Greetings
Peers!
This week’s
discussion topic talks to us about something that is very near and dear to me,
it addresses how a library collection can support our English as Additional
Language (EAL) Learners. I am going to
be quite honest, I had never seen the term EAL before, and I have been working
with English Language Learners (ELLL’s) for 16 years, but I think the term is
quite accurate in the sense that it highlights the fact that the English “is”
an “additional” language that is being acquired by students.
Heather Eby’s
“Developing a Multicultural School Library Collection-Supporting and
appreciating today’s culturally diverse student populations” speaks volumes to
current and upcoming librarians in respect to the need to create collections
that support our culturally diverse populations.
**********Housekeeping
Rules**********
*Choose one question, or if you want
extra brownie points, answer both questions J
*Comment on at least 1 other post
-Yilsa
de los Santos
Questions #1
In her
article, Eby quotes the IFLA document by writing, “Libraries of all types
should reflect, support and promote cultural and linguistic diversity at the
international, national, and local levels, and thus work for cross-cultural
dialogue and active citizenship” (p. 13)
Suppose you are a librarian at a school that has a very minimal amount
of EAL’s in their enrollment population, and your principal is against you
purchasing a variety of culturally diverse titles to include in your collection. To what extent would you go in order to represent
cultural diversity in your library?
Question #2
If you
currently are a librarian, or when you become a librarian… aside from housing
different types of resources to support multicultural diversity, in what other
ways do you/will you promote multi-cultural diversity in your library?
Yilsa de los Santos
ReplyDeleteyyd003@shsu.edu
Week Ten Topic: Your Hand in Promoting a Diverse Collection
I have to tell a story that I am deeply ashamed to tell but I'm going to do it because I need to illustrate how important this article is for our profession.
ReplyDeleteMy first year teachings was rough and while the fact that it was my first year teaching, many have told me the mistakes I made were excusable due to both inexperience and just plain ignorance. But the one mistake I'm going to talk about right now relates to question 1 and the moment flooded back to me as I read this article.
I had the task of teaching beginning EAL students in my first gig and had to get them to learn English and at the same time follow all of the other English teachers in what they were doing. One of the first tasks was to get the kids to the library and have them select a book to read for the AR (accelerated reader) program. I remember that day as being particularly frustrating as I was not used to the school's library and (as you guess) was not at all prepared for what was going on that day. It was thrust upon me and I had to do it. In the midst of all this, a student whose face I can still see asked me in Spanish if he could get a book in Spanish. At that moment a colleague intervened and reminded me that they have to read in English no matter what the skill level. I told the student (in Spanish) that he had to get a book in English. I told all of them that they had to do the same.
Some of these kids had been in the states for days and here I was making them check out a book in English. Granted the goal was to get them to learn the language, but still it just seemed so wrong to me.
They all got their books, took them home, and guess what? Didn’t read them. It showed in the AR scores. So I took it upon myself to get them English books they could read at their level. Unfortunately for all of them, none of them were culturally relevant to all of them. They were all types that did not relate to Hispanic culture. Again, the kids were not invested. By the end of the year most did not ascend to the next ESL level and didn’t' acquire the English they should have. Looking back, there were so many things I could've done but did not do. Nor do I have to opportunity to fix as I was convinced teaching ESL was not for me and begged for reassignment to on level English classes. I know. I struggle with that decision a lot knowing what I know now.
The reason I share this is story is to provide background on my answer to the first question: I would go to any length necessary in order to provide cultural diversity to patrons of my library.
Eby's article spoke volumes to me as an educator who serves a primarily Hispanic population and as a former ELL teacher (wow there are a lot of acronyms). If we are to get students to read and engage texts on a level of "native" speakers then we must go to great lengths at providing these sorts of texts to engage them in. It is irresponsible to deny a population an equally valuable collection of texts that is available to the rest of the school's population. If we are to take advantage of the natural and raw talent coming into our countries and schools we must provide the same opportunities and resources to cultivate and nurture that talent. If the budget is an issue I would reach out to donors and organizations for resources. If it's politics, I would reach out to leadership within the district and members of organizations representing such cultures. If it's space, I weed out the collection for quality resources as well as quality cultural resources. The fact of the matter is this: I would do absolutely anything to provide these resources for these students. I wish I did in the past and if I could go back in time I would. But as it stands I have to go forward and keep the ideas of this article in mind always.
