Final Post

I have really enjoyed my time in this class this semester. Thank you again Valerie for making this so enjoyable for me. It is very apparent when you are teaching that you really enjoy this class and the books and topics that we cover. As for the things that I have learned, I have learned a lot. When I go into a store now and look through books I feel like I will have a better understanding of which books to choose and why. For example, books about disability, I will look at how the disability is mentioned in the book and whether or not is seems like that is that main focus or if it is more about the person with the disability acting as if there was nothing wrong with him/her. My understandings of things have also changed. The articles that we read in class were very specific to each topic that we discussed in class. I like how in some of the articles it specifically said terms and names of things that should not be politically correct for people to say. Some of these words were things that I never thought of as being offensive but now that I have read about people and their feelings towards those names I know why they are not right. I will also look at the author of the book. I will look at whether or not the author is an “insider” and “outsider” to tell me how accurate the book may or may not be. If I am unsure of something about a certain topic I will take the time to research it to make sure that the book I am providing to children is accurate information.
This class has really opened my eyes to finding new and diverse literature. I have been able to ask questions that I was unsure of and find out how my classmates feel about something I am not sure of. It was nice to see that some people had the same kind of questions that I did and also some that I could give my opinion on. From here I will take what I have learned with me to my classroom and hopefully provide my students with diverse literature that they can learn from.