Final Project—Inclusion of Children with Disabilities

Introduction

For my final project for TE 448, I chose to focus on the inclusion of children with disabilities in the general education community. As a future special educator, I am going to need to make sure that I include appropriate diverse literature in my classroom library. As we have learned all semester, it is very important for literature to be both a mirror and a window into the life of the reader. Children need to be able to see characters in the literature that display similar qualities to them. It is so vital that children are able to relate to the books they are reading. It is equally important that the literature children are reading have the ability to teach them something about other people in their lives, including their fellow classmates.

The books I chose to focus on in my project portray students with disabilities in a positive light. Even though the main characters in each of these books have some sort of disability, the books are great resources for any child, no matter what their disability status may be. All of these books explore the strengths and uniqueness of students with disabilities. They will be a great way for students to learn acceptance of individuals who are either very similar or somewhat different than they are. Many of these books focused on the friendships that prevail among students with disabilities. I am very excited that I have had the opportunity to do this project, because it has got me thinking about the types of books I would like to include in my classroom in the future. I have learned how to properly evaluate literature and will know how to be sure I am including the highest quality of literature in my classroom.

Book Review # 2

Ancona, George, and Mary B. Miller. Handtalk School. New York: Simon & Schuster Children's, 1991.




Handtalk School is a non-fiction picture book that shows the reader what a school day at this particular residential school for the deaf is like. The entire book is composed of photographs that show people speaking ASL (American Sign Language). The pictures enhance the story a lot, by emphasizing how real the situations are that the children in the book are. In many of the photographs, the movement of people’s hands is captured to show that some words in ASL involve the person moving their hands around to complete a word or phrase. Since each page contains eye-catching pictures that take up the entire page, the reader is able to feel like they are actually at the school, being shown around by the students and staff. The book begins by having the students who stay at the school (not all do, but all do have the option) go through their morning routine—brushing their teeth, taking a shower, eating breakfast, etc. The majority of the pictures in the book are of children and adults signing, and each picture is accompanied by the word written in English that they are signing. Next, the students take the reader through the many classes that they have in their school, including gym, math, literature, art, science, etc. One of the students is shown using a TDD (Telephone Device for the Deaf), which is a phone that allows deaf people to talk to people on the other end of the line. She is phoning home to make sure that her parents are going to be able to come to the Thanksgiving play that the students are preparing for throughout the book. The end of the book shows the students putting on their play and going home for the holiday weekend. After the story is finished, a list of schools for the deaf in the United States is included.

I really liked this book and will definitely consider including it in my classroom library in the future (if I can find a copy—it is out of print!). I thought this book did a great job at showing the reader what it is like to attend a school designed for deaf children. Not only did the book show what the students were signing (by including the word written in English), but George Ancona was able to capture the movement in the signs with his amazing photography skills. The book’s photographs were very bright and they succeeded at grabbing the reader’s attention. This book was very informational and helped the reader understand a little more about what it is like to be deaf. I thought it was great that this book showed that the children at this particular school in New York went through the same things that any student their age would go through. It did not show the children having difficulties simply because they are unable to hear, which is a great way to show young children that people who cannot hear are just like everybody else. The author, Mary Beth Miller, is an insider to this group. She graduated from Kentucky School for the Deaf and Gallaudet University. Both of her parents were deaf, and she was a founding member of the National Theater of the Deaf. She is currently (or was in 1991 when this book was published) the Director of Deafness Services at Catholic Charities, Diocese of Brooklyn. This book did a fabulous job at showing how deaf children can be integrated in classrooms of their own, even when they are apart from their general education peers.

Book Review # 1

Russo, Marisabina. Alex Is My Friend. New York: Greenwillow Books, 1992.

Alex Is My Friend is a picture book about two young boys who meet when they are young and grow up together. When Alex turns six, Ben (the narrator of the story) notices that Alex is smaller than he is even though he is older. When Ben asks his mother about this, her response is "It is how he was born. He is still getting older, just like you, still going to school learning new things, still thinking like a big boy, but his body will grow very slowly," (Russo 14). Shortly after this, Alex has surgery on his back. Ben and his mother decide to visit Alex in the hospital after his surgery. At first, Ben is scared of all the metal equipment that Alex has to wear while he is in the hospital, but once Alex begins cracking jokes, he realizes that it is still his friend under all of the "alien"-like metal gear (24). Once Alex is out of the hospital, he and Ben play together just like they always did. Ben explains at the end that he doesn't care about all of their differences because "Alex is my friend" (30).
The end of this story about acceptance was great because it teaches the reader that no matter what your differences may be with someone, they can still be your best friend.

