Bringing Latino Images and Voices to the Mainstream Classroom
Librarians, teachers, and students play an important role in selecting good quality publications for their schools' book collections. Not knowing the possibilities is one obstacle to making wise choices about texts. This annotated bibliography provides examples of excellent texts that highlight Latino images and voices through personal stories, facts, and poetry This past December, The New York Times published an article called: For Young Latino Readers, an Image is Missing (Rich, 20 12, para. 2). Mario, one ofthe students featured in the article, tells the reporter than in many of the books that he has access to in his classroom, he sees "a lot of people that don't have a lot of· color." For some reason, books from Latino authors and/or authors showcasing Latino characters are not reaching our children. Some of these authors include Alma Flor Ada, Francisco X. Alarcon, Julia Alvarez, Nicholasa Mohr, Lynn Joseph, Jane Medina, Pat Mora, and even Sandra Cisneros (the well-known author of The House on Mango Street). This New York Times article reaffirms Nilsson's (2005) fmdings that, even though there has been some progress made to include more Latino images and voices in children and adolescent literature, there is still work to be done. Nilsson suggests that librarians, teachers, and even students play an important role in selecting good quality publications for their schools' book collections. Selecting these books also affirms the "potential to benefit everyone; mainstream and minority children alike may learn to function more effectively in an increasingly pluralistic society" (Nilsson, 2005, p. 535). Therefore, how can teachers include quality books featuring Latino children's images and voices in their lessons to not only motivate Latino students to read, but also to encourage them to write about their experiences? Moreover, how can Latino children share these experiences as poems and/or narratives that could be written and read aloud with their peers from non-Latino backgrounds? Here are some examples of recommended books and writing ideas to include Latino images and voices in the mainstream classroom: Ada, A. F., & Campoy, F. I. (2010). Rimas de animals. Animal nursery rhymes. Ill. by Vivi Escriva. New York: HarperCollins. Spanish folklore in-rhyming text featuring animals is represented here in Spanish and English. Students could write other poems about animals, or share their own favorite nursery rhymes from when they were young, focusing on the importance of oral language in language development. Alarcon, F. X. (2005). Poems to dream together/Poemas para sonar juntos. Ill. by Paula Barragan. New York: Lee and Low. Based on the author's personal experiences this beautiful illustrated poetry book takes you through different times, places, funny and serious moments. Teachers could pose questions to students around their own dreams and encourage them to record them so they won't be forgotten. For instance, start with: Do you remember your last
How Does Hispanic Portrayal in Children's Books Measure Up After 40 Years? The Answer Is “It Depends.”
This research synthesis examines 21 content-analysis studies conducted between 1966 and 2003 that focused on Hispanic portrayal in children's books. Specifically, it looks at how the literature has evolved in terms of amount of representation, characters' roles, and stereotyping. Findings vary by book type, Hispanic subgroup, and comparative reference points, but overall they suggest there are currently more books with Hispanic characters and themes. However, relative to Hispanic presence in the United States today versus 40 years ago, proportionate portrayal in children's literature has lost ground. Noted improvements include less stereotyping, particularly for Mexican American and male characters. More progress is needed in the portrayal of Hispanics with disabilities and other exceptionalities and of those at varied socioeconomic levels, in upper-class neighborhoods, and in leadership roles in homes and professions. New instructional uses are noted for the books, which increasingly contain special features (e.g., glossaries, author notes) and additional linguistic components (e.g., interlingual text, dual-language text). Websites and other resources are recommended for locating criteria useful in judging book quality, specific names of award-winning book titles, and a framework for Latino literature study. The author concludes that while improvement in Hispanic portrayal is evident, more progress is needed.
Educational innovation in Musical Language Course: responses and the overcoming of limitations
This article presents an innovative methodological proposal for the development of auditory education in the course of the Language of Music. Based on this proposal, we analyze an educational community’s response to the innovations implemented, and we identify the limitations recognized throughout the learning and teaching process, as well as the strategies developed to overcome them. To this end, we applied a qualitative methodology with the classroom-based research method. The compilation of data was carried out through participant observation, captured in the journals of the professor and researcher, interviews and analysis of documents. The research results demonstrate that patience, responsibility and perseverance in their work on behalf of the professors have been key to overcoming the limitations identified and in promoting that students enjoy and learn their class contents in meaningful ways. Recibido 05/02/2018 Aceptado: 09/03/2018