Educators whine about lack of Muslim characters in kids’ literature
Who needs books about Muslims when they have been in the news daily since they attacked America on 9/11? via Missing character in kids’ literature: Muslims | StarTribune.com.
As the Muslim student population grows in Minnesota, some educators detect a glaring gap: a dearth of books the students can relate to and from which others can learn.
Why do educators feel the need to teach others about Islam? Creep. Creep.
“There wasn’t a whole lot in our library that provided a sense of ‘this is what’s normal,’” said Julie Scullen, a reading intervention specialist at Northdale Middle School in Coon Rapids, where she took stock of books about Muslims growing up in America.
When colleague Beth Braun, a Northdale media specialist, launched a full-blown national search, she didn’t have much luck, either.
“The books are more about what it’s like to live in another country and be a Muslim, or what it’s like to be from a war-torn nation, not what it’s like to be a teenager in America and be a Muslim,” Braun said. “Those books are few and far between.”
Librarians in some other school districts tell a similar tale.
“I have really not come across anything,” said Linda Goering, library media specialist at Robbinsdale Middle School.
Many educators say it’s critical for students to have books in which they can see themselves.
“It is extremely important for young people to read stories reflecting their ethnicity and/or religion in order to feel like worthwhile human beings,” said Freda Shamma, director of curriculum development for the Foundation for the Advancement and Development of Education and Learning, based in Cincinnati.
Anyone have background on Shamma or her group?
“The absence of such stories leads to poor grades in school, feelings of loneliness and alienation, and low self-esteem,” said Shamma, who is working on an anthology of Muslim literature directed at middle-school-age students.
Leah Larson, media specialist at Richfield Middle School, sees an appetite for such books. She pointed to a novel in her media center, “Does My Head Look Big in This?”, about an 11th-grade Muslim girl growing up in Australia who decides to wear the hijab, the traditional Muslim head covering, full time.
“I just can’t keep it on the shelf,” Larson said of the book.
“We have tons of books about Islam. However, the fiction is harder to find. … If there are any smart American authors, they’ll start writing books like this.”
If there are any smart American journalists, please investigate and write about the immigration fraud that has brought tens of thousands of Somali Muslims to America, and subversive groups like CAIR and MAS.
Speaking of CAIR, what shill for Islam wouldn’t include a quote from the Hamas-linked CAIR? Strib has one, and while it’s not quite racist, if something similar were said about an Arab or Muslim there is no doubt CAIR would cry racism:
Saroya, who grew up Muslim in southern Iowa and graduated from high school in 2000, said she found little to read that she could identify with.
“It was the blue-eyed, blond-haired girl who was into cheerleading,” she said. “There really wasn’t much I could relate to in terms of my Muslim identity.”
Many Muslims don’t seem to want to assimilate let alone read about Americans – especially not blue-eyed blondes or cheerleaders. They want books about Muslims, not Americans. They want sharia law, not U.S. law. They want Muslim holidays not American holidays – or any other religions. They don’t want to assist the FBI. They don’t want to denounce Hamas or Hizbollah. Don’t expect to find those facts in any book.
No comments:
Post a Comment