tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post8616106513928539552..comments2024-03-27T14:08:51.191-05:00Comments on American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL): Teaching critical thinking in Arizona: NOT ALLOWEDDebbie Reesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14972409006633565859noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-37923693772376123562012-01-16T08:35:24.099-06:002012-01-16T08:35:24.099-06:00I am so impressed with the students in the 1st vid...I am so impressed with the students in the 1st video. Tucson should be proud of these leaders.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-80163674744996350112012-01-15T13:17:24.711-06:002012-01-15T13:17:24.711-06:00Most-recent Anonymous, the trouble is that the kin...Most-recent Anonymous, the trouble is that the kind of thinking you're describing is exactly what the lawmakers in Arizona don't want. To create such a website is just preaching to the choir.Wendynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-85388798272036013512012-01-15T11:57:32.479-06:002012-01-15T11:57:32.479-06:00I grow increasingly angry as I see the growing lis...I grow increasingly angry as I see the growing list of banned books. I think of how many of those books I was lucky enough to read in high school and that inspired my own career choice and shaped many of my own ideologies. Many others I read in college, and now teach in my own university courses. And yet, the majority I am using in my dissertation because they reflect the experiences and history of my people and other peoples. <br /><br />I wonder how we could organize a venue (online) where we could give testimony on how these books have inspired us to critically think or otherwise empowered us.<br /><br />Also, I wish that someone could get a hold of the entire list that the auditors compiled and post it online.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-27841178419657873702012-01-15T10:53:59.246-06:002012-01-15T10:53:59.246-06:00Not that I wish to distract from the real issue at...Not that I wish to distract from the real issue at hand. I was obviously naive in thinking that no one who read this post could possibly disagree with what Debbie has to say about the issues in Arizona, but Anonymous proves me wrong, and it is scary.Wendynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-82570907537380809662012-01-15T10:51:54.136-06:002012-01-15T10:51:54.136-06:00Brigid, I commented that there are problematic dep...Brigid, I commented that there are problematic depictions of American Indians in the Little House books. I am not unaware of or in denial about this. There is zero evidence, either within the text or in supporting documentation, that these stereotypes were intended to foster resentment of American Indians (nor do I see that they do, regardless of the author's intention). In fact, there is one incidence of Wilder reacting with embarrassment when it was pointed out that particular passage was offensive. I am not a Wilder apologist. I can and do engage in conversation about the ways in which the books depict racist attitudes. But when I see inaccuracy in criticism, I point it out. Being inaccurate in no way helps the cause of raising awareness about racism in these books or others. It just makes those who would deny all criticism stop listening.<br /><br />Meaningful discussion about depictions of American Indians in this series as "wild", and also as "noble savages", certainly have value.<br /><br />Critical thinking goes both ways. And all issues surrounding American Indian stereotypes do not lead back to Laura Ingalls Wilder.Wendynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-9931562785130691822012-01-15T10:41:21.042-06:002012-01-15T10:41:21.042-06:00I feel myself channeling the lovely Michelle Obama...I feel myself channeling the lovely Michelle Obama right now. Situations like this make me WISH I could be proud of my country. What were they thinking? Why are (some) white people so afraid of being overtaken by other races? Because that's what this is about. Anyone who says this isn't about racism is full of baloney. <br /><br />I agree; the ACLU needs to be all over this. How is this program not age appropriate? At what age must a child be before the blinders are removed from her eyes and she realizes that all the LIES she's been told about this country's "great past" are just that: LIES. Someone explain to me why it's okay to lie to children about history (in the way that we were taught that the Civil War was all about "states' rights"!) but yet it's not okay to tell them the honest to god truth.Arty B. Whelanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06409827510039224417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-64956519552562053902012-01-15T10:29:03.064-06:002012-01-15T10:29:03.064-06:00"Really? If that were true, there would be no..."Really? If that were true, there would be no controversy." Because we know for certain no American bureaucracy would ever lie about anything, and threats to the power structure and status quo have always been allowed, encouraged even. Race resentment is a one way street on which only long-suffering white people may drive.Lauranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-68664747488385990242012-01-15T10:00:54.653-06:002012-01-15T10:00:54.653-06:00The mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work ...The mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it's not open.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-8344326416751162802012-01-15T09:33:13.059-06:002012-01-15T09:33:13.059-06:00This is unreal. Where is the ACLU? There has to be...This is unreal. Where is the ACLU? There has to be a challenge to this absurdity. Reminds me of Miami's move to remove the two children's books about Cuba!lindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04586995031469389391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-68396509410703475402012-01-15T08:34:09.386-06:002012-01-15T08:34:09.386-06:00Ahh, resentment... A perspective not always based ...Ahh, resentment... A perspective not always based on facts. Such an inconvenient truth swarms the following perspective: "The Mexican American Studies program was built on critical thinking. Students learned how to think critically, to question texts, to look at moments in history and portrayals of Latino Americans and American Indians from more than one perspective." Really? If that were true, there would be no controversy. Ahh, critical thinking... Race resentment cannot be cured with race resentment.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-28303873299105977902012-01-15T08:32:36.039-06:002012-01-15T08:32:36.039-06:00Wendy, I loved the Little House books too, but the...Wendy, I loved the Little House books too, but the portrayal of Native Americans, while perhaps more sympathetic than usual for their day, still reinforced negative stereotypes - stereotypes designed to foster resentment of native peoples. That doesn't mean I beleive they should be removed from the shelves, just that if they are used in the classroom there should be some critical thinking taught along with them.Brigidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11055537947084687437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-67858669441894619252012-01-15T08:17:05.405-06:002012-01-15T08:17:05.405-06:00The point of the end of Little House on the Prairi...The point of the end of <i>Little House on the Prairie</i> is that Pa understands he was wrong to settle in "Indian Territory" (and that the government was wrong to tell him he could, which is at least the story as Wilder tells it). There's no question that the depiction of American Indians in the series is problematic, but I do not think it could be said to teach children to <i>resent a race or class of people</i>. Does it provide some harmful images and encourage misconceptions? Yes. But <i>resentment</i> is not one of them.Wendynoreply@blogger.com