Final Post

This class has definitely been an experience both good and bad, but I have learned a lot either way. I feel as if I have a better understanding on the difference between the two terms: stereotype and generalization. Also I feel as though I have learned about many different underrepresented groups and the trials and hardships they go through. I have learned that the overall theme is who has the power and who has less power, and how can we use this information to make so things are somewhat of an equal playing ground for all no matter if they are represented or barely represented within literature. The only bad I would have to say would be that I feel that I did not get equal amounts of information or opportunities to get more info about each of the diverse groups that we discussed. I feel as though talking each week about a new group was great, but we spent more time talking about particular groups, such as the LGBQT, more than others. I almost feel as if I received ample amount of information about the LGBQT group and ample opportunities to learn more info, but not as much on the other groups. We did not talk to much about Asian/Pacific Islanders besides that one week or Middle Easteners or Latinos, and I just wished we could have had equal amount of time for each, but I know this may have been hard to obtain seeing as are class was very interested in the LGBQT group in particular. Either way I learned how to open up my mind more and not be so closed despite what my personal beliefs may be. I have learned to not 'tolerate' ,but to accept people and not shun them away because I may have kids who are of a diverse background within my classroom and I need to be able to live with it and teach that child. Also if that child wants to read literature that contains his/her particular group I feel as if I have more resources and knowledge to be able to select appropriate and legitamate books for them to read.

Reflection on Set

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The reason I chose these three books was because I feel that each of the books does a great job of representing Mexican Americans. Mexican Americans are a growing minority and Latinos as a whole are now one the largest minorities within the United States. Since Latinos are the largest minority in the US, it is inevitable that we as future teachers will run into students who have a Latino background. I believe that it is important for us as future teachers to become aware of where are students may possibly be coming from. To do this we have to learn about Hispanic culture and history. I chose to specifically focus on Mexican Americans not only because Mexico is so close to the US border, but because I have family members who are Mexican American. As I read each of these books I was pleasantly surprised and pleased at what I read. A common stereotype given to Mexican Americans or any individual of Latino decent is that they only eat beans and rice and that most of them are illegal immigrants. Each of the authors was an insider and I really appreciated and enjoyed knowing that information as I read the books. I found no trace of either one of those stereotypes in any of the three books. Each of these books mainly showed pieces of the authors own personal history. There were few if any stereotypes within these books since the text was mainly the authors own story. Also each of these books had equal amounts of text written in both English and Spanish. I felt that this definitely added to each book and would be beneficial to those students whose first language is Spanish.

Professional Resource Critical Review

Ethnic Identity and Chicano Literature: How Ethnicity Affects Reading and Reading Affects Ethnic Consciousness

In this article, author Jessica Vasquez explains the affects that Chicano literature has on Chicano students, and how this literature affects their feelings about themselves. Before seeing themselves in literature Chicano students reported feeling as though they had a lower view of themselves. Some students were even embarrassed to talk about their Mexican-American culture. After reading Chicano literature the students reported as feeling confident and having pride about their Mexican-American culture. Students said, seeing themselves within literature helps them to appreciate their culture(what their ancestors went through) and not be ashamed of it. Many students felt happy to finally be an insider and be able to relate to the Chicano protagonist. Many times within Chicano literature Spanish is used within the English text, and students whose first language was Spanish enjoyed that because they knew that not every word can be translated into English. You do not always get the same meaning expressed in English so it is important to leave the word in its original language. Reading the literature that had a lot of Spanish within the English text was very easy for the Chicano students because many of them were use to code-switching; changing back and forth from speaking English to speaking Spanish.

Although this article focused on Chicano students at a college level the same principals can be applied to any minority student no matter what grade level they are in. It is one thing to repeatedly read books that were written by the majority. It is another thing to actually be able to see yourself within literature and be able to relate to the characters within the stories. It is important for all minority groups to see themselves in a positive way within literature and other forms of media. So often society is only shown negative portrayals of minorities. These negative portrayals can have negative affects on the people viewing (or reading) this media. Continuous negative portrayals can result in stereotypical views towards the minority, hatred or fear towards the minority. It can also cause the minority to have a poor self image. More literature written by and about members of underrepresented groups needs to be more available to readers. This is vital for those readers who are apart of that group and who are not apart of that group. Outsiders need positive portrayals of their group just as much as insiders.

