There are so many wonderful children's books out there that it's hard to choose just one book or one author to start with when covering diversity in children's literature. There are many divisions of children's literature; as a beginning the larger categories are African-American children's literature, Native American children's literature, Latino, Asian and so on. Sub-categories follow as well. Different educational resources categorize children's literature in varying ways but for an introduction to diversity in children's literature I think the main groups listed above are a great start.

As examples of African-American children's literature I have found the following authors to be absolutely wonderful: Jerry Pinkney, his wife gloria Jean Pinkney, Julius Lester and Virgina Hamilton. There are so many more wonderful authors out there but for me personally, these authors are my favorites.

As an example of each author's writing I have listed the following books below:

Pinkney, J. (2002). Noah's ark. New York: Seastar Books.

A beautifully illustrated version of the timeless classic story.
I personally suggest this for anyone who teaches religion, at
any grade level. For use at home as well well as in the classroom.









Pinkney, G.J. (1992). Back home. New York: Dial Books.

Eight year old Ernestine goes to visit family
members by herself and discovers a whole new world.
As a child we all dream of having adventures on our
own and in this book the main character does have an adventure
on her own. This story is a way for all children to live
vicariously and take a journey alone. This book can be used for
children who are taking journeys in and out of their imaginations.


Lester, J. (1994). John Henry. New York: Dial Books.

Description: John Henry, a folk hero, lives life in terms of epic
proportions. As adults we know that John Henry can’t possibly be
real, or can he be? John Henry is a hero that everyone can look
up to. African-American storytelling as well as tall
tales and myth study are great uses for this book in the classroom.




Hamilton, V. (1993). The people could fly: American black folktales. New York: Knopf Books.

I first heard about people that could fly from a dear friend and professor at Buffalo State College, esteemed author and professor Dr. Aimable Twagilimana, with whom I was fortunate enough to take two English classes. Look for more on Dr. Twagilimana in the future.

As for this book it is simply a must have for any teacher! All ages.




To use the Library of Congress please follow this link-
http://www.loc.gov/homepage/lchp.html

For specific information regarding children's literature in the Library of Congress-
http://www.loc.gov/rr/child/

For more information of the Dewey Decimal System and book classifications please see-
http://www.lib.duke.edu/libguide/fi_books_dd_list.htm

I had the great privilege of meeting the Pinkneys this summer when they came to the Harlem Book Fair at the downtown branch of the Buffalo Public Library. They were both gracious enough to sign my copies of their books for me and had a lovely personal word with me as well. Please look for their books and other books by the authors listed above at your local book store.

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." - Martin Luther King Jr.

Retrieved from http://members.aol.com/klove01/marquote.htm August 30, 2006.

As we return to school this week I would like everyone, not just educators, to remember that we live in the greatest country on earth and we are the super power we are due to our diverse ethnic nature. I know there are many who would disagree with me but that's the great thing about the First Amendment (see below) -

Bill of Rights - Amendment I -

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Please see the site below for more on the United States Constitution:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.billofrights.html

I can say whatever I want, and type it too! No one will come and drag me away- or put me in jail. I'd be remiss if I don't stop right here for a moment and thank the U.S. Military for defending our constitutional freedoms. Thank you for everything that you do and that you sacrifice for those of us here at home.

As for diversity in education we are all in this together, all of us.... regardless of skin color, socio-economic satus or priviledge. As we begin another school year I'd like to remind all of our teachers that the majority of educators in the United States are white women. Partly due to the history of education in the United States but also due in part to Affirmative Action.

"With great priviledge comes great responsibility."

It is our great responsibility as educators to even the playing field of education and as such life. The last great frontier is not under the sea or in outerspace, it is the human mind. All minds are created equal, just as Thomas Jefferson wrote,

The first day of school is always a tough one, no matter how old you are! As a teacher I am in the majority, not only of education but apparently of racial and ethnic profiling as well. As part of the syllabus for my class yesterday all of our student assignments were laid out for us. For those who don't know what a syallbus is -

syl‧la‧bus- /sil-uh-buhs/ Pronunciation Key –noun, plural -bus‧es, -bi /-bahy/

1. an outline or other brief statement of the main points of a discourse, the subjects of a course of lectures, the contents of a curriculum, etc.

