Article Response 4

Rachel Lorenzo
11/4/11
LAE 4530.001
Tara Payor & Nina Graham

Article Response 4

            This time I chose the Wilhelm article because I have one of his textbooks and so his writing it caught my interest immediately. I was surprised to find that it does not have to do with reading strategies which is what my textbook is about. Instead the article talks about the need for teachers to be diverse in their teachings of diversity.

            One point that the article brought up is familiar to me and one I would gladly advocate. It is to have students read a multitude of literature about the culture being discussed. Last summer I took my diverse literature class and we were introduced with a video about the dangers of a “single story.” In the video the spokeswoman talks about how if students are only taught one perspective of another culture, they will use that one perspective or story as their sole idea of that culture. Inevitably they end up with a stereotype and false ideas that offend and lead to feelings of great difference between the two groups.

            The article also brought up being careful about what novels or texts to have the class read on diversity. It mentioned To Kill a Mockingbird as a great work but one in which the protagonists belong to the majority population. Perhaps a good idea would be to read To Kill a Mockingbird and another novel where the protagonist is African-American such as Their Eyes Were Watching God. This way the students are also reading multiple stories instead of a “single story.”

            Immediately I found myself agreeing with the article when it stated that “Perhaps the most important [central point] was this: diversity brings vitality to any system.”  Before that it mentioned that students need only understand a few central points deeply. One of the central points I would like my students to deeply understand is that of universal respect. In this way students may learn to respect themselves, their peers, and those different to them, understanding along the way why respect is so important.

            I felt that this article, while succinct, hit all the points it needed to, simplifying it so that the reader would not get lost in confusion. It makes for a useful mantra for teachers.