Jimmy,
DeleteThanks for sharing your story with us. I agree with you that we must do anything possible to provide these resources for our students. I am reminded of a story my husband shared with me when he would go work in the fields up north with his parents when he was a child. While his parents worked, my husband was in school. However, my husband was not familiar with the English language at all. He told me about this time he got up to ask the teacher for help because he didn't understand what the book said. The teacher scolded my husband for speaking in Spanish, instead of offering guidance or an explanation she had my husband stand in a corner with his face to the wall for speaking Spanish. My husband says he couldn't understand why the teacher was mad, all he wanted to know was what the words in the book meant. That one act impacted my husband in a way that discouraged his ability to love reading.That broke my heart. I will do whatever I need to as a librarian/teacher to prevent that from happening to another child. We have to encourage all children to read and learn, despite whether or not their primary language be English. All children are important.
Melissa, my grandparents were migrant workers up North as well, and would travel with all 9 children that they had in order to go work in the fields too. Although my mother was too young to remember, my older aunts and uncles do recall that the transition up North was very difficult for them due to the fact that the schools (at that time) were not adequately able to support languages other than English, and like you say, their ways of dealing with students that did not understand the language were not conducive to fostering a love of learning. My aunts and uncles dreaded going to school and often times were told that they were performing poorly. Just like Eby mentions, we must make an effort to create diverse collections in our library in order to make all cultures feel appreciated and represented to the best of our abilities. If students feel that they are valued and respected, the love of learning will begin to grow.
Delete*Thanks for sharing Melissa.
And to answer the second question, I would most likely reach out to teachers and other staff who work with ELL students and devise plans to promote multi-cultural diversity in the library for that population of students.
ReplyDeleteWow! What a powerful response Jimmy!
DeleteI would have to say that I, just like yourself, have committed my fair share of blunders when it comes to working with the ELL population. However, I was on the other side of the spectrum. I would tell my ELL's (Spanish Instruction kiddos) that they had to make sure and get all of their books in Spanish. Some would come with books that they had selected in English and I would tell them that they had to be in the language that they would be able to read in. I, like you, think back and cringe at the thought now. They had the yearning to read books in another language, and I would limit them to their language of instruction. I also feel horrible, but now understand that although we are adults, we too, are still learning. In an ever changing field where new instructional strategies are always evolving, it is hard to keep up, but we live and learn.
I agree with you in respect that schools must provide the same opportunities and resources to cultivate and nurture the talent of our EAL students. As librarians, we will have a responsibility to make sure that we provide adequate material that represents the languages, cultures, and ethnicities found within our school community. As Eby also states, "With a multicultural school library, students of all backgrounds will reap the benefits of a more culturally diverse collection." (p. 13) By making sure that our library is adequately stocked with diverse materials, our students will be able to feel the sense of belonging and respect that Eby speaks about, and also may have a greater yearning to learn. Thank you for sharing Jimmy!
-Yilsa DLS
#2 One way I promote cultural diversity is through a reading list I participate in. I am a member of a local group of independent school librarians, and we create a summer reading lists every year. Many schools in our area use them to help keep kids reading over the summer months. Every year we strive to make our list as diverse as a possible, not only through genre, but also culturally diverse. Before the school year is out, I review the different books on the list with the kids. During the year, working off the different award lists from the ALA can help promote different culture. I always promote the Caldecotts, the Geisels, and the Siebert books. Lists like the Pura Belpre can give guidance to great pieces of literature from other cultures. What is great is that you can take those titles, and search for other books that are similar and get more ideas for books. Finding different holidays or celebrations of different cultures and can help you plan a fun and inspring reading promotion. Your imagination is your only limitation. :)
ReplyDeleteI like the summer reading list idea and what a great way to incorporate some great multicultural literature. I think that parents would enjoy reading them with their child. I do need to check the Pura Belpre list from the last couple of years and make sure I have some current award books.
DeleteLana, great idea! Our school also sends out summer reading lists to our students, but you just gave me a superb idea. I will be honest, I just simply take the lists and pass them out at the end of the year, but with your idea, I am going to make it a point to sit down with my librarian and start to see what books we can add to the summer reading lists in order to diversify them. I also love the fact that you mention that we can obtain titles from reputable award winning lists, such as Pura Belpre, and in turn use those titles to find more "read alikes" to add to the summer reading lists. Great idea!
Delete*Thanks for sharing!
