Indian Costume

Yesterday, Friday, I witnessed something that really caught my attention. As I was driving towards the Meridian Mall, I saw a man with a feather headdress holding up a Halloween USA sign dancing around. I couldn't believe how much it made me think about our class and the video we watched in class. It is crazy that even today, right here in East Lansing, I witnessed exactly what the Native American lady was talking about in the movie. I don't think it is okay that even today the stereotype still remains that it is okay to "dress up" like Native Americans. 

image from: http://www.crafts-gifts.com/indian/headdress.jpg

How is Blogging Going

I think that blogging has been going good so far for me. I like being able to read other classmates posts and reflect on them. I can imagine using blogs in the future in my classroom as a really good way to communicate with the parents of my students. I also could see it being a great way for my students to be able to express their opinions when they may not always get the chance or feel comfortable in a larger classroom setting. I think that blogging is a great new application to communicate and express ideas that are open for everyone to read and respond to. I had never really blogged before this class and I am so glad that I have the experience to now, so I can become more familiar with it so I can then use it in my future class. I think that using blogging in my classroom will only make the learning environment a better and more open place that doesn't end when the students leave the room, yet it continues to be that open environment twenty four hours a day!! 

in class video

Towards the end of the video we watched in class I was really surprised with one thing in particular. I could not believe that many of the alumnae were saying that they didn't want to continue giving money to the school if the "Indian"mascot was removed. I thought that this was kind of immature of the alumnae members to be this harsh about it and stop providing funds and scholarships to the college if the mascot was changed. Today it is very important not to offend anyone of a different race, religion, or ethnicity and since the mascot did offend the Native Americans I think it needed to be removed right away. The certain alumnae members who were so strung up on the mascot need to realize that times are changing and we as a society are being more aware of treating everyone as equals. I thought some of the posters that the Native Americans protested with were very good points.. such as the ones that had other words that were not nice about other religions or ethnicities. I thought the video was very eye opening and I enjoyed it. 

Insider/ Outsider Debate

I think the questions of who has the right to tell and illustrate stories about specific cultures and what is authentic literature are very hard to answer because I feel it really depends on a few things. First off, I think it is very important to know, just how informed is this so called "outsider" on the culture. Because to me, I feel that if the "outsider" has invested years of studying and learning a specific culture that they are not part of, should not be viewed as someone who cannot do a proper or complete job of writing or illustrating that culture, although it is not their culture. I believe that the "outsider" to that specific culture could be even more informed than an "insider" to that culture. Just because someone is a certain culture, does not mean that they know everything or a lot about their culture.

Second off, when thinking of what is or is not authentic literature or diverse/multicultural literature is not an easy or simple task. I think that many people view what is or is not in personal views. Sims Bishop brought up a very interesting point, he argues that "logically, the body of multicultural literature includes literature from all the cultures. Therefore, multicultural children's literature is the same as children's literature. Then why do we need a separate term?" (Sims Bishop, 6) I agree with his questioning of needing a separate term but understand as well as why it does help to have one. Which Cai argues that "multicultural literature is still a much needed separate category of literature, for its existence poses a challenge to the domination of all- White literature" (Cai, 316). I think it is too hard for one to say what is or is not authentic when dealing with diverse and multicultural literature. 

Lastly, I  believe that it is important for the information in the literature, whether it is written by an "insider" or "outsider" to the specific culture, to be well researched, filled with facts, portrays accurate illustrations or pictures, and stays away from stereotypes or negative views. As long as those are followed, it does not matter if an insider or outsider to the culture is the author or illustrator to a specific story or text. 

Introduction

Hi! I'm Jenna and I am very interesting in learning more about diverse literature. Since I am pursuing a career in education I know it is a very important topic to learn more about. I want to learn more about different cultures and learn how to teach them to children without talking too much about stereotypes and without offending anyone of different cultures. I want to learn how to create an open minded, comfortable classroom environment that allows my students to be open to new ideas and different cultures than their own. By taking this class, I feel I will gain more knowledge in diverse literature and be able to create that type of environment for my future students.