Final Blog Post - Wrapping it up

I found it interesting today in class when it was stated that the syllabus was a sort of contract for things we wanted to cover throughout the semester. I felt that we kept to our contract fairly well, discussing several multicultural and diverse pieces of literature. The one area I felt we did not cover directly in class was gender. I felt that it was left out of the literature we read and the articles we discussed. Although some books touched on gender issues indirectly, I would have liked to read a book or at least a few articles about the role gender plays in adolescent and children's literature. I feel that women are still an oppressed group today in many ways and therefore I would like to see some portrayals of women in literature that would allow me to critically think about this issue of society.

I did however feel that I developed a very deep awareness and appreciation for the importance of diverse literature, especially its place in the classroom. I feel this was accomplished through the articles read, the novels read, and the discussions in class. These elements challenged my thinking about certain groups and issues. Although writing the questioning the text papers was helping in really delving into the novels and articles, the discussions are where my thinking was sometimes changed and often opened. I enjoyed hearing what others had to say about the issues and the honesty that came with sharing personal experiences. For example, during the discussion of the book Habibi, my thinking was challenged to consider the book from another groups perspective (Birmingham schools). I think without this perspective being brought up I would have missed the development of my critical thinking. I think that the movies also effected my ideas and thoughts about books, particularly the one on mascots and Native American culture. When my emotions were provoked by anothers story, my mind was opened. This openness is something that I hope to continue developing.

I think the blog space was a wonderful area for me to express some of my thoughts and ideas. Often it is difficult to express my ideas on the spot and I was able to formulate better opinions when I had time to think and write them down. The blog also allowed me to consider other people's perspectives who I might have not been able to hear in class. This form of technology for me therefore became another vehicle for my thoughts and the sharing of all students thoughts in the class.

Finally, I feel that the range of books that we were required to read gave a wonderful sample of quality literature that represents some of the underrepresented cultures in the United States. I feel that by taking this class I now know without question that I will strive to have a multicultural and diverse library in my classroom. I will always strive to choose quality pieces of literature that includes all different cultures. This class has given me more openness, more critical thinking skills, and ultimately tools that I can take with me into my classroom and into my life.

Summary of Learning

SUMMARY OF LEARNING / REFLECTION ON THE SET:

The books that I have selected to discuss in this project all surround the issues of GLBTQ, specifically of gay males, in children’s literature. When looking for these texts in children’s literature, there were few to choose from. The GLBTQ community is virtually invisible in children’s literature and it is difficult to find quality books that represent this community. Each book that was chosen for this project contains the common thread of homosexual males and are in my opinion examples of quality literature that should be incorporated in libraries. While reading various articles about this missing community in children’s literature, I found that the primary reason it is not easily found is due to the strong beliefs adults have about GLBTQ. They often think that this topic cannot be discussed with young children without containing the issue of sexuality. Therefore this issue tends not to be brought up at all. My concern with this community is the lack of information and familiarity children with homosexual parents are going to have because of the lack of children’s literature there is for them to read. Literature is such a powerful resource for children to relate with, and if that resource is taken away from certain children, how does that impact their experiences? It is my hope that through exploring the following three books that revolve around homosexuality the dialog will be opened as well as people’s minds.

Professional Resource

PROFESSIONAL RESOURCE:
Rofes, E. (1989). Opening up the classroom closet: Responding to the educational needs of gay and lesbian youth. Harvard Educational Review, 59, 444-453.

Eric Rofes is a gay community activist and an author, who explores how the educational needs of gay and lesbian youth are addressed in schools. Rofes argues that there has been a denial throughout the United States about the existence of gay and lesbian youth and that it has taken place because, “their voices have been silenced and because adults have not effectively taken up their cause” (Rofes, p.3). He continues by saying that this youth issue is not a part of the “greater community agenda”. While Rofes claims that gay and lesbian youth are not addressed in educational settings or the community, I also feel that gay and lesbian youth are not represented in children’s literature. This absence in school, community, and literature settings perpetuates the silence that Rofes discusses in this article of gay and lesbian youth.