Thank you www.dictionary.com

One of my assignments in yesterday's syllabus was to profile a classroom in the school where I will be teaching. I really don't like that assignment. As a person who has lived "outside the box" her entire life I don't enjoy putting people into boxes.

This is the exercise I was given to do when I was taking my undergraduate teaching degree: http://www.sangraal.com/library/outside_the_box.htm

Thinking Outside the Box - An Exercise in Thought

We have all heard the term, Think Outside the Box, but what does it actually mean? One of our interested readers has supplied a concept that may entice you to understand just what it means to Think Outside the Box.

Draw this simple box of dots on your own little scrap of paper and begin with these simple instructions.
The idea is to connect the dots with lines, but only four lines will do.

Position your pencil on one of the dots and do not allow the pencil to come off the paper, that is, do not pick up the pencil and start from another place in the box. It must be a continuous flow of writing once you start. Think outside the Box!

When you think you may have figured how to think outside the box, click on the box for the answer.

I couldn't figure out for the life of me how to do this then and I can't do it now. So here's the answer:
















Which brings me to my main point, not that I can't do math, but that we should try never to put anyone into a box. Students should be accepted in the classroom for who they are, not for who we think they should be. As teachers it is our job to help students (of all ages) to discover who they really are and then give them the tools to make their dreams come true.

I'll tackle more of the diversity issue tomorrow, meanwhile here's a link to another website I found about living life outside of the box. Good luck and don't let anyone force you to be someone that you're not!

http://www.crystalinks.com/outofbox.html

... Walk Through It!

Today is my first day of school. Again. I've had many first days, we all have. From our first day of Kindergarten to our first day of graduate school. This year is a little different because this is the first day of my last semester of my master's degree. While most of me is very excited, a small part of me is not. In fact I am so excited that I only slept five and half hours last night, mind you class doesn't start until 4 this afternoon and I've been up since 6:30 a.m. I'm thinking my excitement might wear off by then.... but probably not.

My favorite quote is from Alexander Graham Bell-

"When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us."

I think we all should look at first days as being doors that open and once through them we should never try to go back. So don't quit! Whether it be school, boot camp or your new job... keep on going and don't look back. Do your best and remember- walk through that door. You won't be disappointed.

Good luck on your first day!

... Walk Through It!

Today is my first day of school. Again. I've had many first days, we all have. From our first day of Kindergarten to our first day of graduate school. This year is a little different because this is the first day of my last semester of my master's degree. While most of me is very excited, a small part of me is not. In fact I am so excited that I only slept five and half hours last night, mind you class doesn't start until 4 this afternoon and I've been up since 6:30 a.m. I'm thinking my excitement might wear off by then.... but probably not.

My favorite quote is from Alexander Graham Bell-

"When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us."

I think we all should look at first days as being doors that open and once through them we should never try to go back. So don't quit! Whether it be school, boot camp or your new job... keep on going and don't look back. Do your best and remember- walk through that door. You won't be disappointed.

Good luck on your first day!

This was sent to me in a forward today and I thought I would share it-


"Thought you might be interested in this forgotten bit of information.........

It was 1987! At a lecture the other day they were playing an old news video of Lt. Col. Oliver North testifying at the Iran-Contra hearings during the Reagan Administration. There was Ollie in front of God and country getting the third degree, but what he said was stunning! He was being drilled by a senator; "Did you not recently spend close to $60,000 for a home security system?" Ollie replied, "Yes, I did, Sir."

The senator continued, trying to get a laugh out of the audience "Isn't that just a little excessive?" "No, sir," continued Ollie. "No? And why not?" the senator asked. "Because the lives of my family and I were threatened, sir." "Threatened? By whom?" the senator questioned. "By a terrorist, sir" Ollie answered. "T errorist? What terrorist could possibly scare you that much?" "His name is Osama bin Laden, sir" Ollie replied.

