This class has completely opened my eyes to the elements and factors that are involved in choosing and reading through diverse literature. Before this course, I would read through literature and look for the basics (characters, plot, setting, problem, solution, conclusion) but now I have learned about getting more out of it. When choosing a piece of diverse literature, there are many elements that play a major role; insider versus outsider voice, representation, cultural/historical aspect, etc. with all of these aspects made me realize how difficult it is to create a complete and well developed classroom library. Through this course I have also gained the understanding that with literature there is not just one view; within literature there are multiple viewpoints and it is crucial to recognize them all as equal. I can not even put into words how much I have learned by taking this class, but within doing so, I have also realized I still feel uneducated and uninformed with what are “good” pieces of diverse literature. What my idea of good literature is completely different from others. Through course readings, especially the McLean article, I have gained the perspective that with stereotypes there comes certain truth; that there is a reason why certain stereotypes exist and that you shouldn’t disregard a piece of text just because those stereotypes exist within it.
The only thing that I still feel really unsure about is the fact that I went into this class wanting to become educated about multicultural literature but the more we talked about it week to week, the more complicated and complex the concept and issue seemed to get. I have come to realize that was the whole point; that literature isn’t black and white, there are a variety of gray areas.
Overall this course has made me look at literature in a new perspective while gaining a better understanding of what I want my classroom library to look like for the future. I want to be able to open my student’s eyes and world through literature while providing literature that is relatable to their lives on all different types of literature. I have a huge challenge ahead of me, but like everything the reward of creating something spectacular is worth all the hard work. I understand this course is just a stepping stone to what I need to obtain, but I am glad I have taken the first step of realizing what kind of multicultural journey I have ahead of me.
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