I Have Learned So Much!

TE 448 is a class that I would highly recommend to anyone in the field of education as well as anyone engaged with people. Although this class focuses on adolescent literature, there is so much more gained from discussions, group work, course material and media sources. Over the past semester I can confidently say that I gained a deeper understanding of issues prevalent in over 9 cultures and groups including my own. Traditional content is of importance but with us being in such a diverse world, we must equally if not more expose ourselves to different cultures. During and informational session with a school district this semester, I took away something of major importance; the hiring principal told me that “he could teach someone to teach but he could not teach someone the love and passion to teach”. This comment encompasses a lot, how can you be dedicated to teaching a diverse population of students if you first don’t make yourself aware of their joys and struggles. This class was an excellent way to begin this challenge, however, the drive to educate yourself must be a continued effort.  Te 448 opened my eyes to issues of race, religion, acceptance, inclusion and sensitivity amongst many cultural groups. I LOVE THIS CLASS and I feel at though it should be a requirement in the college of education. Another component that I have grown to like is blogging. At the beginning of the semester, I viewed it as a pointless assignment but now it has become a communication mechanism that I have grown to like.  The class as a whole builds on many other necessary elements to be successful in the field of education including teamwork, public speaking skills, punctuality and accountability. I have had a great experience this semester and I hope others can take away just as much as I have.  

Disabilities and Literature Reflection

The concept of disabilities is something that is not visible in the libraries of many teachers nor the bookshelves of many stores. As a future special education teacher, I felt a need to explore books that portrayed some of the issues that some of my future students may be faced with. I chose a variation of books where either the protagonist is faced with something disabling or another character in the story. The text’s I chose to explore are: Thank you, Mr. Falker, Kathy’s Hats, Sometimes My Mommy Gets Angry and The Peanut-Free Café’. Because these books vary in topic, there is a lot to be gained. Thank You, Mr. Falker provides readers with a deeper understanding of learning disabilities and it’s effects on students, parents and teachers. It also touches upon issues of embarrassment, frustration, and the benefits of helping. The Peanut-Free Café’ develops the concept of inclusion, change, knowledge and uniqueness. Here a young boy stands out from the rest of his peers due to a peanut allergy.  Sometimes My Mommy Gets Angry provides experience from a different perspective. We are able to see the difficulties of a child having a parent with a psychological disability. This book highlights coping mechanisms, mixed feelings from joy to pain. Finally,Kathy’s Hats opens reader’s eyes to terminal illness, uniqueness, coping mechanisms, uniqueness, shared concern and understanding. Although these books vary in topic, severity, age-appropriateness and concept they all intermingle under the spectrum of disability. These books work well in conjunction with one another to provide readers with a broad and well-rounded insight into the category of disabilities and their portrayal in children’s texts. 

**Image was retrieved from www.dvcpa.com

Professional Resource Critique

Teaching Students About Learning Disabilities Through Children’s Literature

Prater, Mary Anne. "Teaching Students About Learning Disabilities Through             Children's Literature." Intervention In School And Clinic 42(2006): 14-24.

Overall the article Teaching Students About Learning Disabilities Through Children’s Literature was an excellent professional resource. It focused on the key and necessary elements in deciphering whether a book focused on Learning disabilities is quality. Some of the areas that the article explored in-depth were the theme, characterization, setting, plot, point of view and literary style. One of the more important area’s to key in on when selecting a book is characterization; the most palpable things in a book are the characters.  Another important key in selecting a book are the illustrations, “high quality picture books consist of both text of literary quality and illustrations of artistic excellence” (Prater, 17). Text and images have the ability to elevate or demolish the ideas and connotation of a disability. Therefore, the selection process for a book should be done by evaluating the areas mentioned above as well as intensely observing the illustrations.  Another positive thing that this article did was informing readers on how books highlighting disabilities should be taught on different levels.  It is important that they are taught because instruction “allows readers to look within themselves to understand feelings, relationships and experiences at a deeper level and also to bond with characters, even though they may be separated by space, time culture, language or ability” (Prater, 20). Instruction is also a way to promote awareness, self-reflection and accountability. The article also makes a valid point that when readers are able to live vicariously through others, in most cases they develop understanding. In regards to the insider/outsider debate, It is important to know that the authors of this article are scholars in the area of disabilities with emphasis on children’s literature. One of the things that I felt the article lacked was the exploration of other disabilities beyond LD. This article basically explored learning disabilities within literature. I felt as though a lot of the statements were general and could be cross-categorized amongst multiple disabilities but it was denoted to just Learning Disabled. Another area of concern that I had, was that all the books focusing on disabilities where meant to be taught. There was no mention of reading these books for leisure this would provide reasoning for the reluctance of teachers to house these type of books in their libraries. If in fact teachers are not knowledgeable on a certain area regarding disabilities they may be reluctant to have a book, which might arouse questions. Overall, this article had an extensive amount of valid information and I feel it was a great resource that truly aided in the critique of my books. 