Vasquez did a great job of displaying the information from these studies, and accurately explaining Chicano students views towards Chicano literature. Educators and non educators alike can use this information within their classrooms and throughout society. Knowing how important literature written by and about underrepresented books is for the reader can have nothing but positive affects. This means that we as a society need to get more books in the libraries and bookstores so that every minority whether it be with race, disability, religion etc. can be able to see someone else who shares their same story or feelings.

Vasquez,Jessica. "Ethnic Identity and Chicano Literature: How Ethnicity Affects Reading and Reading Affects Ethnic Consciousness." Ethnic and Radical Studies, 28:5 (2005), 905-924

Friends from the Other Side/Amigos del Otro Lado

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Anzaldúa, Gloria.Friends from the Other Side/Amigos del Otro Lado. San Fransisco: Children’s Book Press, 1993.

Friends from the Other Side/Amigos del Otro Lado is the story about a young Mexican American girl named Prietita who helps a young boy named Joaquin and his mother. Joaquin and his mother have just crossed the Rio Grande into the United States in order to look for better opportunities. Just like in the other two novels, this story is a reflection of the author’s own personal story. Author, Gloria Anzaldúa, grew up in Texas next to the Rio Grande River. As a little girl, Anzaldúa observed many people traveling through this river in order to get to the United States and hopefully get to a place with better opportunities than the ones in Mexico. Since this novel is a reflection of the authors own stories it is evidence that the author is an insider within the Mexican American group. Anzaldúa shows both the Mexican American and Mexican feelings within this book and the difference between these two groups. Just like in the previous two books the author uses both Spanish and English to tell this story. The illustrations were done by another insider, Consuelo Méndez and to in my opinion do not look stereotypical of how the common Mexican or Mexican-American is drawn. The artist uses a type of pencil and without looking at the text and only looking at the pictures the reader may have thought that the characters were of a different race. The word use within this book in my opinion was not stereotypical and used some Spanish within the English text, but very rarely. This book would definitely be a good book to use inside the classroom, because it shows two different groups that have commonalities, Mexicans and Mexican-Americans.

Amigos del Otro Lado / Amigos del Otro Lado es la historia de un joven méxico-americanos niña llamada Prietita que ayuda a un joven llamado Joaquín y su madre. Joaquín y su madre han cruzado el Río Grande en los Estados Unidos con el fin de buscar mejores oportunidades. Al igual que en las otras dos novelas, esta historia es una reflexión del autor a su propia historia. Autor, Gloria Anzaldúa, creció en Texas junto al Río Grande. Como una niña, Anzaldúa observado muchas personas que viajan a través de este río con el fin de llegar a los Estados Unidos y esperamos llegar a un lugar con mejores oportunidades que los de Mexico. Dado que esta novela es una reflexión de los autores propias historias es prueba de que el autor es un abuso de información privilegiada en el seno del grupo mexicano América. Anzaldúa muestra los méxico-americanos y mexicanos sentimientos en este libro y la diferencia entre estos dos grupos. Al igual que la anterior en dos libros que el autor utiliza tanto en español como en Inglés para contar esta historia. Las ilustraciones fueron hechas por otro de abuso de información privilegiada, Consuelo Méndez y, en mi opinión, no se ven los estereotipos de la forma en que el común mexicano o mexicano-americano se dibuja. El artista utiliza un tipo de lápiz y sin tener en cuenta el texto y sólo mirando las imágenes el lector puede haber pensado que los personajes eran de una raza diferente. El uso de la palabra en este libro, en mi opinión, no se utilizan los estereotipos y algo de español en el texto Inglés, pero muy rara vez. Este libro definitivamente es un buen libro para usar en el interior del aula, porque muestra dos grupos diferentes que tienen en común, los mexicanos y mexicano-americanos.

My Diary from Here to There/Mi Diario de Aquí hasta Allá

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Irma Peréz, Amada. My Diary from Here to There/Mi Diario de Aquí hasta Allá . San Fransisco:

Children’s Book Press, 2002.

My Diary from Here to There/Mi Diario de Aquí hasta Allá is a novel that follows the journey of a little girl named Amada as she moves from Mexico to California and the big transition she has to make from "here to there". This story is actually the very own story of the author, Amada Irma Peréz. She decided to write an autobiography similar to that of Carmen Lomas Garza's novel, In My Family/En Mi Familia. This is perfect evidence that Peréz is an insider because she has written down what she has thought and felt and no one can tell her if she is wrong or not since it is her own personal story. Amada uses her diary to write down all of her thoughts and feelings. Some of the things that Amada writes in her diary are different things that she is worrying about, such as, what if she can't learn English? Or will she have to find a new best friend? The author Amada Peréz does a good job of showing the reader how some Mexicans may have felt as they made their transition to becoming an American citizen. The Illustrations were done by another insider, Maya Christina Gonzalez. Gonzalez used very warm and vibrant colors when drawing the pictures. The word use within this book in my opinion was not stereotypical and used some Spanish within the English text, but very rarely. Something that was very similar to In My Family/En Mi Familia was the fact that both Spanish and English texts were used side by side. Something that was different was that a greater amount of Mexican culture was depicted whereas Amada’s actual new life in the United States and American culture was not shown as much. That could be assumed that the author is somewhat biased towards her homeland of Mexico. This book can be really good for 1st generation immigrants.

