Today I ran some PD with a small group of incredible teachers in my own school. We tackled the idea of creating inclusive classroom libraries and curriculum. We started with the what and why of inclusive classroom libraries and curriculum, but then we really dug in.

I modeled doing a critical think aloud of an elementary school "favorite," ENCOUNTER by Jane Yolen.

I shared this GUIDE FOR CRITICALLY READING TEXTS that I adapted from @Tolerance_org & @sojustbooks resources for selecting Anti-Bias books. It walks teachers through the process I use in order to determine if & how I will use a book in my own classroom: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ARJ6r3cPxUSq_XiU6XuCAS_elPV6SeTDEUNldio4r84/edit

I showed them I do things like an internet search to learn more about the identity of the author/illustrator, I search the book title PLUS the word "problematic" to see what comes up, I look for what the experts say about the book (these are all steps I list out in the guide).

Walking through the process together allowed us to see this "favorite" picture book as a problematic text that leaves the reader blaming the victim. The text, written by a white woman, is sold as an alternative to the Columbus-as-hero narrative, but it carries its own problems.

So then we contrasted this book (using the same process) to other texts written by #ownvoices authors, books like FRYBREAD and WE ARE GRATEFUL and BOWWOW POWWOW and we started to notice the difference in portrayal and representations and saw why these were better choices.

The learning felt powerful. There wasn't nearly enough time and there is so much work still to do, but it felt really good to be engaged in this learning within my own school building.

As we work towards more inclusive classroom libraries and curriculum, this feels like the direction we need to head, beyond just the giving of lists and the giving of book talks. I am hopeful that we will continue now to move forward.