xref Australian primary schools are more culturally diverse now than ever before. People stop being shy about getting. Secondly, its really needed. Homepage illustrations 2009 by Rafael Lpez originally appeared in "Book Fiesta" by Pat Mora and used with permission from HarperCollins. Multicultural Literature: Reflecting Diversity in Literature for Youth. Read a book about a character who doesnt look like you or live like you. They may also believe the "people like them" do not: Just as the use of mirror books can have a positive impact on students' self-concept in the school setting, a lack of mirror books can have a negative impact. Of course, when the time came, there were days when we talked about Langston Hughes, Zora Neal Hurston, and Lorraine Hansberry: the typical black authors that kids learn about in school. It is one of the most valuable qualities. , Teacher Natalya Gibbs believes that early exposure to diverse literature, elementary literacy specialist Marie Havran, HPs tips for communicating in a virtual classroom, An article on the BBC Future website about reading fiction, This Is Your Class on Zoom: Videoconference Literacies During COVID Quarantine, J. Helen Perkins Named Vice President of ILA Board of Directors, Equity in Education Takes Center Stage at ILA and DSU Event, Delaware 2022 Teacher of the Year to Deliver Keynote, ILA Helps Fund Local Elementary School Library Rehab, International Literacy Association Accept Submission for 2023 Awards and Grants. As students of the 21st century are global participants, it is important that they possess cultural sensitivity. Most of all, creating a diverse classroom library for students growth can make readers of today the leaders of tomorrow. It also presents an accurate representation of the . Usually, the subject of such works concerns the humiliation of minority rights. This may facilitate deeper connections with the books read and train students on critical thinking and empathy early on. The American school system should focus more on what they could do to have an inclusive reading list. Books have the power to encourage students while at the same time enlightening other readers about the truths about the lives they are not living. Multicultural literature describes how people live in different parts of the world. Told through a series of flashbacks mixed with events in the present, we accompany Amir on his quest for his approval and a way to make peace with the internal conflict he faces. Let us begin by first defining some key terms. Each new generation of their family represents the cultural and industrial changes of Macondo from a rural village to a modern town. College kids also learn to appreciate their native environment. With the state of the world today, reading diverse literature can help us push for changes that go beyond the classroom. m?l tik?l t?r ?l?z ?m, m?l ta?-. Reading literature also promotes oral work. Students therefore develop greater cognitive skills as they learn to engage with and critically evaluate the texts that they read. ', https://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/literature-resources/ccbc-diversity-statistics/books-by-about-poc-fnn/, https://readingspark.wordpress.com/2019/06/19/picture-this-diversity-in-childrens-books-2018-infographic/, "Mental health comes first": A Principal Shares Her Priorities for This Year (Part 3), 12 Strategies for Creating Inclusive Literacy Celebrations for ELLs, 6 Strategies to Help ELLs Succeed in Peer Learning and Collaboration, Addressing Immigrant Families' Questions and Concerns, Addressing Questions About Immigration Enforcement and Schools, Addressing Student Trauma, Anxiety, and Depression, An "Amazing Race": Building Community at Minnieville Elementary School, Best of 2020: New Resources on Colorn Colorado, Best of 2022: New Resources from Colorn Colorado, Capitalizing on Similarities and Differences between Spanish and English, Choosing Diverse Books for Your ELLs: Tips for Educators, Co-Teaching ELLs: 8 Strategies for Success, Creating Shared Expectations in the Classroom, Discussing Political Violence with ELLs, Immigrants, and Refugees, Finding Diverse Books Across Different Topics and Genres, How Immigration Issues Can Impact Students, How Puppets Are Teaching Kids to "Feel Your Best Self", How Schools Can Help Meet Immigrant Students' Basic Needs, How Staff Can Collaborate on Behalf of Immigrant Students and Families, How to Build Partnerships with Immigrant Families, How to Build Relationships with Immigrant Families, How to Connect Immigrant Families with Legal Support and Advice, How to Increase Access to Diverse Books in the Classroom and Community, How to Provide Social-Emotional Support for Immigrant Students, How to Support Multilingual Families Displaced by a Natural Disaster, How to Support Young Children in Immigrant Families, How to Support Your Childs Social-Emotional Health: 8 Tips for Families, How to Use Technology to Engage Multilingual Families, Immigrant Students' Legal Rights: An Overview, Interview with Henry Sales, Mam Educator and Advocate, Introduction: How to Support Immigrant Students and Families, Keep Asking Until Someone Responds: How a Small Question Had a Big Impact, Lessons Learned from an ESOL Coach's Partnerships with ELL Families, Making Students and Families Feel Welcome, Providing Social-Emotional Supports for Staff, Q&A with Areli Schermerhorn, Peer Evaluator for ENL/Bilingual Education, Q&A with ELL Teacher Dr. Muhibullah Abdur-Rahman, References and Resources: 20 Strategies for School Leaders, Special Education and Your Child: FAQs for Multilingual Families, Strengthening Partnerships