It shows how teachers can approach realism in books using social criticism. Teachers have to watch out for stereotypes and biases in books to help students from being misled into false beliefs of different cultures. I took three books, Subway Sparrow , Saturday Sancocho , and My Steps , and went through them one by one searching for which one is more realistic. I chose to use this item because it reflects how I perceive the importance of depicting true images of different cultures and beliefs. I strongly believe in having respect for other people's beliefs when they are different from our own.
Realism using social criticism is a good way of diminishing stereotypes in the classroom.
This paper allowed me to fulfill Guiding Principle 2, Understanding Curriculum in Context. Writing this paper helped me understand why the curriculum has to be adapted to diverse learners. It also gave me my first taste of thinking critically about context within the curriculum. To write this paper I had to analyze the three books and pick out their pluses and minuses on how they depicted a culture. It made me aware of the many hidden messages that can be found in any lesson without me knowing it.