My Text Set: Poverty

Text set as a whole:

My text set includes three picture books, On Mother’s Lap by Ann Herbert Scott, Something Beautiful by Sharon Dennis Wyeth, and Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting. These three books all represent different aspects of poverty but all have family dynamics as their common theme. These three books are a great start to a diverse library for my classroom. I thought these three books were important to include because each book is focused on a certain culture, one on Inuit family, another on an African American girl, and finally one focused on a Caucasian family. I thought it was important to include these three different cultures because it is important for students to understand that poverty can happen amongst any culture. Poverty is an issue that I feel isn’t very well represented in children’s book or in classroom libraries. Cultures are becoming more prevalent in libraries but I believe poverty is a sub-culture that should also be addressed which is why I have chosen this sub-culture as the topic of my text-set. Each book describes a different aspect of poverty yet in each circumstance there is a family member who takes care of the young individual and allows them to feel safe and loved within their circumstances. I thought it was important to consider each of these books when looking at poverty because each brings a unique aspect and can be read to different age groups.

On Mother’s Lap is a book that I would read to a younger audience especially when doing units on home’s and families. This family is unique because only a Mother, son, and baby are shown. It is also unique because of the limited possessions that the family has yet the son finds that there is love and comfort always on his mother’s lap. Something Beautiful is a book that can be read to an older elementary audience and gives a great message of what beauty truly means and how this meaning can be different depending on the person. The important thing to remember is that beauty is everywhere. Fly Away Home is a book I would also read to older students because homelessness is a difficult topic but I believe that is something that all individuals will have experience with at some point in their lifetime. The book is realistic and offers hope but not an unrealistic idea of the possibility of things taking awhile to change. The young boy living in the airport finds hope within a bird that is able to leave yet we don’t see the boy escaping. Instead we see his trust in his father and his determination to save money. In all three stories there are things that any child could relate to, whether it is the aspect of money, family, or community. These books also give children who may not have much experience with poverty a glimpse into the lives of families who may have different situations. Overall I think this text set represents a broad range of aspects of poverty allowing students to be able to relate to some aspects of poverty but also allowing them to understand some of the things they may not be as familiar with. By looking at these books my hope is that students gain a better understanding of different cultures as well as sub-cultures.
I would recommend these books to individuals of all age groups. As an adult I really enjoyed reading these books and found that even I was gaining information and insights into lifestyles unlike my own yet I was also able to see my like mirrored in some aspects of these books as well which made the experience worthwhile. These authors did a wonderful job representing different aspects of poverty in a realistic yet gentle way in order for readers to gain the most from these picture books.

Undersanding the Students We Teach: Poverty in the Classroom

Review of Professional Resource:

The article that I have chosen to include is titled: "Understanding the Students We Teach: Poverty in the Classroom." from the magazine: "The Clearing House". It was written by Missy M. Bennett.

This article was about a study on the conditions of life students who live in poverty and how this impacts our job as future teachers. It discusses the effects of a project, college students were asked to take a “driving tour” to look into the lives of students and discover the place in which they call home. They were asked to answer specific questions and consider different thoughts about transportation, community, employment, and residence.

The article addressed the lack of discussion and information that future teachers get on the issue of poverty. Diversity is a topic that is usually covered yet socioeconomic status is usually not included and this subculture has great effects on students and classrooms and is something that needs to be discussed. It is imperative to realize and understand how these socioeconomic differences will play a role in the classroom as well as learning how to adapt to these circumstances and allow your classroom to be a place where everyone feels comfortable and accepted. “Themes that emerged were development of awareness of socioeconomic differences, development of empathetic rapport and caring attitudes, and development of a commitment to culturally responsive teaching.” (Bennett) The article recalls that according to the U.S. Census Bureau (2008) 12.7 percent of the United States is living in poverty. This is higher in certain states and lower in others but overall in a class of 30 students, 3 of them would be living in poverty. This is reason enough to be knowledgeable as a teacher but also assist students in the classroom in understanding others around them. The professor who conducted these driving tours took 60 papers she received and has provided the most valuable insights. She notes the one student said, “ I did not expect to see people living in situations like this—in homes that appeared to be unsafe to live in.” For many students, they cannot begin to imagine a life unlike there own and therefore by proving this literature we are able to give them a glimpse and educate them about others. Students in the class were asked to comment on how project impacted their understanding of their future classroom. One student said, “Not everyone’s home life is pleasurable and school is sometimes an escape. Some students use it to rebel and express their pain.” By allowing both teachers and students to become educated about the lives of others both can be more understanding of others. It is important for everyone to realize that no one’s lives are easy and everyone struggles but that each person is going through something different. We must learn to understand other’s differences but also to embrace everyone and learn to interact together as a successful classroom community.

