[CALIBK12] "Stirring the pot"

[Doyle_Tony]

You go girl!  That's what I call stirring.  

I think what Joanne alluded to better then me was the controversy over Mikaelson's Touching Spirit Bear, a CYRM winner, ALA Notable/Best Book, recipient of numerous starred reviews, and a great book for reluctant readers.  It was also severely criticized by some Native Americans as being inaccurate and insensitive to their culture(s).  Mikaelson maintains that he had Tlingits read his drafts and verify the cultural elements.  

The really difficult question for librarians is, if one group says a book is insensitive do we get rid of it?  How many Native Americans does Mikaelson need to line up to establish his cultural street cred?  Has anyone pulled Touching Spirit Bear?  That book has turned many of my non-readers into readers.  Is that fact alone enough to counter the culturally insensitive charges?

With more questions than answers,

Tony

--------------------------------------------------
Anthony Doyle, Teacher Librarian
Livingston High School
Livingston, CA
tdoyle at muhsd.k12.ca.us

What am I reading now? http://lhsblog.edublogs.org/whats-he-reading-now/

"When I read about the way in which library funds are being cut and cut, I can only think that American society has found one more way to destroy itself." (Isaac Asimov, from his autobiography I Asimov)

The contents of this message are private and are intended for the recipients named in the To and CC fields.  You may not forward this message without the expressed permission of the author.  The contents of this message are the work of the author and do not represent the opinions or policies of the Merced Union High School District or Livingston High School.
________________________________________
From: ladewig [shatz at verizon.net]
Sent: Monday, May 18, 2009 9:07 PM
To: Doyle_Tony
Cc: CALIB POST
Subject: RE: [CALIBK12] "Stirring the pot"

Tony asked us to "stir the pot" a bit . . . Okay Tony, here comes my "big
spoon!"

I don't think it's the book that's necessarily "multicultural" but rather
(at least a certain part of)the collection that reflects a variety of other
cultures, presumably different from what's "typical" either locally or
regionally/nationally. I don't think the collection should be "balanced" by
a quota or percentage to reflect the student body. That's unrealistic in the
first place. Secondly, it may be impossible - there just might not be that
much available literature on a particular culture, either in English for the
American market, or available in their native language (or perhaps in some
cases, appropriate)to an American public school. Besides, the point of
having a "multicultural" collection is for ALL to learn about others, as
well as more about their own heritage/culture and how they are assimilating
and becoming part of the American fabric.

Can someone other than a person of the particular culture (etc.) write about
another culture (etc.)? Yes. Will it be accepted by all in the culture/group
which it portrays? Very unlikely. Does that mean that it ought not to be
attempted? No. There is an old expression among Arabs (or so I've heard) -
"Three Arabs, three points of view."

That's probably true of just about any culture, with the possible exception
of a certain unnamed Native American group who seem to have no disagreements
among themselves and are more than happy to offer their critiquing services
for any and all fiction or nonfiction on ALL Native Americans. (Which has
always struck me as being a bit ironic, since the complaint is usually the
claim of "stereotyping" by outsiders - isn't it stereotyping to insist that
a certain group of Native Americans know EXACTLY how other Native Americans
(even those of different tribes or nations) feel, think, believe, act,
respond, etc. because that's how ALL Native Americans feel, think, believe,
act, respond, etc?). That Native Americans would NOT do things describe by
non-Native writers, because no Native American would EVER do that? Because
of some invisible code of ethics or cultural genetics that every Native
American has? . . . Isn't that stereotyping too?

But I digress . . . Of course anyone who writes about a culture that they
are not naturally part of should do serious research and get input/critiques
from that culture, if possible. They should certainly strive to be as
accurate as possible and culturally sensitive in wording and illustration.
Will they ever please everyone? No. Any culture that is expecting and will
settle for nothing less than perfection according to their criteria had
either better get their own people to write more or understand that by
creating such a "poisonous" environment for non-native (or whatever)
writers, they are forcing their culture out of the public eye and into
obscurity. Perhaps in some situations, that is their goal.

Finally, any cultural group that insists that a particular book must be
written in a particular way is blundering in their own version of political
correctness. "For example" - a Native American can write down a story that
is "verbatim" from their ancestors. It may be culturally accurate and
"sensitive" in all respects, and receive wonderful reviews from other Native
Americans, but it may be culturally unintelligible (or just plain boring) to
many or most non-Natives. In the grand scheme of things, it may be far more
beneficial to negotiate a meeting point in style so that the other culture
groups can at least get a sampling of the culture, rather than trying to
research endlessly and understand every nuance, which is just not practical
for teachers and students in a typical American classroom. There is way too
much (other stuff)to cover in a regular school year and frankly, even if
they intensely studied one culture, they aren't going to remember much of it
past the end of the school year, if that long. It's probably better to have
a shallower depth of understanding and exposure to several/many cultures,
than to expect a first grader to have an encyclopedic and "politically
correct" understanding of the "real" Thanksgiving.

Joanne Ladewig  (A.K.A. "Library Lady")
Library Media Tech
Lawrence Elementary, GGUSD
Garden Grove, California
shatz at verizon.net

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark.
Professionals built the Titanic.

Comments are my own and may not represent the views of GGUSD


-----Original Message-----
From: calibk12-bounces at lists.sjsu.edu
[mailto:calibk12-bounces at lists.sjsu.edu] On Behalf Of Doyle_Tony
Sent: Monday, May 18, 2009 2:09 PM
To: calibk12 at lists.sjsu.edu
Subject: Re: [CALIBK12] building a diverse collection

Just to stir the pot a little...

What constitutes a multicultural book?  Is a series of country books serving
the needs of minority students?  Is a book written by a white author about
non-white characters a multicultural book?  Is _Whale Talk_ by Chris
Crutcher a multicultural novel?  What about Taylor's _The Cay_?  What about
_Indian in the Cupboard_?  Does Graham Salisbury accurately portray the
Japanese experience in Hawaii?  What if the Japanese-American community is
not united in its opinion of his works?  Who gets to determine if a book is
culturally accurate/sensitive?  Is it the loudest voice, the biggest group,
the one with the most famous spokesman?  Can a hetero author write Gay
Literature?  Can a male write Feminist Literature?  Hmmm...

And how do you know if your collection is diverse enough?  Should my
collection be 78% Hispanic literature and 11% Punjabi so that it reflects my
student body?  Should you tweak your collection development standards for
hard-to-find books (e.g. Middle Eastern, Indian, etc.) so that you have some
representation?  Does having books by Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban
authors serve my Mexican-American students' needs?  Do "Chicano" and
"Mexican-American" mean the exact same thing?  Or are they completely
different?  Or do they overlap?  How do I know if a novel is 1 or both of
those?

I am not asking for personal guidance.  Hard to believe but I already have
strong opinions on these issues.  I would like to see more discussion on the
list on this topic.

Tony