Ideas Revisited

I recently attended a poetry performance for my class TE 491. The featured poet of the night was Diane Gilliam. She read from her most recent anthology, Kettle Bottom. This was a collection of poems referencing postcolonial Appalachian culture. I found it interesting, and it particularly made me think back to the beginning of our class when we read and wrote our own autobiographical poems. One poem you displayed for us to mimic was a poem wrote about/by Appalachian culture. It was great to see this idea and stance revisited outside of our classroom.

Questioning Faith

I always find it exciting when topics in one class overlap or become apparent in another. This has occurred for me a lot this year between our class, TE 448, and my poetry class TE491. Recently in our class we read the book Confessions of a Closet Catholic by Sarah Darer Littman in which, main character, Justine questions her Jewish faith and attempts to convert to Catholicism. Tonight, my other class TE 491, held a poetry “concert” Trillium. One of the presenters was a young girl who was a junior at Eastern High School. For an art class she was instructed to write a poem and create a piece of artwork to accompany it. She chose to present both her poem and art at Trillium. Within her artwork was a collage of symbols and pictures that she drew. However, the most predominant ones were a drawing of a cross, representing Christianity, and a Star of David representing Judaism. When asked to further discuss why she drew what she did, the young girl spoke to us briefly about her struggle in what faith she believes in.

This not only captured my attention because of our class session focusing around this issue, but also due to a question I posed during our class. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the book I was unsure as to if a child who was twelve years old would go as far as to question his/her faith. This question was answered and reinforced through the simple presentation given by the young girl from Eastern High School.

Expanding Perceptions

As I read through this weeks article by Sandra S. Yamate I was again brought back to the reoccurring theme in our classroom; insider vs. outsider. Within the article I found my attention begin to focus when she mentioned writers who are more “familiar” with the Asian Pacific American Community. This led to me to question both myself and the author asking, does familiar mean the person does not have to be an insider in terms of ethnicity? As I continued my reading, Yamate began to discuss the opportunities that are taken away from not just the minority groups but also the majority. “Children of all races and ethnic origins are being offered a disturbingly artificial view of the world in which they live, one that does not begin to reflect the diversity of the society in which they will be expected to live, work, play, and grow.” This quote, taken from the article I feel is very powerful. It helps to speak for other groups of individuals who suffer due to the inaccurate representation of certain minority groups. Not only are unjust and unfair stereotypes placed upon minority groups, but youth of all races and groups minority and majority are expected to believe in these mistakes creating further misconceptions. Yamate goes on to say, “Children are our hope for the future, yet they are handicapped when their books and educational materials persist in proffering a grossly distorted view of the diverse races and ethnic groups that comprise the United States.” As I continue to take a step back and evaluate children literature I will continue to keep this in mind when deciding what books I believe are sufficient for my students as the future of our country.

MSU Museum Visit

Our trip to the MSU museum was an insightful look into the success and accomplishments of Latino/Latina Americans. It was incredibly interesting reading the diversity of each selected individuals history; such as their journey to America and their path to success. However, as I was reading their message boards I found myself paying closer attention to the direct quotes of each individual. Within their quotes I was able to connect to each person, and see how each classified themselves (American or Latino), as well as who they attribute their accomplishments to. In addition to their life stories and direct quotes, there was a picture displayed of each individuals. These caught my eye because many of them did not fulfill the "stereotypical" picture I would have envisioned. The female basketball players picture first gave me a glimpse into her life as a basketball player intertwined with being a mother and a woman. I would have typically pictured her displayed with a basketball in her uniform and on a basketball court. However, she was pictured, yes with a basketball, but also sitting on what appeared to be a living room floor reading.

Along with the exhibit on Latino Achievements our class was given the opportunity to view pictures taken from insider children. A group of children from Africa were handed cameras and instructed to take pictures of whats important to them. The majority of portraits displayed consisted of family member, animals that provide food, and friends. I believe that these pictures represented the parallel between children around the world. Although each child comes from a diverse background, their appreciation for family, friends, and altogether happiness remains the same. These insider children, fairly young, between the ages of 6 and 12 were able to acknowledge the importance and value in their relationships and necessities.