At this point the senator tried to repeat the name, but couldn't pronounce it, which most people back then probably couldn't. A couple of people laughed at the attempt. Then the senator continued. Why are you so afraid of this man?" the senator asked. "Because, sir, he is the most evil person alive that I know of", Ollie answered. "And what do you recommend we do about him?" asked the senator. "Well, sir, if it was up to me, I would recommend that an assassin team be formed to eliminate him and his men from the face of the earth." The senator disagreed with this approach, and that was all that was shown of the clip.

By the way, that senator was Al Gore!

Also: Terrorist pilot Mohammad Atta blew up a bus in Israel in 1986. The Israelis captured, tried and imprisoned him. As part of the Oslo agreement with the Palestinians in 1993, Israel had to agree to release so-called "political prisoners." However, the Israelis would not release any with blood on their hands, The American President at the time, Bill Clinton, and his Secretary of State, Warren Christopher, "insisted" that all prisoners be released. Thus Mohammad Atta was freed and eventually thanked the US by flying an airplane into Tower One of the World Trade Center. This was reported by many of the American TV networks at the time that the terrorists were first identified. It was censored in the US from all later reports."

-- At this point there is a picture of Ground Zero--

"This is why I always say I love YOU....

In memory of all those who perished on that morning; the passengers and the pilots on the United Air and AA flights, the workers in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and all the innocent bystanders. Our prayers go out to the friends and families of the deceased."

I have not personally verified any of this infromation nor can I provide any links as to the origination of this information. The only reason that I am sharing is this because I believe in the power of telling those whom you love- that you love them....

The saga of our bat ends with a successful release last night about 9:45 p.m. E.S.T. After a somewhat lengthy nap in a cardboard box (with air holes), we put our little friend out on the back porch well after dark, opened the box... and nothing happened. Fearing the worst I ushered the children in the house and said maybe our bat was still tired... After 45 minutes of praying the bat was only tired and not dead I went back outside to check. Sure enough it was gone, thank you Jesus! All is well that ends well.

Speaking of which (and changing gears- enough about the bat already!) did you know that "all is well that ends well" is a proverb and not a quote? Me either- until I went to cite it properly.

See http://www.worldofquotes.com/author/Proverb/33 for more information and other proverbs.

Proverb- the best defintion I could find (and actually liked) was from- http://www.vein.hu/library/proverbs/some.htm

Basically my understanding of the definition of a proverb is that a proverb is a short phrase that expresses a fixed idea. Other definitions can be found at the following links.

Yahoo Education - http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/proverb
Merriam Webster Dictionary- online- http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=proverb

Not to be picky or anything... but... I went to look up the definition of the word quote at Dictionary.com - http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=quote&x=21&y=12
and I think that I am more confused than ever in my definitions of what exactly constitutes a proverb and a quote. To my way of thinking a proverb is a quote and no one seems to remember just who said what. Does anyone else see where this is leading but me? I'm thinking that (gasp) they're one and the same -without an attribution for the quote of course.

Before I get nailed on this one I do realize the subtle (and not so subtle) differences between quotes and proverbs. But I like to incite literary consternation.

For one more website about proverbs try the following link-
http://www.corsinet.com/braincandy/proverb.html

Until tomorrow- here's wishing you hope and happiness!

As summer winds down to an end, and I am on this unbelievably long vacation, I have often found myself wandering about signs. Signs come in all shapes and sizes, diffrent forms too. Some people believe in weather signs, religious signs and I myself like to think of Mother Nature as an entity that shows us signs. Afterall don't we here in the northeast consider the first green shoot that appears in a bank of snow a sign of spring? I know I certainly do! Another favorite sign of mine is sighting the first robin.

