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From: Christine Taylor-Butler <kansascitymom_at_earthlink.net>
Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 13:11:21 -0500
I don't think anyone is demanding something be perfect but I might point out - from an author's point of view - that people of color are always questioned about authenticity even when writing about their own race but I rarely see my white counterparts facing the same barriers when writing outside of their culture.
And even so, why would we want to put the onus on students and teachers to figure out if it's wrong or not? That seems disingenuous and misplaced.
I have every reason to believe that Heide, Gilliland and Lewin created the AHMED's SECRET from a well meaning place. However, for many children and adults nonfiction and realistic fiction are often the first exposure to cultures outside of their own neighborhoods. Even when it's fiction many children will assume, absent of a wider body of culturally inclusive literature to choose from - that the imagery is accurate.
I once remembered tussling with an author over her insistence that throwing a red mark on the forehead of a character made it clear the girl was Indian, then wrote the manuscript using language and descriptions more in keeping with the author's own suburban environment to make it "relatable. I asked if she understood caste systems, the roles of girls in Indian society, and other cultural nuances that might inform her work and she said she didn't have to. Because it is how she imagined the girl would be. That seems to be the prevailing wisdom among a lot of my peers who - unable to place work about white children from their own culture have suddenly jumped on the "diversity" bandwagon to make a sale. So you can imagine I was not surprised when two writers of my acquaintance published YA novels about asian children even though one lives in an all white wealthy suburban neighborhood, has her children in an exclusive white private school and whose exposure to people of color has been minimal at best.
I think some responsibility rests on the publishing house that puts these realistic fictional images out without questioning the author's knowledge or asking to see photo references. I remember once working on a nonfiction book for Children's Press - the editor (who was meticulous as a researcher) was complaining that a Photo Resource had been submitted by a researcher of a waterfall in a different country. She verified her suspicions and sent it back. The person who submitted the photo said "It's a waterfall, what kid will know the difference?"
Using the lazy excuse of realistic fiction as "art" in this particular market where a large number of readers are school children trying to learn about the world is not license to do whatever one imagines absent of a large body of work from other sources that would clearly contradict it. And I'm concerned about the dismissive tones that emerge when someone of a culture explains that the (often white) author or illustrator got it wrong.
I think people should be free to explore and write what they want. But then call it what is is - fantasy or science fiction so the buyer understands not to expect it to be a realistic depiction of life and so schools don't acquire it under the guise of accurate material appropriate for a Social Studies lesson plan. Today that book ranks 13th on Amazon on the list of children's books about the Middle East. So yes - the content creators had an obligation to do more than just "imagine" what life for a boy in that situation would be like.
Asking a child or teacher to figure out an author and illustrator got it wrong seems a bit much when both the publisher and the content creator derived financial benefit from the offering..........C
On Aug 15, 2014, at 10:01 AM, Marc Aronson <aronson.marc_at_gmail.com> wrote:
> Rather than demanding any source to be perfect we should offer multiple sources that provide ways for students to investigate, compare, contrast, and build knowledge.
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Received on Fri 15 Aug 2014 01:11:52 PM CDT
Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 13:11:21 -0500
I don't think anyone is demanding something be perfect but I might point out - from an author's point of view - that people of color are always questioned about authenticity even when writing about their own race but I rarely see my white counterparts facing the same barriers when writing outside of their culture.
And even so, why would we want to put the onus on students and teachers to figure out if it's wrong or not? That seems disingenuous and misplaced.
I have every reason to believe that Heide, Gilliland and Lewin created the AHMED's SECRET from a well meaning place. However, for many children and adults nonfiction and realistic fiction are often the first exposure to cultures outside of their own neighborhoods. Even when it's fiction many children will assume, absent of a wider body of culturally inclusive literature to choose from - that the imagery is accurate.
I once remembered tussling with an author over her insistence that throwing a red mark on the forehead of a character made it clear the girl was Indian, then wrote the manuscript using language and descriptions more in keeping with the author's own suburban environment to make it "relatable. I asked if she understood caste systems, the roles of girls in Indian society, and other cultural nuances that might inform her work and she said she didn't have to. Because it is how she imagined the girl would be. That seems to be the prevailing wisdom among a lot of my peers who - unable to place work about white children from their own culture have suddenly jumped on the "diversity" bandwagon to make a sale. So you can imagine I was not surprised when two writers of my acquaintance published YA novels about asian children even though one lives in an all white wealthy suburban neighborhood, has her children in an exclusive white private school and whose exposure to people of color has been minimal at best.
I think some responsibility rests on the publishing house that puts these realistic fictional images out without questioning the author's knowledge or asking to see photo references. I remember once working on a nonfiction book for Children's Press - the editor (who was meticulous as a researcher) was complaining that a Photo Resource had been submitted by a researcher of a waterfall in a different country. She verified her suspicions and sent it back. The person who submitted the photo said "It's a waterfall, what kid will know the difference?"
Using the lazy excuse of realistic fiction as "art" in this particular market where a large number of readers are school children trying to learn about the world is not license to do whatever one imagines absent of a large body of work from other sources that would clearly contradict it. And I'm concerned about the dismissive tones that emerge when someone of a culture explains that the (often white) author or illustrator got it wrong.
I think people should be free to explore and write what they want. But then call it what is is - fantasy or science fiction so the buyer understands not to expect it to be a realistic depiction of life and so schools don't acquire it under the guise of accurate material appropriate for a Social Studies lesson plan. Today that book ranks 13th on Amazon on the list of children's books about the Middle East. So yes - the content creators had an obligation to do more than just "imagine" what life for a boy in that situation would be like.
Asking a child or teacher to figure out an author and illustrator got it wrong seems a bit much when both the publisher and the content creator derived financial benefit from the offering..........C
On Aug 15, 2014, at 10:01 AM, Marc Aronson <aronson.marc_at_gmail.com> wrote:
> Rather than demanding any source to be perfect we should offer multiple sources that provide ways for students to investigate, compare, contrast, and build knowledge.
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Received on Fri 15 Aug 2014 01:11:52 PM CDT
