Final Post: Course Overview

I've learned a lot over the course of this semester, but now more than ever I understand just how difficult it is to select quality pieces of children's and adolescent multicultural literature. On one hand I feel much more prepared and informed about multicultural literature, but on the other hand I still feel completely overwhelmed. The more we talked about multicultural topics, the more complicated things got! Although I don't feel comfortable completely trusting my own judgment, I now have a wealth of resources to confer with. I think this is one of the most important things I have learned; you don't have to know it all, but you have to know where to look. Multicultural literature will never be flawless, but its how you approach the questionable content that is important. Sometimes discussing the "bad things" will lead you to better understand of the "good things."
I think the most important thing to keep in mind while working with multicultural literature is that the topics are not issues, they are identities. This is something David Levithan mentioned in his article included in our course reading. In his article Levithan was referencing LGBTQ literature, but I think this idea applies to all multicultural literature. Someone's cultural identity is not an issue, it is a fact about their identity and should be treated accordingly with respect.
Overall, this course challenged me to think more critically about literature than I have ever done before. I now know what to question and what to challenge in order to better understand and truly appreciate multicultural literature. Building an authentic multicultural library is not easy, but the best things never are.