NY Times Article: "For Young Latino Readers, an Image Is Missing"

link to article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/05/education/young-latino-students-dont-see-themselves-in-books.html?adxnnl=1&ref=education&adxnnlx=1355261509-M3ZSeD6aLLZFpyYTfyEH8w

This article, titled, "For Young Latino Readers, an Image is Missing", by Motoko Rich, is an article I stumbled on while at work on December 4, 2012. Admittedly, upon first click I felt that I would not be interested in this piece, as I thought the title was pretty straight forward and summarized the entire article for me already. I could not have been more wrong.

As I continued reading, it hit me that this problem in schools could also transfer over to other technologies as well, such as videos, songs, etc. With "nearly a quarter of the nation's public school enrollment made up of Hispanic students" (Rich, 1), I have to be more in-tune with the books, illustrations, and videos I am using in my classroom. I can admit that I am naturally inclined to choose videos that I relate to personally and that this is a habit I will have to break as I continue on to become a teacher. I always stress how important it is to understand your students, but it is also important to be aware of what I am trying to teach them and how this information may or may not apply to them. Being white, I mean to be inclusive of all races, genders, and ethnicities so that all walks of life are fully represented, but am certain that this will take time for me.

"...those with human characters rather than talking animals or wizards — include the Junie B. Jones, Cam Jansen, Judy Moody, Stink and Big Nate series, all of which feature a white protagonist. An occasional African-American, Asian or Hispanic character may pop up in a supporting role, but these books depict a predominantly white, suburban milieu" (Rich, 2). Growing up, I remember books such as Junie B. Jones, and Jillian Jillian Jiggs. No books that I recall showed different locations or cultures. It is important for students to be able to connect to what they're reading, and sadly, I don't believe this is happening in a lot of schools currently after I read this article.

After reading, I began searching the Internet for videos that may be more relatable for these young students. One of my favorites is called "Get Ready for Gabi", a video done in "Spanglish" and can be viewed here:

Another is called "Captain Cheech", also shown below:

Not only are these good examples of books that could be used in the class, it's another way to introduce technology into the classroom!