TE 448

This class has taught me a lot about adolescent literature and what to look for when introducing new concepts and cultures to children. It is a class that I have benefited a lot from and I would recommend it to anyone who is in the teacher education program. I have learned many things that
I will use in my classroom as well as stepping stones in creating a multicultural library in my classroom.

Confessions

The portrayal of Catholics in the book Confessions of a Closet Catholic is something that i found interesting. I know the question was brought up in class if it offended anyone who was catholic. Being a Catholic myself, i can say that i did not find it offensive at all. I thought that parts, like the seven deadly sins, were funny. My mom is also a devoted Catholic and I had her read the book as well and she thought that it was cute and did not take offense to it at all. I think that this book was interesting in its portrayal of Catholic and Jewish families.

New Show Preview

A preview for a new show caught my attention last night. While I cannot remember what the new shows name is, or what channel it is on (multi-tasking when that info was shared) but I do remember that Bob Saget stared in it. The part that I caught was a clip from on of the shows where Bob say to a woman (probably his wife in the show) "I was arrested for pretending to be a cripple so I could cut in line" and then flashed to a clip of him in a powered scooter chair. Cripple? Really? I understand that the show is trying to be funny, but I don't know how funny it would be to anyone who is in the position of needed to use wheelchairs or scooters for their mobility. I think that I would have been offended by the line. I don't know if it is the fact that it is poking fun at someone with a disability or if it was the word "cripple". Would it have been different if the line would have said "Handicapped" or "Disabled"? I think before this class I don't even think my ears would have been perk by the line, but now I must admit, I look at things a little differently now.

Project Mulberry

Project Mulberry was a book that i enjoyed a lot. I found some of the parts related to my own life. I know what it is like to mistake someone for a different ethnicity, and I felt terrible about it when it happened. It was when I was moving into a different apartment, and I was going in blind. The housing manager had told me that my new roommate was a girl that was studying here from China. When I went to meet her, I asked her why she decided to come here from China. I should have asked her where she was from first, but I was trusting what the manager had told me. She is in fact from South Korea. I explained to her what I had been told, and she said that she was not surprised that he would have automatically thought that, but she was really bothered by the fact that she had talked to him many times before and told him more than once where she was from. Even though it did not directly happen to me, I had a sense of what Julia must have been feeling in the book. I would be extremely annoyed if someone had not taken the time to think about my culture and group me with whatever they think I look like. It is ignorance, and I think that it is hard to fight since most people are rather ignorant to the fact that they even are being ignorant.

Literature Awards

Before this week I had never really questioned whether or not specific awards for children's literature could be view as a negative. I like the idea that different cultural groups are being recognized and celebrated for the texts that they produce. It was not until, after researching the Pura Belpre award (and with a push from the readings) that I saw how limiting the awards can be and how they can not include writers and stories of their own cultural group. For example, the Pura Belpre award is for recognition of Hispanic/Latino authors and illustrators. Their definition of a Latino is limited to only descendant of a Spanish-speaking culture. This completely leaves out any author or illustrator that is Brazilian or Portuguese, since the language they speak is Portuguese even though they are considered Hispanic/Latino. I still like these awards, however I hope that the committees and organization that sponsor them will better evaluate the criteria for the category so that no author or illustrator is overlooked for an award because they do not fit the "criteria".

A shocking observation

After reading the book Habibi and discussing the different stereotypes that are often held about Arab Americans, I was on the look out to see some of these terrible stereotypes in play. Sure enough the next day I heard one. On a bus, I can't remember which number, a new driver was being trained. Upon picking up new passengers at a stop, a man that looked of Arabic decent entered the bus and swiped his card like everyone else. The bus driver watched him intently get on, pay, and walk to his seat before turning to the driver training him and saying "You never know since 9/11". I was shocked. I could not believe that kind of ignorance was still being fueled. September 11th was an attack by an extreme group of terrorist, not the entire Arabic ethnic group. I think that people need to take much more time to educate themselves on what is going on in the world, and with the people in it. I am embarrassed for others who would rather perpetuate hatred and harsh stereotyping of people that may be different from themselves, and wish that there were more people willing to gain knowledge on issues, and less people resisting to accept that people are people, and one person cannot define a nation, a ethnicity, or a race.

Insider/outsider debate

When it comes to writing a meaningful work of literature for children or adults, who is writing it is secondary to the content of the book. Some authors may be able to write a great work on a diverse ethnic group that they themselves are not apart of. This does not mean that they have not researched and interviewed many people that could add correct insight and information to the subject. It is when the outsider writing the book does not take the time to research facts, keep cultural references and detail consistent, and put effort into the overall accuracy of the work is when it becomes a problem. As long as the outsider takes the time to find the inside information, there is no reason why they would not be able to write as well on the topic as an insider.