MissDomino: November 2014

An American Treasure: Jacqueline Woodson

National Book Award Winner, Jacqueline Woodson

I recently was involved in discussion thread on one of my librarian listserv lately regarding award winning author, Jacqueline Woodson.

Woodson is the 2014 National Book Award Winner for Young People's Literature for the book, "Brown Girl Dreaming". During the program, an insensitive joke was made by the master's of ceremonies that centered around a stereotype of watermelon and African-Americans. Since that time, Woodson has responded by writing an eloquent column in the New York Times which was also picked up by Time Magazine. Both posts are currently being circulated on social media during this holiday season and in my opinion has made online reading quite interesting.

The Pain of the Watermelon Joke
by Jacqueline Woodson

I read some of the comments on the listserv and on the articles comment section....honestly my blood pressure spiked a bit. I was saddened, then angered and then left bewildered by some of the comments. Overall, many understood how Woodson felt in that moment: She had just happily received this prestigious award and while making her way from the stage back to her seat, had the moment belittled to an insensitive joke. What was also interesting is some of the comments ranged from Woodson reacting in a hyper-sensitive matter about the subject, while others believe that the joke was just delivered in poor taste and she and others should just let it go.

I know you are probably thinking, K.C. why are you so wound up about the comments of others? The reason why is, these comments represent the general thought or opinions of others. You see in today's technology driven society, it's easy to hide behind a computer or online name these days, so one can be their authentic self and express their views freely. The comments in my opinion were authentic and represent as a society, that there is still a lack of understanding of people from other races/cultures. These comments also are an indicator that we still have a long way to go.

After reading all of the press associated with Woodson's award, I also think about a heated argument I had with a librarian colleague about ten years ago. The argument centered around her lack of understanding about offensive books about people of color. I explained to her that when I was working at Kdg. - 8th grade school, I used to cringe when I read the book, "Five Little Monkey's Jumping on a Bed." This is a classic children's counting book that many of us are familiar with. What many don't realize in the earlier version, the book was called, "Ten Little Nigger Boys." The popular chant that is now known as "Five Little Monkeys" (also known as "Ten Little Monkeys or Ten Little Indians") used the "n word" plural or "darkies" as a reference for Black people instead of the word "monkey". Historically, the word "monkey" itself is a word which has also been used in the past and the present as an offensive reference for Indian and African American people.

http://weneeddiversebooks.org

This is where I can directly relate to Woodson. When she heard the comments during 'her moment', it took her back to a time of pain and struggle. In my case, my colleague felt that since the revised version was reissued, I should no longer have strong feelings about the theme of the book. My argument was it's hard to just 'erase' the imagery and message that was once present in this book, especially when I see copies on the internet and rare book collections. This is why organizations such as, 'We Need Diverse Books' is needed because they are committed to diversifying all children’s literature. Children should have the opportunity to be exposed to a diverse body of literature that accurately represents themselves and for their personal leisure and required reading.

Me Sitting Behind the Circulation Desk

I have been a Jacqueline Woodson fan as long as I've served as a school librarian. She is one of many authors who are committed to filling the void of stories written about children of color. Through her stories, she has demonstrated to the publishing field that these stories are rich, wonderful reads that bring a different voice to contemporary fiction. I applaud Woodson and so should you. Her accomplishments should not be overshadowed by the comments of the ill informed that lacks cultural understandings.
She is an American treasure and we should treat and celebrate her as such.

References
Dwyer, C., (November, 2014)
Daniel Handler Apologizes For Jokes At National Book Awards
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/11/21/365707391/book-news-daniel-handler-apologizes-for-jokes-at-national-book-awards

Frizell, S., (November, 2014)
Jacqueline Woodson Responds to Racist Watermelon Joke
http://time.com/3610303/jacqueline-woodson-watermelon-racist-joke-lemony-snicket-daniel-handler-national-book-awards/

Frizell, S., (November, 2014)
Children’s Author Helps Raise Thousands After Racist Remark
http://time.com/3601099/daniel-handler-lemony-snicket-racist-remark/

Gates, H. L. (July, 2014)
The Signifying Monkey: A Theory of African American Literary Criticism
Oxford University

Harvey, R., (February, 1997)
Don't Judge Hearn Merely by Latest Slip of Tongue
Los Angeles Times
http://articles.latimes.com/1997-02-06/sports/sp-26020_1_chick-hearn

We Need Diverse Books
http://weneeddiversebooks.org/

Woodson, J., (November, 2014)
The Pain of the Watermelon Joke
New York Times
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/11/29/opinion/the-pain-of-the-watermelon-joke.html

African-American Boys and Reading

President Obama's 'My Brother's Keeper' Program

Blogger Edi Campbell recently forwarded an EdWeek Article to me on Twitter called, "Urban Districts Pledge Progress for Boys of Color". Though there is a reference that reading will be a main focal point, I didn't see a clear statement that would suggest that school libraries and teacher-librarians would be part of the implementation of this program.