-Yilsa DLS
Lana, This is a great Idea. It is an excellent and fun way to create participation and provide a diverse collection. :)
DeleteI agree, I will need to talk to my head librarian about doing this as well.
DeleteLana, I love this idea. It’s a great way to make a diverse collection available to all our ELL students.
DeleteResponse to Question 1:
ReplyDeleteAs a future librarian, I would go to any extent to represent cultural diversity in my library. I have worked with ELL’s throughout my teaching career and I am thankful that our campus provides some resources to serve that population. I say “some” resources because a big emphasis is placed on these children to acquire the English language quickly. Due to the fact that the majority of the population our campus serves in Hispanic, we have resources available in Spanish but it is a small amount in comparison to the resources available in English. As a future librarian, I will make every effort possible to provide the same amount of resources to both our English and ELL populations.
After reading Eby’s article, I understand and agree with the idea that of developing a multicultural library collection. The library is a place where children should feel welcome and excited to be at. However, if the materials on the shelves aren’t relevant to the child’s interest there will be no desire to read and no learning will be taking place. Eby’s states, “Educators and researchers have discovered numerous advantages to exposing students to multicultural literature” (p.13). I agree with this statement because the only way a child is going to learning is if there are engaged and have a desire to do so. Forcing them to read in a language they don’t understand can actually hinder their ability to learn in their native and acquired language.
Response to Question 2:
Every October, our campus focuses on the theme of Family Traditions. One way I would promote multicultural diversity in my library and at my campus is by collaborating with the teachers to provide resources for the children when they are conducting their research on their culture. I would ensure resources on their particular culture (typically Hispanic) are available on the library shelves for the students to have access to for their research. Students then present their findings to the class and put their final project on a poster. I will allow the student’s to display their posters in the library providing a rich diverse culture for all patrons to see.
Melissa,
DeleteWhat a wonderful way of helping to promote multicultural diversity in your school. I agree that we must collaborate with teachers ahead of time, to plan and to make sure that we have sufficient resources that represent all cultures found within our school community. This will help in providing a variety of material for the students to be able to use for their Family Traditions Research. As our school population is continuously changing, it is important that the material that we house is current and represents as many cultures as possible. I will definitely share this "Family Traditions Research" idea with our librarian. I feel that it is perfect to use for our upper grade levels, and feel that the students will gain a great sense of pride as they display their completed projects in the library. Love it!
*Thank you so much for sharing this!
-Yilsa DLS
Questions #1
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I also had not heard of the acronym EAL, and have taught many ELL’s throughout my years in the classroom. My first two years in the classroom (19 years ago), I taught bilingual students. My instruction was in Spanish with a 45 minute block for ESL. I remember I had a difficult time finding enough materials for my students and found myself creating a lot of it, and the library had a very limited number of books in Spanish. I still remember the frustration I felt not having an equitable amount of resources for these students. I did the best I could with what I had. Even though schools have come a long way and are now providing more multicultural resources, I still hear some bilingual teachers expressing this same concern.
In her article Eby states numerous advantages to exposing students to multicultural literature. If a student can relate to the characters and setting, then they have that “sense of belonging” because they “see themselves represented in the books they are reading.” (13) What better way to have students engaged and interested? As a reading teacher, I always ask my students to use their prior knowledge and experience to help them understand what they are reading and use that knowledge to make connections. Every student has experiences, knowledge, and emotions they can relate to. If EAL’s cannot make the connection, then it is “because this lack of appropriate cultural knowledge that makes it more challenging for them to understand what they are reading.” (14)
Even if my school were to have a small population of EAL’s, it would be my obligation as a librarian to have a diverse collection that includes a variety of multicultural literature. It will not only benefit the EAL’s, but also the rest of the student population and teachers as well. For teachers, these materials are excellent resources that can be used in the class to teach students cultural differences. In addition, students can learn about the historical backgrounds, languages, and cultural characteristics of various ethnic groups.
Question #2
As a future librarian, I would promote cultural diversity by “highlighting” and specialized heritage months like: Black History Month, Chinese New Year, Native American Heritage Month, Hanukkah, American Heritage Month, Day of the Dead, etc. Ii is important that students be exposed to the lives, cultures and languages of other children from around the world. It is through the stories and characters they encounter in books, television programs and films, music, and other forms of print and digital media that they can “experience” other cultures.
