I took TE448 because I really enjoyed TE348 when we read and critiqued children’s literature. I loved children’s literature as a child, and I still enjoy reading them. I have always seen diverse literature as being an important aspect to children’s education. However, if it weren’t for this class, I would not have as deep of an understanding about diverse literature or why it is so important to be part of the classroom library. Not only should diverse literature be a primarily focus, but it also has to be accurate. This class has also exposed a variety of diverse literature from many different cultural backgrounds. I am very thankful for this opportunity, and I will use what I have learned further down the road when I become an elementary school teacher. Since I was not as exposed to this type of literature as a child, I will make sure that my students are given the opportunity to learn about people’s culture that they are unfamiliar with. Since I will be working with younger children, they will need to start reading diversity as soon as they begin to read. The earlier they read about diversity, the more educated they will become universally, so that they will not make as many assumptions about people or stereotyping them. I also want children to understand the difference between a good diverse book as well as a bad one. There have been many books that we have discussed in class that I was read to as a child, but is now seen as controversial. I do not recall any book as a child that were seen as stereotypical or offensive. Therefore, I want to use diverse books to teach my students about other ethnicities, as well as show them books that are stereotypical, in order to teach them what not to do.
This all ties into my personal philosophy. Even before children are able to read books, I think it would be very convenient for these books to available to them, so they can at least look through the pictures. As they grow older and are able to read, diversity needs to be a big part of their library. Not only does this need to be about diversity, but also the issues that follow them. Once these issues are brought up and discussions are made with the children or students, stereotypes and misconceptions can be solved. Therefore, they will have a better understanding about the world they live in and the other people who share it. They will realize that people are different from them, but they need to accept this fact in a positive way. Even though I am a very open person who was not as exposed to diverse literature as a child, children in my classroom will be open to differences because they are exposed to accurate information about diversity. I am so happy that I chose to take this class, because I am now more educated than I ever was about many different cultures and what misconceptions that even I have had about others. I will take everything I have learned to become the best teacher I can be.
1 comment:
After reading over Tiffany’s blog, I found some points that I agree with that I hadn’t thought about before. One point that stuck out to me was when she said she will provide books in her classroom even if the kids aren’t old enough to read but so they can look at the pictures. I think that this is important because children can still learn from pictures and relate things to their own lives. So it’s important to have those books readily available for your students.
Another point I liked that Tiffany mentioned was to expose children to accurate information. It’s one thing to have hundreds of books in your classroom library, but if those books are false representations of diverse issues then it’s completely defeating the purpose of having those books in your classroom. So it’s important to be choosey as to which books you’re going to supply in your library and not just pick any old book so that it looks like there are a lot of books to choose from.
Tiffany and I both had similar views about incorporating diverse literature into our classrooms. We both thought that it’s important to start exposing children to diverse literature at a young age so that they are aware of diverse issues and can develop positive views on the different topics. It’s also important for teachers to continue discussing diverse topics to all age groups so that they are continuing to be aware of all of the diverse topics.
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