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| Melanie Koss |
Imagine yourself as a young child reading picture books that never depict a character like you. Also imagine that the characters who do resemble you in some way are often depicted in a negative, stereotypical light.
You may implicitly learn that you do not matter or that you are inadequate.
This concerns Dr. Melanie Koss, a CISLL affiliate in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction who studies how diversity is represented in children’s and young adult literature.
Koss is interested in whether children’s literature mirrors students in our classrooms, and whether the ways that diversity is represented impacts children’s identity development.
There are several reasons which, taken together, validate Koss’s concern and her research interests.
One reason is that, according to Koss, “Literature presents a window into humanity.” Consequently, children (and adults) learn about humanity via reading.
This is a powerful idea.
Koss is fond of Rudine Sims Bishop’s metaphor that literature can act as “mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors”.
“A child can read a book in which they see a character reflected back – that is the mirror. The mirror validates the child’s importance,” according to Koss.
For example, if a young member of the LGBTQ community never encounters a character from their community, then that child may think their sexual orientation or gender identity is not important, wrong, or something to hide.
Literature can also serve as a window. A child can learn about the experiences of another group. The reader peers into another world and encounters what it is like to live through the eyes of someone else.
The sliding glass door is more than looking through the window of another group. The book draws you into another world.
The sliding glass door, according to Koss, also pertains to “the feeling that I am not done with this book because it has changed me. It is more than empathy. It can be a call for action.”
A second reason for Koss’s concern is that there has been a lack of diversity in children’s books.
“Typically, the characters have been White, and if there is diversity, the characters have been very stereotypical,” elaborates Koss. For example, African Americans are often depicted as belonging to gangs or a lower socioeconomic status or, in historical fiction, as enslaved people, and that does not accurately reflect all African Americans.
If anyone knows about the representation of diversity in children’s and young adult literature, it is Koss. She is busy with many projects, using and revising complex coding schemes, as well as multicultural analysis and critical theory, to analyze literature.
According to Koss, there is some good news in that diversity in literature is increasing.
“If you look at book lists and the American Library Association Youth Media Award winners, you see some increase in diversity, and that is exciting,” said Koss.
Increasing diversity in children’s literature is important because racial diversity is growing in the United States. This is a third reason for Koss’s concern.
“Over 50% of public school K-12 kids are nonwhite. And that is projected to increase by 2024,” mentions Koss. She also emphasizes that diversity in itself is diverse. It should not just be limited to race, religion, and gender.
If you were the only kid in your third-grade class who wore glasses, you know what that means.
As the United States becomes more diverse and hate speech becomes more accessible via the Internet, it is important that children learn appreciation for other cultures and peoples.
“Literature can help students see things differently in a safe way when teachers and students talk. A child can ask about a character’s actions or features in a way that does not seem threatening,” Koss explained.
Koss mentions that her coding scheme, along with critical theories, can be applied not just to literature, but also to TV and movies.
In sum, the next time you shop for children’s or young adult books for a loved one, you may want to peel back the covers to see whether and how diversity is presented.
About the author: Keith Millis is on CISLL’s executive board and is a professor of psychology at NIU.
You may implicitly learn that you do not matter or that you are inadequate.
This concerns Dr. Melanie Koss, a CISLL affiliate in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction who studies how diversity is represented in children’s and young adult literature.
Koss is interested in whether children’s literature mirrors students in our classrooms, and whether the ways that diversity is represented impacts children’s identity development.
There are several reasons which, taken together, validate Koss’s concern and her research interests.
One reason is that, according to Koss, “Literature presents a window into humanity.” Consequently, children (and adults) learn about humanity via reading.
This is a powerful idea.
Koss is fond of Rudine Sims Bishop’s metaphor that literature can act as “mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors”.
“A child can read a book in which they see a character reflected back – that is the mirror. The mirror validates the child’s importance,” according to Koss.
For example, if a young member of the LGBTQ community never encounters a character from their community, then that child may think their sexual orientation or gender identity is not important, wrong, or something to hide.
Literature can also serve as a window. A child can learn about the experiences of another group. The reader peers into another world and encounters what it is like to live through the eyes of someone else.
The sliding glass door is more than looking through the window of another group. The book draws you into another world.
The sliding glass door, according to Koss, also pertains to “the feeling that I am not done with this book because it has changed me. It is more than empathy. It can be a call for action.”
A second reason for Koss’s concern is that there has been a lack of diversity in children’s books.
“Typically, the characters have been White, and if there is diversity, the characters have been very stereotypical,” elaborates Koss. For example, African Americans are often depicted as belonging to gangs or a lower socioeconomic status or, in historical fiction, as enslaved people, and that does not accurately reflect all African Americans.
If anyone knows about the representation of diversity in children’s and young adult literature, it is Koss. She is busy with many projects, using and revising complex coding schemes, as well as multicultural analysis and critical theory, to analyze literature.
According to Koss, there is some good news in that diversity in literature is increasing.
“If you look at book lists and the American Library Association Youth Media Award winners, you see some increase in diversity, and that is exciting,” said Koss.
Increasing diversity in children’s literature is important because racial diversity is growing in the United States. This is a third reason for Koss’s concern.
“Over 50% of public school K-12 kids are nonwhite. And that is projected to increase by 2024,” mentions Koss. She also emphasizes that diversity in itself is diverse. It should not just be limited to race, religion, and gender.
If you were the only kid in your third-grade class who wore glasses, you know what that means.
As the United States becomes more diverse and hate speech becomes more accessible via the Internet, it is important that children learn appreciation for other cultures and peoples.
“Literature can help students see things differently in a safe way when teachers and students talk. A child can ask about a character’s actions or features in a way that does not seem threatening,” Koss explained.
Koss mentions that her coding scheme, along with critical theories, can be applied not just to literature, but also to TV and movies.
In sum, the next time you shop for children’s or young adult books for a loved one, you may want to peel back the covers to see whether and how diversity is presented.
About the author: Keith Millis is on CISLL’s executive board and is a professor of psychology at NIU.
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