Children's literary awards play a very important role in the world of children's literature. I believe that these awards are very beneficial because it allows teachers and students to know and be informed about exceptional pieces of literature that can be trusted quality pieces of literature. Readers depend on the awards for recommendations on which books they should buy or use in their classroom. Awards are also great because they give recognition to authors who have excelled and deserve to be honored for their work. If an author were to win an award this would increase their production and sales and motivate them to write more quality pieces of literature.
These awards can be controversial because some ask the question "Why are there different awards for specific cultures, races and ethnicities?" To me, the answer to this question is very easily answered. To "insiders," or members of the group, not all books accurately portray their group and are not considered a valid piece of diverse literature. I believe that there are different awards created because some groups probably felt like they were being left out or underrepresented in children's literature and wanted to create a motivating and driving force for more quality pieces of work. To "outsiders" these awards are very beneficial because they educate "outsiders" on what "insiders" believe to be high quality texts. This way, if you were an "outsider," or knowledgeable about a specific group, you could trust the "insiders" and you would know what texts would accurately portray a group.
Finally, I think that there should be awards for specific types of literature because it gives awards to authors who do exceptional work and to motivate them to do more. It also lets readers know what they should be reading.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Bronx Masquerade
After reading the book Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes, I had several questions that I was pondering while reading the book. My initial questions I had while reading started off at a very basic level asking questions such as: Why did Nikki Grimes choose to write the text in a series of autobiographical writing, poems and reactions from the narrator? What impact do you think that this type of writing had on the reader? Once I started to think about answers to that question I came up with another question after reading “Ain’t I Fine” by Martin: How did Grimes writing parts of the text in black modes of discourse add to the text? In the article, Martin discusses the topic of African American Discourse and the Black English Vernacular. He states that:
“I would argue that for African American children…can function in the same way that verbal training in black modes of discourse always has: to teach them linguistic skills that will help them to survive and negotiate relationships with other people. On the other hand, this inclusion exposes non-African American children to an important African American linguistic tradition…a practice that has traditionally been stigmatized as a sign of ignorance and its speaker labeled uneducated.” This particularly interested me and was significant while reading because this is a topic that we read and discussed a lot in my ENG 302 class that I took in the Spring of 2006 and in my TE 401 class that I took last Fall.
When considering these questions, please start with page 7 when Tyrone, the narrator first is introduced. “School ain’t nothing but a joke. My moms don t want to hear that, but if it weren’t for Wesley and my other homeys, I wouldn’t even be here aiight?” This is an example of the Black English vernacular that is used throughout the text by the narrator. What effect does this have on the text? Do you think this type of language adds to a stereotype or generalization of African Americans? There are other instances where this sort of speech goes on throughout the book. How do you think “insiders” would respond to this type speech being a norm in this book?
Another question I had thought of originally is What impact do you think that this type of writing (writing in poems, responses, etc) had on the reader? On page 160, Shelia is quoted as saying “He made me change my mind about him that day. Maybe I can change people’s minds about me too.” How do you think that the student’s reactions to each other’s poems and stories affected the reader’s opinion of these characters? Are you more likely to agree with a character, such as Shelia, on issues of inclusion because she explicitly stated her opinion?
On page 164 Tyrone discusses how he connected with different students in his class due to their personal poems and style in writing them. “I feel that even though the people in our class are all different colors and some of you speak a different language and everything, I feel like we connected. I feel like I know you now.” This passage is one of the most powerful sections in the end of the story, and I feel like it gives a lot of insight to the reader in a lot of questions. How do you interpret this passage in considering the above questions? Why did Grimes include this passage towards the end of the book? Do you think that Grimes is speaking to the reader of her opinion on inclusion?
