Kumasi, K. (2010, November 02). Cultural Inquiry: A Framework for Engaging Youth of Color in the Library | The Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults. The Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
“Critics of the mainstream colorblind approach to teaching and learning argue that it simply masks the fact that whiteness is the primary cultural frame of reference from which most learning begins… As a result, students of color often find themselves lost, disengaged, or having to reinsert their cultural background into the learning situation in order to connect with the material and create personal meaning.” This statement really got me thinking about my experience working in a highly diverse school system. Our school strives to represent all ethnic backgrounds by giving students choice as they work in book clubs. The result, though, is a lot of books about Asian-Americans, new immigrants (mostly from Asia), Jewish and few books about Africans and Caribbean Islanders. I hadn’t really thought about this before but we have inadvertently removed a very large population of students, both black and white Christian students. The statements made me examine the curriculum which I currently work with and wonder if we need to take a critical look at the titles in our collection to be more inclusive so that the books we offer in the classroom more closely represent the population in the classroom. It is my belief that students build a love for reading when they are exposed to books that have characters that they can relate to.
The book club framing and questions addressed in this article are on point and are important to keep in mind when running a book club. The question in my mind then becomes which books should be offered both in the school curriculum and as extra curricular activities to best reach African-American teens? Do books need to feature characters that are supposed to be lead the reader to know that the character is African-American in order to move the book club forward? How do adults guide students of all races to books that feature characters from a variety of backgrounds?
Currently, the books in the curriculum at my school that have African or Caribbean characters are The Cay and The Captive neither title reflects today’s African-American experience. Where then do we go as educators to bring a balance into the curriculum and spark a love for reading to the point where they want to join a book club?
Please use the comment section to express your option, share experiences or give title suggestions.
Great post! You raise many critical points. Striving for balanced library collections is an crucial first step in engaging youth in library activities and reading itself. However, I also know that it is equally important to be the kind of role model who exposes ALL students to books with a wide range of character experiences and backgrounds. I think if you can read voraciously and then also task your students with helping you become familiar with books they like then you can take on the role of a curious onlooker allowing students to educate you on the themes and topics raised in books. As for whether this takes place in or after school, I'd say a mix of both would be great. However, after school book clubs are a great start to getting your feet wet with working with youth in intimate conversations.
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