I was immediately drawn to this resource due to both it’s relevance with the topic of poverty but also because it describes the lack of information given to individuals planning to teach about this subgroup. Poverty is prevalent in many communities around the country and will more than likely be something that, as future teachers, we come across in our classrooms. This article did not address literature specifically, rather the need for development of responsive teaching. By understanding that these situations are occurring in the lives of many students, we must help them to feel unified through literature in the classroom. It also helped me to better understand the need for this type of literature in the classroom. The article was addressing college level individuals who were still uneasy and unable to understand individuals they were interacting with because of the socioeconomic differences. This lack of knowledge made it clear that these individuals who had more than 12 years of school had yet to be exposed to this subculture and therefore the need for this literature in the classroom. This article was a great resource and I hope to inspire others to look into this issue, especially those becoming future teachers and maybe when placed, take a look at the surrounding area to really get a feel for the individuals you will be interacting with.

This project was done at Georgia Southern University.

Student quotes and information came from the article:

Bennett, Missy M. "Understanding the Students We Teach: Poverty in the Classroom." The Clearing House Aug. 2008.

On Mother's Lap by Ann Herbert Scott

Image found: on the Barnes and Noble website

Scott, Ann Herbert and Coalson, Glo. On Mother’s Lap. New York: Clarion Books, 1992.

On Mother’s Lap is the first book that I have chosen for my text set on poverty. The picture book is about an Inuit boy who enjoys rocking on his mother’s lap.

This book starts off with the main character Michael sitting on his Mother’s lap rocking. Michael then decides that his dolly wants to rock as well so he goes and gets dolly. They rock for a bit and then Michael says that his boat needs him so he brings boat onto mothers lap and they rock. He goes on to gather his reindeer blanket and his puppy and they all rock on Mother’s lap back and forth. But then baby starts to cry, she would like to rock as well. Michael feels that there isn’t room for baby to rock with them but Mother disagrees. She gets baby and they all rock together. Michael is satisfied and Mother lets him know that “there is always room on Mother’s lap.

The title page illustration shows the setting of a cold climate along some type of water. All the houses in the picture appear to be very similar, made out of wood and small. We then see the inside of Michael’s house. There is a single chair in which he and his Mother are sitting in along with a clothes line across the wall where a pair of gloves, socks, and one t-shirt are strung. There is also a small stove, but that is all that is there. The walls are bare and the floor is wooden but both Michael and his mom have smiles on their faces as they snuggle together. When Michael goes to get his doll we see another angle of the house, which appears to just be one large room and there is a dresser and a box on the floor. In the pages following we see Michael sitting on his mothers lap, they are both smiling with the items that he has gathered but the surrounding areas of the page are white. This allowed me as a reader to just focus on the two of the and not their surroundings. It seemed that nothing else mattered just that the two of them were enjoying each other’s company. We are then shown another angle of the room as Michael goes to retrieve his reindeer blanket. His baby sister is shown lying on a bed. As the story concludes Mom, baby, and Michael are all snuggled up in the rocking chair together with a doll, puppy, boat, and blanket and they all appear to be at peace among their bare house.

