Reading the World:

Promoting Awareness, Inclusivity, and Empathy

Donalyn Miller

www.bookwhisperer.com

www.slideshare.net/donalynm

@donalynbooks

www.nerdybookclub.com

How can we heal our battered country? Will

we ever love each other? How can we

prevent this turmoil from happening again?

How can we improve the lives of everyone

and build a stronger global family together?

How can we celebrate our shared humanity

and abolish hate, violence, fear, and injustice

in our world?

“November 9th” –Nerdy Book Club, November 6, 2016

Many teachers--black, white, and “other”--harbor

unexamined prejudices about people from ethnic

groups or classes different from their own. This is

partly because teachers have been so conditioned by

the larger society’s negative stereotypes of certain

ethnic groups, and partly because they are never

given the opportunity to learn to value the

experiences of other groups.

(Delpit, 2006)

Actions for Raising Literate,

Informed, Engaged,

Participatory Citizens

(a starter list)

Ensure children have

meaningful book access all

year long.

. Children who live in poverty are less likely to…

o Begin school with adequate early childhood literacy experiences like read alouds & vocabulary exposure.

o Attend schools with experienced, certified teachers & librarians.

o Attend schools with adequate school & classroom libraries.

o Live in neighborhoods with public libraries & bookstores.

o Own books at home.

o Receive literacy instruction delivered through test prep, scripted programs, basal textbooks, and worksheets instead of authentic literature.

o Experience gaps in schooling because of unstable housing, unemployment, and illness.

o Drop out of high school with poor literacy skills.

Children who live in poverty are more likely to…

.

Books in the home are as important as parents’

educational level in determining level of education children will attain.

–Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, June 2010

“Giving kids access to books may be one

of the most overlooked solutions to helping

ensure kids attend school with the tools

they need to succeed.”

“Where Books Are All But Nonexistent”

—The Atlantic, July 14, 2016

“No one is suggesting that people —

including children — should not be held

responsible for bringing books back.

People talk about the moral hazard. But

there’s also a moral hazard in teaching poor

kids that they will lose privileges to read,

and that kids who can afford fines will not.”

“Libraries Are Fining Children Who Can’t Afford to Be Without Books”

-The New York Times, May 4, 2017

How can we

guarantee

that all of our

children have

physical access

to books 365

days a year?

“…providing self-selected

books for summer reading

produced as much or more

reading growth as attending

summer school! For the

poorest children the effect of

our summer book distribution

was twice as large as attending

summer school.”

(Allington & Mc-Gill Franzen, 2013)

Hire librarians.

Access to a full-time, degreed

school librarian increases students' test

scores, closes the achievement gap, and

improves writing skills.

(Lance, 2012)

“Citing DOE data, The Harlem Council of Elders found that 40 of the 46 schools in five Harlem

districts that qualified for librarian staffing didn’t have one.”

--“DOE Fails to Provide Harlem Schools With Librarians”–New York Post, August 4, 2017

http://www.scholastic.com/SLW2016/

Increase the availability and

use of diverse texts.

“Although his light skin makes

him one of the world's

minorities, the white child learns

from his books that he is the

kingfish.”“The All-White World of Children’s Books” (Larrick, 1965)

#WNDB

weneeddiversebooks.org

“It’s no secret that every February, Black History

Month forces many educators scramble to develop

curriculum that celebrates the contributions of

African-Americans. However, we must take a step

back in order to leap forward and ensure that these

valuable legacies are celebrated all year round.

We must reflect upon our current practices.

Focusing on African-Americans primarily during

the month of February contributes to the

marginalization of people of African descent. Dr.

Carter G. Woodson created Negro History Week in

1925 as a starting point, knowing how racist the

nation was at the time.

If we are developing curriculum that reflects the

perspectives and contributions of all Americans, all

the time, there would be no need for

acknowledgement months. African-American

achievements, struggles, and perspectives, must be

weaved into the fabric of the curriculum all year

round and in every subject because they are

important and represent American history.

“Getting Beyond Black History Month” (Fakhrid-Deen, 2016)

www.katemessner.com/heading-off-book-challenges

ALA Awards Honoring Diverse Books

Coretta Scott King Award (African-American)

Pura Belpre’ Award (Latinx)

Asian/Pacific American Award (Asian and Pacific Islander)

American Indian Youth Literature Award (Native)

Schneider Family Award (Disability)

Stonewall Award (LGBTQ)

o Does your book list or collection include books with characters of color?

LGBTQ? Differently-abled?

o Does it include books with a main character of color? LGBTQ?

Differently-abled?

o Does it include books written or illustrated by a person of color? Of

different nationalities, religions or sexual preference?

o Are there any books with a person of color on the cover? Do the

characters on the book covers accurately reflect the characters in the

book?

o Think about your student population. Does your list provide a mix of

“mirror” books and “window” books for your students—books in which

they can see themselves reflected and books in which they can learn

about others?

o Think about the subject matter of your diverse books. Do all your books

featuring black characters focus on slavery? Do all your books about

Latino characters focus on immigration? Are all your LGBTQ books

coming out stories?

o Do you have any books featuring diverse characters that are not

primarily about race or prejudice?

o Consider your classic books, both fiction and nonfiction. Do

any contain hurtful racial or ethnic stereotypes , or images

(e.g. Little House on the Prairie or The Indian in the

Cupboard)? If so, how will you address those stereotypes

with students? Have you included another book that

provides a more accurate depiction of the same culture?

www.cbcbooks.org/reading-without-walls

www.amightygirl.com

www.gayya.org

Bad libraries build collections,

good libraries build services,

great libraries build communities.

–R. David Lankes

Teach children about our

(ongoing) struggle for civil

rights and liberties, including

our voting rights.

Sample Unit

Historical Fiction and Nonfiction: Civil Rights

Guiding Questions for

Examining Historical Events

Who are the people in your text?

How did they get involved in ___________?

What were the short term consequences

for them?

What were the long term consequences?

www.tolerance.org