Marisabina Russo, the author of Alex Is My Friend, got the idea for her book from a friend her son had with a boy who had a developmental disorder similar to Alex. This book teaches about acceptance of individuals who may be different than the "average" person. It is difficult to decide whether Russo is an insider or an outsider in this situation. I think I would classify her as an insider because she is telling a similar story to what she has gone through in her past. Russo tells a very realistic and contemporary story in this cartoon-illustrated picture book, stressing the fact that being different “doesn’t really matter” when two people have formed a bond through friendship. The message of this beautiful story is that friendship has the power to overcome physical differences and it is essential to practice acceptance of all individuals. The situation is not romanticized in any way, but instead shows how two friends can maintain a friendship throughout any circumstances. I am a big fan of this book and will definitely consider using it in my classroom in the future.

Book Review # 3

Larson, Elaine Marie. I Am Utterly Unique: Celebrating the Strengths of Children with Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism. Shawnee Mission: Autism Asperger Publishing Company, 2006.

Elaine Marie Larson has compiled a list of alphabetized characteristics of children with ASD. The pictures are brightly colored cartoons of children saying positive qualities they, as autistic children, possess. Some examples include “I am a Detail Detective,” “I have Fantastic Focus,” “I have Precise Pronunciation,” and “I live in a Wonderful World.” This book gives students with ASD a list of things they are able to look at and most likely find within themselves. I Am Utterly Unique is simple and is a great way to show younger ASD students that they have peers who are experiencing the same confusion as them.

Elaine Marie Larson is a former preschool, elementary and adult ESL teacher. She has a grandson with Asperger’s Syndrome and wrote this book with the intention of helping him “grow in self-awareness of his many capabilities.” This book is aimed at a young audience of Autistic children who are still figuring out how their brain works. Since many autistic children are confused about how their brains are “supposed” to work, this is a great resource for autistic and Asperger’s children. Elaine is an insider on this subject and she wrote this book with the intention of helping all children with autism find their strengths. This book is a fabulous and simple way to show the “unique characteristics and abilities of children with Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism.”

Book Review # 4

Elder, Jennifer, Jennifer Elder, and Marc Thomas. Different Like Me : My Book of Autism Heroes. London: Jessica Kingsley Limited, 2005.

Different Like Me is a collection of stories about famous people who have (or had) autism. The purpose of this book is to show that even someone with autism (or Asperger’s Syndrome) can make an important contribution to our society. The narrator of this story is Quinn, an 8 ¾ year old boy who has autism. He begins the book by giving the reader a brief history of autism. He talks about how autism did not have a name until the 1940’s, when Dr. Kanner and Dr. Asperger compiled a group of characteristics found in both of their patients. This is when the two doctors decided to give the name “autism” to their patient’s condition. The book goes on to give short biographies of many famous people who had either autism or Asperger’s Syndrome. Some of these people include Albert Einstein, Andy Warhol, Andy Kaufman, Piet Mondrain, Joseph Cornell, and many more. After the biographies, Quinn expresses fondness for all of the autistic people in the book. He says, “they didn’t let anybody else make them feel bad for not fitting in,” (46). He is very excited that all of these autistic people were able to make a difference in society and leave their mark with people. Quinn is not sure what he is going to do with his special talents, but he is sure he will do something great and “different” (46).
Jennifer Elder is a mother with two sons, one of whom has autism. The fact that she spends all day with her autistic son gives her an insider’s perspective on this situation. She has the knowledge and multiple perspectives of this disability. She has the opinion and perspective of not only herself, but also her son with and her son without autism. This gives her an edge ahead of other authors on knowing the intricacies of how autism works and what it is like to live and be close with someone who has autism. At the end of the book, there is a list of books for further reading for children. This list includes more books about the famous people mentioned in the book as well as other books for teaching kids about disabilities. This book is a great resource for children ages 8-12 to look at and realize that no matter who they are they have the ability to make a meaningful contribution to society. This is a great book to teach children to reach for the stars!

Article Review

Smith-D'Arezzo, Wendy M. "Diversity in Children's Literature: Not Just a Black and White Issue." Children's Literature in Education 34 (2003): 75-94.

This article is devoted to teaching people how to review children’s books that focus on disabilities. When I searched for articles regarding Special Education and Children’s Literature, I did not find many scholarly pieces that evaluated both of these subjects. This article, however, was a great fit for my project. Wendy Smith-D’Arezzo is both a parent of two children with learning disabilities and ADHD as well as a former special educator. She went through the process of reviewing and evaluating diverse young adult literature. Smith-D’Arezzo explains that, “just because a story includes a character, or a number of characters, who are African-American does not mean that the book is quality literature or that the book represents a well-rounded, rather than stereotypical, character,” (76). She explains that there are four areas to focus on when choosing books about children with disabilities. These areas are, “The structural elements should be well developed if not outstanding. The book should be appealing to children, and the characters in the books should be well developed to show children with disabilities in a realistic light. The book should make a positive emotional chord in the teacher. [and] The book should present special education issues accurately,” (76-77). She includes a lengthy review of two books with LD children as their main characters. Smith-D’Arezzo believes that part of the important process for evaluating children’s literature is to get the opinion of some children, which she always does when evaluating young adult and children’s literature. The article ends with a list of fifteen books that met her criteria for quality young adult literature about disabilities. This article was a great tool for helping me to evaluate literature for my project and would be a great resource for teachers to use.