I thought this picture book was interesting because when just focusing on the text of the book, it is hard to see the issue of poverty. Many children of all different socio-economic statuses enjoy rocking on their Mother’s lap and often don’t like to share this time with siblings. Because the situation is common, I feel that many children would be able to relate to the storyline and therefore have a connection with the book. Once I took a look at the illustrations I was able to see how poverty was a subculture represented in this book. Their house appeared to be a single room which was bare only including a small stove, dresser, bed, and rocking chair. Mom and Michael wore boots throughout the story possibly because the lack of heat in the house. The warm tones of colors chosen allowed for a subtle look into the life of this child living in poverty.

I think this would be a great book to read to early elementary school children to introduce the idea of poverty. The refrain “back and forth” draws children in and allows them to feel connected. This would be a good book to read aloud and then later allow the children to view the illustrations more closely. Although the book didn’t directly give any information about poverty, through the illustrations readers were able to see that although the house was bare, Michael, Mom and baby all loved each other and were happy anyway. There was always room to rock back and forth on Mother’s Lap. This book would definitely be one that I would include in my classroom library. I believe that it promotes a positive view of family and although students in the class may not have the same living conditions it is important for them to be able to see that there are similarities like maybe being rocked by their Mothers.

I believe this book does work as a piece of diverse literature because although it does not provide direct information about living in poverty, the reader is shown a familiar situation of a boy and his Mother yet is also able to see how the household may look different from theirs. The author, Ann Herbert Scott notes in the back of the book how she was inspired to write this story by her son Peter. Therefore this “universal childhood experience” as the front flap puts it, is something that she has seen in her own son. She is an insider on the main theme of family that I have found within all the books that I have chosen. The illustrator of the book, Glo Coalson lived in as Eskimo village for a year, according to the back flap and therefore has had an authentic experience to base her illustrations off of.

Something Beautiful by Sharon Dennis Wyeth

Image from: amazon.com


Wyeth, Sharon Dennis, and Chris K. Soentpiet. Something Beautiful. New York: Doubleday Books for Young Readers, 1998.

Something Beautiful by Sharon Dennis Wyeth is the second book I have chosen for my text set on the issue of poverty.