One year, our school had a “Christmas around the World” event. Every classroom choose a country to research: customs, languages, food etc. Each classroom displayed: clothing, foods, and items pertaining to their country. Students walked through the halls to learn about other country’s customs. Students really enjoyed sharing what they learned with their peers.
Sandra,
DeleteYou made a good point:
"It is important that students be exposed to the lives, cultures and languages of other children from around the world. It is through the stories and characters they encounter in books, television programs and films, music, and other forms of print and digital media that they can “experience” other cultures."
I totally agree with your statement.
Sandra, excellent way of touching upon the fact that some students cannot make the literary connections due to the fact that they may not have the cultural background in order to support making those connections. It is imperative that our collections depict a variety of multicultural themes/topics, in order to try and bridge that gap that may exist and in turn provide them with a wealth of knowledge from different cultures, for them to bank on, if ever need be.
DeleteI love "Christmas Around the World"! Our school also participates in something similar, except we do it by grade levels. Among the grade levels, each teacher is responsible on a particular topic/country and our students rotate through the classes. Each student gets a "passport" that gets stamped by the teacher of instruction, as they complete the lesson-They love this!
*Thank you for sharing!
-Yilsa DLS
Thanks ladies!
DeleteI feel that it is essential that students learn about other cultures. In my area the majority of the population is Hispanic. Many of these students don’t travel further than the Rio Grande Valley, and therefore don’t have many experiences and can’t relate to many texts. What better to give them the “cultural experience” they lack using print and digital media?
Yilsa, love the passport idea!
Towards the end of the year, I survey my students on topics they’d like to learn more about. Last year my students chose a “Wonder of the World” to research because they wanted to learn more about the area and culture. They also had their own "passport.” Their products were amazing and were displayed down the hall and some in the library. This year, my students also want to research a Wonder of the World.
Sandra
Question 2
ReplyDeleteOn my campus we are a very multicultural campus with 88% low socioeconomic, 87% Hispanic, and 7% ELL. It has always been and continues to be very important that as a school we are always being respectful of our school’s population. We honor their culture by celebrating different important holidays and events throughout the year. Teachers on campus incorporate multicultural literature whenever they can in different lessons. We also have a school wide character building program that teaches and encourages tolerance and acceptance in diversity.
Amy,
DeleteYes it is very important that we respect our school's population, but most of all, as future librarians, we must make sure that we are well versed in the populations that we serve in order to be able to provide adequate materials in order to facilitate the incorporation of multiculturalism into our school community. If our collection contains material from varying cultures, our students will be well exposed to other cultures and traditions and in the long run, this will provide the foundation in promoting multicultural tolerance and acceptance,.
*Thanks for sharing!
-Yilsa DLS
Amy - my school also is working on promoting diversity with our character program. We are involved in Leader in Me. It is an awesome program that reinforces the positives and building character with goal setting and using synergy techniques where we learn to really listen to each other and hear what each person is saying and more than just having one side concede to the other, they learn to come up with a new plan that incorporates the best of what everyone has brought to the table. In learning these habits all of the kids (and teachers!) are becoming better at being respectful and accepting of all ideas and cultures.
DeleteI really don't have a diverse population in my community. Therefore, I think it is even more important to promote culturally diverse books. You never know what books is going to hit home for a student. Teaching an appreciation for other cultures is so important.
DeleteI would involve the district and community is supporting multicultural resources in the library. If that did not work, I would purchase the resources on my own and donate them as a gift to the school through a friend.
ReplyDeleteJasmine,
DeleteI would also like to see if I could possibly get involved in forming a district wide committee to see if there would be a way of possibly having schools receive multicultural books and resources on a yearly basis, perhaps via grants/gifts so as to not dip into our current budgets. I think that by putting enough heads together, and researching different outlets, there may be a way of accomplishing this. As librarians, our role is to advocate for our patrons and make sure that we try to support and/or create those learning opportunities that they may otherwise not be able to have.
*Thank you for sharing!
-Yilsa DLS
I am sorry my answer was so short and blunt. I tried to post it 5 times before it finally went through and it kept getting shorter and shorter as I redid it. I hate technology sometimes. GRRR.
DeleteThank you for your supportive and thoughtful feedback. I think that if the school is unable or unable to provide a diverse collection that supports its patrons, it is time for the community to get involved. there are many individuals and companies who would support the library's endeavor to support it's students if they knew there was an issue. I feel that they need to be aware of the value and opportunity to create a multicultural collection for our students. Anyway, that was my thought process for my earlier statements.
