PS 234 has read a series of books selected to prompt conversation across the grades about topics relating to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. While no one book will ever create a full understanding, these books serve as the foundation for conversations in the classroom that develop awareness, affirmation and empathy.
These books are windows (allowing them to see lives that are different than their own), mirrors (allowing students to see themselves and their experiences reflected), and sliding glass doors (using their imagination to access the world created by the author).
Previous Book-of-the-Month selections are listed below.
“Literature transforms human experience and reflects it back to us, and in that reflection we can see our own lives and experiences as part of the larger human experience. Reading, then, becomes a means of self-affirmation, and readers often seek their mirrors in books…When there are enough books available that act as both mirrors and windows for all our children, they will see that we can celebrate both our differences and our similarities, because together they are what makes us all human." - Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop
If you would like more information about the ways reading can help us develop empathy and understanding please see the attached research and writing by Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop. As well as this article from the National Council of Teachers of English: Windows, Mirrors, and Sliding Doors