Dong

Reading the Dong article was very interesting because I understood completely what the author was talking about. I have been in English classes where I have read books about other cultures and felt unable to discuss what I learned and I have also been in classes where we dig deep and thoroughly discuss the culture we are reading about. Without a doubt I enjoy and get more out of the discussions of the cultural meaning of the book than I do out of lectures explaining just the plot and characters within a book. To understand what an author is trying to communicate, the audience must be able to understand the character and his or her feelings and surroundings. A characters thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and surroundings are all heavily influenced by the culture in which the character lives.
In Esperanza Rising, Esperanza must leave Mexico and move to America. While this may sound like a good thing to many American readers, it is a very hard transition for Esperanza. The readers must learn to put themselves in Esperanza’s shoes so that they understand WHY she is so afraid. At those times, living in America was a very different experience for a Mexican immigrant than it was for a German or British immigrant. Esperanza was rich in Mexico, but lost everything when she was forced to escape her uncle and flee to America. She did not come to America by choice; America was her last hope for freedom. She was not surrounded by opportunity when she arrived either: she lived in a labor camp. Readers need to understand Esperanza and her culture to understand how hard the move to America must have been for her.
Amari in Copper Sun is another character who is yanked out of her homeland and taken to America. Although I’m sure no one would argue that she should be thankful to leave her family, friends, and soon to be husband to be a slave, some may argue (as in the article) that she has a chance for a better life in America. She lives in a more technologically sophisticated world once she moves to America, which means ultimately that she can have a better life (according to readers who do not understand her culture). Readers of this book need to understand that Amari hated this new technologically advanced world as much as they would hate being taken to her homeland as captives.
I think that it is very important that teachers allow students to freely discuss all books, but especially important that they can discuss multi-cultural books. Students learn from each other through these discussions because each student has a different story to share. It also helps students to not only better understand the book, but to better understand each other as well. As the article mentions, it also helps teachers to understand and bond with their students. All in all, full, thorough discussions of multi-cultural books are very beneficial for the students and teachers, and create a bonding and learning atmosphere that is hard to find elsewhere.

Brannon and Greene

The Brannon and Greene article was very interesting to read because it brought up many points that are not usually addressed. Deciding which literature should be included in their course must be one of the hardest parts of being a teacher. It would be very frustrating because there are infinite amounts of books, plays, short stories, poetry, articles, and other literary works to choose from for teaching. Narrowing down the pool and choosing the “best” works one can fit into one semester must be a very difficult thing to do. I cannot imagine having to choose which works qualify as being the “best”.
The author mentions being afraid of spreading herself out too thin by trying to teach too much. Although there is so much literature to choose from, it is important that the selections made are taught accurately and in depth. If a teacher were to attempt to teach every book he or she wanted to in one semester, students would only be introduced to different types of literature. They would never be able to spend time exploring different concepts and styles within literature. If a teacher flies through his or her lessons, then the students may completely miss the point the teacher is trying to make.
What/why you are teaching is another important point the author brings up. For example, reading Copper Sun for Adolescent Literature was appropriate because it falls into the genre of books we are studying. While it is a great book, Copper Sun would not have fit in my American Literature class, where we read works by Phillis Wheatley, Zora Neale Hurston, and Frederick Douglass. When studying adolescent literature, Copper Sun is a great selection because it describes slavery in a way in which adolescent readers and grasp and try to understand. Adolescents would not understand works by Frederick Douglass, no matter how significant his work may be. I consider Harry Potter and Twilight to be pop culture readings. I did not really enjoy Twilight, but I have been a Harry Potter fan for years. I don't think that these books are necessarily important to study, but I do think that they are interesting and show what sorts of literature our generation is interested in.
I think that this article brings up many excellent points that many people (especially non English/Education majors) would never consider. For example, I am a Health Science major and have never put much thought into how reading selections are chosen to be taught. It has never occurred to me that I may be missing out on really great literature simply because my instructor has never heard of it or, worse, deemed it unworthy for teaching.

Copper Sun

I really enjoyed reading “Copper Sun.” It was a very difficult book to read, however, because of the horrific images the author described in the book. The image that stuck with me the most was that of the slave ship; I was disgusted when reading about the horrors of traveling from Africa to the United States. Although many of the descriptions are hard to read, I believe that this is a very important book for adolescents to read. I do not believe that shielding a child from the past counts as educating that child. While I do not think that Amari’s story is appropriate for kindergarteners, I do think that it is something that older children (8th grade and up) need to be taught. Books like “Copper Sun” are important because (unlike history books) they allow children to identify with and care about a specific character. Through this method, authors are able to make young readers understand how bad slavery was and how helpless many slaves felt. I also really liked how the book included Polly as a main character. Polly showed how hatred and violence towards slaves was eventually stopped. When Polly was introduced to the story she did not like anyone who was black. She was very racist and believed herself to be better than Amari and the other slaves. As Polly lived and worked with them, she got to know them and became a part of their family. This is important because it shows that people who originally were very prejudiced were proved wrong once they got to know and care about the people they thought they hated.