How as mentors do we guide our mentees to focus on inclusion and diversity in the work they do with students?
The most tangible guidance I can give to my mentee is around promoting and acquiring a collection of library resources that are inclusive and diverse. This seems pretty straight forward and it is in some respects, but navigating your rational to staff and students is sometimes challenging and other times (more often than not) completely rewarding.
A few years ago I took an Equity in Action class through the AASL and SLJ. As intended, I performed a Diversity Audit on my library. I was both surprised and not by my findings.
It was obvious to me, long before the audit ,that my collection of materials did not reflect the larger world. My library is filled with picture books, informational texts, fiction novels, art and audio recordings of mostly white people. - I committed to researching and purchasing books that represented indigenous cultures, race/ethnicity, modern day families, LGBQAI+, disability, and religion. And as most of us know, there are tons of resources to help make these selections and a ton of new and old publications that helped me to make these purchases and diversify my library.
However, there were a few bumps and surprises along the way. One major bump came in the weeding process - there were a lot of people attached to a lot of "classics" and I found myself smuggling (as I often do when weeding) books out of the library. When I had time to share what I'd learned and why it needed to be removed from the collection I did , other times - I did not.
Another surprise bump was the realization that although my collection reflected the community I serve in appearance (lots of white people), the contents of these books where not meeting the obvious and emerging needs of the community. So many of our students are dealing with addiction, incarceration, generational poverty and trauma. My collection did not reflect these needs and wanted to address that too.
Why is this so important in these uncertain times?
This article really speaks to me. A few summers ago when I was inspired to dive more deeply into inclusive, anti-racist work, I really had to think about what my role as an elementary school educator was around this work. I know my own beliefs but also feel strongly about what is right and just for all of my students. I know that I needed to take a stand and talk/teach openly about supporting BLM, BIPOC,
How can we do this in an in person or remote environment?
I like the "brick or click" challenges of delivering the same quality of education both in school and out of
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