with ELL Families: 15 Strategies for Success, Talking About Tough Topics: Tips for Educators, Teacher Appreciation: "The Teacher Who Refused to Give Up on Me", Ten Strategies for Supporting Immigrant Students and Families, The 2020 Election and Beyond: Resources for ELLs, The Importance of Emergency Contact Information, The Invasion of Ukraine: Resources for Educators and Families, The PRESS-In Model: Turning All Students into Readers, Tips for Families: Help Your Child Learn to Read, Unaccompanied Children in Schools: What You Need to Know, Using Books About Immigration in the Classroom, Using Cognates to Develop Comprehension in English, Using Diverse Books to Support Writing Instruction, Welcoming Afghan Families: Lessons Learned from Austin ISD, When Your School Community Is Impacted by a Global Crisis, Windows and Mirrors: Latinx Experiences in Children's Literature, 10 Strategies for Building Relationships with ELLs, Culturally Responsive Instruction for Holiday and Religious Celebrations, Language Objectives: The Key to Effective Content Area Instruction for English Learners, Supporting ELLs in the Mainstream Classroom: 12 Strategies for Language Instruction, Why Diverse Books Matter: Mirrors and Windows, culture (such as special traditions, celebrations, songs, nursery rhymes, and games), other aspects of identity and lived experiences, show students possibilities of who and what they can be, appear as the protagonist or hero of the story, appear in different kinds of stories, like detective or fantasy stories, enjoy different types of genres, like poetry or science fiction, have experiences they see others having, such as, work in different kinds of careers, like science or engineering, write or illustrate books (or work in the publishing industry), introduce readers to new worlds, perspectives, and experiences, engage readers with important topics and social issues, the number of diverse books published each year still is dwarfed by the number of titles published featuringwhite, English-speaking, middle class protagonists as "the norm". Who Belongs Here? In the story, set in Afghanistan and the United States, we follow the journey of our protagonist, Amir, as he struggles to gain the approval of his father, Baba. Literature introduces people to worlds they have never set foot in, which is why it is so important for classroom libraries to be full of diverse stories that reflect students backgrounds and cultures. Search our growing library of professionally created teacher resources. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, Young Reader's Edition by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer. This is the fundamental question at the heart of this encounter. Considering possible issues around book access, educators can use numerous resources that allow students access to diverse books: audiobooks, the International Childrens Digital Library, or even conducting read-alouds of books. Try refreshing the page, or contact customer support. We talk about global, national, and personal ones. *Please see additional information on disability communities on the WNDB website. We hope that this guide will provide you with lots of ideas for books you can share with students and ideas for bringing these books into the classroom. 657 0 obj It is very important to include multicultural literature in language teaching. The authors of More Mirrors in Classrooms write, "Many classroom libraries in under-resourced urban public schools still have few books with characters of color. A World Together by Sonia Manzano, Sesame Street's "Maria". It is in this time of disruption and uncertainty that educators should encourage independent reading, says elementary literacy specialist Marie Havran. Multicultural Education: Importance and Implementation in - LMS Hero This article is part of our guide to using diverse books with ELLs. Multicultural literature and young adolescents: A kaleidoscope of opportunity. Multicultural literature and a diverse classroom library, even at an elementary level, reflects the stories and narratives of those whose voices have not traditionally been heard. Whether characters in the books we read reflect others or ourselves, what is most important is connecting with them in ways that . 0000003925 00000 n Many experts point out that cultural diversity is beneficial in business. 0000008060 00000 n The International Childrens Digital Libraryprovides free access to quality digital multicultural and multilingual texts from around the world. Books written by old white men (with some white women thrown in). 0000003198 00000 n Creating a culturally diverse library collection and instilling its use throughout the school curriculum helps to build a school community that is supportive, empathetic and accepting of others. That leads to a tendency to homogenize the . Thus, empathy grows in a student. What can one get by learning about minority issues? Unfortunately, not all children's literature sends the messages that we want children to learn. %PDF-1.7 % Thank you for signing up! Multicultural literature is also important because it emphasizes what unites everyone. Lines and paragraphs break automatically. Major support provided by our founding partner, the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO. : Multilingual Tips to Support Language and Literacy at Home, Family Literacy: Multilingual Video Series, Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors, My Colors, My World/Mis colores, mi mundo, Digging Deeper: Books About Social Issues for Middle Grades, Bias and Racism Against the AAPI Community: Books for Young People, Talking about