This picture book is written in first person. The individual speaking is a young girl who appears to be in elementary school. She is African American and lives in a neighborhood where she encounters broken bottles, trash, graffiti, and homelessness yet she is in search of something beautiful. One the first page the young girl looks out her window and sees the trash and broken bottles, she compares them to fallen stars. Along with the trash we can also notice that there are bars over windows and wood boarding up a door which is connected to the building in which she lives. “DIE” is written on the front door of her building. She walks past a lady who is home is a cardboard box and she is using plastic as a blanket. The lady has no shoes on and is sleeping. The young girl appears sad when looking at the lady. She appears scared as she runs past a dark alley which is also covered in trash and has a chain-link fence. Yet she continues to wonder, her mother has told her that everyone has something beautiful in their lives and she has yet to find something. Her facial expression appears scared and fearful. School is shown and the students in the classroom are learning about the word that is written across the board, “BEAUTIFUL”. The teacher is a smiling African American male. The students in the class are mostly African American, one is a Caucasian girl. The speaker defines beautiful, “something that when you have it, your heart is happy.” Then it seems that although poverty is around her, beautiful things are around her as well. Miss Delphine at the Diner serves her what she believes is beautiful, a fried fish sandwich. The young girl then travels outside where she sees three of her friends, a young African American boy, and two girls, one Caucasian and one African American. She asks them what they have that is beautiful and they all have different responses, their jump rope, beads, and shoes. It appears that everyone has a different idea of what is beautiful to them but everyone is able to think of something. Other friends even tell her that their moves and sounds are beautiful. An older gentlemen sitting on his steps finds a smooth stone beautiful. Her aunt allows her to hold her baby boy, she tells that the baby’s laugh is beautiful. She travels back home to her stoop where she is again surrounded by the graffiti one her door and the trash that is on the ground. She then decides to clean up the trash and scrub off the graffiti. She has the power to change her surroundings, at least some of them. Her mother comes home and when asked what something beautiful she has, she says her daughter. Both mother and daughter are smiling at one another. Amongst the poverty that we are shown throughout the book, each individual can find something beautiful and in the end the speaker is something beautiful to her mother.
I thought this book was a great way to show poverty to a class. Graffiti especially can be seen in many neighborhoods, on train cars, trash cans, or even street signs. It is something that many individuals can relate to. I thought the book did a good job portraying a neighborhood where there were homeless individuals but there were also individuals like Miss Delphine who were successful. Although this young girl struggled to find something beautiful in her neighborhood, it was her mother who gave her the idea that “everyone should have something beautiful in their life.” By doing this her mother is giving her hope and encouragement and allowing her to believe that everyone can have that something that makes them smile and that they find beautiful. This thread of family, finding hope from her mother, as well as in the end realizing that she was the something beautiful that her mother had helps readers to understand that beauty is dependent upon the person. This book did not ever use the term poverty but it allowed the reader to have a window into a neighborhood which appeared to be in poverty, with barred windows, boarded up doors, homeless people sleeping near the buildings in which people lived, and graffiti written on this young girls building door. Through the illustrations we see though that although there is trash in the courtyard, the sun is still shining. And in the classroom, the teacher appears to be excited to be teaching about beauty and there are colorful paintings which decorate the walls. Her friends are smiling and even the older individuals that live in her neighborhood all can offer her insights into their idea of beauty. I believe this book is not stereotypical displaying both African American and Caucasian individuals. There are individuals in the book who appear to be successful as well as individuals in the book who appear to be struggling but all are a part of this neighborhood. This book promotes a positive message about beauty and allows readers to look for the good in any situation. It would also allow teachers to talk about different lifestyles and neighborhoods in the community and how although they all may be different, there is beauty in each of them. This book will definitely be a part of my classroom library as it shares many values in which I would like to promote in my classroom.
This book is a good example of a diverse piece of literature and was written by Sharon Dennis Wyeth. She is African American and speaks from her own childhood experiences, as readers can gather from the front flap of the book. She “reminds us that there is strength in community and that our greatest treasure is our children.” In the back of the book the author’s note also describes that when she was first married she received a small pitcher from her mother, that was her something beautiful. She placed it on her windowsill so she wouldn’t have to look at the alley outside. Therefore her idea of the book came from a direct memory from her mother and how her mother’s love inspired the story. The illustrator of the book is Chris K. Soentpiet who was born in South Korea, according to the back flap of the book, but was adopted along with his sister when he was eight years old. He does a wonderful job with color, allowing the reader to gather information through the images that he has created that tie in with the text.

Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting

Photo from: Fantasticfiction.com

Bunting, Eve, and Ronald Himler. Fly Away Home. Ed. James Cross Giblin. New York: Clarion Books, 1991.

The third book I have chosen to include in my text-set about poverty is titled Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting.

This picture book describes the life of a young boy and his father who live in an airport. The book is written in first person and the speaker is a young Caucasian boy. The boy begins the story stating that he and his father live in the airports because it is better than the streets which automatically allows readers to understand that they are a family who lives in poverty. He describes how the most important rule to follow while living in the airport is to never get caught. He explains what belonging they have, they wear blue jeans, blue T-shirts, and blue jackets and they carry blue zippered bags with a change of blue clothes. He talks about an experience they once had where a lady got caught living in the airport and quickly was removed, “She wore a long, dirty coat and she lay down across a row of seats…” He explains that he and his dad sleep sitting up and use different airport terminals to stay unseen. He talks about how there are others they know who also live in the airport but they don’t sit together because that would be noticeable as well. He talks about how everything in the airport is in motion, yet he and his father stay. The little boy then digresses to tell a story about a bird he once saw in the airport that was stuck. The boy gave encouragement to the bird silently, and in a few days the bird escaped through a sliding door. The boy expressed happiness in seeing the bird escape. The boy then goes on to describe his usual routines, getting clean by washing up in the airport bathroom, buying food from the cafeteria, and how his dad leaves for work on the weekends. His dad is a janitor but only works on the weekends. He describes how on those days he is watched by another family, the Medinas, who also live in the airport. He and another boy return luggage carts or call cabs for people to get money. His dad pays the Medinas for watching him by buying them dinner. He expresses his want to have their own apartment again and is even saving up money in his shoe. He shares how he knows that his dad is looking for apartments but they are all too expensive and that makes his dad sad and angry. He also discusses how next year his dad says he has to start school. We are able to see his frustration with him and his dad’s lifestyle. He envies others who are at the airport and have homes. He describes, “Sometimes I just want to cry. I think Dad and I will be here forever.” Yet he finds hope in the bird that was able to be free.