These questions are very important in our on-going discussion of diversity and inclusion. In my TE 401 class, we read an article called “Codeswitching: Tools of Language and Culture Transform the Dialectally Diverse Classroom” by Rebecca Wheeler and Rachel Swords which talks about issues of how to deal with the black English vernacular in the classroom. Wheeler and Swords argues that teachers should teach students how to “codeswitch” and only be able to use BEV in certain situations that way African American students can be more successful in the classroom and on standardized tests. “Beyond linguistic structure, cultural conflicts lie at the heart of why American Schools fail.” (Wheeler, Swords page 472) This quote also deals with another overall theme in Bronx Masquerade, in which the reason why Mr. Ward allows students to start writing poetry is because it is one of the only reasons how he can get students to connect to literature and apply skills they were learning in class. Otherwise they would not have participated. This is a very important topic that educators do not know how to deal with. Some argue that teachers should embrace a student’s dialect and cultures while others often practice that it should not be tolerated and should be corrected. These arguments that Martin brings up about black modes of discourse, along with the Wheeler & Swords article about codeswitching are articles that could bring up some great discussion with Bronx Masquerade. This topic is very important to discuss because many TE 448 students are in or will be in urban schools and they need to be prepared with how they plan on meeting students needs regarding the BEV.
“I would argue that for African American children…can function in the same way that verbal training in black modes of discourse always has: to teach them linguistic skills that will help them to survive and negotiate relationships with other people. On the other hand, this inclusion exposes non-African American children to an important African American linguistic tradition…a practice that has traditionally been stigmatized as a sign of ignorance and its speaker labeled uneducated.” This particularly interested me and was significant while reading because this is a topic that we read and discussed a lot in my ENG 302 class that I took in the Spring of 2006 and in my TE 401 class that I took last Fall.
When considering these questions, please start with page 7 when Tyrone, the narrator first is introduced. “School ain’t nothing but a joke. My moms don t want to hear that, but if it weren’t for Wesley and my other homeys, I wouldn’t even be here aiight?” This is an example of the Black English vernacular that is used throughout the text by the narrator. What effect does this have on the text? Do you think this type of language adds to a stereotype or generalization of African Americans? There are other instances where this sort of speech goes on throughout the book. How do you think “insiders” would respond to this type speech being a norm in this book?
Another question I had thought of originally is What impact do you think that this type of writing (writing in poems, responses, etc) had on the reader? On page 160, Shelia is quoted as saying “He made me change my mind about him that day. Maybe I can change people’s minds about me too.” How do you think that the student’s reactions to each other’s poems and stories affected the reader’s opinion of these characters? Are you more likely to agree with a character, such as Shelia, on issues of inclusion because she explicitly stated her opinion?
On page 164 Tyrone discusses how he connected with different students in his class due to their personal poems and style in writing them. “I feel that even though the people in our class are all different colors and some of you speak a different language and everything, I feel like we connected. I feel like I know you now.” This passage is one of the most powerful sections in the end of the story, and I feel like it gives a lot of insight to the reader in a lot of questions. How do you interpret this passage in considering the above questions? Why did Grimes include this passage towards the end of the book? Do you think that Grimes is speaking to the reader of her opinion on inclusion?
These questions are very important in our on-going discussion of diversity and inclusion. In my TE 401 class, we read an article called “Codeswitching: Tools of Language and Culture Transform the Dialectally Diverse Classroom” by Rebecca Wheeler and Rachel Swords which talks about issues of how to deal with the black English vernacular in the classroom. Wheeler and Swords argues that teachers should teach students how to “codeswitch” and only be able to use BEV in certain situations that way African American students can be more successful in the classroom and on standardized tests. “Beyond linguistic structure, cultural conflicts lie at the heart of why American Schools fail.” (Wheeler, Swords page 472) This quote also deals with another overall theme in Bronx Masquerade, in which the reason why Mr. Ward allows students to start writing poetry is because it is one of the only reasons how he can get students to connect to literature and apply skills they were learning in class. Otherwise they would not have participated. This is a very important topic that educators do not know how to deal with. Some argue that teachers should embrace a student’s dialect and cultures while others often practice that it should not be tolerated and should be corrected. These arguments that Martin brings up about black modes of discourse, along with the Wheeler & Swords article about codeswitching are articles that could bring up some great discussion with Bronx Masquerade. This topic is very important to discuss because many TE 448 students are in or will be in urban schools and they need to be prepared with how they plan on meeting students needs regarding the BEV.
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