Mi diario de aquí a ahí / Mi Diario de Aquí hasta Allá es una novela que sigue el viaje de una niña Amada llamado como ella se mueve desde Mexico a California y la gran transición que tiene que hacer de "aquí para allí". Esta historia es en realidad la propia historia del autor, Amada Irma Pérez. Ella decidió escribir una autobiografía similar a la de Carmen Lomas Garza de la novela, en mi familia / En Mi Familia. Esto es perfecto pruebas de que Pérez es un abuso de información privilegiada, porque ha escrito lo que ha pensado y sentido y nadie puede decirle si está equivocado o no, ya que es su propia historia personal. Amada utiliza su diario para escribir todos sus pensamientos y sentimientos. Algunas de las cosas que Amada escribe en su diario las cosas son diferentes que es preocupante acerca de como, por ejemplo, ¿qué pasa si ella no puede aprender Inglés? ¿O que tiene que encontrar un nuevo mejor amigo? El autor Amada Pérez hace un buen trabajo de mostrar al lector cómo algunos mexicanos pueden haber sentido como que hicieron su transición para convertirse en un ciudadano americano. Las ilustraciones fueron hechas por otro de abuso de información privilegiada, Maya Christina González. González utiliza muy cálido y colores vibrantes cuando dibujo las imágenes. Algo que es muy similar a la de mi familia / En Mi Familia es el hecho de que tanto en español como en Inglés se utilizaron los textos uno al lado del otro. Algo que es diferente es que una mayor cantidad de la cultura mexicana que fue representada Amada real nueva vida en los Estados Unidos de América y la cultura no se muestra como mucho. Ello podría suponer que el autor es un tanto sesgada hacia su patria de Mexico. Este libro puede ser realmente bueno para 1st generación de inmigrantes.

In My Family/En Mi Familia

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Lomas Garza, Carmen. In My Family-En Mi Familia. San Fransisco:

Children’s Book Press, 1996.

In My Family/En Mi Familia is a mini autobiography about the young life of author Carmen Lomas Garza. Garza uses pictures and short stories to show her reader about what life was like growing up. As a young girl, Carmen grew up in a small Texas town next to the Mexican boarder. Throughout the entire book is shown evidence that Garza is an insider. For instance, she addresses on one of the very first pages of the book the issue of how she wants to express her Mexican American culture through the pictures and text of this novel, because at one time she was not able to have that type of freedom. She wrote this book in both English and Spanish so that the text is side by side. Garza made sure to have equal portions of both English and Spanish in all parts of her book; for every paragraph of Spanish there was a paragraph of English right next to it and vice versa. All of the stories contained within this novel talk about her family and life growing up. A few titles of stories are as follow: The Horned Toads/Los Camaloeones, Birthday Barbecue/Barbacoa Para Cumpleanos, and Easter Eggs/Cascarones. Garza did a wonderful job of displaying her Mexican-American culture, but at the same time restricting stereotypes and allowing the reader (no matter what cultural background that they come from) to be able to relate to her stories because of one common theme: The family.

En Mi Familia / En Mi Familia es una mini autobiografía sobre la vida de los jóvenes autores, Carmen Lomas Garza. Garza utiliza imágenes e historias cortas para mostrar su lector acerca de cómo era la vida creciendo. Como una niña, Carmen se crió en un pequeño pueblo de Texas junto a la mexicana huésped. A lo largo de todo el libro se muestra pruebas de que Garza es un abuso de información privilegiada. Por ejemplo, se dirige en una de las primeras páginas del libro la cuestión de cómo ella desea expresar su cultura méxico-americanos mediante las imágenes y el texto de esta novela, porque en un momento que no era capaz de tener ese tipo de libertad . Ella escribió este libro en Inglés y Español para que el texto está al lado de la otra. Garza se aseguró de tener porciones iguales de ambos Inglés y español en todas las partes de su libro, para cada uno de los párrafos de español hubo un párrafo del Inglés junto a ella y viceversa. Todas las historias contenidas en esta novela hablar de su familia y la vida creciendo. Algunos títulos de las historias son las siguientes: El Horned Sapos / Los Camaloeones, Cumpleaños Barbacoa / Barbacoa Para Cumpleaños, y los huevos de Pascua / Cascarones. Garza hizo un trabajo maravilloso de mostrar su mexicano-americanos la cultura, pero al mismo tiempo limitar los estereotipos y permitir que el lector (no importa lo que los antecedentes culturales que proceden de) para poder relacionarse con sus historias, porque de un tema común: El familia.