I feel that this book is a very good book to include in this text set because it talks about how this young boy is able to cope with his situation. His feelings seem realistic, wishing that he was able to have a home like others, but also hopeful that by collecting money he will eventually be able to escape. Homelessness is something that is not usually discussed in children’s books but by including this book in my text-set I am allowing children to gain a better understanding of situations that are occurring in many communities. This book works as a piece of diverse literature because it includes the aspect of homelessness as something that can happen to any family. The book also received a “Heal the World” award from school children. Even if students have had no experience with homelessness themselves they have more than likely seen it when traveling or in the least heard family members talk about money. Especially in today’s economy I feel that it is an important thing to talk about especially in terms of community. Eve Bunting lived in Northern Ireland for a period of time where she saw a depressed economy. Her and her family moved to California with no work or money but felt that that is where opportunity was. Therefore I believe Eve Bunting is an insider who has had unique experiences with poverty and therefore can accurately write about the topic.

Information about Eve Bunting found at:

Polichenco, Jennifer. "Eve Bunting." American Collection: Educator's Site. 5 Dec. 2008 .

TE448 Final Reflection

When looking back at the class as a whole, there is one specific week that I found myself learning the most. The week was about GLBTQ. Having gone to some of the GLBTQ Safe Schools Seminars and learning so much from those I feel that I have really pushed my thinking about this topic and expanded my knowledge. I feel that in general I am open to diversity and issues of GLBTQ but I had never specifically thought of how this issue could impact my classroom. While reading Boy Meets Boy I gained a better understanding of things that I had not thought about before. Being heterosexual I have never given thought about things such as walking down the street holding a guy's hand. Yet, when I see a homosexual couple walking down the street holding hands I do take a second look. Not because I agree or disagree with their lifestyle, but simply because it is something I am not used to seeing. Those are the situations in which I have no idea what it feels like and I understand that those are things I may never understand but simply realizing that I feel is important. In order to connect with my students I feel that I need to recognize that maybe I don’t know what their lifestyle is like and I will never know but I can be apathetic and just be there for them in any way possible. Another issue we talked about among my small group was name calling in the hallway or the classroom. I feel that this is still going to be something that I need to work on, how to handle situations in which students may be calling each other gay, as a put down, and how to appropriately handle that situation.Name calling is hurtful and happens with all age groups and I think in order to make both the school and the classroom a safe atmosphere name calling is something that should not be tolerated. How to make the environment such a place is something that I am going to have to work towards as a teacher. Having the discussion with my group I understood that there is still a lot to learn and there are experiences that I will have as a teacher that will test what I know and what I believe and those will have to be taken in strides. I realize that there is no way to be prepared for everything but by taking classes like TE448 I feel more prepared and feel like my classroom will benefit from these experiences that I have had.

