Reflection

When choosing a topic, I chose African American literature, because that week had been the most interesting to me. Bronx Masquerade was my favorite book that we read, so I thought that I would enjoy other works as well. I also have had, and most likely will have, many students that are African American in my classroom. I then thought that this would allow me to become aware of things that may be useful for me to integrate into my future teaching.

When selecting books I went out and bought about six books. Of the six, I chose the four that looked like they would have the most positive representations in them. It seemed like every book I found dealt with highly negative themes.

Of the books I picked out I still found very negative portrayals, that I would not necessarily want my students to relate to. I also found very good portrayals. I feel that I would definitely put The Skin I'm In, and The Beast in my future library and use them in my classroom. Both of these characters had struggles, but they both came out on top in the long run. I feel that they would be great role models for students to look to when they see themselves in the literature. As for the other two books, I feel that I would include them but would not specifically use them for lessons. I feel that they include some issues that may not send the best message to every student about peer pressure, and the implications of teenage sex.

After looking at African American literature closer, I have realized that all of my books involve a struggle. These struggles are both internal and external, but to me they seem larger than life. The other connection I found in all of my books is that all of the main characters are from an urban area.