I thought it was really sad and unfortunate that there are
still textbooks today that stereotype based on the pictures they put in of
different types of people. The one quote in Mendes article where Fatima said “…Here
they don’t put a rich Black man for example who have a job and have a happy
family…” (Mendes, 64). It is so unfortunate that some students still have to
look at books that portray some people in negative ways. We are trying to teach
our students about equality and that you should not stereotype, but how are we
supposed to teach them these concepts when the textbooks they are using does
just that? How are we as teachers supposed to tell our students that a
published textbook is wrong in the way they portrayed people or an image in
their book? Situations like this in the classroom can become sticky and
difficult to discuss.
Thankfully I
have not experience this with my students in my clinical yet because they are
only in kindergarten, but being in an ESL classroom, I am concerned that in
their future they will come across issues/situations like this one. I think
this is one issue that teachers should be prepared to discuss with their
students. It is difficult to discuss these types of issues with students
especially when they begin to hear stereotypes, but these are some of the best
times to start a discussion with your class about why we should not stereotype;
especially with ESL students.
As discussed
in Giaschi’s article, it is difficult or near impossible for an ESL student to
challenge the materials that are given to them for their English classes. They are
the “inferior” or underneath the teacher in the classroom, so they are not to
question the texts they are given. However, many of them may feel annoyed or
hurt by what some of the texts say whether it has to do with socioeconomic
status, gender roles, images, stereotypes, etc. This can be another hard
situation that may come up in your classroom, but as a teacher you should be
prepared ahead of time for something like this. Also, students should not feel
inferior towards their teachers, especially when something like this is
concerning to them. You want your students to speak up and express how they
feel about things, especially when it is something they may feel uncomfortable
about such as, inappropriate texts or images in their textbooks.
I think
both of these issues are really important to discuss in your classroom
especially when they come up while reading a textbook or a student has a
question about it. These are not questions or situations that you should steer
away from as a teacher because they could start some great discussions and
conversations with your students. You should never shy your students away from
participating or bringing up important discussions they believe are necessary
to talk about.
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