledge on this subject.

Good News for Teachers!

I found this on the MSN.com homepage and wanted to share it with other teachers-to-be!

Education
"Education is growing at a healthy clip in 2008. The industry added more than 126,400 jobs during the first eight months of the year. Many factors are contributing to the industry's surge. The movement toward universal preschool and all-day kindergarten will require more preschool and kindergarten teachers. A necessity for more special education teachers is the result of a greater emphasis on classroom inclusion of disabled students. To meet the needs of special education and English as a second language students, classrooms will need additional teacher assistants. More high school graduates will attend college and professionals will return to school to enhance or update skills, therefore feeding the demand for post-secondary teachers."

http://msn.careerbuilder.com/custom/msn/careeradvice/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=1632&SiteId=cbmsnsl41632&sc_extcmp=JS_1632_spotlight&GT1=23000&cbRecursionCnt=1&cbsid=f70e4c826a474e368f0da96d52fdcbe6-276629646-J2-5

Outside World Connection

For my religion class we had to read Black Elk Speaks by John Neihardt and then an article that was a negative response to the book. To sum up the article, William K. Power bashes Neihardt saying that he transformed the book into what the white man would want to hear, not what was actually true to the Native American culture.

Here is an interesting quote from the article:

"Essentially, in Black Elk Speaks and other books written by white men for a white
audience, the ideas, plots, persons, and situations of these books have been constructed to
conform to the expectations of a white audience that generally knows little about what it
means to be brought up as a Lakota over the past one hundred years."

Again, I thought this was interesting how this theme of inaccuracy in multicultural literature shows up time and time again. Of course we need to be aware of it in children's literature, but also in the literature WE read!!!

Bronx Masquerade

After finishing Bronx Masquerade, I experienced an overwhelming sense of optimism. I thought this book had a terrific lesson; that we are all different, but can come together and learn about these differences through art (in this case poetry).

We are taking this class to learn about the power of literature. This is a prime example of how the children's own literature/artwork can change the way other students think and view the world.

I enjoyed learning about each character and their different quirks and attitudes, but even for me-as a college student- I had a hard time differentiating all the different characters. My one critique of this book is that I feel that children reading this book would also have a hard time focusing with the many characters. I do understand that author, Nikki Grimes, did this to portray a variety of students to shows a range of ethnic groups, personalities, body types, family lives.... etc

While this book did not hit on every aspect of multiculturalism (as we have talked about in class) it did encompass more than the other two books we have read thus far.

I look forward to discussing the book with the entire class tomorrow afternoon!

Outside World Connections

Quick Story:
After class on Wednesday I stopped by Barnes and Noble. (We talked about it so much during class, I felt the urge!!) There was a table of "How To" books and one of the titles was something along the lines of, "How to Write a Children's Book." I was excited until I flipped through the 300 pages and didn't find much of interest....and it was next to "How to Fix Your Bathroom." I felt that this book, on how to write a children's book, was not complete enough and written by authors that were not credible.

Just an interesting story I wanted to share with the rest of you.

The Insider/Outsider Debate

When reading these four articles I felt like I was right in with the authors on this debate. I was highlighting statements that I agreed/disagreed with and liked/disliked - my pages are marked up with my thoughts and further questions. I was so intrigued by what the authors had to say, making me want to read on even further.

Naturally I gained a lot of new knowledge by reading these articles and learned the viewpoints of the authors- yet I had a hard time figuring out my own opinion on the manner. I agreed with Shannon's points on multicultural children's literature but then when the other three questioned and were "angered" by her work, I also had to question what I thought. Are my thoughts in line with Shannon, Sims Bishop, Harris or Cai? Or are they a combination of the authors?

To sort out my thought patterns I am going to go through each article individually.

I Am the Canon: Finding Ourselves in Multiculturalism
Patrick Shannon

• His main question is: "Must I remain outside the debate and struggle -- either working overtly to protect my privileges or standing on the sidelines watching the disenfranchised claim their rightful places in our society (67)?

• ALARMING QUOTE: "They see the debate as irrelevant to their teaching and lives because they work (or will work) in rural and suburban school districts which are isolated and safe from "the crises" of multicultural metropolitan areas (67)."

I was completely shocked by this feel that some teachers have!! By not including or even caring about diverse/ multicultural literature, these students that already lead a "normal" lifestyle will have no resources to see the outside world.

• Shannon criticizes other authors for limiting their definitions of multiculturalism to only issues of race.