Recently I was able to view part of the movie Blindness and thought it would be beneficial to share some of the lines that were in the movie that I thought were interesting. In the first scene of the movie on individual becomes blind while driving in his car. He seems scared so he does not continue driving. Other people notice and thankfully a few men come over and ask him what is the matter. He replies that he has become blind. He says he just wants to go to his apartment and his wife can help him. The men's commentary is quite interesting. One volunteers to take him there. As the man who has just become blind is stepping out of his car he hits his head, one man says, "Careful, take care of him, watch him, he can't see." It is like he went from being a fully functioning adult to a child who is unable to do things like walk on the street alone. The man that is driving him asks him if he can still hear, and tells him to say something if he needs anything. I also thought it was interesting it shows what the blind man is seeing. He describes it as "swimming in milk". Then things go blurry, almost like the audience is also blind, but then they focus back in again. The "helper" of the blind man announces to bypassers "He is blind! He can't see" I thought this was also interesting. The blind man says to his wife that he would rather die than stay like this. He tells his wife that he can see nothing at all and she tells him to try harder. A doctor tells him they will try and fix this. There is a lot of the blurry effects and then the camera sees to come into focus.
Overall it seemed like blindness was this strange science fiction idea, like a strange plague coming over different people rather than something that individuals have and still continue to be fully functioning. In my opinion, it is interesting that when I see someone who is blind I know they do not want or expect me to feel sorry for them but this movie portrays that being blind is the worst thing that could happen, especially when the character says he would rather be dead than blind. Yet there is an entire community of blind individuals that are happy, healthy, and a part of our communities.
I didn't have time to watch the entire movie but thought I would share the part in which I did see and my reactions to that. I didn't really have much interest in watching the rest of this film.

Photo From: forthebibletellsmeso.org
After going to the first LGBT presentation I was inspired to push my knowledge and furthering my thinking about how diverse issues would challenge me as a teacher. So, I thought going to the second presentation would be beneficial but I was unaware how much more I would learn. I sat with a group of students who were all in the same TE 250 class along with two professors. We watched three segments of the video "For the BIBLE tells me so" and after each segment discussed. I was taken back by the students at my table, their faith was all very strong which added something to our discussion. We talked about how these families in the video dealt with the diversity within their families, we talked about our families, and how we were similar and different. I was first surprised that my family was quite liberal compared to the families that the students at my table had come from. My parents are very open and seem to have respect for issues of GLBT. My dad's old buisness partner was openly gay and although my dad would talk about how he was learning about this lifestyle in which he wasn't accostomed to, it never seemed that he thought it was wrong. Anyhow the families in the video all had different situations as well as different perspectives. What I was most interested in was what the Bible says. I was shocked to find out that individuals read and believe that gay people should be put to death. Although it does read in the Bible that being gay is an abomination, the Bible also says that wearing wool and linen together is an abomination, eating pork, as well as shrimp. We discussed how things are taken literally by certain people, I wonder whether those individuals have ever ate pork or shrimp? We discussed how during this time, these thoughts that being gay was wrong was part of the idea that the nation needed to grow, procreation. I also thought it was interesting, one of the girls at my table said, we have to remember that this is a work of God, taken by man and then translated. The instance of the video I found most disturbing was when they showed the hurtful things individuals who consider themselves GLBT have faced and continue to face. One picture was of a phrase written on the sidewalk, it read "Slaughter the Gays". It made me sick. I could not imagine walking down the sidewalk and reading something like this, especially if it was directed towards me. I was taken back by the extreme hatred these people making these comments had. I feel sad both for the individuals who believe that God is accepting of this hatred as well as for the individuals who have to deal with this hatred daily. One individual in the video talked about how t is human nature to look for an "outsider". One father on the video spoke of unconditional love, loving his children no matter what. I think this is so important not only for parents but for educators, we must love every student unconditionally. I thought this seminar was wonderful and I think more individuals need to be made aware of the issues going on around us.

When first hearing about this movie in class I was not immediately aware of all the issues that this film brings. When hearing that there was a film titled, "Blindness" I have to be completely honest in saying that I was very interested. I often think of how my life would change if I were deaf or blind and therefore thought that this would be some sort of "inside" look at the life of someone or individuals who are blind. When seeing the trailer I was caught off guard by the terms used and how the individuals who were becoming blind were being treated. After seeing the trailer a classmate and I were confused as to whether or not the movie was supposed to be "scary". And how this trailer portrayed everyone fearing the chance of "catching" this blindness. I have not seen the movie. Part of me thinks that it would be interesting but another part of me feels like this would create more stereotypes for me and therefore not be productive. I wish this were a film that accurately portrayed being blind rather than it being seen as an epidemic. After reading articles about this movie, I am clear that this film has hurt many individuals. But, in trying to see the other side I thought of other movies that may hurt people as well. Being that I was a competitive cheerleader in high school, and I will mention that I do think that competitive cheerleading is a sport, I was offended by the movie "Bring It On" because it does not accurately portray my experiences but also I understand that I am only one individual and this movie is supposed to be humorous and who knows, maybe some individuals who participated in the sport had these types of experiences. When thinking about Blindness I do wonder and think about how there is a difference for being who are born without the ability to see and people who lose their eyesight in other circumstances. I would imagine that when you lose your eyesight suddenly you do go through a period where you must "re-learn" things. I am not in any way saying that the images that this film portrays are what all individuals who lose their eyesight as adults act as the actors or actresses in the movie act but also I think we do have to remember that this is supposed to be a "drama", "mystery", "thriller" and is not labeled as a documentary. Overall though I do think that it is inaccurate to portray blindness as an epidemic. I am very surprised that this movie is in theaters and feel genuinely sorry for the individuals in which it negatively effects.

