Exploring Diverse Texts

In today's episode, Dr. Tami Dean welcomes listeners to another episode of "The Equity Hour," focusing on diverse texts and their importance in education.  Dr. Tami discusses what makes a text diverse,  exploring and evaluating your personal history with diverse texts, how to conduct a text audit, and how to take action.

Follow Dr. Tami on Instagram to get additional resources and access the free resources mentioned in the episode.

Download the FREE resource mentioned in today's episode.

Transcript

0:33

Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of the equity hour with me, your host, Dr. Tami Dean. I am so excited this week to bring you an episode talking about diverse texts. It's actually a recap of my Instagram live. So let me know what you think. Head on over to Instagram. Give me a follow dragonfly rising LLC, because you can also get the free resource I mentioned in this episode there. Thank you so much. Enjoy the show.

Tami: 1:01

Hello. Hello, everyone. Good evening. Welcome to my live talking about diverse texts. I just want Hello. Hello, everyone. Good evening. Welcome to my live talking about diverse texts. I just wanted to come on and share a little bit about choosing diverse texts. What are diverse texts and at the end, share a resource with you. So super excited to share this with you today. As you may know, every Saturday, I have a Bookshare Saturday where I'm really trying to share with you a variety of different types of diverse texts different modes of texts. that you can integrate into your own personal reading as well as potentially your school and classroom library. Oh, we have a friend. Oh, Luna has joined us. That's one of my cats. But anyway, getting started with diverse texts. When we think about windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors and the seminal research around this with Dr. Bishop, really talking about how. Students need an opportunity to see themselves reflected in text, but also not only see themselves, but see others in text. And it gives them a window right into other people's worlds and life experiences and options outside of their own worldview. And then also very important is that mirror, where I can see characters and experiences and things that reflect what I've been seeing inside my own life. And then sliding glass doors, right, gives us, you know, opportunities to move through and see new options and ways of being. So when we think about diverse texts diverse texts, right, are a wide and variety and range of representation and inclusion of different cultures, races, identities, abilities, genders, families, backgrounds, experiences, and voices, as well as the intersectionality between those voices. So I think that's a really important part about diverse texts because what I have seen and noticed is oftentimes we'll start to talk about diverse texts and we're only thinking about race and how is race represented or not represented in that text. And that is only one facet of what makes a text diverse because that is only one facet of humanity. We could have a whole conversation about race as a social construct, but that's another, that's a different conversation for another life. But, so that is not the only thing you should be looking at. We're also looking at like authenticity of representation and diversity of that. And so how does that bring in, right, the language, culture, and customs of those different groups of persons that are supposed to be represented in that text? And is it authentic? So one of the great places to start is like building your own awareness. If you've missed it, you can go back and get a free resource around awareness. Really starting to understand and be cognizant. of your own experience and how that influences your understanding in the world. Okay. And so when we do that, we can also do that and be an awareness around our experience and our lives with texts. So thinking through what texts have been influential in your life at various points and what types of texts were you exposed to throughout your life and how those have had an impact on your life. And so you can even put together a book print which kind of shares and shows the influence of text. So I used to do this with some of my undergrad students when I was teaching literacy methods courses to think about the influence of texts around us. And so I would share my personal book print. So One of the books on there was a Nancy Drew book. So Nancy Drew books are just a core memory of reading as a young child. So love mysteries. I used to read old school, the yellow hardcover. And this is when, like, B. Dalton Bookstores still existed. And so I just remember going to the bookstore or the library. And, I mean, the bookstore was the best if I was able to convince my parents to get me a new book a new Nancy Drew. But I would read those books, that series. It really caught me up into understanding that I enjoy Okay? Mystery and solving things and noticing clues and all of that. It probably was the trajectory for my love of true crime. But you know, again, that's a, that's another conversation. So very seminal text, you know, in my, in my world. And I think. You know, I often also share, and I've shared this in the podcast, another huge text that was important in my life was Dream Keepers. And reading that kind of changed the trajectory of my professional life and how I have thought and engaged with work around culturally responsive teaching and diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice for my whole entire career. And so that's one of the other ones I share. I share. Oh, I'm going to, I'm going to miss the name of it. It's the bear and the strawberry. That book has meaning and power for me because it has to deal with when my children were little and actions around the book. Teaching to transgress bell hooks, another key text. So you can think about key texts that you have engaged with. You can think about those texts. In your childhood and where and how and why those connect and resonate with you. But if you go back to those childhood books, you can also think about when and how and where did you see yourself in your own life experience reflected in the texts that you read. Like I can share, I don't ever recall reading a text. With a multi racial family like that. I came from I am so and have been so excited