The Peanut-Free Cafe': Critical Review

Koster, Gloria. The Peanut-Free Cafe'. Illinois: Albert Whitman & Company, 2006.

The Peanut-Free Café is a book that exposes readers to the severity of peanut allergies. This book is cute in its method; the pictures and book are very bright with neon colors and amusing illustrations.  One of the most appeasing things is the multicultural aspect of the book, the characters all very in ethnicity and the “Nutley Elementary School” overall is portrayed as a diverse environment. The uniqueness of the students vary, some of the students wear glasses, have arm cast, braces, are in wheel chairs in addition to many other noticeable differences. The storyline of the book focuses on Grant, a new student at Nutley elementary who has peanut allergies. The trend in his new school is peanut better and Jelly sandwiches for lunch. All of the students love PB&J and can’t see school without it.  This poses a problem with for Grant’s allergies; all of the students have to ultimately give up their love for PB&J in order to keep Grant safe. Grant was isolated initially during lunch however, this soon changed and the student’s embraced him and his allergies. This book is a great resource to promote inclusion, multiculturalism and an example of successful ways to overcome differences.  This book is one that can be read for pure leisure by any age group and still develop a lot of knowledge regarding disabilities. The author of this book was “informed” on the topic of peanut allergies. At the end of the book she provided an excerpt on information regarding peanut allergies from and associate professor of pediatrics at the food and allergy institute. I would recommend this book to teachers, children, and families. 

**This picture was retrieved from www.amazon.com

Sometimes My Mommy Gets Angry: Critical Review

Campbell, Bebe. Sometimes My Mommy Gets Angry. New York: Puffin Books, 2003.

Sometimes My Mommy Gets Angry is a book about a young girl whose mother has bi-polar disorder. Readers witness the hi’s and low’s associated with this disorder, of this mother through the mixed interactions with her elementary aged daughter. This book ventures away for the theme of hope and remission. It enlightens readers on behaviors associated with bi-polar disorder and coping mechanisms.  In this book, the protagonist is not the one with the disorder; she is more so the victim of her mothers disorder. The overall ambiance of the book is realistic, it is not uplifting through out; it has a mixture of happy moments and sad moments.  This is another book that I feel would need further explanation and instruction to a younger audience in order for the audience to grasp the book for its intended purpose. Images are something that stand out in this book, these images do a great job of “ telling the story” (Prater, 16). When the mother is in one of her low moods, there are pictures where shadow’s overcasts the door, the mother is shown yelling, the daughter is crying in corners and the overall impressionistic art is gloomy. In higher or happier moments in the story, the colors used in the pictures are bright and vibrant and the pictures portray positive things. One of the biggest means for comparison is that with the mother is having a good day, the daughter’s hair is neatly combed and she is happy. When the mother is having a bad day, her hair is untamed and her facial expressions are bland.  The author of this book can be viewed as an outsider; I can provide no knowledge as to how informed she is on the issue of mental illness. However, the illustrator E.B. Lewis is “informed,” he has a graduated degree in special education and has worked for mentally retarded and emotionally impaired children and adults for over 12 years. I believe that children who have parents with mental illness can draw strength and seek refuge in this book.

