Extra Credit

When walking into the room for the Native American author reading, it seemed like a very formal setting. Some people were formally dressed with suits and the chairs were set up in nice even rows, all facing the stage with a podium and microphone. From the atmosphere, it felt like the readings were going to be somewhat formal and ceremonial, but once it started it was everything but that. They had us all get away from the whole “row seating” and move ourselves closer to the readers so we could feel like a group rather then individuals. As being an outsider to this culture and not knowing what to expect, getting out of what I thought “formal setting” completely changed my assumptions of how the readings were going to be because they wanted us all to be comfortable and close to the readers. The seminar began with a prayer; even though I didn’t understand the language it was very inspiring to be a part of a culture that I am not familiar with. Before coming to this seminar, I had certain predictions and assumptions as to what the readings were going to be about and how the seminar would be; but frankly I was completely wrong. Each author chose what pieces they wanted to share with the audience and some of them went with a certain theme. This may sound stereotypical but I went into this seminar thinking it was going to be based discrimination and how they are not respected within society, not just in the past but in today’s world as well. Even though these issues came up, but the readers were able to make it so they could connect to you rather then preach about it. It was very inspiring to sit there and listen to them, even though I can not directly connect to what they have been through, I was able to connect to their feelings and how they were affected based on their readings.
The first reader Eric Gansworth was an author of six books. His books featured painting and visual works while writing about art and art criticism. He has been to a lot of readings, but said it is about listening to those that inspire you. His inspiration to become a writer was from listening to Leon Howell during a reading. All of the pieces he chose to share with us were poems; poems about his body being a huge force or speaking about the modern changes and changing Native American culture. One reading that really hit me was the reading called “a half life and heart function”. It was about his life of being poor compared to the rich whites. He talked about how whites viewed throwing out cigarettes as spare changes where his people viewed that as a lot of money. Even though he talks about being envious of the whites and the money, he found things like cologne that made him forget all about being poor. Listening to this reading made me think about the life I lead and how it isn’t about the clothes I wear or where they come from it is about how those things make me, personally, feel. The little things like “cologne” make you forget about how much money you do or don’t have because you feel like a million bucks regardless of it.
The next reader Qwo-Li Driskill was a very passionate reader. His poems were about injustices of Native American history. He is the author or “Walking with Ghosts”, and has a PhD in rhetoric writing. His theme throughout his readings was going through different Presidents and their relationship with Native Americans. I did not seem to understand some of his poems, but I am not very educated with earlier presidents in history and their impact on the past.
The last two readers were my favorite two presentations. Jim Northrup was a very dynamic individual who spoke about his experiences not only as a Native American but as a soldier going through Vietnam. A strategy that was very effective was him choosing to memorize his readings. I believe if he would have read them just out of a book, it would have been less effective to the audience. I was very into his readings in wanting him to continue reading more; he was a very inspiring reader and I felt very moved and stimulated listening to what it was like to be a soldier during the times of Vietnam. His readings were very personal, especially the one about his struggles with post-traumatic stress when returning from the war. I believe it was a very strong approach to speak about personal issues because I believe I often connect better to a reader when they speak about their own life rather than trying to talk about someone else’s. The final reading by Richard Van Camp was the most shocking reading of them all. His reading was about a woman’s life experiences of being a victim and the ways she wanted to overcome it by accomplishing certain tasks; getting a G-spot orgasm, finding a handsome man, etc. This reader did an amazing job of keeping the audience entertained as I and many others couldn’t stop laughing throughout his story.
Going to this seminar was a completing eye-opening experience and exceeded all or any of my expectations. I went into the seminar thinking it was going to be about how Native Americans have been treated and effected throughout history and even today, but it was even more then that. These readings proved how Native Americans are just normal people. They experience the same things and live similar lives to those of others. I was completely taken away by this seminar and it leaves me with an open mind to attend more in the future.

Personal Philosophy

The reason why I chose to be apart of this class is because as a language arts major within the elementary education profession I wanted to be able to become more educated about not only children’s literature but diverse literature. When choosing my classes for to fulfill my language arts major, I was very pleased to have this as an option instead of the typical thesis papers that I have been writing all throughout my college career. When choosing language arts as my major, I thought I would be studying about how language arts goes on throughout the elementary education setting and different strategies you would use within your classroom to be a more effective literacy instructor but it was not even close to what I had expected. The main focus has been on writing thesis papers based on the literature and articles that we had been reading. Besides this struggle I have faced within finding classes that suited my future profession, I have found this class extremely beneficial to my future. This class has been teaching me to look at literature in a whole different light. It just isn’t about what is good literature and what is not, it is about how different cultures are portrayed and in what ways you need to make sure your book is an accurate portrayal when teaching in your classes as well. I have realized that diverse literature is just not incorporating it into your classroom, but to make sure you are educated on the books that you do choose to use within your classroom and the stereotypes that may come out of your books. It is about educating your students about what they are reading and the different cultures reading and learning about and to make sure they are getting the correct portrayals of that culture. My personal philosophy about multicultural education is that the more educated I become the better. Diverse classrooms are a huge part of a teacher’s job and the more I can learn about how I can accommodate to such settings, the better teacher I will become. Children’s literature is a vital element in a student’s education and academic success. I believe that reading does not just help children academically but it expands their knowledge on so many different levels. With reading, I believe the children are able to find who they are and what interests they may have through reading various types of books. I have been creating my classroom library ever since TE 348 and now by taking this class it has taken me on a whole different level. It now isn’t just about finding literature that fits your students and the classroom setting, but it is about finding books that hits upon different cultures and by doing so in a correct manner. It is no longer about creating a classroom library, it is about creating a diverse multicultural library to accommodate all of my students needs, wants, levels, and cultures. As being a future teacher comes near, some concerns that I have is that I am not fully prepared to be in a classroom or a diverse one at that. By taking this course I have learned that it is not just about being “politically correct”; it is about making sure you are completed educated especially when teaching about another’s culture. I have come to realize that I am going to make mistakes, but it is about fixing it and making sure my students become correctly educated especially when it comes to one’s culture.