This is definitely a question without an easy answer. Before beginning this unit, I felt that the best (and most accurate) tales about other cultures were best told from an insider. They can contribute their personal life experiences and portray event from their perspective. As I thought more about the question, however, I am beginning to see the other side as well. Although "inside" authors avoid stereotypes of their culture, they might possibly support the generalization of another. If an author does their research about a particular culture and avoids these generalizations, there is nothing stopping an "outsider" from writing an excellent piece of multicultural literature. Unfortunately, many "outside"authors do not do this, making "insider" literature seem that much better.
Although all of the articles were enjoyable, I seemed to connect with the last artice by Cai the most. This article really got me thinging about multiculturalism in general, not just multicultural literature. I started thinking about what kind of things I will include in my classroom and became overwhelmed almost immedately. How can I tell superficial literature from more in-depth material? Children seem to love reading the superficial stuff, but should I not include it in my classroom simply because they do not deal with deeper cultural conflicts? I'm sure that these are not easy questions to answer but I really have no idea how to figure them out.
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Stephanie I felt the same way about the debate before I read the articles. I was definitely on the insider's team! Being a minority myself, I felt as though no one could tell me story or any other people of my culture that came before me if they were not apart of our population. After reading these articles it made me question my views. It is clear that someone who is not apart of the culture biologically, can still write a great piece of literature about a certain cultural or lifestyle and it can be just as good or even better than someone on the inside. Looking at this issue really makes me see how you should examine both sides to an issue before making your final opinion. Many times seeing something from another person's eyes can not only adjust your views, but make you better understand the issue as a whole.
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