But I digress, the sign that appeared today, in my bathroom no less, was in the form of a bat. I'm not sure how old of a bat it is, I didn't stop to inquire. Seeing as this is the first bat I've ever been this close to, well, a little research was in order. What I found is linked below. Our local animal shelter said they didn't come out for things like this, well, I certainly didn't expect them to, I just needed some information. I was instructed in no uncertain terms to never.... ever.... touch the bat with my hands. It was at this point that I wanted to mention I did have a college degree and was aware of how to use the interent but I restrained myself. -Although I did roll my eyes since the nice man couldn't see me. What I really wanted to know was 1- could I keep the bat in a box as a tempory measure (we have cats, not to mention dogs) and 2- could I wait to release my napping friend until it was dark? Everyone knows they fly at night and sleep during the day. Don't they?

For more about bats-

From the Smithsonian-

http://www.hrw.com/science/si-science/biology/animals/batfacts/batfacts.html

http://www.earthlife.net/mammals/bat-man.html

The saga continues.....

As summer winds down to an end, and I am on this unbelievably long vacation, I have often found myself wandering about signs. Signs come in all shapes and sizes, diffrent forms too. Some people believe in weather signs, religious signs and I myself like to think of Mother Nature as an entity that shows us signs. Afterall don't we here in the northeast consider the first green shoot that appears in a bank of snow a sign of spring? I know I certainly do! Another favorite sign of mine is sighting the first robin.

But I digress, the sign that appeared today, in my bathroom no less, was in the form of a bat. I'm not sure how old of a bat it is, I didn't stop to inquire. Seeing as this is the first bat I've ever been this close to, well, a little research was in order. What I found is linked below. Our local animal shelter said they didn't come out for things like this, well, I certainly didn't expect them to, I just needed some information. I was instructed in no uncertain terms to never.... ever.... touch the bat with my hands. It was at this point that I wanted to mention I did have a college degree and was aware of how to use the interent but I restrained myself. -Although I did roll my eyes since the nice man couldn't see me. What I really wanted to know was 1- could I keep the bat in a box as a tempory measure (we have cats, not to mention dogs) and 2- could I wait to release my napping friend until it was dark? Everyone knows they fly at night and sleep during the day. Don't they?

For more about bats-

From the Smithsonian-

http://www.hrw.com/science/si-science/biology/animals/batfacts/batfacts.html

http://www.earthlife.net/mammals/bat-man.html

The saga continues.....

One more week of this self imposed vacation. For those of you who understand what boredom truly is you'll fully comprehend why I felt compelled yesterday to block out the rest of my "vacation" (self imposed relaxation, remember?) and plan what I'm going to accomplish this week.

So much for that; I was originally going to write about something else today but then I slept in (sinful, shameful behavior as I rise early when not on "vacation") and as I made my coffee the clocks read 9:11. First one, and then the other, and I know I set them together... surely a sign if ever there was one.

Today it is August the 21st and the five year "anniversary" of September 11th is quickly approaching . Anniversaries are for happy occasions, this was not happy; rememberance is a better word for what we will experience in the next few weeks as the five year mark approaches. I believe that we here in the United States of America need to officially recognize this day as a national day of rememberance each year. For the victimes... and for the survivors...

Maybe our politicians don't feel the need to enact legislation and to make this day recognized as a federal "holiday". Truly this is not a holiday, a holiday is a happy occasion and should be remembered as such. The United States needs to make Spetember 11th a national day of rememberance and forgiveness so that we may move on towards a better goal, one of national unity, such as we experienced in the days following the aftermath of 9/11.

We all have personal stories from that day but today I invite you to share your positive stores of hope and healing. I myself, in the midst of my healing, was privileged to meet a Pentagon survivor when I was attending Buffalo State College. The peace and determintation that radiated from this woman was astounding and at that point, when she was able to speak to me of her journey, did my healing regarding 9/11 begin.

For those of you who have no persoal ties to that day, God Bless you, and pray a prayer of thanksgiving for all whom you love that were.... and are still safe. (An enormous debt of gratitude to our US military) I suggest that you go to see Oliver Stone's new movie "World Trade Center". Very well done, but bring your Kleenex. And please remember that you too lived though 9/11; a movie is simply that, a movie; you can handle a movie.

