Looking Back...Looking Forward

The TE 448 Experience

The first thing I did when I needed to reflect back over my TE 448 experience was look at my very first blog post. In this post I posed three important questions and several goals related to the class. In some ways these questions are still unanswered. Then again, there are no quick solutions when it comes to finding accurate diverse literature for the classroom. However I do believe that I have begun to internalize the overall goals of this class and how they will impact me as a future teacher.

In regards to my first question at the beginning of the semester about how to choose and integrate diverse literature in the classroom, I feel like I have gained some valuable information from both the final project and our weekly classes. I know there is no perfect library that only contains accurate, positive, and inoffensive examples diverse literature. But this class did teach me how to look closely at both the content and the validity of the author when choosing books for my classroom. I also have to consider the backgrounds of my students and how literature may impact or affect their lives. This class did not simply give me examples of diverse literature and send me forth. I was taught how to seek out and avoid negative examples of diverse literature. Instead of naively putting negative examples in the classroom, I now have the skills to research and find the best examples for many diverse cultures in America.

My second question from my initial post asked about finding reliable resources for diverse literature. This question was best answered through our article discussions and our review of another book review on diverse literature. Obviously we can turn to the internet to look for reviews on questionable books. We should also turn to our school and town librarians for assistance. The librarian at my local library was more than willing to show me some great examples of diverse literature along with their reviews. I also found tons of information on the author’s personal webpage’s and blogs. Lastly, our colleagues in the field of education can be great resources when delving into the world of diverse children’s literature. These discussions with my peers during small group book discussions and outside of class truly helped me see others viewpoints I may have missed had I read a book on my own.

Finally, my last question from my January blog post asked about places to find good examples of diverse literature. This is a question I am still struggling to answer. I did, in fact, have a difficult time finding books for our final project. It is hard to know where to turn to find the best literature available for my future students! But I know this task is not impossible. During our final class meeting, each student brought in several examples of positive diverse literature. This must mean diverse literature is out there. If we can find it now, we should be able to find it in the future. We just need the skills, determination, and time to look for it.

Overall I greatly enjoyed and appreciated my time in TE 448. It certainly opened my eyes to the possibilities for expansion of my future classroom library. The skills I gained in class and through our homework and final project will help me in the future to have the best diversity library possible in my classroom!