*He then defines CULTURE: "Is a design for living -- ways of acting, believing and valuing....Is not limited to race because it includes region, gender, language, ethnicity, economic class, and other social markers which can demarcate a social group from others (68)."

• Shannon also states that children/ readers should be able to see themselves in a piece of literature, even if it not the main characters... and the characters that don't even play a role in the story.
  

• Question that arisen from this text: Why is children's literature and multicultural literature separate?

A Reply To Shannon The Canon

Rudine Sims Bishop

• She wants to argue - that Shannon said she limits multiculturalism to issues of race. Her comeback was that she was "analyzing children's books that included Black characters (73)."

• "White writers frequently bring to their fiction about African- Americans a perspective that is not as well informed about African-American culture as do writers who know it from the inside because it is the way they have been acculturated. ...What I tried to say is that you have to know a culture intimately if you're going to reflect it accurately in your fiction (73)."

• "My discussions of multicultural literature generally focus on books that feature what I prefer to call "people of color." This is not an attempt to exclude any other groups from the body of multicultural literature. It is to call attention to the voices that have been traditionally omitted from the canon (74)."

*I agree with Sims Bishop when she states that the culture that you are writing about needs to be reflected accurately YET I also believe that an outsider can have the same intimacy with the cultural as an insider, if they have done their research and studying.


No Invitations Required To Share Multicultural Literature

Violet J. Harris

• Harris hits Shannon quite hard with her words.

• She speaks of stereotyping (79) and "The Other" (78).

• "The most egregious assertion Shannon makes is that I imply that only a person who is a part of the culture can write about that culture because the chapter authors write only about their groups. This is in error (78)."

Harris goes on to give examples of authors that are "Outsiders."


Multiple Definitions of Multicultural Literature: Is the Debate Really Just "Ivory Tower" Bickering?

Mingshui Cai

• Cai's article is written in a very orderly fashion and flows from one point to the next.

• I enjoyed reading the evolution of the definition of multiculturalism. Ending with "in short, any persons whose lifestyle ... distinguishes them as identifiable members of a group other than the 'mainstream' (82)."

• He also states that "If multicultural literature includes all cultures, the term loses its meaning."

*I agree totally with this statement. I believe that we read multicultural literature to gain insight on cultures/ lifestyles that are unlike our own. We know what the 'mainstream' lifestyle is in America and are very familiar with it. So should it be included within this genre of children's books. By this definition, and my own feelings, no.

• "Books about people of color may not directly reflect the lives of White teachers and students, but they definitely expose them to racial issues in the country which at some point their lives they must inevitably confront. Exposure to these books may help them become aware of racial discrimination and oppression (85)."

*Great quote and could not agree more. This is WHY we have multicultural literature in our classrooms!!!

___________________________________________________________________________

With all of that written out I have come to realize that there are two issues that are brought up in these articles:

A. Insider/Outsider Debate

• Through reading these articles and also briefing them (above) I have been able to formulate my own stance on the debate. The most important aspect of a piece of multicultural literature is if it portrays the cultural ACCURATELY. If an outsider can do this with the same passion that an insider can, I believe that their books should have similar reviews.

B. Definition of Multicultural Children's Literature... especially when it comes to issues of race.

• I see multicultural children's lit as the broadest definition possible. We as teachers are trying to educate our students of the outside world, especially the places that they are unfamiliar with. Race is not the only difference seem among people. Sexuality, family situations, religion, gender, language, social class.... and SO MUCH MORE!!
  

___________________________________________________________________
It was great to read these articles and I look forward to talking to my classmates about their reactions to the readings.

*I know this post is vvverryyy long- there was a lot of things I need to sort out of these intense articles!

What I did this past summer:

• Camp Mirage Counselor
• Babysitter of 3
• Tutor to a 4th grader
• 2nd classroom assistant

Welcome!

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. ~Henry Brooks Adams

Aspiring to have a positive and long lasting influence over children is the most rewarding goal to have and obtain. It has been my dream to be an influential educator since I was in elementary school and Michigan State University is helping me reach this goal. After being accepted into the College of Education last spring, I know I am well on my way.

I am very interested in the teaching of literacy and diverse literature, noting how important is it for children to have a concrete base knowledge of literacy from an early age. I look forward to furthering my knowledge in this field as I take both TE 448 and TE301 this fall.

On the side of my blog I will set up a place for viewers to post their favorite children's book/books. I would love to get a working book list now, so when I finally have my own classroom, I will have a hefty library. So, please feel free to post away!!