Prior to my Third Grade, I never enjoyed reading. I felt that my classmates sounded much better than I did when reading aloud. Even at home, I was too distracted to read. One of my earliest memories of reading a children’s book was in the Third Grade when I came across the Ramona Collection by Beverly Cleary. The Ramona Collection was a collection of books that I actually liked reading. I still remember the scene in Ramona Quimby, Age 8 in which she cracks a raw egg on her head because she thought it was a hard-boiled egg. Ramona was a relatable character to my eight-year-old self and someone I could easily see as a friend in real life. I was easily entertained by her humor and adventures. And today, I greatly attribute the Ramona Collection to my interest in books as a child.
To relate this a little to the class reading, Chapter 1 of Getting Beyond “I Like the Book” by Vivian Vasquez, I believe that the Ramona Collection played a crucial role in my elementary education because it peaked my interest in literature. Looking back however, Ramona’s reality represents a Western culture. I’m a little conflicted because I’m not confident Ramona Quimby, Age 8 is a book that could be taught in the classroom today. Today, our classrooms are more diverse and some students might not be able to see themselves in Ramona’s reality. But Ramona has experiences that I think all children can relate to, like the first day of school, feeling the need to please parents and teachers, sibling rivalry, and making new friends. So I question if the Ramona Collection is a book that could relate to culturally diverse students.
You raise some very important questions related to access and books. I think one of the ways to address the issue you raise is to make available to children a variety of books that focus on similar topics/issues or events. This way different children have different ways in to the text. We'll be talking about this more in class.
ReplyDeleteThanks