The Middle East book award

The Middle East Book Award
The following information is paraphrased from the official website for The Middle East Book Award:
http://socialscience.tyler.cc.tx.us/mkho/MEOC/middle_east_book_award.htm

The Purpose:
MEOC established the Middle East Book Award in 1999 to recognize books for children and young adults that contribute meaning-fully to an understanding of the Middle East.

Selection Criteria:
Books are judged on the authenticity of their portrayal of a Middle Eastern subject, as well as on their characterization, plot, and appeal for the intended audience. (Awards are announced in November for books published during the period from January of the previous year through September of the current year.)
Eligible books are books for children and young adults that contribute meaningfully to an understanding of the Middle East. Award categories include picture books (for ages 3-8), literature for children or young adults, and reference books for children or young adults.Sponsor:
Middle East Outreach Council (MEOC) is the sponsor of the award. Established in 1981, it is a national nonprofit organization working to increase public knowledge about the peoples places, and cultures of the Middle East, including the Arab world, Israel, Iran, Turkey, and Afghanistan. MEOC is a national network of educators dedicated to disseminating apolitical and nonpartisan information, resources and activities furthering understanding about the Middle East.

While researching The Middle East Book Award, there were only four websites that had helpful information. The information on each website was similar both in information and word usage. Information on the selection committee qualifications could not be found on any website. An interesting fact is that the book winners have no recognition on the cover of the book or on the inside of the book. All the recognition for the Award Winning Books is on the website. Some of the books that won The Middle East Book Award also won other awards; those awards were mention as "An Award-Winning Book" or "An Award-Winning Author" inside of the book jackets.


Other websites that were used are:
http://socialscience.tyler.cc.tx.us/mkho/MEOC/
http://www.outreachworld.org/article.asp?articleid=45
http://cmes.hmdc.harvard.edu/outreach/news/meoc_2006

Insider/Outsider Debate - Multicultural Literature

"Diversity without equity is not the goal of multiculturalism." -Mingshui Cai

As Cai mentions in his article Multiple Definitions of Multicultural Literature: Is the Debate Really Just "Ivory Tower" Bickering? this debate directly affects teachers in that we are an integral part of maintaining goals of providing a multicultural education. I personally am having a lot of conflicts when reading the articles for class because I feel as though there is a lot of tension between the authors and not much unity on the subject. This is not an easy debate nor does it have a correct answer. Overall I lean towards the notion that an insider can best represent his or her own culture, whether that is a racial, religious, sexual orientation, socioeconomic class, education, or any other element of multicultural literature. That does not exclude those who are educated in other cultures different from their own or those who have close relations with those various cultures. I would like to think of it as an issue of expertise – just as a doctor who specializes in optometry would not perform surgery on the foot or similarly a dermatologist would not be best to recommend joint pain medications, I would prefer the right man for the right job. As Bishop explains, an African American is most likely more fit for the job of writing African American literature due to the fact that “it is the way they have been acculturated.”

I question Shannon’s basis for many of his claims as well as how he can assume such things like in the second paragraph where he states:

More often, however, they [female, white educators in the rural and suburban school districts] see the debate as irrelevant to their teaching and lives because they work (or will work) in rural and suburban school districts which as isolated and safe from “the crisis” of multicultural metropolitan areas. (Shannon 1)

Since I nearly fit his description of such a (future) female educator, I am confused as to how someone could actually feel that this debate is unsafe as well as distant. This seems to me to be a very narrow view of the world, almost as if they (those white females he is depicting) desire this sheltered isolation. Shannon presents to his readers the idea that Rudine Sims Bishop “reduces multiculturalism to issues of race” when in fact he is taking her literally and out of context, which she defends in her article – she simply identifies best with the racial aspect of multiculturalism and therefore discusses that topic most often. She is not in anyway denying that there are other functions of multicultural literature.

It is also critical to have a working definition of culture. I feel this includes any and all aspects of your individual life. Each experience you have shapes you into who you are which can be seen in your values, racial orientation, sexual preference, and other such dimensions of your life. It is important as future teachers to be on guard and watchful of fallacies within literature in order to prevent misconceptions, stereotypes, and other such uneducated pieces of literature to enter our classrooms. Being a critical reader will be an important tool when deciding if an author correctly represents the culture as a whole.

Introduction - Myself 8.29.07

Hello, my name is Julie Schutter and I am currently a senior at MSU studying Special Education (LD) with Language Arts as my emphasis. I am originally from Jackson, Michigan where I spent the first 18 years of my life. I was not exposed to many lifestyles other than those similar to myself until I came to MSU. I have enjoyed MSU's diverse population which has been inspiration for me to continue to learn more about other cultures. Although I have traveled outside the US on many occasions, I have only begun to scratch the surface of this diverse world.
Taking this course will hopefully challenge me to move further out of my comfort zone and really get to know different ways of life. I want to come away from this class with correct ideas about various cultures and clear any misconceptions I may (subconsciously) have. As a teacher candidate I am constantly looking for ways to expand my knowledge of the world so that someday I am better equipped to instruct children and instill curiosity for exploration.