Newspapers

If you are doing a newspaper unit, your students might find it interesting to do a study of how different ethnic groups are represented in the newspaper.

• How many stories members of a group are mentioned in
• What types of stories members are mentioned in
• How members of a group are represented in the stories
• What sections of the paper represent members of a group the most
• Compare the amount and type of representation in the newspaper with representation in other forms of media
• Compare the amount of representation in the newspaper with the group's percentage in the area's population
• If a person only read the newspaper and never came into contact with people, what might he or she think about each ethnic group?
  

It would be interesting to see what types of conclusions students draw from a study such as this.

Students could break the data down further and look at how men and women of particular groups are represented. Or they could look at different age groups.

Special Months

I think that it is important to include multicultural literary works throughout the year, but these are the months dedicated to the following groups:

Black History Month: February

Women's History Month: March

Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month: May

Caribbean-American Heritage Month: June

Hispanic Heritage Month: September 15-October 15

Native American Indian Heritage Month: November

Asian and Asian American Young Adult Literature

Here are some websites I found for Asian and Asian-American Young Adult Literature:

Children's and YA Books With Asian American Themes
http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/lit_resources/diversity/asian_am/asian_am.html

Asian-Pacific American History Month (New York Public Library)
http://kids.nypl.org/holidays/asian.cfm

Paper Tigers: Reading Lists and Links
http://papertigers.org/listLinks/readingLists/index.html

Asian American Literature for Young Adults: A Bibliography
http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/asian.htm

Interviews

Conducting interviews of persons from underrepresented groups could be a great way for students to gain a personal, unique perspective on historical events and political and social issues.

Students could interview individuals in their community to find out:

• What was it like to live during the Civil Rights movement?
• What was it like to be a minority during World War II?
• What is the biggest problem facing your community today?
• How do you feel about your group's representation in the media?
• How do you feel about your group's representation on television and in the movies?
• How do you feel about your group's representation in history books?
  
• Which stereotypes do you feel are the most harmful? Is there such a thing as a good stereotype?
  

Then students could write up their interviews and share their findings with the class.

Or you could invite a panel made up of members of the community to your class, and students could interview them as a group.

Speeches

Most people are familiar with the following speeches that would be considered multicultural because they were given by African-Americans and Native-Americans.

• Martin Luther King Jr's I Have a Dream
• Chief Seattle's Treaty Oration 1854
• Malcolm X's The Ballot or the Bullet
• Chief Joseph's I Will Fight No More Forever

As I searched the net, I found a variety of speeches: historical and from current times; given by politicians, entertainers, and historical figures; covering a wide variety of topics. Here are some speech sites to check out:

• American Rhetoric
• Gifts of Speech: Women's Speeches from Around the World
• Hispanic Heritage in the Americas: Speeches, Writing, and Historical Documents
  
• Yahoo's Directory of Graduation Speeches

I will add more websites as I discover them.

Native American Literature

In my web search, I found a few sites created for the purpose of recommending accurate portrayals of Native Americans in literature. Some of the sites also point out which books should be avoided and why. Before teaching a book with Native American characters, you might want to check out these sites to see what they say:

Native American Books
http://www.kstrom.net/isk/books/bookmenu.html

Oyate
http://www.oyate.org/faqs.html

A Critical Bibliography on North American Indians, for K-12 (Smithsonian Institution)
http://www.nmnh.si.edu/anthro/outreach/Indbibl/bibliogr.html

Native Americans: A Resource List for Teaching
http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~kvander/ChildrenLit/nalist.html

Poems of the Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem Renaissance was a time during the early 20th century when African American arts flourished. You may be familiar with writers from this period such as Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Countee Cullen, and Richard Wright.

One of my texts for an African American literature class that I took was: The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader (edited by David Levering Lewis). It includes a poetry section (as well as sections of essays and fiction).