Jasmine,
DeleteNo worries, it happened to me on the first and second blog post....I would post my response and it would post and then disappear...I did it several times until I gave up and shortened my response a lot and then it took...But then at times on some blog responses, I write far more than I had before and it takes....so who knows, technology is a wonderful and complicated thing at times-Now I type up everything on a word document and safe it and when I am ready I copy and paste, that way if it gets lost in cyberspace, I just go back and copy and paste again, but no worries, and yes, I agree with what you added, it would be great to see our surrounding school community become more involved in order to help support our libraries. I firmly believe that it takes a village to raise a child and by working hand in hand in a conscious effort to promote literacy, we would get far more accomplished than we currently do.
*Thanks again for sharing!
-Yilsa DLS
Question #2
ReplyDeleteI will promote multi-cultural diversity in our school library by doing different activities, collection of books, materials and resources. These activities can be done in pairs, small and whole groups, school wide, and bulletin board displays. As a future librarian, I can facilitate dialogues that promote conversations of connection. The activities go beyond the visible or tangible aspects of culture and ethnicity such as attire or cuisine, celebrating how these intangible things add to uniqueness of individuals and add strength to our communities, organizations and our schools. A few activities that I will bring to my school are Appreciation Diversity Month, Cultural Art Exhibit and Multicultural Entertainment (festival, music cooking).
Jackie,
DeleteI like your idea of promoting multicultural diversity by creating bulletin boards. Often times, at least at the schools where I have taught, the libraries do not contain bulletin board space like the regular classrooms have on the outside. I would love to have/advocate for a bulletin board display just like the regular classrooms have in order to use it to promote books. It could be to suggest monthly titles, highlighting the different cultural holidays/themes that are represented in that particular month, etc, the sky's the limit. I like the idea of an outside bulletin board, versus the common display/bulletin board that librarians may have "inside" the library, because I think that the outside display may reach and attract a lot more patrons.
*Thank you for sharing!
-Yilsa DLS
Jackie, having different activities is an excellent idea for students to be engaged in learning about cultures. I was also thinking about monthly trivia with the students.
DeleteI am 50% Mexican, and whenever I tell people this, they are surprised. I feel it is very important for students to know about their culture. I personally feel I do not know enough and would love to learn more. However, it is very hard to find information about children of mixed races/cultures.
ReplyDeleteQuestion # 1
To what extent would you go in order to represent cultural diversity in your library?
Yilsa, with the background information on this question, it made me think of my school. My principal is not against the buying of the material, but my school is in a very affluent area with very little minority students. However, by far the largest minority we have is the Hispanic culture. I feel I would do anything I could do to make sure my school has resources for the minority students. I would apply for grants or purchase books with my own funds.
Question #2
If you currently are a librarian, or when you become a librarian… aside from housing different types of resources to support multicultural diversity, in what other ways do you/will you promote multi-cultural diversity in your library?
I feel I would like to have a listing of all the different award lists posted in the library. I would also promote a new title at least once a month to the students. I feel this is very important not just for the minority students but for all students. It is so very important for us to understand and learn about each other's cultures.
Christopher, thank you for sharing about your background. This brings to mind the fact at times, we may not truly know everything that meets the eye, and for this sole reason, as librarians, we need to make sure that we not only provide resources and materials that reflect the cultures and diversities found within our school community, but we need to try to incorporate as much multicultural diversity as we possibly can to expose all of our students to different cultures that may be unknown to them/us. It is through experiences like these, that our students will be become more familiar and hopefully more accepting of all of the cultural richness that our nation is made up of. I for one, am going to make a more conscious effort to incorporate as much as I possibly can into my lessons when I become a librarian, even though, I cannot say that I am well versed in cultures other than mine, but I will have to put myself to a test of growth where I, along with my soon to be students in my library, will be learning about new cultures and themes.
DeleteGreat idea of having a listing of all the different award lists posted in the library. I think I will also do this, as well as add them to my website, since we live in a techy world nowadays.
*Thank you so much for sharing!
