Portland Teacher Seeks Books That Connect with her Students: Season of Sharing 2016

By: Susan Green

October 27, 2016

Oregon Live

Link: http://www.oregonlive.com/sharing/index.ssf/2016/10/season_of_sharing_david_dougla.html#incart_river_index

Key points:  Chelsea Hallam, a teacher at David Douglas High School, is hoping to receive donations from the 2016 Seasons of Sharing holiday fundraising campaign so she can acquire new books and classroom supplies for her students.  Her main goal is to provide students with books that are engaging, multicultural, and international.  Many of the students have recently finished English language learner classes.  In addition to building reading skills, she believes that her students will gain more excitement for reading. 

Intended Audience:  Educators, students, administrators, and parents

Relevance:  This article stood out to me because, it brings up an important issue regarding the types of books teachers provide their students.  I know this issue exists at a larger scale within the macro system and school district decisions.  Also, I worked with incoming 9^th graders at David Douglas High School through a summer program designed to help prepare them for high school.  There is a diverse population of students who come there to learn.  This needs to be understood when teachers plan lessons and discuss content.  Showing students that there is more than one story to be told is valuable.  It can be empowering for students to be able to identify and connect with stories that speak meaning into their lives.  More often, stories that are read in schools are not representative of all students.  As a result, this can limit the perspectives shared, which can end up creating more stereotypes.