I also searched the net for poems from the Harlem Renaissance, and here are some of the sites I found:

Langston Hughes
http://www.afropoets.net/langstonhughes.html
http://www.poemhunter.com/langston-hughes/poems/
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/83
http://www.math.buffalo.edu/~sww/poetry/hughes_langston.html

Jessie Redmon Fauset
http://oldpoetry.com/oauthor/show/Jesse_Redmond_Fauset

Countee Cullen
http://www.afropoets.net/counteecullen.html

Claude McKayhttp://www.poemhunter.com/claude-mckay/poems/
http://www.afropoets.net/claudemckay.html

Arna Bontemps
http://www.afropoets.net/arnabontemps.html

Jean Toomer
http://www.poemhunter.com/jean-toomer/poems/
http://www.afropoets.net/jeantoomer.html

Angelina Weld Grimke
http://oldpoetry.com/oauthor/show/Angelina_Weld_Grimke

Sterling Brown
http://www.afropoets.net/sterlingbrown.html

Gwendolyn Bennett
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/bennett/poems.htm

Mae Cowdery
https://lists.usm.maine.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0308&L=wom-po&T=0&P=38803

Fenton Johnson
http://oldpoetry.com/oauthor/show/Fenton_Johnson

Anne Spencer
http://www.afropoets.net/annespencer.html
http://www.poetry-archive.com/s/spencer_anne.html

Georgia Douglas Johnson
http://www.dclibrary.org/blkren/bios/johnsongd.html

Helene Johnson
http://www.aaregistry.com/pdetail.php3?id=408
http://www.angelfire.com/poetry/writingsonthewall/helenejohnson.html

James Weldon Johnson
http://www.poemhunter.com/james-weldon-johnson/poems/
http://www.poetry-archive.com/j/johnson_james_weldon.html

Young Adult Literature Featuring African-Americans

I highly recommend the following young adult authors: Christopher Paul Curtis, Virginia Hamilton, and Mildred Taylor. Mr. Curtis' Watsons Go to Birmingham is both humorous and serious, looking at regular family problems and at the 1963 bombings in Birmingham. Mildred Taylor shows us the inequalities between blacks and whites in the south after the Civil War but before the Civil Rights Movement. Taylor's books may be challenging for some readers, but they shouldn't be missed. I love to read Virginia Hamilton's Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush out loud. The words are musical.

For a list of additional young adult books, try this website:

African American Fiction and Literature for Young Adults (Evanston Public Library)
http://www.epl.org/library/bibliographies/ya-afam-fiction.html

Latino / Latina Writers of Young Adult Literature

I must admit that I have not read many young adult books by latino/latina writers. So, doing research for this blog entry has helped me find some books to add to my "to read" list.

I have read and can recommend Victor Martinez's Parrot in the Oven and Gary Soto's collection of short stories Baseball in April.

Here are two websites I found that may help you add to your "to read" list too:

Pura Belpre Award Winners (American Library Association)
http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/belpremedal/belprepast/belprmedalpast.htm

Latino Voices for Young Adults (Evanston Public Library)
http://www.epl.org/library/bibliographies/latino.html

What About the Classics?

During discussions about using a multicultural approach to teaching literature, the following question often comes up: "What about the classics? I don't have enough time now to teach the classics in my classroom. How can I fit in multicultural literature too?"

I have a few answers to this question. My first immediate response is this. Our job is not to teach every work of classical literature to our students. Our job is to expose them to different types of literature and give them the tools, so they can read, comprehend, and evaluate written works on their own.

There will never be enough classroom time to spend on every piece of literature that I feel is important and "classic." And what works I label "classics" and what you label "classics" may be different. And our students' definitions of classics will again be different than our own.

A multicultural approach to education asks us to evaluate what literary works make our "classics" list. These days, every book we are teaching should not have been written by a dead, white male. Because there is wonderful literature out there composed by women, by people of color, by fresh young writers. Today you can inspire the students in your class with writing from the "classics" list of the previous century and with from the "classics" list of today.

A word of caution, just as you shouldn't dismiss all the works of the dead, white male writers; you shouldn't include a work, for example, because it was the first book you found that takes place in Cambodia and you have a Cambodian student in your class. Evaluate every piece of literature. You don't have to teach books written by every ethnic group represented in your class. If the writing isn't there now, maybe your students will be the future authors to fill those gaps and holes.

As I said before, there isn't enough time to teach everything you'd like, so here are a few ways to include multicultural literature:

• Book Talks - Give book talks on some of the "classics" you can't cover, so students can read the books on their own.
• Library Visits - Ask your school librarian to show off parts of the collection on each visit. Maybe African-American literature on one visit, Asian-American on another visit, etc.
• Classroom Library - Make sure that your classroom library includes all the "classics."
  
• Reading/Writing Workshop - Not everyone in the class needs to be reading the same book at the same time. Spend part of the school year doing reading/writing workshops.
  
