Monthly Advice–March

So, in late January, I decided to get prepared and stock up on literature to make Black History Month as inclusive as possible.

I made deliberate choices for my own development too–I read new books, I read about new and unknown history, I read literature by new authors. It’s been a great experience and I’m thrilled that I stuck to my goal.

March is Women’s History Month. I am on the same path and journey to expand, broaden, and ensure a successful Women’s History Month.

This month, on my own time, I will read stories by women only. Each woman though, will have to have a different background–meaning, if I read a book by a woman from Japan, next book needs to be a woman from another place in the world. This way, I continue to expand my perspective, my lens, and my readership.

For my students, I will do my best to do the same. As an American, in the United States, I will probably have more titles and stories about notable American women; however, in this case, each American woman will need to hail from a different part of the States, illustrate a different time period or component of history, and/or represent a different community (i.e. Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Black, Asian, Native, etc.). Again, the purpose is celebrating the vastness of women’s contributions.

At times, this can be a daunting goal, but once it’s started it comes naturally–and it’s enjoyable. So, I’m off to the library 📚 and my Amazon account 😉, wish me luck!

Gallery

Amazing stories–expanding my collection for Black History Month, and all year . . .

🧡 Diverse authors, diverse voices, diverse stories 🧡

Black History Month & Gallery

Black History Month — these titles represent the depth desired for my instruction and learning.

These are good reads for me and good reads for my students. These books cross a range of topics, genres, and history. These books can be used in the classroom. These books can be utilized for personal reading.

I do my best to make deliberate choices to ensure a wide range of titles, authors, stories, and voices are heard/seen. Finally, I am specifically showcasing these books because I can recommend them; I have read them all and I can attest they have plenty to provide any student, any teacher, any reader.

Monthly Advice–January & February

Next month is Black History Month. Black History is American history. Black History is World History. So while learning and celebration, discussion and recognition, should happen all year, February is the focused time of the year.

As we gear up for Black History Month, I challenge all teachers, parents, families, and students to read stories by Black authors and to read about Black history–and when I mean history, I mean dig deep: go beyond the staple names you have heard year after year. Find a new story, a new person, a new part of history.

Elementary teachers, and secondary ELA and History teachers, are uniquely positioned to read to their students. Secondary teachers not in ELA and history, I challenge you to be seen reading such literature and histories.

Need some ideas? I found this list Top 150 Recommended African-American Children’s Books. I wish I had had this years ago! Some I know and love: Brown Girl Dreaming, One Crazy Summer, and Henry’s Freedom Box. Some are new and I can’t wait to read them!

Let’s make this the best Black History Month for all our students–let’s provide them, and ourselves, as many stories as possible, as many mirrors and windows as possible. . .

Diverse Literature: Mirrors & Windows

As I stated in the beginning, I am focused on diverse literature. As noted, it’s an uphill battle. Finding quality is difficult. Finding quality diverse literature is a monumental task.

In my day-to-day conversations, in my daily social media feeds and conversations, in my personal interactions, I have been confronted with confusion, defensiveness, and dismissal.

People are confused. They tell me that children’s books are good–fine as they are, good enough, and mostly feature animals anyway. People are defensive. They have attachments to their own upbringing, their own learning, or just their routine. Re-evaluating their classroom experiences or their teaching practices requires acknowledging a deficit, challenging the status quo, and expanding their worldview. These are emotional endeavors. All of this leads to dismissal. The passion behind the task, the commitment to diversity is relegated to my individual soapbox rather than a collective project for every teacher.

It is easy to be discouraged. It is easy to feel alone. In my research, however, I found my words–my words of rebuttal and my words of personal encouragement: mirrors & windows.

Children are provided a lens in their learning, this lens can either be a mirror or a window. The mirrors are just as important as the windows. Mirrors allow them to be seen and heard, to realize their potential and reaffirm their value. Windows allow them to see others, to realize the potential and reaffirm the value of every person they encounter–whether that is now or in the future, in the classroom or somewhere else.

So, if you need a little encouragement or a reminder on why diverse literature is critical or important; remember, every child needs mirrors and windows, everyone benefits from being seen and seeing others.

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The language of mirrors and windows comes from my original post, the image had a caption that led to researching the concept and finding several articles on it, including one on We are Teachers.