Culturally Diverse Children's Literature #doctoralpursuit

This week I read an article titled: "Culturally Diverse Literature: Enriching Variety in an Era of Common Core State Standards by Fenice B. Boyd, Lauren L. Causey, and Lee Galda. The article spoke about why it is important to integrate culturally diverse literature in to our teaching. It opens by speaking of a Ted Talk from a Nigerian storyteller named Chimamanda Adichie (The Danger of the Single Story) she tell of how she was an early reader and writer from a middle class family but she would write stories about what she read about in books, (white blue eyed characters who played in the snow and ate apples) She truly had only one point of reference, the one that came from the books she read. A single story creates stereotypes and the problem with stereotypes is that they are incomplete and one sided. Stories matter. Children are impressionable and hearing and reading about people from other races, backgrounds, and culture as well as hearing and reading about their own culture helps take them away from the thought that the world is one sided.
We need culturally diverse poems, stories, and informational text. It's important to know that the books we offer children to read will affect their world as well as their lives.
There are still not enough books being published that are not about the white middle class, heterosexual world and we still live in a society where about 80% of educators are still middle class white females. As of 2010, the US population breaks down like this:

• 12.6% Black or African American
• 0.9% American Indian and Alaska Native
• 4.8% Asian
• 0.2% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander
• 6.2% some other race
• 2.9% biracial
• 16.3% Hispanic or Latino/Latina
• 70% White

less than 5% of books being published reflect this census. We as educators must find was to tell (expose) students more than a single story and its important that the information we expose them to is accurate. Associations like the American Library Association have done some of the work and set up awards for authors and illustrator who have published books that we can use in our classrooms. The world is not all white, all black, or all of any other race and culture. It is important to tell our students as many stories about their races and culture as well as other races and cultures as we can. We must be deliberate in exposing our children to more.

Culturally Diverse Literature: Enriching Variety in and Era of Common Core State Standards From the Reading Teacher Written by Fenice B. Boyd, Lauren L. Causey, and Lee Galda