LGBTQ- Safe Schools Seminar

When thinking about going to this seminar I was confused about the type of situation I would find myself in. After walking into the room in which the seminar was to be held tonight, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was very comfortable. There were many chairs all facing one direction and one main table at the front. The seminar began by allowing everyone to eat pizza! But it really started when we were asked to look at a sheet of "terms". On this sheet were many terms, some I was familiar with and some that were not so familiar but all the definitions were overwhelmingly helpful. I found myself saying, "I never knew that meant that" or "I didn't know this was offensive". One thing that struck me was the discussion on whether or not homosexual was offensive. Basically, it depends on the person, which makes sense but I never thought that some individuals may perfer to be called gay and others homosexual and what contents they feel these words are appropriate. For example, we raised our hands to show how many of the schools that we had been in that we heard terms like "gay" used as a put-down. I raised my hand. In my high school "gay" was thrown around having a negative tone.
Another interesting thing I found by listening in on this seminar was that one and every ten individuals considers themselves LBGTQ.
The next thing I found extremely sad was when one speaker talked about how being gay or even thought of as possibly being gay can be terms to fire someone on. In education, especially in the area, jobs are limited, and to have this fear that you could lose or possible not even be offered a job because of your sexual orientation is troublesome.
I asked, after a discussion in class, how to describe to a student that some students in their class may have two moms or two dads. Considering that there are days in many schools set aside called "Donuts with Dad" or "Muffins with Mom" and thinking that some students may feel confused if they do have two parents of the same gender. One panel member stated it excellently, "People are lucky when they find someone to love."
I thought this was perfect. She went on to say how we need to not make a big deal of these things otherwise that is what they will become. I think this is so true. When students notice that the teacher hesitates or maybe does not know how to answer a question he or she may wonder why? Is this subject not appropriate? Is it wrong? By being able to give these simple answers, first graders in mind, students aren't being left to wonder. As teachers it is our job to teach, and family units and how each individual's family unit is different is an important thing to consider as a teacher.
This seminar was very informative and worthwhile. I really enjoyed it and was happy that I attended.

Lambda Literacy Foundation Award:

Selection Criteria:
- The book must be about an LGBT category
-There are different categories (22) that the book nominations fall under :
14- Lesbian and Gay Categories
6- LGBT Categories
2- Additional Categories: Bisexual and Transgender

- The author does not have to be LGBT themselves, as long as their piece of literature includes LGBT in some aspect. This could be one character or many.
- Authors and Publishers are the only individuals that are able to nominate a book.

In order to be eligible to win the award books must meet the following criteria:
The book must be published and distributed in the U.S. during 2008.
Self- published books are eligible
Book must be published in English


The image included is who sponsers the award.

Selection Committee:
The writers, booksellers, book reviewers, journalists, editors, publishers, members of the Board of Trustees, teachers, librarians, and/or members of the literacy communities.

"Seventy-two judges, representing a broad cross-section of the gay and lesbian literary community, will select a single book in each category to win the prestigious Lambda Literary Award, considered to be the highest accolade for a book from the LGBT community."
http://www.lambdaliterary.org/archives/finalists_LLF_awards.html

Blogging- Valuable? Frusterating?