Rofes explains that professionals who work in schools know that it is becoming more difficult to ignore gay and lesbian youth and the issues that surround it as time continues because of the increased visibility and outspokenness of this group. Therefore Rofes indicates that it is necessary for programs and initiatives to be in place that address this group. In addition, I feel that a piece of these programs and initiatives needs to be the education through literature and that this literature needs to begin at a relatively young age.

Los Angeles and New York have created two programs in an effort to address the special needs of gay and lesbian youth. The Los Angeles Unified School District has put into place Project 10, which includes the four components of, education, school safety, drop-out prevention strategies, and support services. One of the educational components of the project is the “…expansion of school libraries to include positive materials on homosexuality accessible to teenagers” (Rofes, p.4). Although there are other crucial parts of the program, I find this part of the program extremely important and beneficial because it allows for teenagers to read about and see people like them in literature. Literature is such a powerful device and therefore it is necessary for youth to find themselves through literature. It is a necessary component to this program because students are able to identify with characters in the literature they read. When this group has people they can relate to, they can often feel less alone in terms of their self identities. In addition, I think it is crucial that this program is pushing libraries to include this community on the shelves and it is the reason I have chosen the topic of GLBTQ for this project. Gay and lesbian youth need to be represented through literature whether they identify as gay or lesbian or they have a parent, friend, or family member who identifies as gay or lesbian. The awareness this program will bring to libraries is the first step in having quality GLBTQ literature less absent for children and teens.

The Harvey Milk School in New York is a part of a larger organization called The Institute for the protection of gay and lesbian youth. The school went through many difficulties as it became part of this program, being called a “gay” school. However, it recognized the need for this type of program for their gay and lesbian youth and continued on through its struggles and controversies. This school does not have as clear of terms as Project 10 includes, but is again represented in this article to show examples of how gay and lesbian youth voices are being heard.

Rofes explains that there are several factors that continue to create barriers for our gay and lesbian youth. Some of these barriers include, “…a lack of courage from adults of all sexual orientations, a lack of information available to the public about the needs of these young people, and the failure of school systems to confront controversial matters, especially in the area of youth sexuality” (Rofes, p. 7). I agree with these barriers that he lists and feel that a starting point to break these barriers is through literature. Not only is literature a powerful tool in schools but it provides a medium through which dialog can then be opened about controversial issues, especially sexuality. Courage from adults, particularly teachers and librarians, can occur by providing this literature for these groups of students so they too feel that their voices are represented. Rofes states several things schools need to change in order to support gay and lesbian youth completely. One of these changes is, “school curricula will need to be integrated to include the historical contributions of gay men and lesbians, as well as literature that reflects the experiences and culture of lesbian and gay writers” (Rofes, p. 9). This mention of literature is an important piece in helping to assist gay and lesbian youth because it will provide them with familiar and relatable experiences and cultures. Rofes article is powerful and one that provides concrete examples that encourages the dialog that surrounds sexuality to be opened throughout the nation.

And Tango Makes Three

AND TANGO MAKES THREE
Richardson, J, Parnell, P, & illustrated by Cole, H (2005). And tango makes three. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

And Tango Makes Three is a children’s book based on a true story of two male chinstrap penguins in New York’s Central Park Zoo. The authors of this story include an authors' note at the end in order to inform their readers about how this book was written and their connections to it. They are clear that they have visited the zoo where these penguins live in Central Park but they do not address whether they are insiders or just informed. This story discusses the various kinds of families that visit the zoo as well as the families that live in the zoo. The family the story focuses on consists of two male penguins who have fallen in love, Roy and Silo. The book contains information that has caused controversy among many adults across the United States. In fact, And Tango Makes Three is the winner of The ASPCA Henry Bergh Award as well as placed on the banned book list in 2006. Some argue that elementary school libraries are not appropriate places to push political agendas such as the issue of GLBTQ. Some adults also argue that the book discusses issues of sexuality that are not appropriate in children’s literature.

I however feel that this book is a necessity in children’s literature today. First, I feel that the topic of family far outweighs the focus that is placed on sexuality in the book. I find there to be about three to four references that could be interpreted in a way that deals with the sexuality of males and females. For example, on page 10 the authors explain that, “Every night Roy and Silo slept there together…” This could be interpreted to mean that every night these two male penguins have sexual relations with each other. However, this is not an explicit reference to sexuality and could also be interpreted that two penguins are just sleeping in the same area as each other, just as a brother and sister or two friends could sleep together. Another reference in the book that many could say creates focus surrounding sexuality deals with the conception of a penguin, discussing a mama penguin’s eggs and how they tend to these eggs until they are hatched. This text that includes a discussion about the eggs continues for about four pages. Therefore, controversy spread about whether or not it is appropriate for young children to learn about the conception and sexuality of penguins or adults.

