The Insider vs. Outsider Debate Continues...

Last week during class, we studied the book "Bronx Masquerade" by Nikki Grimes. After reading this novel it changed what I had previously thought about the whole insider versus outsider debate. I was leaning towards thinking that only "insiders" could effectively write a story about their culture; however, Nikki Grimes does the opposite. In "Bronx Masquerade" she chronicles the story of 18 different high schoolers who all have different backgrounds and cultures. This was amazing because while reading the novel I never once thought about the author's voice because she was so affective in her portrayal of all the characters. All 18 characters and their back stories were so believable that I never once thought about whether Nikki Grimes was an insider or an outsider to these cultures.
Grimes did such a great job of making me continue my thinking on whether or not people from outside a certain culture can effectively write on that culture; based on Nikki Grimes' writing, it can be done.

Quick Note on Blogging

So far, I find that blogging is a little more tedious than I thought it was going to be. The only reason i feel this way is because I have other blogs for other classes. Once I get in the hang of it though, I feel like I will benefit from it. I do like being able to read our class blog and my classmates blog in order to find out where everyone stands on issues that we are discussing in class. Overall, I think this blog will become a greater source of learning for me throughout the course of the semester and I look forward to it!

Insider vs. Outsider

In the last few weeks I have read many articles about the voice an author has when writing a text. There is a huge controversy surrounding the question "Who should be able to write about who?" After reading two novels "Heart of a Chief" and "Habibi" I have realized that multicultural literature can be so important in the education a child receives. As a teacher, I know it is important to include quality diverse literature within my classroom; however, it is a difficult task assessing what constitutes as good quality. I never thought, before reading a few articles, about who should be able to write on certain topics or on certain groups of people (cultures/races). I have learned that there is lots to be said about the debate over insider versus outsider and I am not 100% sure where I stand on this; however, I know that through the course of the semester I am going to work on furthering my understanding of this topic.

To start, when reading the novel "Heart of a Chief" by Joseph Bruchac I never once questioned the author's background nor did I desired to know his perspective. The story, I felt, was a good representation of the Native Americans (or American Indians... a whole other controversial question). During a group discussion on the quality of this text, I came to the conclusion that I would include it in my classroom because I feel it is of excellent quality. Being unaware of what life was/is like for American Indians, as a reader I found this book very informative. After reading a few articles on what constitutes as quality literature I have decided that because of the honest depictions of life on a reservation and the portrayal of issues surrounding the Native Americans, this book will stay in my collection.

Another book that I recently read was "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye. This book was about an Arab-American family adjusting to a new culture and a new way of life after picking up and moving from St. Louis to Israel. As the reader, being completely uninformed about the Arab-American culture, I found this book to be completely engrossing. While reading the text though, I often found myself questioning how authentic this experience the main characters where having was. I wondered if it was practical enough for the reader to believe and learn from. After having a group discussion and watching a lecture about the depiction of Jewish people, I realized that when including a text in your collection such as this one, you have to be willing to follow it up with another text or a class discussion. Some argue that within "Habibi" the portrayal of Jewish people is inaccurate which is why I think you would have to have a companion text to teach along with this one in order to combat certain stereotypes or generalizations.

Overall, I am still unsure of where I stand as a reader and as an educator on the whole insider versus outsider debate. Is it possible for whites to write about blacks or vice verse? According to Rudine Sims Bishop "you have to know a culture intimately if you're going to reflect it accurately in your fiction."("A Reply to Shannon the Canon" pg.6). Agreeing with Bishop, as of now I believe that in order to produce quality diverse literature you have to have first hand experience with that culture or group of people. I am looking forward to further exploring the notion of insider versus outsider throughout the semester.