Within the text, Davis cites many reasons why some students have no developed a love of reading. These reasons include:
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- They may have had teachers who weren’t readers and writers themselves.
- They may be in schools where a culture of reading and writing is not valued.
- They may not see themselves in their assigned texts in schools.
- They may never be offered the opportunities to write about themselves and tell the most important story – their own.
- They may now know how to read or to write.
In order to create a classroom of learners who love to read, Bonnie M. David provides strategies to reach students who have often resist reading and writing. These strategies include utilizing texts that reflect the students’ cultures, exposing one’s own reading preferences and experiences, and reaching out to our students’ individual interests. These recommendations all, to some extent, acknowledge the need for our students to see themselves in a text. A specific sentence within the book quickly glazed over one of the most critical pieces of a student’s ability to connect with a text – “it is important for students to read texts that reflect their cultures and reflect them accurately” (Davis 104). The word accurately is the driving force behind the movement to allow students to connect themselves and their experiences to a text.
After reflecting on my own classroom library which was provided by my school, I am not convinced that the “accurate” reflection is present in the majority of the texts. The characters in many of the fiction stories, while ethnically diverse, do not connect to my students’ daily experiences. While the surface-level view of diversity is achieved, that is often times where the connections end. As educators at many different grade levels, do you find that the texts required by your school and curriculum provide a real opportunity for your students to connect with the stories? If you do not feel that your students are able to connect with the stories, what would it take for them to identify with the plots and characters? Are there enough resources at your disposal for you to make these connections?
-Michelle
Michelle-
ReplyDeleteAs teachers of students in younger grade levels, we are often told that our library should be the biggest center in our classroom. It is supposed to be the most inviting place in our rooms, a place where students can literally curl up with a good book. After thinking more about the books I am providing my students in our library center, I would have to most certainly agree with you. These books, mostly provided by my school as well, do not reflect the students in my classroom or their lives outside of school. And while I try my hardest to acquire texts about children who look and act like my students, it is definitely a challenge.
I can’t also help but think about the books that I am required to teach my students to read. At my school, we use the 100 Book Challenge reading program. In pre-kindergarten, my students are expected to read short books, where each page has a pattern sentence where one or two words change (For example: I see the dog, I see the cat, etc). My students are supposed to read these books using the pictures to guide them. These are the books that we are asking our students to read multiple times a day. Yet I’ve noticed that most of the characters in these stories are white. The concepts in these books also center around ideas that are so unfamiliar to my students. They struggle to “read” the words simple because they don’t know what the pictures are. How can I expect my students to love reading when they books I am giving them don’t provide them with ANY opportunity to connect to the themes or the characters? I really think that if my students could see people that looked like them and pictures that were familiar to them, they would quickly develop a deeper love for reading. It would be something that would be exciting and interesting rather than something that is foreign and unfamiliar.
I am torn. On the one hand, students do need to see themselves reflected in the things that they read. On the other hand, students need to see, learn about, and appreciate other cultures and people. I suppose this isn't a black and white issue. It's certainly not wrong to have texts that show white characters in the illustrations. The problem is when ALL the texts only show white characters in the illustrations. However, I have seen many fourth graders connect with books with characters that have nothing in common with them because of a good story or desire to learn about new things. These things can be cultivated regardless of the skin color of the characters, I believe. Still, there must truly be a multitude of cultures presented in a library to develop this kind of love of others and of learning.
ReplyDeleteJamie,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with the limitations of 100 Book Challenge. Its not to me so much the problem that the characters are mostly white, its more that the books are just, well, boring! How can I expect my students to feel inspired to read independently when I am giving them texts that are boring, plotless and immature? Even the decodables we give them are simplistic. Don't get me wrong, I understand the importance of both types of texts to build their reading skills but it has really shown me how essential it is that I give my students time and opportunities to explore great books.
Consequently, I think another reason to add to Davis's list of reasons that children don't like to read is that they are not exposed to enough fun texts! I don't think these texts necessarily need to relate to the student but they need to be stimulating and exciting. They need to show students that we read for enjoyment and we can gain pleasure from the pictures and words presented in texts.
Michelle -
ReplyDeleteYour prompt has me thinking about a time in elementary school when I loathed reading. From about 2nd grade to 5th grade, my parents would beg me to read and turn off the television, but I starkly refused. To change my mentality, my mother required that I join a parent-child book club with her. So, in the 5th grade, my mother and I would read a book a month that the club chose, and we would meet up on a Thursday evening after school to discuss what we read, snack and play a game. Despite my complaints at first, I grew to love book club (I stayed a member with my mom until senior year of high school!) and reading. Being afforded the opportunity to read a book, even if I didn't love the topic or theme, and then discuss it with others my age and adults in a mature manner got me excited not only about reading, but also about thinking critically about what I was reading.
In response to your prompt, I totally agree - kids need to read books in which they can see themselves. But this is not enough. Kids need an outlet, just like I needed, to feel comfortable, and in turn, excited to discuss literature. The more exited they are, the more likely they will continue to read. Parents need to be involved in reading, and students need to be talking to others students about books they like. A community of readers, to me, is what breeds life-long learners and lovers of literature.
Katie Packer
Michelle,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post. In my introductory post to this course, I talked a lot about wanting to gain a more culturally responsive outlook so that I could be more careful and meaningful with the literature I select in my 7th grade Language Arts classroom.
However, I have realized through my first year teaching that I will not always have complete control over the literature in my library or that must be used in the classroom, due to both financial restraints or "political" reasons. For all teachers who face this problem, I can only urge that you do not let it limit you or discourage attempts at being a multicultural educator. In fact, some of the best discussions in my classroom have been the result of a book that my students share nothing in common with culturally! Or it so appears...
