The Importance Of Multicultural Literature

Most people can remember doing a lesson once a month in elementary school about a culture outside of the American culture, whether it be coloring in dragons for Chinese New Year or reading a book about an African American child for Black History Month. The United States is known for being a melting pot of so many different people, ideals, and cultures and it’s constantly changing. Due to this, are these once a month lessons really enough to call a classroom multicultural when there are students who are apart of cultures other than the American culture all year round? The short answer is no, and this essay will explore what it actually means to have a multicultural classroom, what factors have to be considered when doing this, and why is it

As said by Rudine Sims Bishop in her article Multicultural Literature for Children, “If literature is a mirror that reflects human life, then all children who read or are read to need to see themselves reflected as part of humanity. If they are not, or if their reflections are distorted and ridiculous, there is the danger that they will absorb negative messages about themselves and people like them.” This emphasizes the idea that children need to see themselves in the books they read. If children cannot connect with the books they read at a young age, they might become discouraged with reading and not develop a love for books and reading. Further, children should never read a book and think that their family or way of life is wrong. By having books that only show one culture or way of life, this is making that a much larger possibility. According to the California State Department of Education in their brochure about ways to analyze children’s books, when children are exposed to racist and sexist attitudes repeatedly whether it be in books or other media, it can distort children’s perceptions until they accept those stereotypes and myths about minorities and women as the reality of their world (Honig, 1998). We should be exposing children to other cultures in attempt to encourage tolerance, pique

Libraries should have a combination of books that reflects not only the group being taught, but also the diversity of the United States and the world as a whole. While there are more specific guidelines, a library or classroom should at least contain books that show a variety of ways of life, a wide range of family structures, and differently-abled and disabled people doing a variety of jobs and roles in family and society. If children cannot see themselves in the books they read, especially at a young age, they could get discouraged about reading as a whole which is the opposite of the goals of their teachers. Classrooms and libraries need to be changed so that one day good multicultural children’s books can just be considered good children’s