When thinking about blogging I feel torn. In one respect I think that blogging is valuable. For example at the place that I work over the summer I am quite close to one of the other employees and she has three super cute kids who she blogs about to keep everyone updated. She has posted pictures, videos, and comments about what is going in their lives. I think this is very valuable especially since they have family members that live all around the United States. I also think that blogging can be valuable in classroom to give kids their own voice & page to put it on. But I do feel like blogging can be frusterating in the idea that you aren't sure who is looking at it, reading it, or making judgements based on your blog. I like the idea of it being a way to share your voice but also think that is creates a forum for people to say things they wouldn't say when speaking face to face with other people. It seems easy to say anything on your blog but it's not always so easy to say things in front of others. This takes some of the personal contact out of communicating. But in another sense it is also helpful because people aren't necessarily worried about others so they give their honest opinion. I am really just discovering all the uses of blogs so I think for me it's a constant learning process.

Insider/ Outsider Debate

A question I would like to consider would be how could you tell an individual they are or are not an insider? What are the qualifications?

Insider/ Outsider Debate

Insider/ Outsider

Before reading any of the articles I had the thought, after reading some children's literature books that inaccurately described a particular culture, that only an insider should write about their particular culture. Insider being someone of that culture. But after reading the first article by Patrick Shannon my idea of insider got pushed. He defines culture as, "a design for living- the ways of acting, believing, and valuing; it's a shared set of ideas, behaviors, discourses, and attitudes which internally and externally define a social group." So then my thought began to wander a bit... if a culture can be gender and I write a book about being female, my perspective of being female could be totally different than someone else's who may also be female. One is not necessarily right or wrong, they are just different. And attempting to have all of those opinions in one classroom seems to be impossible. So first and foremost I think it is important to explain to students that although two people may be a part of the same culture they may have totally different lifestyles or ideas.
As he went on to talk about different books that were "multicultural literature" he described how many individuals were able to connect on some level, multiculturalism being a part of all of us and seeing that although we may not see ourselves as part of one culture there may be a subculture within that that we do belong to. For example, I am not part of the African American culture but a female African American writer who talks about being teased from boys would be relatable to many girls. Therefore her and I would share one culture but not another. I feel that these connections are very important to make because they bridge that gap of thinking that since we are all from different cultures we must be different. When the fact of the matter is we are bound to have at least one similarity with many individuals, whether it be religion, gender, or food preference.
Reading the other articles I found myself not being able to make a decision about whether or not I thought insiders should only write about their culture. I think insider is hard to define and that is where my undecisiveness begins. I think what I am most concerned about is accuracy. I understand that everyone has different perspectives which is to be celebrated but when sharing non-fiction & fiction pieces about cultures it is important to distinguish the facts so that students are able to have correct knowledge. I think as long as the author indicates at the beginning of the story it's realtion to that culture than that should be sufficient, but I think it is the reader's right to know & understand how the writer is connected to that culture and then it is up to the reader to decide whether or not they want to engage in the book.

TE 448

In Te 448 this week I presented on the book titled The Heart of A Chief by Joseph Bruchac. Although I was quite nervous about presenting I thought it went very well. As I listened to my peers discuss my question I learned a lot about the schools they went to and the ideas that that had given them on how to celebrate diverse cultures in the classroom. It made me think if the author had ideas about how this sort of teaching strategy would look in the classroom or what would make it authentic celebration rather than just surface level. How do you get your students to want to learn & be interested in learning about their classmate's culture? When coming up with my question I was curious to see if I was taking the text in a different way then my classmates, discussing as group I saw that everyone had different interpretations and even on sentence was causing a group discussion about what it meant and how it was to be understood. It is on page 54 of the text, " Pizza has given up on being a Penacook. Be a Chief instead of being an Indian." Hearing everyone's interpretation made me realize the importance of not answering the question in my paper or my discussion. Just like when teachers are presenting to students, if you answer the question you are only giving them one way to think about the answer rather than seeing their ideas.
I enjoyed the discussion and thought it was an interesting way to share ideas about the book.

This is my blog for class :)