**This image was retrieved from www.amazon.com

Additional Resources

Prater, Mary Anne. "Teaching Students About Learning Disabilities Through Children's Literature." Intervention In School And Clinic 42(2006): 14-24.

Thank You, Mr. Falker: Critical Review

Polacco, Patricia. Thank you, Mr. Falker. New York: Philomel Books, 1998.

Thank You, Mr. Falker is a story of perseverance and hope. In this book, a young girl named Trisha is faced with a noticeably severe difficulty in reading. This is something she deals with in isolation before her encounter with Mr. Falker. Tricia’s difficulties mark her as different in the eyes of others and her self.  School becomes something she despises; she undergoes scrutiny, rejection and is made a mockery. In Tricia’s eyes, “reading was plain torture”(Polacco, 11).  After relocating to a new location, Tricia is assigned Mr. Falker as a teacher and he notices her difficulties. Readers are informed that Tricia has dyslexia. With the diligent effort of Mr. Falker, Tricia is able to come to terms with her illness and progressively get better. This story highlights the effects that teachers have in promoting student success. This book revealed the mishaps of teachers as well. It was almost unbelievable that Tricia’s reading struggles were not caught earlier and that so many teachers passed her on. This book served as an example for me as a future educator to focus and make sure student difficulties are not overlooked. This book was an excellent portray of special education embedded in literature. It provided a real life portray of a struggling student, and all of the elements in the story were portrayed in a realistic light. The elements of theme, characterization, setting, and plot as described in the Prater article, were personified in a well-developed way. The author of this book is an insider; this is shown through the compassion and sensitivity of the story as well. Patricia Polacco dedicated her story “to George Felker, the real Mr. Falker. You will forever be my hero”(Polacco, 1). The book undoable provides struggling students with hope and others with an understanding. This is definitely a great literary contribution.

**Image was retrieved from www.amazon.com

Additional Resources

Prater, Mary Anne. "Teaching Students About Learning Disabilities Through Children's Literature." Intervention In School And Clinic 42(2006): 14-24.

Kathy's Hats: Critical Review

Krisher, Trudy. Kathy's Hats. Illinois: Albert Whitman & Company, 1992.

The Story Kathy’s Hats is a book about a young girl who grew up with a typical childhood up until the age of 9. At the age of 9, Kathy was diagnosed with cancer and was prescribed chemotherapy for treatment. At the result of chemotherapy, Kathy began to loose her hair. This book describes Kathy’s insecurities in regards to her hair loss and her apprehension to be accepted. Kathy also describes other feelings of anger, hurt and pain. At the end of the book, the hat that Kathy wore to disguise her illness was thrown off in unison with her other classmates who also had on hats in support of Kathy. This is symbolic for the support that Kathy and her classmates had for one another’s differences. Kathy also understands in the conclusion of the book that differences come in many forms, “Adrianne wished that she would grow. I wished that I had my hair back” (Krisher, 17). The ending of this book is empowering; the overall message is that everyone is unique and if you learn to look pass the differences, you are more alike than you think. I felt that this book was eye opening into the eyes of cancer. However, I feel as though the intended audience is not appropriate. This book is intended to enlighten younger students into the issues of cancer. This could be used to inform younger students however I feel that it would only be appropriate accompanying instruction. Some of the images are slightly advanced and a younger audience might be confused. There are pictures of Kathy receiving chemotherapy and losing hair. In order for younger students to receive the intended message, I feel it would be beneficial to instruct, read aloud and take questions. Also, this is a sensitive topic that some parents may feel apprehensive about exposing their children to. Therefore, parental consent is a necessity.  Although this book ended with Kathy’s full recovery, I found myself being sad and slightly depressed while reading this book. Therefore another thing to consider is the appropriate time for a book like this with such an emotionally stimulating topic. In my opinion, the author of this book is an “informed insider”; she is the mother of a child with cancer who is portrayed as Kathy in the book.

**Image was retrieved from www.amazon.com