about the diversity of family structure in texts that have been coming out over the last 20 years. Like, it is so exciting. I have a, a really nice collection of children's literature books. So so thinking about those experience of text, where and how it was reflected and what was missing. Okay. And then thinking about those same questions. thinking around whose experiences or not are reflected in the texts that you utilize within your school, within your classroom, within your instruction. And who and how do my students have an opportunity to engage with texts that serve both as windows mirror and mirrors for them throughout their education? When do they have options to do that? And How can you build a space in a community of learning and reading that invites, right, students into the opportunity to engage with these diverse texts? So one of the things you can do is a book audit. Sorry about that. One of the things you can do is a book audit of the text that you have available in your classroom. So you can think about what do students get to choose? What are the options for independent reading? You can think about how am I assigning reading? It really depends on also what age of students you are engaging with. But looking at whose perspectives are privileged in the text that I share in the classroom, and I want to say when they're whose perspectives are privileged what that means is whose voices are always being heard. Is it one way of knowing and being and enacting in the world that is clear? Predominantly present in your classroom. And if you notice that right, maybe it's a middle class Perspective maybe it is only a traditional family perspective maybe it's a male dominated perspective right and so How are those texts that you? have and share providing a variety of perspectives and whose voices are missing. So that's one of the most important things, whose voices are present and then whose voices or perspectives are missing. And so thinking about that, then you, then the point is you got to take action, right? Because intent, as I've shared before, intent is not enough. I need to then go and take action around these texts. To integrate and use and so you might be saying dr. Tammy. I don't know where to find all these texts I don't necessarily have time to read all these texts. That is okay You that is okay because the important part is you are asking the question you are taking notice And then looking for resources. So one, just being a part of this is a part of that process. Okay. So remember, key takeaway here, diverse texts. are more than books about race or examining texts for racial representation. So as you're doing your audit, look at family structure, look at socioeconomic status, look at gender, look at social environment, look at ability. Look at experience. Oh, I don't know how I made balloons happen, but we got balloons. We like that. Okay I got distracted. Sorry about that I don't know how I did balloons, but okay. I was trying to make that happen again. But anyway, So we want representation and inclusion of all of those different voices. So if you need some folks to follow. I highly recommend this is one of the most greatest tools about social media, is you have the opportunity to follow and engage with folks that are doing and sharing books and texts around things that you might be interested in to add to your library. I tend to try to also re share those and give them voice in my stories, so pay attention to my stories because I love sharing all the variety of texts. So, project lit Com so on instagram follow them excellent resource around diverse tags and diverse tech sets and All the things. Been following them for many years. Give them a follow SL journal. So the school library journal. Shout out to the librarians. Okay. We also need to be advocating to have diversity in our libraries. So that's another option to explore how is representation available in your school library and becoming an advocate and using your voice for that. But follow SL journal at SL Journal. These are all Instagram handles. Give them a follow. They also share a lot of really great resources around texts, diverse texts. And another one of my favorites is at We Need Diverse Books. Another great follow. They are sharing a lot of resources around a variety of diverse topics this year. Oh my gosh, I'm drawing a blank right now, but they have a 2024 mission around, oh, reading widely. I think that's what it is. I may be wrong, but reading widely, which I highly encourage you to do, okay? So, and when I talk about diverse texts, I'm talking about picture books, graphic novels, novels, YA, middle grades, adult texts, right? All of them. And remember, children's literature is not just for children, because sometimes children's literature has, more adult themes that you can explore within it. So way to get started and you're like, okay, Dr. Tammy, I can't remember all of this. Great. You don't have to because everything I just went over is in my free resource. Getting started with diverse texts. So go ahead, give me a comment, diverse texts, and you go ahead and get that free download to get started on your free diverse text resources today. So I've talked a lot. I want to thank you all for coming today and looking forward to sharing some more diverse texts. Take a look out for Bookshare Saturday and also coming up next week on Tuesday, a brand new podcast episode where we get to talk a little bit about diverse texts. So looking forward to that. If you haven't listened, please on any podcast provider that you subscribe to, please go ahead and listen to the equity hour. And where I get to talk with great educators around integrating equity and social justice into their classroom, as well as sharing some tips for myself. So is there something you'd want to hear or learn more about, please let me know, send me a message, make a comment, and I'll be sure to get that to you. Thank you so much.

15:26

Thank you so much for joining me for another episode of the Equity Hour with me, Dr. Tami Dean. I'm looking forward to connecting with you again next week. In the meantime, drop me a comment, give this a like, share it with your friends, and head on over to Instagram for your free consultation to get scheduled with me so I can support you with equity in your school, classroom, and learning environment. Talk to you soon.