The Insider/Outsider Debate

I like to think of myself as someone who usually sees both sides of a debate or controversy.  In the case of the insider/outsider debate, I would have to say that I am sticking with my norm and I can see positives to both types of authors writing multicultural literature.  It has been said in an article we read for class that the majority of the literature written about Native Americans was written by people outside of the Native American culture.  Yes, some of this literature is stereotypical or not of good quality, but some of it is quality literature that can be used to spread knowledge of this minority group. Along with Native American literature, many other books about minority cultures are written by outsiders. I think if an outsider as been immersed in the culture and performed a great amount of research about the minority culture he or she is writing about then he or she can create a quality and informative piece of literature.  I believe that since all of this work has to be done, such as living in the culture and researching about its history, being an outsider and writing quality literature is probably more difficult than writing as an insider.

As an insider, it is likely that it will be easier to write a quality piece of multicultural literature (although after reading these last few articles I am not exactly sure what my definition of multicultural literature is!).  Although I think it is easier for an insider to write about their culture because they have personal experience and family stories from the past to base their literature upon, this does not mean that every book by an insider is quality multicultural literature.  It can not be expected that one person from a culture can represent everyone's experiences in that culture; or that because a person is an insider that they are a good writer.

I think the insider/outsider debate is a great idea to think about when looking at multicultural literature.  When thinking about the author's credibility it is important to know if they are an insider or an outsider.  If he or she was an outsider it is important to know how he or she gathered the information on the culture in order to write the book.  Although insiders may have an easier time writing about their culture, in our current society it is easier for people of the majority to get books published.  I am glad I now know to make it a point to find out if an author is an insider or outsider and to look into the author's background and credibility either way as an insider or outsider.  I look forward to hearing others ideas in class on Wednesday!

"In Whose Honor" Movie and Stereotypes

I found the In Whose Honor movie we watched in class on Wednesday very interesting.  I think the most shocking information displayed through the video was the statements made by the employees at The University of Illinois.  Numerous people continued to say how they thought the use of the Chief as a mascot was honoring the Native Americans.  It was very clear from the interviews with the Native Americans attending the school and within the community, this was not the case.  It was actually the complete opposite. Instead of honoring the Native Americans, the University is disrespecting and insulting them.  It was also interesting how many schools had or have Native Americans as their mascots.  It is good to hear that so many of them have changed their mascots, but saddening and frustrating to hear that some refuse to change.  When the movie showed the banners with the Jacksonville Jews, and New Jersey Negroes (which is also mentioned in Heart of a Chief by Joseph Bruchac), then Cleveland Indians and Washington Redskins underneath it drove home the point that Native Americans are the only minority group where it is accepted to use an image representing their minority as a mascot.   The high school I attended has the mascot of a warrior.   The image associated with the mascot was an Indian head with a headdress on.  I now realize that this should not be used as a mascot, and is disrespectful and hurtful to Native Americans.  I hope my High School changes their mascot very soon. As an alumni I need to take a stand and make it known to the school that this is unacceptable.

Today I taught three fifth grade classes a lesson Native Americans.  It is kind of ironic that it was the focus of our class this week and what my host teacher for my job wanted to teach.  I teach these fifth grade classes different subjects like, Social Studies, Science, Language Arts, and Math through creative movement.  Today my host teacher wanted me to focus on the Northwest Native American region, the Plains Native American region, and the Southwest Native American region.  After discussing and viewing where the different regions were, the students broke up into groups and created a dance incorporating facts that were given to them about one region of Native Americans.  The information included what the Native Americans ate, wore, where they lived, and what kind of art was important to them during the late 1700s to the late 1800s.  I made sure the students understood that Native Americans still live in the modern day, and that they live everywhere and have jobs just like any other person would.  I also enforced that the students should not use any stereotypical movement like patting their hand over their mouth or stomping around the room in a chanting fashion.  Even though I said this, a couple groups still used this kind of movement.  This was saddening to me, especially since I made it clear that it was stereotypical to perform movement like that and not allowed.  It does show though that students believe stereotypes like this and that as teachers we need to do our best to erase stereotypes and broaden student's minds and knowledge in the area of diversity.

Welcome to my blog :)

Hi. My name is Samantha, but most people call me Sam. I am a senior Elementary Education major focusing in Language Arts. I am also a dance specialization student.  I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Michigan State and am trying to live up my last semester here. This summer I will be traveling to Australia for the Pre-Internship Teaching Study Abroad trip. I am very excited to have the opportunity to travel to and teach in Australia!!  When I come back I will move home to Walled Lake, Michigan to complete my year of student teaching in the Detroit Area.  

I am interested in diverse literature because I feel it is necessary to constantly be learning about others, whether this be their culture, race, ethnicity, religion or interests.  By learning about others you can learn about the world and see how everyone has commonalities yet brings something different to the table to make the world an interesting and vibrant place. I also feel it is important for me to learn about and be exposed to diverse literature so I can include diverse literature in my classroom.  Students can then be provided with books as mirrors and windows in order to enhance their education.  Along with becoming an elementary teacher I am interested in teaching dance within an elementary school.  My knowledge of diverse literature will encourage me to bring diverse styles of dance to the classroom so students can gain exposure and experience in types of dance within our country and around the world.

There are a couple questions I would like to explore within this course.  I would like to find out if I am holding stereotypes about cultures and if these will be exposed through our reading and analysis of diverse literature?  I would also like to know if authors of diverse literature usually write with the goal of spreading knowledge about their culture, or because their culture is what they know best, or for a different reason?  I am interested in what questions other people have as well and look forward to discussing answers to our questions throughout the semester.