It can be challenging to create an inclusive book collection or curriculum. For even the most committed and informed teachers, there is a diversity gap in children’s literature. In addition, there are also the issues of support from colleagues and administrators, time (and money) for discovery, and acquiring best practices.
For those in New York City education, here is an opportunity to share your experiences teaching and searching for culturally relevant and responsive curriculum and books!
Dr. Marilisa Jiménez-García from the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College, CUNY is gathering information about diversity in children’s and young adult literature from the perspective of Literature and Language Arts instructors in New York City public schools. Take her ten-minute survey here.
The goals of the survey are to understand how educators learn about books in their professional development and to find better ways to connect educators to diverse teaching materials.
A message from Dr. Jiménez-García:
“Your perspective as a practitioner is important to creating a productive dialogue about today’s Language Arts classroom. I want to learn about your experiences as a teacher in NYC public schools teaching literature in classrooms.
How are you and your students exposed to diverse stories, authors, and characters? What are some resources that would help you increase the kind of diversity your students receive in literature instruction? What development opportunities would you like to participate in that would enrich your experience as a NYC teacher?”
Due date: September 15, 2015
Time: Ten minutes
Eligibility:
- You must be a current New York City public (district or charter) school teacher
- Your area of instruction must be Literature/Language Arts/English and/or English Language Learner instruction
Survey link here.
Responses are confidential and will be used in a larger study on diverse books in schools that Dr. Jiménez-García is doing as a National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE) Cultivating New Voices Among Scholars of Color Fellow. She can be reached at @MarilisaJimenez.
For further reading on Dr. Jiménez-García’s work:
- “Diversity in Children’s Literature and the Legacy of Pura Belpré” on The Open Book
- “Reflections on the Children’s Literature Association’s Annual Conference” on Latin@s in Kid Lit
- Pura Belpré Lights the Storyteller’s Candle: Reframing the Legacy of a Legend and What it Means for the Fields of Latino/a Studies and Children’s Literature in CENTRO Journal
