This has been quite a semester! I am extremely glad I decided to take TE 448. The amount of material I have learned will help me out a great deal in my future classroom. Although I was aware multi-cultural literature is important, I was unaware of just how important it was. I also have learned about ‘insider’ authors, which is a term I never heard of before taking this class. However when evaluating multi-cultural literature, it is important to not determine if the literature appropriately portrays a particularly cultural group solely on this fact. As I mentioned on one of my earlier blogs “this course has been a challenge for me since I am only a sophomore. Most of the students in TE 448 are seniors and have more experiences they are able to bring to class discussion. However hearing everyone’s thoughts and experiences has helped me learn many new things about multicultural literature.” However, as the semester has progressed I have felt more comfortable contributing to group discussion. I have gained insight to the importance of multi-cultural literature and what to look for when determining if an author is an ‘insider’. I still struggle on determining if particular literature is authentic. Although an author might be an ‘insider’ to a particular cultural group many stereo-types might be used.
One of my goals in my first post was to be able to gain a vast amount of knowledge and different ways to incorporate the literature into my future classroom. This goal has certainly been met. One of the things I enjoyed about this course was not only reading a novel on a particular cultural group but having a chance to look at the other examples my teacher brought in. This gives me more of an understanding of the books which are available. I also enjoyed our final project for the same reason. Although the hardest part of the project was choosing/finding particular books, I now feel more comfortable picking out literature for my future classroom. At the beginning of the course I was intimidated on how I was going to go about selecting literature. I am more aware now because I understand how to search for books by using resources online, award lists, as well as searches at the library.
As I mentioned in one of my old posts this course has opened my eyes to many different issues that are currently going on within today’s society as well. Not only do I understand the importance of multicultural literature, I have a better understanding of how hurtful certain organizations are to particular cultural groups. Another concern aside from determining authentic literature is how to implement GLBTQ texts into my classroom (if I was to teach elementary school). I believe it is very important which needs to be discussed but am unaware of how much detail on the subject should be covered in the classroom. I think books like And Tango Makes Three touches the subject appropriately and would be great to use in the classroom. In conclusion, I have learned a great deal in TE 448 which will help me out in the future!!
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