-Yilsa DLS
First, I cannot imagine NOT working in a school that is not culturally diverse. Second, are there really administrators out there who don't support their librarians? Clearly, my time at a culturally diverse and nurturing school environment has not prepared me for this possibility. For the sake of argument, let's say I was placed in this environment. It's not just about the cultural diversity of the school population, but maybe it could be worked in as a means to learn about other cultures. Also, there are a number of book award lists: Caldecott, Bluebonnet/Lone Star?TAYSHAS, Coretta Scott King, Geisel, etc. I would use those as a reason to persuade my administrator to purchase these books for the library. If that didn't work, I would follow the chain of command to the school board or superintendent.
ReplyDeleteMandy,
DeleteI also can't imagine working in a school that is not culturally diverse, but we live in a different world nowadays, and every single year, I look back and think, oh my gosh, I never thought I would live to see ___?____. So, I have learned to keep my eyes peeled and my mind open to countless possibilities and scenarios that may occur as I continue on in my profession and working towards my upcoming new career. I agree that incorporating cultural diversity should not be limited to that of our school population, and it should try and represent as many other cultures as we possibly can. By using accredited award lists such as the ones you mention, you could form a strong case in trying to justify your decision in trying to purchase said books for the library to an administrator not willing to support your purchase. In addition, I commend you on your willingness to continue to go further on up the chain of command if needed, in order to provide resources in your library to support mutlicultural diversity.
*Thank you for sharing!
-Yilsa DLS
#1 In order to represent cultural diversity in my library I would have to make sure I provide the same amount resources for our LEP and Non-LEP students. In doing so, I would resort to grant writing to alleviate the expense in the acquisition of such resources. I am blessed at this time for having so many resources to accommodate my ELL students and teachers.
ReplyDelete#2 As a future librarian I believe that establishing a Diversity Committee at my library will be a great way to promote diversity both among students and teachers. This Diversity Committee would promote diversity by supporting, encouraging and raising awareness on all issues involving diversity.
#1 In order to represent cultural diversity in my library I would have to make sure I provide the same amount resources for our LEP and Non-LEP students. In doing so, I would resort to grant writing to alleviate the expense in the acquisition of such resources. I am blessed at this time for having so many resources to accommodate my ELL students and teachers.
ReplyDelete#2 As a future librarian I believe that establishing a Diversity Committee at my library will be a great way to promote diversity both among students and teachers. This Diversity Committee would promote diversity by supporting, encouraging and raising awareness on all issues involving diversity.
Enelda,
DeleteI agree, that the ideal goal would be to provide the same amount of resources for our LEP and Non-LEP students, but we all know that, that would involve a really big budget, so I like the fact that you mention that you would resort to grant writing to alleviate the acquisition expense. I also love, love, love, the idea of establishing a Diversity Committee. A Diversity Committee would be a great asset to any school, as together, they can collaborate and decide what cultural activities, lessons, and celebrations, would best benefit the school community. The more heads that come together, the better the outcome will be. I truly do love that idea.
*Thank you so much for sharing Enelda!
-Yilsa DLS
Question #1 - Thankfully I have a principal who is all about our kids and would never deny them opportunities to resources that are in our power to provide. That being said, it is very easy to be working in a school that is awesome only to find that your principal has been promoted and there is a new "boss" in town - so even if you didn't intend to be working in a school that has certain values, sometime they are thrust upon you before you have a chance to do anything about it. Soooo - if I were in this situation I hope I would approach it with a multi-pronged approach. First I would submit statistics showing what we have in the library versus our school population breakdown and the direction I would like the collection to grow. If that was not met with enthusiasm I would add the lists of award winners in the many areas of minority awards, I would also include as many as I could find that are also on the best-sellers lists. If all of that doesn't work, I could always go the passive-aggressive route and order them now and ask for forgiveness later - if the principal ever noticed, someone like that must not really care for kids and I can't imagine that they would involve themselves too closely in the actual day-to-day workings of the library.
ReplyDeleteQuestion #2 – I would like to create a bulletin board type area where I would select a faculty/staff member each month/week (depending on how many are willing to participate) to share their backgrounds and their favorite books, stories, movies, etc. Kids would be able to find a staff member that has something in common with themself. I believe that allowing the kids to learn about our backgrounds and how different we all are from each other would give them real-life people they can interact with to go to or look to for encouragement and/or advice. Even if they never talk about anything to the staff, just seeing them at school and the interactions they are modeling would give kids support.
I would also like to find different celebrations that countries have that celebrate their cultures. Celebrations that are not typical holidays here in the U.S. but would be fun to learn about. We could have something like an International Day each month or week depending on what I can find.