• Different Perspectives/Same Time - Choose 4 or more books that are written from different perspectives but take place during the same time period, such as World War II. (Students could choose to read about the experiences of a family of Koreans or Japanese-Americans or Jews or Poles. This could lead to interesting class discussions.)
• Invite authors of different ethnicities to speak in your classroom or at your school.
• Have students do research projects on authors from different time periods and of different ethnicities.
• Take a class in African-American literature or Native American literature, or Southern Writers, or Women Writers, or Latino Writers. This is a fast, effective way to expose you to writing you may not be familiar with. And you can share what you learn with your class.
  

Evaluating Multicultural Literature Critically

Before teaching a "multicultural book" in your classroom, I think it is important to read the book thoroughly and ask yourself the following questions:

• What does the represented cultural group think about this book? (For example, if the book is about Native Americans, what do Native American groups think of this book? Do they think it is an accurate representation? Oyate is just one of the sites you can find on the web that offers book critiques written by Native Americans. Some of the titles on their "Books to Avoid" list will look very familiar to you.)
• Who wrote this book and why? (It's important to know what biases the author may have.)
• What makes this author knowledgeable of the culture she is writing about?
• What do you think about the book? Make a list of what a reader would think about the represented cultural group if he only read this one book. Then look at your list and ask yourself if this is an accurate representation. If your not sure, do some research.
  

If a book is inaccurate or only represents a small percentage of the cultural group, you can still teach the book, but it is very important that you make the limitations of the book clear to your students. Involve your students in evaluating the validity of the book content. Ask them why an author might write a book like this. Discuss bias. If the book seems inaccurate and still received awards, have students investigate the criteria for receiving those particular awards.

Having students evaluate a book in this way could exercise critical thinking skills and offer an opportunity to conduct a fascinating investigation. Students will learn that just because someone wrote it or published it or gave it an award, doesn't necessarily make it true.

Finally, think about how the book fits in with what is happening in the world today. Shortly after 9/11, a teacher told me that she wanted to teach Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind in her language arts class. This book attempts to portray rural Islamic society in Pakistan. At any time in history, it would be negligent to teach a book such as this without proper evaluation, critical discussion, and historical context. But after September 11th, it is especially important.

I know that teachers have far too much to do, but I hope we will take some time to evaluate the books we are teaching in a critical way and not allow our students to leave our classrooms accepting the stereotypes and biased information they read without giving it a second thought.

Don't See Color?

I'm sure you've heard this before. A teacher proudly proclaims that he or she sees no color when looking at his or her students. All the kids are the same. And then maybe you've heard some applause from the audience.

There was a time when I saw nothing wrong with this. It seems like a great idea to treat all students exactly the same, right?

Well, we are actually taught the opposite in teacher education programs. We are taught to adapt assignments for particular learning styles and abilities. We are taught to treat each student as an individual, special person. And race is part of what makes a person who he is.

Even if you don't see race, your students do. My first day of teaching, I saw many heads peeking in the window of my trailer door. And I heard a lot of whispering and shouting to each other, details about the new teacher. And what did I hear? "She's white!"

If you don't notice your student's race, you are denying a part of who she is. You are not really seeing her completely, and you aren't accepting her completely.

Once I observed a teacher's classroom while the book Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry was being taught. There were three African American students in a predominantly white class. The discussions seemed so strained, like there was an elephant in the room that was being ignored: race. Conversations surrounded the unfair events of the past, as if racism completely ceased to exist after the 1960s. Mildred Taylor's book is a wonderful jumping off point for discussing racism throughout history, for discussing individual experiences of racism and inequality.

You have to be fearless and honest. You need to have a classroom where students feel "seen," accepted, and safe. In my most diverse class, we had the very best discussions, because we were honest with each other. They knew I was white, and I acknowledged it. One kid even teased me about my being prejudiced against him when I disciplined him and not another student. He said, "I'm in trouble, because I'm black, right? Oh wait, he's black too." And we laughed.

I'm not saying that it's easy. It can be very hard. (You have to be an expert moderator, because you never know what your students might say.) But, I can tell you, the rewards are well worth the effort. :-)

Multicultural Education

It's November, and time to switch gears from Halloween activities to something more serious and very close to my heart: multicultural education.

The education class that influenced me most was on this topic and taught by an amazing professor at NC State University, Dr. Patricia Marshall. The course was challenging to me on many levels, personal as well as professional. It made me see the world in a completely different way.

I'll write more about this later. For now, I want to recommend two of the texts we used in the class.

Making Choices for Multicultural Education: Five Approaches to Race, Class, and Gender by Christine E. Sleeter and Carl A. Grant

A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America by Ronald Takaki