These are the only times that sexuality could even be presumed to be talked about in entirety of the book. The focus is much more importantly directed towards the various families that can exist and the love that all families contain. This content is explicitly explored throughout the book. For example, on the opening two pages of the book, the author’s discuss the families that visit the zoo. When looking at the illustrations that accompany that page, they contain several different types of families. There is what appears to be a single mom pushing a stroller, a mother and a father with a young boy, two moms with two children, and two fathers with a child. Although this is not stated in words, the illustrations are portraying various types of families in a very subtle but yet effective way. On the third page of the story, families are again mentioned, this time in the form of other animals in the zoo. They note five different animal groups and their families to again focus on the various families that exist within the zoo. On pages 7 and 8 the relationship that Roy and Silo have is explored and shown through various activities they do together, such as swimming together, singing together, walking together, etc. None of these activities involve sexuality or sexual behaviors, but rather regular behaviors and activities that all penguins experience. On the following page, the author’s mention their keeper who says that Roy and Silo, “…must be in love.” Again the focus is on love that two people share which I feel is more than appropriate to discuss in children’s literature. Finally, the ending pages of the story describe the way Roy and Silo are able to have a baby penguin, Tango. The description about the ability for any two penguins, whether they are male and male, or male and female, to care and love a baby penguin is very much the same. Although two male penguins cannot physically conceive their own baby penguin, they are in no way hindered in taking care of a baby penguin. That is the message of the story, not one of sexuality and conception of penguins. Reading it as that is overlooking the main focus of the story, which is about families of all different make-ups that love and care about each other.

King and King

KING AND KING
de Haan, L, & Nijland, S (2000). King and king.Berkeley : Tricycle Press.

King and King is a children’s book based on the old classic love story of a prince and
princess falling in love. It has a similar rhythm as many Disney books and movies do in regards to finding love and living happily ever after in the end. However, this book portrays a homosexual relationship as opposed to heterosexual relationships that are often the focus of many stories where a man and a woman live happily ever after. Hann and Nijland take an approach that is refreshing to this old classic love story. They allow children to understand that any two people can fall in love and live happily ever after. It expands the narrow thinking that only a man and woman can be together and opens understanding of homosexual relationships without discussing sexuality. Hann and Nijland are insiders to the GLBTQ community, as they are in a relationship and met in art school. This helped spark their interest in writing and illustrating a children's book regarding this topic.

No where in the text of this story is there even an implicit reference to sexuality. The focus is on finding someone to love and living a life that is full of happiness. On the back page of the book there is a final illustration that could implicitly convey the issue of sexuality because the two kings in the story are shown kissing. This however is not part of a page that includes text and is never explicitly explained or mentioned. If an adult did not want this picture to be shown, it would be very easy for it to never be exposed to children. Therefore I feel that this picture is an important image in the story because it is a visual representation of how two males can live happily ever after but it also allows a choice to be made by the adult reading the book. It does not conflict with the overall message of the story and does not present ideas that would make it too controversial. For these reasons, I think it was an excellent nomination for the Lambda Literary Award.

One illustration has been mentioned above; however I feel that all of the illustrations in the story are a crucial part of how the story is told. Before the prince finds his prince all of the pictures of him show an upset and saddened face. His mother, the queen makes it clear that she wants her son to be happy and find someone to marry. However, she realizes that the princesses are not making her son happy. This is shown through the illustration on page seventeen. Both her and her son look gloomy which is quite a contrast from the way they are shown after he has found his prince on pages twenty three and twenty four. It is clear that another message of the book that is appropriate for children and adults is to love your children or your parents no matter what their choices are in life in regards to sexual orientation. In addition, a message for children here is what feels right for some people may not feel right for all people and those differences are still okay. These are messages that create a quality piece of literature in King and King as well as a piece of multicultural literature that children should be exposed to at any age.

