Final Blog Post

When thinking back on all that we’ve discussed and thought about this semester, I first want to say that I’m very thankful that MSU offers a course such as this. Growing up, I remember very generic books in my teachers’ classroom libraries, mostly depicting white, middle class, typical families or people. I guess they just didn’t know any better or weren’t taught to consider the elements we’ve discussed. I feel prepared to try and make decisions about what to include in my library and actually enjoyed picking out what books to get for my final project.
As far as my reflection about what topics we’ve specifically discussed, I was impressed to find that during our last class session, we came up with around 23 themes. I loved reading our assigned books each week because they are books that bring up topics that I might not have thought to consider. Topics like: stereotypes & generalizations, identity & self-discovery, the insider/outsider debate, biases, power & authority, and individual perspectives within a group. These themes can completely change the reading of a text and can make its critical reader decide to include or exclude it from their library; eventually impacting and influencing the many students who will interact or not get the chance to interact with a piece of literature.
Something that I had not even considered before was the idea that even within a group, there are individual perspectives and differences that are completely unique to that person. Just because somebody belongs to a minority group of people who are often considered to have many things in common, they are likely very different from their peers or the other people in the group. It might have been something that I was aware of subconsciously, but our weekly discussions have made me apply this idea to many other things that I encounter daily.
Basically what I think this class and all of the themes boil down to for my purposes is what kind of teaching implications they mean for me as a teacher and for my future students. First, I think that I will be able to make educated decisions for my students about what literature to include in their classroom library and what literature to have them discuss and interact with during class. I believe that students have the need and the right to see themselves in literature and also to see people who are not like them in literature. Secondly, I believe that quality literature is not just well written. It takes time and consideration when choosing what to include. Again, I am very thankful that I’ve had the opportunity to participate in this course, and consider it an enriching experience.