Pam Munoz Ryan

So I have been working on my Questioning the Text paper for this week and have done some research on the author. I remember that in my TE 348 course, I wrote the paper for relating Esperanza Rising (also my Munoz Ryan) to other works by the same author. I read a few of her picture books and remember really enjoying them, so I was excited to read Becoming Naomi Leon as well. I remember that the picture books I read dealt with famous women and their journeys to becoming famous. It displayed them as "ordinary" people and told the account of something extraordinary that they did in their lives. I read When Marian Sang and Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride. Ryan enjoys taking what appear to be small, average people and have them go through extraordinary adventures in their lives, which is just what she did here with Naomi and her family.

Back to putting the finishing touches on my questioning the text paper! :)

Diverse Coffee

I know I mentioned this quote in class, but I just wanted to say it again because I know Deb really enjoyed it. As she said in class, "Starbucks sponsors our class, eh?"

"People need to see that, far from being an obstacle, the world's diversity of languages, religions and traditions is a great treasure, affording us precious opportunities to recognize ourselves in others." -Youssou N'Dour Musician

I think this quote is really relevant to our class because it explains that diversity is not something we need to overcome in our lives, but rather it is something we should embrace and appreciate. We are so lucky to be able to experience so many different cultures in our country. We should all consider ourselves blessed to live in a world where so many people are able to live together in harmony.

Bronx Masquerade

I have read about half of Nikki Grimes' Bronx Masquerade and I am loving it! I read the first half of it in one sitting because I just could not put it down! I think it is so well written and easily relatable for young adults of any racial or ethnic group. I am not sure, since I am only half way through the book, if the characters' story lines get more developed or if each two or three page narrative and one poem is all you get from most of the characters. I also can't tell if I want to hear more about these characters than just the two or three pages we receive. I think I might enjoy developing my own endings for each of the characters. It would give the reader a sense of control over the story which may inspire them to take control of their own life. I like how in this book, the perspectives of many different characters are given instead of just one person. It gives the reader more of a well-rounded perspective of a racial group. I also really enjoy how Tyrone gives his own views on each student and their poem. It shows that one person's perceptions of people can, and usually do, change once they hear more about a person's life.

I also did some brief research on Nikki Grimes and I came across her website (as I am sure many of you did as well). Here is the link, incase you have yet to find this site. It provides a lot of information, including other books she has written, a brief biography and more. I also found a video of a class doing their own version of "Open Mike Fridays" based off of Grimes' book. This video was a great way for me to visualize the book and see what happens in Mr. Ward's classroom.

See you all on Wednesday!

Who has the right?

A hot topic in multicultural literature these days is who has the right to write fictional or non-fictional stories about minority groups. Many people believe that people who do not belong to a specific underrepresented group do not have the right to write a story about them. Some of the articles we read for last week's class touched on this subject. While one author argued that the only people who should write about the experiences of a specific group are the members of that group, another author argued that as long as someone is educated enough on the subject, they can write about the experiences of a group. I agree with the latter. I think that as long as someone educates themselves enough on the experiences, trials and tribulations of a specific group of people, they are at liberty to write a work of either fiction or non-fiction about that group. As someone said in class, just because someone is from a different background, does not mean that they can't or didn't go through some of the same things as someone from a different background. People from all different backgrounds need to come together and realize that just because someone is from a different cultural group or a different socio-economic status, does not mean that their growing up experience was extremely different from yours. In conclusion, I think that someone from one background has just as much right to write about another ethnic group, religion, SES, etc. as someone from that actual group as long as they have educated themself enough on the group's history.

First Time Blogger

I would like to start off with a cheerful "Hello!" to the blogging community. I have never had a blog before, unless the livejournal I had when I was thirteen falls into that category. The entire concept of being a blogger is very daunting to me. To think that I will post my thoughts and questions on here for not only my own benefit, but to help others in my class is beyond my imagination. I look forward to reading what my TE 448 classmates have to say about the different topics we will cover in this class related to issues of diversity in children's literature.

Now I guess I should let you know a little bit about myself. I am a junior at Michigan State University and am majoring in Special Education-Learning Disabilities with a focus on Language Arts. I have always enjoyed working with children and have always known I wanted to be a teacher. My entire life has been spent living in the beautiful state of Michigan and although I love it, I can not wait to move out west and start my own life as a teacher.

Well, I guess that's all until next time!

Maggie