3.1 What's in your classroom library?
The session will begin with the instructor reading the following excerpt from Beverly Tantum's "Why are all the Black kids sitting together in the cafeteria?" : and other conversations about race:
… another young woman expressed her dismay that she had never learned about any Black authors in any of her English courses. How was she to teach about them to her future students when she hadn’t learned about them herself? A White male student in the class responded to this discussion with frustration in his journal, writing “It’s not my fault that Blacks don’t write books.” Had one of his elementary, high school, or college teachers ever told him that there were no Black writers? Probably not. Yet because he had never been exposed to Black authors, he had drawn his own conclusion that there were none” (Tantum, 2003, Pg. 3).
Decolonizing Your Library
Discuss
What was the first thing that came to mind when you read the title?
How did you feel?
What do you think it means to decolonize your library?
Analyze Your Library Inventory Data
Read
Take a minute to view the image (shared on the screen or smartboard)
Discuss
What were the findings of your library inventory?
Were you surprised by the data? Why or why not?
Does this image reflect your data?
What do you think about more books being made with animals as protagonists than BIPoC?
What struck you from the article?
Activity
“It is not enough for us to add a few books with BIPoC protagonists to our classroom libraries. We need to intentionally pick, thoroughly read, and reflect on every single book chosen. Why? Because it is important for us as educators to take a closer look at the books selected so our students are introduced to rich texts from an authentic perspective.” -Aundrea Tabbs-Smith
Find 2 children's books, written by a BIPoC author with a BIPoc protagonist.
Complete the book reflection below:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EjXnNoDYqUGOUspGtIw0oZmaZciG4w15/view?usp=sharing
Create a proposal requesting those books be purchased for your school/classroom library. Present your proposal to the media specialist or the person responsible for purchasing books at your school.
Be prepared to discuss your experience at our final meeting.
Additional Resources
https://www.edutopia.org/article/learning-recognize-and-celebrate-students-cultural-experiences
References
Dahlen, S. (2020, September 01). Picture this: Diversity in children's books 2018 infographic. Retrieved May 11, 2021, from https://readingspark.wordpress.com/2019/06/19/picture-this-diversity-in-childrens-books-2018-infographic/
Tatum, Beverly Daniel. (2003). "Why are all the Black kids sitting together in the cafeteria?" : and other conversations about race. New York: Basic Books
Next: 3.2 Action Plan!