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On B&N--what kids think
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From: Allison Bruce <abruce_at_bankstreet.edu>
Date: Thu, 06 Feb 2014 12:57:06 -0500
I want to echo Lisa as this is also a hot-button topic for me--so much so that I added it to my curriculum last year and took a group of 6th-graders to Barnes & Noble (after having studied explicit and implicit biases in children's lit with that same group). Here are some quotes from their reflections:
"It was sickening to look at all the stereotypes, the assumptions."
"I think I was on the girls' side of the bookshelf, but even so, that just shows that Barnes & Noble separates their books by gender."
"I know that kids' minds aren't developed enough to understand these issues, but as they grow up, I hope they realize how serious this issue really is. People have the right to like any color they want and be anything they want to be."
"Society is almost afraid of putting a dark-skinned or Asian character on the cover of a book. I feel like these are minor forms of segregation."
"I didn't see a book with a biracial main character . . . it is not fair in any way."
"In the chapter book section, I saw that most of the books that had non-Caucasian characters didn't have that character on the cover.
"On the covers, I saw thin, pretty girls. I didn't see any overweight girls or anyone with acne. I think that these covers shape an idea of perfect in a girl's mind, and make them want to be like that, even though everyone was born perfect."
When we returned, the whole class signed up for the Birthday Party Pledge: http://birthdaypartypledge.com/
My point: We educators can, in addition to watching how and where we spend our money, educate kids about how and where they spend theirs.
To read more about my project and curriculum re: biases, look at my posts for Lee & Low's blog: http://blog.leeandlow.com/2013/11/21/whitewashing-book-covers-what-do-kids-think-part-i/
and my posts for Bank Street's Center for Children's Literature blog: https://bankstreetcollegeccl.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/part-i-are-all-covers-created-equal-bank-street-6th-graders-weigh-in-on-race/
Thanks, as always, to CCBC. Allie
Allie Bruce Children's Librarian Bank Street College of Education 610 W. 112th St. New York, NY 10025
212-875-4452 (office)
<https://twitter.com/alliejanebruce> <https://twitter.com/alliejanebruce>
Date: Thu, 06 Feb 2014 12:57:06 -0500
I want to echo Lisa as this is also a hot-button topic for me--so much so that I added it to my curriculum last year and took a group of 6th-graders to Barnes & Noble (after having studied explicit and implicit biases in children's lit with that same group). Here are some quotes from their reflections:
"It was sickening to look at all the stereotypes, the assumptions."
"I think I was on the girls' side of the bookshelf, but even so, that just shows that Barnes & Noble separates their books by gender."
"I know that kids' minds aren't developed enough to understand these issues, but as they grow up, I hope they realize how serious this issue really is. People have the right to like any color they want and be anything they want to be."
"Society is almost afraid of putting a dark-skinned or Asian character on the cover of a book. I feel like these are minor forms of segregation."
"I didn't see a book with a biracial main character . . . it is not fair in any way."
"In the chapter book section, I saw that most of the books that had non-Caucasian characters didn't have that character on the cover.
"On the covers, I saw thin, pretty girls. I didn't see any overweight girls or anyone with acne. I think that these covers shape an idea of perfect in a girl's mind, and make them want to be like that, even though everyone was born perfect."
When we returned, the whole class signed up for the Birthday Party Pledge: http://birthdaypartypledge.com/
My point: We educators can, in addition to watching how and where we spend our money, educate kids about how and where they spend theirs.
To read more about my project and curriculum re: biases, look at my posts for Lee & Low's blog: http://blog.leeandlow.com/2013/11/21/whitewashing-book-covers-what-do-kids-think-part-i/
and my posts for Bank Street's Center for Children's Literature blog: https://bankstreetcollegeccl.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/part-i-are-all-covers-created-equal-bank-street-6th-graders-weigh-in-on-race/
Thanks, as always, to CCBC. Allie
Allie Bruce Children's Librarian Bank Street College of Education 610 W. 112th St. New York, NY 10025
212-875-4452 (office)
<https://twitter.com/alliejanebruce> <https://twitter.com/alliejanebruce>
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Received on Thu 06 Feb 2014 11:57:47 AM CST