I immediately related the article to my high school in Chicago where the student body is made of 100% African-Americans students. Could a program like this impact schools like
mine? The article was indeed an interesting one but now I have to ask a loaded question: Out of these schools districts that have committed to this program, how many of them have a professionally staffed librarian running the school library? Here's my two cents on this issue:

1. Teacher-Librarians Must Be Staffed and Administer the School Library Program Full Time
Teacher-Librarians would definitely be a huge asset to this national program. The challenge is motivating the kids to read. Now we get to meat of things. Identifying books for purchase, that will appeal to children of color. When kids see images of themselves and their stories represented, they gravitate to those books. This why it's also important for educators to get out of that, 'I enjoyed that book when I was their age' attitude. It just doesn't work for today's students who are different. Their interests are wide, very diverse and content specific. Teacher-librarians embrace what students are interested in, they read the same books the students are reading and they build and connect the books to the the curriculum to make lessons for meaningful.

2. Students Are a Valuable Source for Information....LISTEN TO THEM!

Sometimes Administrators get so wrapped up in scores and testing they miss the valuable feedback from students. Why not rely on your school's teacher-librarian? Teacher-Librarians are excellent conveyors of information in this area. Why? They have the unique of experience of working with students as they move from grade to grade.

Librarians observe a student's development of reading habits and social/emotional growth over a long period of time. Also, there is a trusting element that is sometimes overlooked. When students visit their school's library media center, they enter into a 'worry' free environment where their opinion is celebrated and the atmosphere is devoid of the emphasis of testing.

2. Financially Support the Staffing and Program Administration of the School Library Program

Dr. Keith Curry Lance has stated this over and over again. Libraries must be supported financially and run by professionally trained library staff. I also want to be very clear about the trained staff statement: School librarians must hold either an endorsement or Masters Degree in Library Information Science. School districts can't be cheap and substitute these trained content specialists for paraprofessionals, library aides or volunteers.

Lance's latest study focuses directly on the school building level and the different types of school library staff and the impact that make on student achievement. Read the report here: http://www.lrs.org/documents/closer_look/CO4_2012_Closer_Look_Report.pdf

Lance also reported the impact of poverty and compared the staffing in wealthier school districts with school districts that have students who were eligible for the Free and Reduced-Cost meals. (Please note, this is a generally accepted indicator of poverty in education) An indicator of poverty with poverty utilized as a control variable, both endorsed librarians had a higher, positive and statistically significant correlations with reading scores than non-certified librarians.


	Source: "Change in School Librarian Staffing Linked with Change in CSAP Reading Performance, 2005 to 2011. (Lance, 2012)

Watch Dr. Stephen Krashen's passionate presentation at the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education meeting last February.

3. Hire Teacher-Librarians That Have Had Cultural Competency Training

Today's Teacher-Librarian must be knowledgeable and respectful of their student's culture, social and academic specific needs. Having and understanding this valuable information will greatly assist them as they administer library programs that are equitable for use of all students. The inability to have these key components in place will be a disservice to the students. Period.

Last March, YALSA President Shannon Peterson moderated a webinar featuring Kafi Kumasi and Vanessa Irvin Morris to discuss recommendations from T he Future of Library Services for and with Teens: A Call to Action report to improve cultural competencies in libraries. During their lively and informative discussion, they discussed the role that cultural competencies play and will continue to play in Young Adult Teen Library Services. I strongly suggest all school librarians and district stakeholders watch this webinar posted below.

4. Greater Presence of African-American Males in K-12 Education

I have worked at the elementary and high school levels throughout my career in Chicago Public Schools. One thing that upper level administrators lose focus on is the impact African-American male teachers make on students of color. There's no denying this, it's a winning solution because this is another way of closing the cultural gap that often takes place in schools.

Wouldn't it be great if there was a recruitment drive to encourage African-American males to earn MLIS degrees and serve their communities as teacher-librarians? Credential librarians of color still make up a small percentage of the overall librarianship workforce. Industry leaders hope to change that as the nation's changing demographics continue to make its mark, and the field experiences a heavy wave of retirements. Schools can do their part in supporting the recruitment and retention.

Dr. Dawn Tafari, is a member of the clinical faculty in the Education Department at Winston-Salem State University which has created a support network for black male teachers. "It's important for black children to have a relationship with a teacher who has experienced some of the things they have experienced," explains Dr. Tafari. "Especially in our urban areas, a lot of black boys don't see successful black males and who have successfully navigated the K-12 system themselves, then that can help to be a motivation." I see the results of this everyday. My school is blessed to have a strong black male presence and the their impact results in my students graduating and transitioning into higher education and society.