For those who simply cannot handle the visual images I suggest Lisa Beamer's book "Let's Roll".
Ken Abraham is her co-author, and the ISBN number is 0842373195.

For additional reading Amazon.com has many, many books about Spetember 11th and all you have to do is type in the date in their search engine. Also I suggest trying your local library for those you you lucky enough to have one.

For the rest of us the healing continues... wherever you find peace- accept it. However you find love- embrace it.

Without faith, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible. Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955) President Emeritus, Bethune-Cookman College

For more on one of my educational heroes I suggest the following links:

http://www.africawithin.com/bios/mary_bethune.htm

http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/beth-mar.htm

For children I recommend:

Greenfield, E. (1977). Mary McLeod Bethune. Harper Collins: New York.

This book is illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, what a phenomenal author and illustrator and Eloise Greenfield, a pioneer in children's literature. For more on Eloise Greenfield:

http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hmr/mtai/greenfield.html

May you find the peace that you seek...

Today is my parent's 27th wedding anniversary. They've seen it all -or at least most of it. Sometimes what remains unseen is far better left that way.

Last year my father was ill, very ill. It started in the spring and as last summer progressed he looked worse- and much older than his years. By the end of August it was clear that something seriously wasn't right, but no one knew what. My Dad was starting to resemble a broken Humpty Dumpty and all the doctors and specialists couldn't put him back together again.

The weekend before Hurricaine Katrina hit in New Orleans my parents were supposed to have vacationed there. The week before, due to my father's health, my mother decided to change their plans -and a good thing too. On that Monday forces larger than Hurricaine Katrina were surely at work. So when my father entered the hospital (and not of his own free will) that day (my mother at work again?) it was a very good thing indeed that they hadn't gone to New Orleans, from what we all know now, my father surely would have died.

The Tuesdayday that Hurricaine Katrina struck my father looked as thought death had followed him from Louisianna. So much so in fact that I went out the very next day and bought a black suit. It was on the day that I bought the black suit that they finally were able to diagnose my father's illness and thus save his life.

So here we are, almost a year later, still all together and life is more than we all ever thought it would be this time last year. Here's to a year!

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad! May you have 27 more years! Cheers!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina

While walking the dogs in the park the other day I found some wild chinese lanterns growing, otherwise known as bladder cherries. At first I was just going to pick some for my dining room table and then I thought maybe I could get a couple with roots to plant in my garden. Afterall there were tons of these plant, a small pruning wouldn't hurt them. It turns out that I was right, see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physalis_alkekengi

for information about their propagating abilities. Borrowing my son's knife (he was horrified that I was getting the blade dirty) I easily dug out a few plants with roots and brought them all home, quickly transplanting them. That was two days ago, so far so good, keep your fingers crossed that they all survive!

I didn't find the information that I was looking for on these plants but I did find these two sites:

http://www.backyardgardener.com/annual/annual66.html

http://www.4to40.com/earth/geography/htm/flowersindex.asp?counter=33

So if anyone knows what these plants symbolize please let me know. Meanwhile I'll keep looking.

In an amazing coincidence I found chinese lanterns pictured in one of the children's literature books that I just bought. The title of the book is "The Loyal Cat", retold by Lensey Namioka, illustrated by Aki Sogabe.

Namioka, L. & Sogabe, A. (1995). The loyal cat. Brownbinder Press, Harcourt Brace & Company: San Diego.

This is a beautiful book about a cat in China who has magical powers and uses them to help the temple priest with whom he lives. The page that they're pictured on is near the end of the book, I highly recommend this book for it's wonderful imaginative appeal.

And finally- I've seen two ladybugs in two days, this after going almost all summer without seeing one! This morning's ladybug was on my mailbox and I saw it on my way into the house after walking the dog. Of course I looked up the meaning/symbolism of ladybugs and I found out that they're good luck. Since everything comes in threes for me I expect to see chinese lanterns and another ladybug soon. See the site below for more information:

http://www.birdsforever.com/ladybugs.html

Have an awesome day!