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Windows, Mirrors, and Sliding Glass Doors: A Look at Diverse Books for Students
Windows, Mirrors, and Sliding Glass Doors: A Look at Diverse Books for Students
By Deanna Euteneuer, Crystal Davidson, Cindy Heideman
By Deanna Euteneuer, Crystal Davidson, Cindy Heideman
According to Natasha Thornton, "when bringing the concept of literature as windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors into the classroom, it’s imperative that you truly value the lives and experiences of all students. The goals are to validate students’ identities through providing mirrors, to develop their understanding through providing windows, and to show them how they can be changed by literature through providing sliding glass doors" (Thornton, 2018).
The WHY of the Window, Mirror, and Sliding Glass Doors
The WHY of the Window, Mirror, and Sliding Glass Doors
As Rudine Sims-Bishop wrote in her article, which was originally published in Perspectives: Choosing and Using Books in the Classroom,
"Books are sometimes windows, offering views of a world that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange. These windows are also sliding glass doors, and readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created or recreated by the author. When lighting conditions are just right, however, a window can also be a mirror. Literature transforms human experience and reflects back to us, and in that reflection, we can see our own lives and experiences as part of a larger human experience. Reading, then, becomes a means of self-affirmation, and readers often seek their mirrors in books" (Sims-Bishop, 1990).
Let's take a closer look at the windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors.
The Window
The Window
The window allows us to gain knowledge and understanding as we look out and see a perspective that is different from our own. It allows for growth. "Culturally sustaining literacy educators understand the importance of throwing light on the vastness of the physical, social, cultural, and biological worlds" (International Literacy Association, 2017).
The Mirror
The Mirror
The mirror is when a student sees themselves in the literature they read and the curriculum from which they learn. "Culturally proficient literacy educators ensure that the mirror they make part of their classroom for each student reflects common human experiences as well as those that are unique and singular" (International Literacy Association, 2017).
This photo is a perfect example and is precisely why it is so important to provide "mirrors" for students. A student in Ms. Stephanie Drown’s second-grade class borrowed a book from the classroom library and wrote this reflection, “That kinda looks like me and my dad doing my hair."
The Sliding Glass Door
The Sliding Glass Door
The Sliding glass door allows you to step out for a moment into a world or view about which you are learning. It allows you to experience and, perhaps, change perspective. Consider a young man in the article Through the Sliding Glass Door: #EmpowerTheReader by Nancy J. Johnson, Melanie D. Koss, and Miriam Martinez and his experience after reading the popular book Wonder--a young adult book about a young boy who has facial abnormalities.
“Yesterday when I was at the grocery store with my mom I saw a man with no arm. I looked away and then I thought of Auggie. I looked the man right in the eye and smiled. He smiled back.”
His understanding, which he gained from the book Wonder, allowed him to react differently in a situation in which many of us would have simply looked away. Sliding glass doors have incredible power to change the minds and hearts of those who take time to read and understand.
The HOW of Selecting Texts That Validate Students' Identities
The HOW of Selecting Texts That Validate Students' Identities
Selecting texts that are culturally relevant to students goes beyond having books that are "diverse." According to Dr. Sharroky Hollie, there are three main steps to providing culturally authentic texts to students (2019).
Give students access: Students need to be able to access culturally relevant texts. This might include your classroom library (if you have one) and the school library.
Know your "brand" of culturally responsive teaching: As teachers, it will be important to understand our own cultures and the cultures of our students.
Know the three types of culturally responsive texts: Culturally responsive texts come in three main types and it can help to know the types to help decide which texts are the most authentic and appropriate for your students. These three types are Culturally authentic, Culturally generic, and Culturally neutral.
Dr. Hollie describes the three types of culturally responsive texts in the following ways:
Culturally Authentic Texts
Culturally Authentic Texts
"A culturally authentic text is a piece of fiction or nonfiction that illuminates the authentic cultural experiences of a particular group—whether it addresses religion, socioeconomic status, gender, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, or geographic location."
Culturally Generic Texts
Culturally Generic Texts
"Culturally generic texts feature characters of various racial identities but contain few and/or superficial details to define the characters or storylines. Culturally generic texts tend to focus on mainstream cultural values but with the use of nonmainstream characters."
Culturally Neutral Texts
Culturally Neutral Texts
"Culturally neutral texts feature characters of “color,” but the stories are drenched with a traditional or mainstream theme, plot, and/or characterization. Culturally neutral texts are the least preferred texts because they are essentially race based. The only aspect of these texts is the color of the character’s skin. Note, however, that there are always exceptions, as there are many quality texts that build literacy skills but are still culturally neutral."
Responsive Reads is an incredible resource for finding and selecting authentic texts.
Responsive Reads is an incredible resource for finding and selecting authentic texts.
Books for Elementary Students
Books for Elementary Students
Chapter books for ms/hs
Chapter books for ms/hs
Stella by Starlight by Sharon M. Draper
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams Garcia
Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Gaby, Lost and Found by Angela Cervantes
Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish by Pablo Cartaya
Resistance by Jennifer Nielsen
Other Young Adult Books
Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro
On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi
High School titles
High School titles
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds, Ibram X. Kendi
They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power by Deirdre Mask
Professional Collection
Professional Collection
Cultural Cobblestones: Teaching Cultural Diversity by Lynda Miller
No Excuses: Closing the Racial Gap in Learning by Abigail Thernstrom, Stephan Thernstrom
"Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?": A Psychologist Explains the Development of Racial Identity by Beverly Daniel Tatum
References
References
International Literacy Association. (2017). Characteristics of culturally sustaining and academically rigorous classrooms [Literacy
leadership brief]. Newark, DE: Author.
Thornton, N. (2018, May 15). Opening Up New Perspectives With Literature. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/opening-new-perspectives-literature
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