Diverse Literature in the Classroom

Rudine Sims Bishop has described how books can serve as:
Mirrors - seeing our own lived experiences through the text
Windows - seeing views of worlds we have never seen
Sliding glass doors - with imagination, becoming part of a world shown in a book.

All children should get to experience mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors through the literature offered in your practice. Media should reflect the identities of all of your students as well as of people with intersecting identities beyond your community.

Students interact with a shockingly small amount of media that represents people of diverse cultural and racial backgrounds, LGBTQ+ people, or people with disabilities. It is important to consciously include these for representation, as the default character in most American texts is still white, able-bodied, and presumed straight.

Although you should use your own judgment and read every book (yes, every book!) going into your classroom, there are book finders online that can be helpful in your search. To assess your book collection as a whole, try this questionnaire.

Books are a common way to represent and teach identity and diversity in the classroom, but we can consider many other media formats as well (e.g., videos, art, activities/games).

My next posts will focus on specific resources and ideas if you are trying to expand your library!