Who Makes it into Your Classroom Library?

I will admit, this was a more difficult post than I anticipated it would be. Admittedly, I was rather uneducated on the topic, to begin with so putting all of my new words and feelings into a post is a bit of a challenge but here it goes. The article by Emma Goldberg made many wonderful points highlighting reasons why books by men implicated by the #MeToo movement gaining places in classroom libraries is such a struggle for teachers. The video describing the issues with cancel culture also had an abundance of good points. A key takeaway I had from the article, in summary, is that teaching works from people with controversial backgrounds is essentially romanticizing the horrible things that the authors did. The video somewhat contradicts that by saying, in summary, that the works and the creators are separate, and although the person who made poor decisions created the work their private life should be kept separately.

 I tend to classify myself as a “zilennial” (not gen z or millennial but rather right in between the two) and since I have been on social media and have followed the news for several years now, I have watched as cancel culture really took off and has ruined the reputations of many. I am an empath, so naturally, I want to say that the work and the creator and their personal life and decisions should be kept separate but at the same time, I see how it is “wrong” to use materials or introduce books from authors who don’t necessarily deserve the recognition because of the life choices they made. It is important, especially in a classroom, that students have role models who are good influences, not bad ones. 

Windows are stories that show children a world outside of their own while mirrors reflect how a child shows up in the world. According to the article, when both are present, children learn to become “caring and compassionate citizens of the world.” Three books I plan to use in my classroom library are “The World Needs More Purple People” by Benjamin Hart and Kristen Bell, Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall, and Sulwe by Lupita Nyong'o. These books act as windows and mirrors in their own respective ways and they also promote positive messages and diversity which is important to me.