Let me start this post out by saying that I absolutely love listening to TEDTALKS, because when they are finished I find myself utterly inspired to go out and make a difference in some lives.
That being said, I found this weeks reading and video to be extremely important. These are absolutely things that I want to incorporate into my everyday routine with my students when I am a teacher. And no, I'm not just saying that at all.
Growing up in HS I can count maybe one or two books that had any culturally diverse characters. African American literature? Never experienced it. Not until the college level anyways, which is pretty sad when I think about it. All the beautiful writing that I was denied, just because of the need to teach the "dead white guys" who were prevalent to the times.
I absolutely love the idea of comparing literature, especially poetry, to hip-hop and rap. Growing up I would have loved to learn this way! I know that this is something I will absolutely use in my own classroom. I also love the idea of learning from my students. I know that I personally am not culturally diverse in the slightest. I don't know anything about African American or Hispanic cultures in the least, but I am more than open and willing to learn any and all that my students have to offer.
When listening to Kimberle Crenshaw I must admit I felt really ashamed that I had no idea who any of the peoples names were that she started calling at the beginning of her speech. Not a single one, male or female. Isn't that awful? To know that I pay that little attention to something so important in today's society was downright embarrassing. I want to make a real effort to start paying attention to these things, because they do matter, even if it isn't directly happening to me.
These two pieces have showed me that minorities matter, and we as educators need to work even harder to remember that they need as much support as we can give them. These people should have a voice in literature just as much as the "old dead white guys" deserve to be there.
I echoed the same thought in my previous blog that I hadn't had much experience with Black authors until I started college, it's crazy how little contact we have with their writing and I wonder why that is. Culturally relevant pedagogy seeks to bring in students who feel neglected, incorporating things like their favorite movies or music is a step in the right direction!
ReplyDeleteI have a nine year old son, who goes to an urban school where the majority of the students are minorities. And after having read the material for the class, I was left wondering what books he was reading in his school. So I asked him and he told me he had read "Sara Plain and Tall, Skylark, and Tuck Everlasting" all of which are books with white characters. I was left wondering if he wasn't reading any books with diverse characters in them because he's too young or if it had something to do with the district and the curriculum. I personally think it's never to early to learn about all races and cultures.
ReplyDelete