In My Family/En Mi Familia brings up many other common themes that any reader can relate to, for instance in the story entitled Birthday Barbecue/Barbacoa Para Cumpleanos, Garza writes about all the things that she is observing at her sisters birthday party. One thing that she notices is a young couple that is in love and spending time together underneath a tree. Garza included themes such as love and family in order to reach those readers who could not relate to her Mexican-American culture that is depicted within the pages of her novel. Some expressions of her Mexican culture were seen in stories such as The Virgin of Guadalupe/La Virgen De Guadalupe and The Weeping Woman/La Llorona. In both of these stories we are able to read about Mexican religious customs and also Mexican folktales. The illustrations within this novel are done adequately since they were done by the author also. The word use within this book in my opinion was not stereotypical and used some Spanish within the English text, but very rarely. I feel as though this picture book does a great job of representing Mexican-Americans in the right way. Since the author is an insider and did both the pictures and stories you can see her passion and love for her culture within the pages of this book. This novel shows a cross culture life style and does a great job depicting both the American side and Mexican side of Carmen Lomas Garza.

En Mi Familia / En Mi Familia trae muchos otros temas comunes que cualquier lector puede referirse a, por ejemplo en el cuento titulado Barbacoa de cumpleaños / Barbacoa Para Cumpleaños, Garza escribe sobre todas las cosas que está observando a sus hermanas fiesta de cumpleaños. Una cosa que los anuncios es una joven pareja que está en el amor y pasar tiempo juntos debajo de un árbol. Garza incluyó temas como el amor y la familia a fin de llegar a los lectores que no podía referirse a su mexicano-americano que la cultura se representa dentro de las páginas de su novela. Algunas expresiones de su cultura fueron vistos en historias como La Virgen de Guadalupe / La Virgen de Guadalupe y La Mujer llora / La Llorona. En estas dos historias que son capaces de leer sobre las costumbres religiosas de México y también populares de México. Las ilustraciones en esta novela se realizan adecuadamente, ya que fueron hechas por el autor también. El uso de la palabra en este libro, en mi opinión, no se utilizan los estereotipos y algo de español en el texto Inglés, pero muy rara vez. Me siento como si este libro hace un gran trabajo de representar a mexicano-americanos en el camino correcto. Como el autor es un abuso de información privilegiada y no tanto las imágenes e historias se puede ver su pasión y amor por su cultura dentro de las páginas de este libro. Esta novela muestra una cruz la cultura y el estilo de vida hace un gran trabajo que representa tanto el lado americano y mexicano lado de Carmen Lomas Garza.

Its A Choice

I haven't been able to go to any of the GLBT events either, but I have been reading up on a lot of people posts especially about the documentary, "For The Bible Tells Me So". I wish i could have watched it because I am a Christian and I grew up learning to hate the sin not the sinner. I can be accepting of the person (or child that walks into my classroom) but not of the lifestyle. I don't believe that being gay is natural, but a choice. Everything in life is a choice when it comes to how you take things and develop. If someone says something mean to me it is my choice in how i respond. I can choose to ignore it and move on or i can choose to rest on the thought of someone saying something mean. When a little boy in elementary schools looks at another little boy and thinks that the other is attractive, that is a choice, the little boy can focus his mind on something else or divert his attention on another object so as not to be focused on the other boy, but if he decides to entertain this thought of being attractive to the little boy it will become "natural" or normal for this little boy to eventually think all boys are attractive. We develop and mold and change based off of our choices in life..and the things that we choose to pay attention to and not pay attention to. Homosexuality is not like race or eye color, it is very possible to change, but it is all in the choice that the individual makes. if everyone is telling you that you are 'born this way' then of course you wont think that you can change even if you come across a lot of hatred for being gay. but just like the southern racist or young lady with low self esteem, it is very possible to change...each day you make the decision of how you want things to play out in your life and what "you" you want to be.