A WIDE RANGE OF STORIES IS KEY As school librarians/media specialists are building their collections, they should keep in mind that it’s important for students not just to feel seen, but to feel welcome . Librarians/media specialists should consider how various groups are represented in the works they choose, and they should choose books that tell a wide range of stories about each group. During a webinar hosted by the nonprofit Alliance for Education and Future Ready Schools, Sylvie Shaffer, PreK–8 librarian/media specialist for the Capitol Hill Day School in Washington, D.C., noted that not every experience of people from underrepresented groups involves overcoming adversity—and it’s important for children to see other people like themselves represented in normal, everyday ways as well. “Again and again, we see books where someone is overcoming a struggle, and that’s not the only story,” Shaffer observed. “I’ve had children of color say to me, ‘Oh you’re going to hand me that book about that kid who watches his friends get shot, and I just want a book about a kid who goes to the mall and hangs out.’” 6
Having a wide range of stories helps students avoid forming generalizations about various groups of people.
“The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete,” Adichie said. “They make one story become the only story.”
When Adichie was attending college in America, her roommate was surprised to learn that she spoke English, listened to Mariah Carey, and knew how to use a stove.
“She had felt sorry for me even before she saw me,” Adichie said. “Her default position toward me as an African was a kind of patronizing, well-meaning pity. My roommate had a single story of Africa: a story of catastrophe. In this single story, there was no possibility of Africans being similar to her in any way, no possibility of feelings more complex than pity, no possibility of a connection as human equals.” The consequence of the “single story,” she said, is that it emphasizes how we are different rather than how we are similar. On the other hand, having a rich array of stories about diverse groups of people underscores our common humanity.
Why Diversity Matters in School Library Collections—And How to Achieve It 3
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