Michelle, I love how you begin by addressing the fact that although at times we may be working in an ideal situation, you never know when life will end up throwing us a curve ball. Like you stated, people get promoted, move, etc. and what once was, may all of a sudden turn on us and it is very important to we know how to approach such a scenario if need be. I must say that I loved your suggestions as to how you would approach your administrator, but what I particularly liked about your response was about creating a bulletin board in which you would include staff or other members of the school and highlight their backgrounds and favorites. By doing this, like you say, students will be able to make real-life connections and in turn create those "teachable" moments that are so valuable in what we do. Some students may end up finding out that they have something in common with staff members, or even feel that they may be able to relate to them, and more times than not, I believe that we would end up realizing that we are all different, but yet share the same common goal, we are here for each other and are all part of one school.
ReplyDelete*Thank you for sharing Michelle!
-Yilsa DLS
Thanks so much Yilsa! You have done an awesome job with this week's blog! Your thoughtful responses to everyone's posts are great!
Delete:) Michelle
# 2 I would promote/support multi-cultural diversity by creating themes to make students aware. Perhaps a bulletin board in a space that students are able to view it or possibly interact in some kind of way. Collaboration with teachers would also be vital. It could be as simple as offering specific titles for teachers to share with their students.
ReplyDeleteStacey,
ReplyDeleteI agree, collaboration with other teachers or staff members is key in order to promote diversity. In order to be successful, as a school, we must all be in it to win it per say.
*Thanks for sharing!
-Yilsa DLS
********************Week 10 Wrap Up********************
ReplyDeleteJMF & Fellow Peers,
Thank you so much for participating in this week’s blog discussion. Promoting cultural diversity has always been a passion of mine, in particular since I have always worked with bilingual students. In my 16 years teaching, I have had to overcome many obstacles in particular, people not wanting their children to be in my classroom due to the fact that they did not want them to be with the “bilingual” class where they would hear Spanish being spoken, and thus I have become an advocate in promoting acceptance and tolerance of other cultures. I feel that over the years, I have established myself and have created such a great bond with the school community that I serve, that I now have parents demanding that their monolingual child be placed in my classroom for exposure to another language. I truly feel that this change has been brought upon based on the countless times that I have had to advocate and speak to parents about the importance of being open to accept the unknown, which in my case was having their children placed in a classroom that contained different languages, cultures, and customs. At times, people may react a certain way due to common ignorance, and that is where “we” as educators, must use our knowledge in guiding and education our community into the vast cultural richness that we as a nation possess. Without proper guidance and knowledge, our world as we know it would be dark and grim.
As future (or current) librarians, we should look forward to the opportunities that we can create in our library that would promote, advocate, and support our multicultural diversity of the cities/towns where we live. In order to do this, we must keep in mind these four very important questions that Eby includes in her article:
*Does my collection reflect the multicultural community and population that have come to exist in my school over the past 10 years? (p. 13)
*Do I have proof that I value the cultural diversity of my students? (p. 13)
*How can our school library collection begin to support and embrace our EAL learners? (p.13)
*Am I building a multicultural collection for all my students? (p.13)
I would like to thank everyone for their insightful responses this week. I really enjoyed being the Discussion Leader this week.
-Yilsa de los Santos
********************Week 10 Accomplishments********************
ReplyDeleteWe all like to feel validated and that our hard work pays off, so I would like to acknowledge the following individuals for their contributions to my blog discussion this week:
*Pretend you are receiving a virtual medal :)
Eager Beaver=for being the first to respond=Jimmy Mai
Bright Idea=for sharing a useful tip/idea= Jacqueline Hunt & Lana Wallace
Brownie Points=for participating and answering both questions of discussion=Jimmy Mai, Melissa Robles, Sandra Rios, Michelle Davis, Enelda Mata & Cristofer Mattern
Participation=for sharing your thoughts and insight on this week’s topic= Jasmine Albrecht, Mandy Parker, Stacey Royal & Amy Sanchez
Once again, thank you so much for your participation!
-Yilsa de los Santos
One more thing, just in case you missed it, in the March/April 2015 issue of American Libraries Magazine, there was an article titled "Diversity on My Mind-Reflecting the world in which we live" by Abby Johnson (p. 82). I found this article very interesting and I instantly made a connection to our current readings. Just thought I would share in case you wanted to take a look at it.
ReplyDeleteHave yourself a wonderful week,
-Yilsa DLS