Multicultural Literature

Is multicultural literature important? Heck yes! I cannot think of anything quite so influential in a person's life as literature. And I strongly believe that if we do not offer ALL of our students literature they can relate to, then we are doing our students a great disservice. As a young, white female, it is easy to find literature I can relate to. It's everywhere. But if I were a young, Hispanic female, would I be able to find something quite so easily? How about finding a book I can directly relate to as a young, Jewish male? And as a young, white female, how can I better understand the culture of another?

Throughout SEDU 333, I have been forced to think outside of my comfort zone.  I have been pushed to read books I normally would never have considered reading. I realized, though, that all these years, I have been sheltering myself. Denying myself a real education: lessons on humanity, empathy, culture, worldliness. How can we, as educators, bring more multicultural literature into our classrooms?

The second edition of Reading Their World: The Young Adult Novel in the Classroom, edited by Monseau and Salvner, is a great place to start for learning how to choose multicultural literature for our young adult students. Chapter 9 of this textbook is dedicated to just such a task, and I found it extremely helpful despite the titles listed being somewhat outdated. I will summarize the most important aspects we should look for when choosing multicultural literature:

• Watch out for stereotypes.
• Do not pick books that have "token" representations of characters.
• Make sure everything is accurate. Historical facts, representations of people/culture/life/interactions, etc.
• Check out the dialogue. Make sure it is accurate and is not stereotypical.
• Make sure the characters' successes are not measured against the majority's standard of success, but find positive role models for ALL students.
• Pay attention to how women and the elderly are portrayed and treated in the work.
• Do not choose something that contains embarrassing or bring shame to any student.
• Make sure the author is qualified to write about a specific topic (either through research or personal experience).
• Pay close attention to what students WANT to read. Make it available.
• Choose pieces that have positive interactions between cultures and people.
• Diversify! Choose literature that involves immigration stories, pieces written by individuals growing up in a different country, and pieces that are written from the minority perspective.

We can't put ourselves in a box. We are unique. We all come from some place different, have different experiences, different beliefs, different values. As teachers, and role models, it is important to show our students that diversity is wonderful because it allows us to see things from new perspectives, to learn about what makes America a "melting pot", and to show all students that there is someone out there with similar experiences, thoughts, and beliefs.

Image take from: https://teachingsexed.com/2013/11/25/multicultural-education-in-a-diverse-nutshell/