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stereotypes and teaching
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From: Killeen3 <killeen3_at_aol.com>
Date: Mon, 10 Feb 2014 16:17:51 -0500 (EST)
In response to:
In my MLIS courses, one of the responsibilities of the reference librarian is to instruct patrons. I interpret that as letting a patron know that a book like Sign of the Beaver has a lot of stereotyping in it. Does anyone do that in practice?
Many of the books on the list that were objected to have gotten great reviews and/or awards in the past and are sitting on book room shelves or are easily available in multiple copies (paperback) for teachers and school librarians. I have taught Sign of the Beaver several times to lit groups. And -- yes, we always talk about stereotypes, past images of minority cultures, and historical fiction in general -- that would be a big part of the teaching.
I agree that many teachers are teaching books they loved as students and that is why some things don't change. It is easier and most teachers need something to be easier these days - lots of stress and pressure out there. It is also easier to teach something that you understand. How many teachers (especially elementary) and school librarians have taken course work that focused on minority literature -- of any kind? There are some colleges that require a course but I would guess most students take it only because it is required and skim through it as quickly as possible. Little depth reached and each culture takes some depth.
I loved teaching fiction titles containing cultural things I didn't know much about -- my literature groups always had research involved to become familiar with the culture or history in the titles. The South in the 60s for The Watsons Go to Birmingham, the different countries and traditions mentioned in Salsa Stories, or the folk legends included in Bruchac's novels. BUT -- they all took some research and became almost more Social Studies than reading or language arts. Lots of those groups have been eliminated from the students' instruction.
The way schools are narrowing curriculum these days, there is little room to spend time on "learning" background information, making these books less than desirable for reading groups -- Not ideal, but realistic. This should increase the need for fiction titles that are more daily life with main characters of color.
I am really appreciating all the entries people have made in this ongoing conversation. Great Topic! Erlene
Erlene Bishop Killeen killeen3_at_aol.com
Date: Mon, 10 Feb 2014 16:17:51 -0500 (EST)
In response to:
In my MLIS courses, one of the responsibilities of the reference librarian is to instruct patrons. I interpret that as letting a patron know that a book like Sign of the Beaver has a lot of stereotyping in it. Does anyone do that in practice?
Many of the books on the list that were objected to have gotten great reviews and/or awards in the past and are sitting on book room shelves or are easily available in multiple copies (paperback) for teachers and school librarians. I have taught Sign of the Beaver several times to lit groups. And -- yes, we always talk about stereotypes, past images of minority cultures, and historical fiction in general -- that would be a big part of the teaching.
I agree that many teachers are teaching books they loved as students and that is why some things don't change. It is easier and most teachers need something to be easier these days - lots of stress and pressure out there. It is also easier to teach something that you understand. How many teachers (especially elementary) and school librarians have taken course work that focused on minority literature -- of any kind? There are some colleges that require a course but I would guess most students take it only because it is required and skim through it as quickly as possible. Little depth reached and each culture takes some depth.
I loved teaching fiction titles containing cultural things I didn't know much about -- my literature groups always had research involved to become familiar with the culture or history in the titles. The South in the 60s for The Watsons Go to Birmingham, the different countries and traditions mentioned in Salsa Stories, or the folk legends included in Bruchac's novels. BUT -- they all took some research and became almost more Social Studies than reading or language arts. Lots of those groups have been eliminated from the students' instruction.
The way schools are narrowing curriculum these days, there is little room to spend time on "learning" background information, making these books less than desirable for reading groups -- Not ideal, but realistic. This should increase the need for fiction titles that are more daily life with main characters of color.
I am really appreciating all the entries people have made in this ongoing conversation. Great Topic! Erlene
Erlene Bishop Killeen killeen3_at_aol.com
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Received on Mon 10 Feb 2014 03:18:21 PM CST