As a teacher, we must FIND ways for our students to make connections to the literature they read. Karen Hesse's Out of the Dust and Lois Lowery's Number the Stars have been two of the most popular books in my classroom; it doesn't matter that my students aren't white and from a remote rural area or that they aren't Jewish and living in World War II. On the surface level, even I was hesitant to include these books knowing my students may not share diverse characteristics of race, socioeconomic statuses, religion and more. Yet, exploration of each novel has caused to be amazed at my students’ connections. Using these literature examples, my students have shown me many similarities to their own lives: how they overcome obstacles, the relationships they have with family or friends, and most importantly the challenges of growing up- no matter where you live or what culture you are a part of.
While I advocate for teachers to have multicultural literature in classroom libraries, do not let the lack of this literature affect potential multicultural conversations. You may be surprised with what your students come up with to describe their own reflections in literature!
Molly
Michelle,
ReplyDeleteAt first I was jealous of your post because you said that your school gave you a classroom library. I have collected books and written letters to try to get sets of books for my students. The idea of having a book shelf supplied seemed so ideal. But with my letters and donations, I have been able to try to diversify my library. This leads me to your concluding points... are there really good diversified texts and narratives available for students? think that is a very good question, and a point that on as teachers we need to share good resources when we find them.
Katie, my parents also urged me to read. I did not like reading as a child. I liked english classes that were discussion based and allowed us to have some choice in our novel suggestions. This is difficult for me to implement in my classroom due to limited resources, time, and management. I have thought about doing some readings out loud to my class. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Jeff,
ReplyDeleteI'm right there with you when you say, "I am torn. On the one hand, students do need to see themselves reflected in the things that they read. On the other hand, students need to see, learn about, and appreciate other cultures and people."
I think one way we can frame our thinking about this--at least for some of our students--is to consider using books that reflect our students' lives and culture as building blocks. Think about your student who has never once read a book for pleasure. Think about your students--there are probably many--who simply hate to read. A classroom library will shelves full of European classics will never lure them in. But a novel with an illustration on the front that reflects the child's own experiences and interests just might. After that, this child can go on to read more advanced books that reflect his culture, as well as books that reflect other cultures, lifestyles, and perspectives. But we have to start somewhere. This, of course, is not to say that the only value in having a multicultural curriculum and library is to trick kids into reading. It's simply--as I said--one way to think about it.
This makes me think of Blueford Series books. Have you heard of them? They are low level, and in my opinion, pretty painful to read. But my middle school students are OBSESSED. Why? Because the novels explore issues that are relevant to my students' lives--gangs, street life, teen pregnancy, bullying, urban lifestyles, etc. I have students who would otherwise NEVER read a book who can't wait to get their hands on the newest Blueford Series novel.
Fostering a love of reading in a child is one of the most powerful things an educator can do. If my children can begin by finding personal connections to their lives in Blueford books, they'll go on to someday find that they can also relate to Annemarie in Number the Stars, or Billy Jo Kelby in Out of the Dusk.
Allie- you asked for suggestions. Do you have Blueford books? If not, they are 1$ each at townshendpress.com. An easy way to build up a multicultural library for kids!
Love & Literacy - the two greatest gifts you can give a child.
Jeff,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your post. It's all about providing a balanced experience. Perhaps connecting to stories and characters that look and act like our students is the "hook," if you will, to start cultivating that love of reading. From there, we can stretch them to experience other cultures and reading adventures.
Lydia,
I completely understand what you're talking about with the blueford books. (I'm going to order some now! Thanks for the tip.)
My students haven't read the Twilight series, but when that whole craze first hit, my mom (who is a teacher) reported back to me seeing a similar phenomenom with students who had previously refused to read at all. At the time, I was strongly opposed to using the series, which I consider rubbish. Now as a teacher though, any and all materials that students consume with their eyes is a win.
This is such an interesting discussion, and really hits at some of the issues we were discussing in another one of my Hopkins classes last week. In that class, Materials for Teaching Reading for Young Children, we were asked to take an honest look at our classroom libraries. We talked not only about what kinds of children (color, gender, age, religion, etc. etc.) were represented in these texts, but also how power structures played out within these stories. How does the author use language to describe certain groups or people? How do the illustrations depict them? What kinds of behaviors are exalted? What kinds of behaviors are frowned upon? These questions may seem pretty heavy for discussing picture books to be read by pre-K and Kindergartners, but I think they are worth thinking about. While we may not have the time or resources to go through every book in our library and evaluate it on the basis of these questions, tossing out those books which fail to meet all of these standards, I think that these kinds of questions are good to think about when considering what we read to our students or ask them to read themselves. For those of you who may be interested: http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v3n2/mendoza.html
ReplyDeleteThe textbooks used throughout my school help me to understand the importance of using books that reflect students’ culture. Our textbook attempts to showcase different cultures, but does not show each culture equally or accurately. Furthermore, many of the stories require background knowledge that is foreign to my students, which immediately discourages them from reading the stories independently. I agree that students should learn about different cultures; but in our textbooks there is a little to no representation of my students’ backgrounds. Although I may have a list of improvements for my school’s curriculum, my classroom library is one of the few places where students can find books that reflect their culture. My school has collected books for several years that feature African American characters and authors. We have an abundance of lower level books, but I wanted to ensure that my students were also reading stories that were challenging and required them to think critically. My principal has been very supportive with ordering books that will increase students’ cultural awareness without jeopardizing academic rigor. My students are currently reading The Other Wes Moore. I enjoy observing them critically engage with each other while being able to culturally identify with the author and characters within the book.
ReplyDelete