influential texts
Lareau, A. (2011). Unequal childhoods. Oakland: University of California Press.
This study came to my attention in my second year at college, and really bolstered my interest in teaching. Through long-term observation and interviews, Lareau and her team categorized parenting styles. These categories revealed patterns in regards to success in school, socio-emotional well-being, and college graduation, for example. The study found that certain parenting styles worked with the school system more successfully. Unfortunately, parenting styles most commonly used by lower and working class families are incompatible with the school day and system, and those children suffer for it. Based in this book are my beliefs about elementary education. I have used what I learned from Unequal Childhoods to inform my efforts to teach social justice concepts in early childhood education. |
Lewis, J. (2013). March: Book one. Marietta: Top Shelf Productions.
John Lewis’s March series is a powerful and effective way to engage middle school students in civil rights activism. Book One is the first of three graphic novels telling the story of John Lewis’s involvement in the voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery. The novels take place as Barack Obama is being inaugurated for the first time, and the story of Bloody Sunday and the march to Montgomery is told in flashback style. I use this book frequently to open conversations with late elementary and middle school students. The graphic novel style makes it entertaining for younger students, as well as accessible for students who struggle with reading. Through it, we are able to tackle larger concepts such as representation, power, white supremacy, and racism. |
McCoy, A. (2006) A question of torture: CIA interrogation, from the cold war to the war on
terror. New York: Holt Paperbacks. In this terrifying book, Alfred McCoy chronicles torture techniques used by the United States government. McCoy begins with the CIA’s founding and research into mind control during the Cold War. Each chapter reveals a new development in torture and state terror, from state apathy around lynchings to Abu Ghraib. Alfred McCoy is a renowned historian, who specializes in researching and understanding imperialism and its abuses. |
Prasso, S. (2005). The asian mystique: Dragon ladies, geisha girls & our fantasies of the exotic orient. New York: Public Affairs.
When I began my research into commonly held stereotypes about Asian women and the way they create a culture willing to facilitate Asian fetishism and sex slavery, this was my best source. The Asian Mystique is written by a White woman, who forgets her identity and audience. As an Asian person who has been fetishized, I found it disheartening that the book’s subtitle is “Dragon Ladies, Geisha Girls & Our Fantasies of the Exotic Orient” (emphasis added). Nevertheless, The Asian Mystique offers insight into the idea that stereotypes about Asian women have actually facilitated the Asian sex slave trade, and change the way Asian women experience sexuality. The book offers a brief history of Asians in the United States, and explains how this history helped shape, and was shaped by, stereotypes. The second portion of the book is dedicated to interviews with actual geishas, offering insight into the lived experiences of Asian sex workers. |
Takaki, R. (1989). Strangers from a different shore: A history of Asian Americans. New York:
Penguin Books. Ronald Takaki was a revered scholar who wrote about and worked for Asian American rights. Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans uses the personal stories of hundreds of Asian Americans to illustrate the multifaceted experiences of Asian Americans. Takaki discusses the many ways that immigration programs and wars affect Asians living in the US. This book is especially important to me because it recognizes the specific issues and needs of individual groups, rather than assuming that “Asian” is a monolith. By starting with large themes and addressing how they affect specific groups of Asians, Takaki is able to write an in-depth and thorough history of Asian Americans. |
what i'm reading now
White Love and Other Events in Filipino History by Vicente L. Rafael
The title essay in this collection explores the US-enforced census as a means of control over the Filipino people. The book as a whole is an in depth look into a large array of tools utilized by the invading Americans to control and shape Philippine life. I am especially interested in Rafael's analysis the many ways American colonialism influences even Filipino identity itself. |
Children's corner
The American Wei
When Wei Fong loses his first tooth at his naturalization ceremony, it adds a complication to an exciting day. Use this book to get a glimpse into the immigration system, then further the discussion by talking about the current system's faults and possible reasons that people would come here without going through the existing system. |
Black is Brown is Tan
This book celebrates interracial families and people. It is a positive representation of the racial diversity that can exist within families or individuals. This book can facilitate discussion about your own interracial family or open up the conversation about families who look differently from your own. |
Cleversticks
Ling Sun has trouble fitting in at school until his classmates see him using his chopsticks. They are delighted, and Ling realizes that his difference is special, not bad. This book can help kids make sense of difference by helping them celebrate it. For older children, it can open the conversation about color blindness and explain why we should celebrate differences rather than ignoring them. |