Having to do the questioning the text paper for class, I was excited to see what the other students thought about the book. I focused on the question of, how can we become more tolerant of a culture other than our own?
Although our group discussion did not going into my topic, we did start on the idea that Liyana never really expressed not wanting to leave. We all seemed to agree that if that was one of us, we had have flat out said, "I don't want to go". I feel that the book would have been more relatable to some children who have had to move if Liyana was a little bit more expressive.
The one thing in class that we discussed, as a whole, was how the book never really talked about the fighting in the middle east. I don't really know much about the fighting going on so if the book would have talked about it, I would have better grasped how Liyana didn't quite understand the problem with being friends with Omer.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
Insider/Oustider Debate
After reading the four articles on mulitcultural literature, it is clear that this is a hotly debated topic, one that I never thought was so widely discussed.
For the insider debate, I can understand how they would be able to draw on a topic that is familiar to them. Much the same as I would be better able to write about a topic that I personally experienced to open someone else's eyes. Insider writers are more equipped to be true to the writing and provide more factual information. I know that in my own classroom I would want to include literature of both to show that there are many types of good works out there by insider and outsider authors.
For the outsider debate, they are writers capable of writing great multicultural literature as well. Although they may not be able to draw on personal experiences, they are able to put a different perspective on a certain topic.
In my opinion, I feel that anyone, outsider/insider, is able to write mulitcultural literature. The one staple that needs to be any of the multicultural literature is that it needs to be accurate and relatable. There are certain works of literature out there, as discussed in the readings, that is not true to form which in turn doesn't make the work a piece of multicultural literature.
Some of the questions I would like to raise in class are, is there a biased in a lot of schools and libraries towards insider work? How would I know as an outsider whether or not this book is true to form if written by an outsider?
For the insider debate, I can understand how they would be able to draw on a topic that is familiar to them. Much the same as I would be better able to write about a topic that I personally experienced to open someone else's eyes. Insider writers are more equipped to be true to the writing and provide more factual information. I know that in my own classroom I would want to include literature of both to show that there are many types of good works out there by insider and outsider authors.
For the outsider debate, they are writers capable of writing great multicultural literature as well. Although they may not be able to draw on personal experiences, they are able to put a different perspective on a certain topic.
In my opinion, I feel that anyone, outsider/insider, is able to write mulitcultural literature. The one staple that needs to be any of the multicultural literature is that it needs to be accurate and relatable. There are certain works of literature out there, as discussed in the readings, that is not true to form which in turn doesn't make the work a piece of multicultural literature.
Some of the questions I would like to raise in class are, is there a biased in a lot of schools and libraries towards insider work? How would I know as an outsider whether or not this book is true to form if written by an outsider?
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Blog Number #1
Hi! My name is Erin and I am a sernior at Michigan State. My major is Elementary Education with a concentration in Language Arts. I am really looking forward to graduation and starting my teaching career. Part of the reason I decided to take this class was the experience I had with TE 348. It opened my eyes to a whole new way to look at children's literature. After only going to this particular class for two so far, I can get a sense that this class will further what I already understand.
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