I hope this post was informative and makes you think about the strong impact of school libraries and librarians in the lives of today's youth. I leave you now with this quote from one of my heroes:

Donation from DaBook Joint
http://www.dabookjoint.com/young-adults-c-8.html

"The better the school library, the higher the reading scores"

Dr. Stephen Krashen

Feb., 2014 Presentation: LAUSD Board Meeting

References
Urban Districts Pledge Progress for Boys of Color (Superville, 2014) EdWeek Online.,

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/11/05/11boysofcolor.h34.html via @educationweek

Change in School Librarian Staffing Linked with Change in CSAP Reading Performance, 2005 to 2011. (Lance, 2012)

http://www.lrs.org/documents/closer_look/CO4_2012_Closer_Look_Report.pdf

Increasing African American Male Teachers in Public Schools Benefits All Students
(Mosley, 2014) http://wfdd.org/post/increasing-african-american-male-teachers-public-schools-benefits-all-students

LIS Cultural Competency Training. Slideshare Presentation. (Mestre, 2011)
http://www.slideshare.net/lmestre/lis-cultural-competency

Hiring the Next Wave of Multicultural Librarians (Linton, 2013)
http://www.nationaljournal.com/thenextamerica/workforce/hiring-the-next-wave-of-multicultural-librarians-20130131

Video
Dr. Stephen Krashen defends libraries at LAUSD Board Meeting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAui0OGfHQY

What's Next for Teen Services?: Cultural Competencies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_a7izSpU3oU

This Was An Honor

I met Dr. Vanessa Irvin Morris years ago at the American Library Association annual convention in Washington, D.C. We appeared together on a very large panel discussion hosted by the Public Library Association. Years later, I'm still in awe of her scholarly work and advocacy for the Street Literature genre. Recently, I had to give a presentation on a scholar for my doctoral program. I think you can guess who I selected. :-)

Below is the presentation about Dr. Vanessa Irvin Morris, just click the link provided below and you will be redirected to my slideshare account. In addition, I've also embedded links to two interviews she granted along with a video of my student describing why Street Literature is important to her and other students. Dr. Irvin Morris, your work is beautifully spoken through the voice of a teen. Thank you for your advocacy of this often times misunderstood and wonderful genre we call, Street Literature.

http://www.slideshare.net/kcboyd1/presentations

Growing Up Positive: An HIV/AIDS Awareness Film

This is an important film that should be played in high schools across the country. Writer/Director Yasmin Shiraz has produced 'Growing Up Positive: An HIV/AIDS Awareness Film' for teens. The movie is about two women, one black and one white, born HIV positive. The women share their experiences with school, dating, relationships and sex. The film also explores how race plays a part with HIV.

This film is currently screening at colleges and high schools for AIDS Awareness. Below is a trailer for the film that provides a brief view of the film's content. If you are interested in viewing the entire film, please contact Yasmin Shiraz at http://www.yasminshiraz.net.

I have personally been a fan of Shiraz's work with teens. I find her storytelling is conversational style wrapped with a authentic realism that teens today can relate to. My favorite book, 'Retaliation' was a favorite of Chicago Public Schools students who participated in the Mayor Daley's Book Club. The similarities between D.C. and Chicago teens was really eye opening. Now years later, I'm excited to learn that the sequel to "Accused" has been received well by audiences. Also, both books were selected as Top 10 Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers by the American Library Association. I always wanted to know what happened to Ahmed and Tashera! Both books are highly recommended for late middle school and high school students.

In addition, my female students enjoy Shiraz's motivational books. "The Blueprint for my Girls" and "The Blueprint for my Girls in Love" are favorites and really 'speak' to their issues, questions and drama.

Coming Soon: A very overdue joint interview of author Yasmin Shiraz with blogger, Dr. Vanessa Irvin Morris. Stay tuned!

After reading Retaliation and observing the similarities between D.C. and Chicago teens, I knew that the students would enjoy reading the book. I was right. Coordinators from across the city emailed commenting how much their clubs enjoyed the story.

I was really excited to hear from Shiraz and learn that she has cleverly continued the story of Ahmed and Tashera in Accused. I don't want to give away key elements of the story so I have copied the synopsis from Shiraz's website for you to review. This book is a recommended read for late middle school students through high school. Stay tuned for an interview of Yasmin Shiraz in an upcoming blog post. - See more at: http://theaudaciouslibrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/accused-by-yasmin-shiraz.html#sthash.wm03KX1F.dpuf