Module 3: Authenticity and Relevance in Materials, Instruction, and Programming
Introduction
The culture present in schools and libraries often does not reflect the culture African American male youth experience at home and in their communities. This can cause an automatic disconnect for these children and adolescents when they enter the school or library environment and it doesn't seem to reflect their lives or have any relevance to their experience in the real world.
When they don't see themselves in the library environment, the texts it provides, or the instructional materials and techniques that are used, the message they can receive is that learning is not for them--that it is unrelated to their lives. This is particularity true in terms of literacy, and many research studies have been conducted that illustrate this point. Here are some of the most important ideas found in the research:
When they don't see themselves in the library environment, the texts it provides, or the instructional materials and techniques that are used, the message they can receive is that learning is not for them--that it is unrelated to their lives. This is particularity true in terms of literacy, and many research studies have been conducted that illustrate this point. Here are some of the most important ideas found in the research:
- Students tend to prefer and are more likely to engage with literature if it reflects their personal experiences and portrays characters that look like them and their families, friends, and peers (Heflin & Barksdale-Ladd, 2001).
- When readers interact with literature that relates to their culture-specific experiences, their reading recall and comprehension performance will improve (Bell & Clark, 1998; McCullough, 2008).
- Using culturally and linguistically relevant reading material not only fosters reading comprehension, but also helps address phonological awareness gaps and contributes to improved fluency (McCollin & O’Shea, 2005)
- Specifically, culturally relevant teaching is needed because it is “designed not merely to fit the school culture to the student’s culture but also to use student culture as the basis for helping students understand themselves and others, structure social interactions, and conceptualize knowledge” (Ladson-Billings, 1992).
Explore: Culturally Relevant Pedagogy Primer
Culturally Relevant Pedagogy Primer from Teaching Tolerance: While this resource focuses specifically on culturally relevant pedagogy in the context of the classroom, many of the ideas represented are transferable to both school and public library settings. In this primer, Teaching Tolerance uses evidence from the multitude of research studies to explain what culturally relevant pedagogy looks like, examine the need for it, and show the value in using it to reach all students including African American males. Everyone should read the responses to questions 1-4, and school librarians should also read the response to question 5.
Read: Critical Race Theory and Libraries
In her article, "Roses in the Concrete: A Critical Race Perspective on Urban Youth in Libraires," Dr. Kafi Kumasi (2012) challenges "school librarians to disrupt stereotypical metanarratives they might have about urban youth and replace them with new narratives of hope, compassion, and high expectations for all students (p. 33). She offers four steps school librarians can take to make their programs for African American youth more authentic and relevant.
Watch: The Danger of the Single Story
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During the summit on which this site is based, many of the participants discussed the value of "mirror" and "window" texts. "Mirror" texts are those that reflect the reader and his or her life experiences. "Window" texts, on the other hand, allow the reader to look into the lives of others and better understand those who are different in some way.
In this TED talk, Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Adichie discusses the issues she faced as a child without access to books that reflected her reality, or "mirror" texts. She also talks about the dangers of "window" texts that only present one side of others' stories and explains why people need stories that share multiple experiences and perspectives. This illustrates why all children need access to culturally relevant texts that reflect the diversity present in the lives and experiences of young African American men. |
Explore: Relevant Text Resources
Now that you've seen the value of incorporating authentic and relevant texts both in your library and in your instructional practices, you can begin searching for new relevant texts to add to your collection. The following web resources are a great place to start:
A Celebration of Identity Bibliography: Black Men and Boys in Children's and Young Adult Literature by Jane Gangi: This list of 256 books featuring Black and/or African American male characters was compiled by Dr. Jane Gangi of Western Connecticut State University in 2012. Titles are organized alphabetically, so you may have to spend a little time sorting through the list to find books that are appropriate for your library.
Cooperative Children's Book Center: Multicultural Literature by the University of Wisconsin-Madison: This web resource provides a wealth of information related to the selection of multicultural texts including booklists, a directory of small presses of color, and external links to additional advice and resources for selecting multicultural literature. Though the lists don't focus exclusively on African American males, this website has a great search feature that allows you to find texts in their database based on genre, age range, and multicultural category including African/African American.
Multicultural Booklists by Reading is Fundamental: This page gives you access to the past 6 years of Reading is Fundamental Multicultural Booklists for elementary age readers. The current list includes resources aimed at children in grades Pre-K-5, though some of the past lists are focused on a narrower age range. The page also provides a list of Coretta Scott King Award winning books.
African American and Multicultural Book Awards: This list links to 6 book awards given to excellent works of multicultural literature or authors of color. The Coretta Scott King Award, BCALA Literary Awards, Golden Baobab Award, and John Steptoe Award for New Talent focus specifically on works by or about African Americans.
A Celebration of Identity Bibliography: Black Men and Boys in Children's and Young Adult Literature by Jane Gangi: This list of 256 books featuring Black and/or African American male characters was compiled by Dr. Jane Gangi of Western Connecticut State University in 2012. Titles are organized alphabetically, so you may have to spend a little time sorting through the list to find books that are appropriate for your library.