Racism and Violence: Booklists for All Ages, statistics on diversity in children's publishing, Infographic: Diversity in Children's Books (2018, numerous awards highlighting diverse books, more titles written and illustrated by Native authors, New Documentary Chronicles Diversity in Childrens Literature, Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop: The "mother" of multicultural literature. Where Are You From? Strong plot and well-developed characters. She feels lost and lonely until she meets a young girl in the park. Diversity is defined as the differences between people. As educators, it is our goal to help students make progress in all areas. Variety is the spice of life. Diversity can be real or perceived differences between people. Award-winning author Matt de la Pea recalls a conversation with a teacher who said she enjoyed his books but didn't have many copies at her school since the student population was so different from his characters. This theme is mirrored in Just One Wish, a lovely story by Sally Rippin (2009) about overcoming diversity. Why? by Yamile Saied Mndez and Jaime Kim. Classrooms across the country have students of different races,ethnicities, religions, and sexualities that deserve to have their stories told. Gina S.: Diverse books are important because they are people teach about others. The comment shocked me; how could someone be so insensitive to the experiences of others? Window books offer a glimpse into other peoples lives and: Window books also remind readers that their view is not the only view, which is why Dr. Bishop notes in the video clip above that "diversity needs to go both ways," observing that "children who always find their mirrors in booksget a false sense of what the world is like because it's becoming more and more colorful and diverse as time goes on.". They know how to protect their rights and those of others. 0000003603 00000 n With the state of the world today, reading diverse literature can help us push for changes that go beyond the classroom. Why Multicultural Children's Books Are So Very Important With recent global events, it has become increasingly important that students do not become ethnocentric. This is also one reason that using mirror books is such a powerful example of: For example, in an excerpt from Colorn Colorado's award-winning film You Are Welcome Here, filmed in Dearborn, MI, middle school teacher Anna Centi talks about connections her refugee students from Yemen made to Linda Sue Park's book A Long Walk to Water, observing that she has been able to push her students with more rigorous text when they feel connected to the stories they read. Cultural diversity is important because our country, workplaces, and schools increasingly consist of various cultural, racial, and ethnic groups. You can follow her on instagram @teachtasticbysarahwalker and on Facebook. We talk about reducing bullying in class. Even as learning has shifted online, the ethos of a diverse library can be carried over and adapted to the virtual classroom. Once multicultural literature is seen as an integral component of the curriculum, libraries and classrooms can become safe arenas for open discussions on culturally sensitive topics (Dietrich & Ralph, 1995). When she's not writing about the latest innovations, you'll likely find her meditating in her local park. Grace Lin talks about her first picture book, The Ugly Vegetables, and reflects on her own childhood experience as the only Asian girl in her class. Such literature helps to achieve equality in education and foster cultural pluralism. We need to examine our own beliefs and create new ones so that we do what is best for our students. However, many schools still have an antiquated curriculum. This compelling story is about a typical Australian family who must flee their country when it is ravaged by war. The Importance of Multicultural Education | Drexel University Whether it is teaching children about diversity through a story of acceptance, or focusing on a child's version of real-life events revolving around diversity issues. First, it's important because it brings healthy and positive dynamics to our society. Colorn Colorado is a national multimedia project that offers a wealth of bilingual, research-based information, activities, and advice for educators and families of English language learners (ELLs). The importance of multicultural literature - SCIS - SCIS Data Using literature helps to spark students interest when it is made personal and when it has a correlation to current events. We sometimes avoid, intentionally or otherwise, questioning longstanding traditions and beliefs and may eventually forget their origin and meaning. Why Teach Multicultural Literature? | HuffPost Voices Multicultural literature promotes the interaction of children across differing ethnic backgrounds (Steiner et al., 2008). By encourage deeper knowledge, "relationships can be strengthened, bridged the gap between students from diverse cultural backgrounds" (Marianne Grasso). We teach our students grammar rules and math facts while also providing them with opportunities to be critical thinkers. The Importance of Multicultural Literature In Shaping Students Students seeing themselves in the stories they read to foster a sense of belonging, recognition, and most of all, validation, is crucialrepresentation matters. There is also a tremendous disparity in the publishing industry. Multicultural Literature in the Classroom | Teaching New Perspectives This deeper knowledge can strengthen relationships and bridge the gap between students from different cultural backgrounds (Hseu & Hetzel, 2000).