Multicultural literature

Many of the goals of multicultural education are developed and taught through the use of multicultural literature. Through the use of multicultural literature, young adults who are members of a racial or ethnic minority group can realize that they have a cultural heritage of which they can be proud. This pride can improve self concept and develop cultural identity. Through reading and discussion of multicultural lit., we can discover that not all our classmates share the same personal beliefs, values, goals identities and that all of us are human beings with feelings, emotions, and needs.
Multicultural literature can accomplish many goals: teach respect, broaden understanding of history and geograph, help raise aspirations, and help develop an understanding of social change.
A culturally responsive approach in teaching involves a teacher using his/her students' culture as an important source of the students' education. Geneva Gay(2000) described culturally responsive teaching as:
1. Acknowledgement of a student's cultural heritage as it affects their dispositions, attitudes and approaches to learning. 2. Uses a wide array of instructional strategies. 3. Build meaning between a student's home and school experience and their lived realities. 4. Teaches an appreciation of a students' cultural heritage. 5. Incorporates multicultural information and resources in all content areas and skills taught in schools. We must go beyond best reading practices as taught in the content areas, we must be culturally responsive.
the book I just finished reading, was advertised in Teaching Tolerance, so I thought it was worthwhile. The book, The Wall on 7th Street, incorporates Native American folklore, specifically that of theIroquois tribe, in the story of a teen, who with his mom and sister, relocate to another part of town after a divorce. Toby misses his dad and friends, and befriends a homeless man, Moe, who lives underneath a deck in sight of the Wall(covered with grafitti). The legends of the area indicate that it was considered sacred to American Indians. Joseph Campbell, in his book, The Power of the Myth, maintains that to understand a culture, we should begin by looking at the folklore of a group. The author of The Wall on 7th Street, Diane Martineau, does exactly that. The book is a wonderful read, providing a contemporary setting and issues, but, yet bringing us into times of the past.