Cooperative Children's Book Center: Multicultural Literature by the University of Wisconsin-Madison: This web resource provides a wealth of information related to the selection of multicultural texts including booklists, a directory of small presses of color, and external links to additional advice and resources for selecting multicultural literature. Though the lists don't focus exclusively on African American males, this website has a great search feature that allows you to find texts in their database based on genre, age range, and multicultural category including African/African American.
Multicultural Booklists by Reading is Fundamental: This page gives you access to the past 6 years of Reading is Fundamental Multicultural Booklists for elementary age readers. The current list includes resources aimed at children in grades Pre-K-5, though some of the past lists are focused on a narrower age range. The page also provides a list of Coretta Scott King Award winning books.
African American and Multicultural Book Awards: This list links to 6 book awards given to excellent works of multicultural literature or authors of color. The Coretta Scott King Award, BCALA Literary Awards, Golden Baobab Award, and John Steptoe Award for New Talent focus specifically on works by or about African Americans.
Activity: Looking for Culturally Relevant Texts
Choose one of the resources above that is age appropriate for user in your library. Conduct a catalog search to see how many of the resources on the list are already present in your library. If you find listed resources that you don't have and think would be a good match for your users, put them on your next order list. If you find that you need additional resources but don't have the funds currently available, brainstorm a list of ways to get the funding you need. Could you ask administration? Does the PTA or Friends of the Library have money available for special purchases? Could you write a grant? Identify at least one potential funding source and create a plan to provide your users with the authentic and relevant materials they need.
Summary
The culture of schools and libraries generally reflects the dominant group in society at the expense of minority populations. It is therefore imperative that as librarians, we thoughtfully develop collections, teaching practices, and programs that are authentic and relevant to all of our students or patrons, including African American male youth. If we don't do this, we risk alienating these children and teens by making them believe that things like libraries, schools, education, reading, and literacy are for other people--not for them.
We can start changing our instruction and programming by adopting a culturally relevant pedagogy that recognizes, respects, and incorporates the different views of learning that are seen across varying cultures. We also need to work on our cultural competence and help develop the cultural competence of our students or patrons. In our collections, we need to acknowledge the "danger of the single story" and ensure that "mirror" and "window" texts are included to both reflect the lives of our African American male users and to help them learn about and understand the lives of other people, including other African American communities.
The next five modules provide further discussion and ideas for developing more authentic and relevant instruction, programming, and collections. For teaching and program ideas, visit:
Mentoring programs are also discussed in:
RESOURCES
Bell, Y.R., & Clark, T.R. (1998). Culturally relevant reading material as related to comprehension and recall in African American children. Journal of Black Psychology, 24(4), 455-475.
Heflin, B.R., & Barksdale-Ladd, M.A. (2001). African American children’s literature helps children find themselves. Reading Teacher, 54(8): 810-819.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1992). Reading between the lines and beyond the pages: A culturally relevant approach to literacy teaching. Theory Into Practice, 31(4), 312-320.
McCollin M., & O’Shea, D. (2005). Increasing reading achievement of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Preventing School Failure, 50(1), 41-44.
McCullough, R.G. (2008). Untapped cultural support: The influence of culturally bound prior knowledge on comprehension performance. Reading Horizons, 49(1), 1-30.
We can start changing our instruction and programming by adopting a culturally relevant pedagogy that recognizes, respects, and incorporates the different views of learning that are seen across varying cultures. We also need to work on our cultural competence and help develop the cultural competence of our students or patrons. In our collections, we need to acknowledge the "danger of the single story" and ensure that "mirror" and "window" texts are included to both reflect the lives of our African American male users and to help them learn about and understand the lives of other people, including other African American communities.
The next five modules provide further discussion and ideas for developing more authentic and relevant instruction, programming, and collections. For teaching and program ideas, visit:
- Module 4: Adding Popular Culture to Instruction and Programming;
- Module 5: Helping Youth Develop and Use Voice and Agency;
- and Module 6: Incorporating Writing in Reading Instruction.
Mentoring programs are also discussed in:
RESOURCES
Bell, Y.R., & Clark, T.R. (1998). Culturally relevant reading material as related to comprehension and recall in African American children. Journal of Black Psychology, 24(4), 455-475.
Heflin, B.R., & Barksdale-Ladd, M.A. (2001). African American children’s literature helps children find themselves. Reading Teacher, 54(8): 810-819.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1992). Reading between the lines and beyond the pages: A culturally relevant approach to literacy teaching. Theory Into Practice, 31(4), 312-320.
McCollin M., & O’Shea, D. (2005). Increasing reading achievement of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Preventing School Failure, 50(1), 41-44.
McCullough, R.G. (2008). Untapped cultural support: The influence of culturally bound prior knowledge on comprehension performance. Reading Horizons, 49(1), 1-30.