One dad, two dads, brown dad, blue dad

ONE DAD, TWO DADS, BROWN DAD, BLUE DADS

Valentine, J, & illustrated by Sarecky, M (1994). One dad, two dads, brown dad, blue dads.Los Angeles: Alyson Wonderland.

Little information could be found about Johnny Valentine, the author of this children's story. However, it seems that he is not an insider but rather an informed author. Regardless of the authors association with the GLBTQ community, One dad, two dads, brown dad, blue dads is a remarkable children’s book which creates a medium for diversity. Although the books focus is on familiarizing the reader with the idea of having two fathers, it equally focuses on the beauty of differences. From the beginning of the book it is clear that this young boy has two fathers. These two fathers happen to both be blue and the young girl therefore has many questions for the boy. She asks him if his blue dads can do the same things other dads can do. Although this is focused on the idea that these fathers are blue and that is their difference, at a closer view we can understand that the author is using “blue” as a metaphor for gay. Both are differences and might seem equally as unusual to children and it provides shift in focus from the specifics of being gay to just being different than the norm. On page fifteen the young boy, Lou, asks, “Do you think dads are different, because they are blue?” Although the author chooses to discuss differences in this family due to the fathers blue color, the real differences are in their sexual orientations. This quote provides an example of this extended metaphor throughout the book.

While continuing with this metaphor throughout the book the young girl asks how they became blue. She asks, “…just how did your dads end up looking this way” (p. 17)? She seems to think that something had to cause their blue color. This is a common conception that something has to happen to cause people to become homosexual. Valentine does an excellent job using this metaphor to address the misconception and creates a way of discussing the topic without bringing up sexuality. On page twenty three Lou addresses this question by saying, “They were blue when I got them and blue they are still. And it’s not from a juice, or a toy, or a pill.” I think the quality of this piece of literature comes out during this segment of the book. Explaining to children at a young age that homosexuality is not something you can catch or that you can get by drinking too much juice is very beneficial and important.

Like in the books And Tango Makes Three and King and King, the illustrations in this book are important in guiding the story. The back cover art is important because it shows Lou and his two fathers holding hands. It shows a different kind of family that is usually portrayed as the norm. In addition, the ending of the story is open ended in order to create further discussions about families and diversity. They introduce a young girl, Jean, who claims to have a green dad. I think this is the Valentine’s way of explaining to children that families come in all different make-ups, or in this case, colors! Finally, the text is formatted in a familiar way, as many of the pages and lines rhyme. This allows the text to be familiar to children and therefore the messages in the book can be focused on more easily. It is a quality piece of literature because of the creative way in which Valentine places blue as the metaphor for gay. Therefore, it is a book that every library should have on their shelves to discuss families through literature.

International Day in Engineering

Today I attended the International Day that took place at the Engineering building. I did not know what to expect from this event but there were several aspects that I not only enjoyed but learned from as well. First, there was a young boy (no older than 12) playing authentic African music when we walked in. He was playing mostly percussion instruments and it was fascinating! He was very talented and his teacher was there announcing what the names of the songs were and why they were important in the African culture. She taught us one song "Sunshine in Africa" that she teaches to all her music students. This teacher was also a professional African dancer and has toured to many places to perform with a company. It was interesting to see this kind of music and dancing occur in Michigan. I didn't realize that it existed in places other than Africa. It would be wonderful to have these types of people come into my own classroom one day to teach about diversity and multiculturalism. I loved that their heritage was protected through their song and dance today.

Another aspect of this international day that I really enjoyed was the paintings and work of Julian K. Van Dyke. He is an artist, illustrator, author and actor. He has made illustrations in many children's books and when I talked with him he said that it was important to keep his illustrations authentic and true. I found it so interesting that his focus was the illustrations of these children's books and he said that the illustrations often tell another story. Although I have found this in some books throughout the semester it was interesting to hear him speak about it and get it from his insider perspective.

Finally, there was a Mexican group of dancers that performed later on in the day. They performed traditional dances and both males and females took part in the dances. They explained how their group began and they said it was as simple as they wanted to keep their culture alive and known. I think it proves the quest for students at all ages and people of all ages to keep and cherish their heritages. To me, that is why it is so important to have books that makes all students feel that their culture is being recognized.