Windows, Mirrors, and Sliding Glass Doors

I was young when I realized that not everyone saw themselves in books the way I did. My Chippewa friend Penny would laugh at me in fourth grade, telling me that story I read about Native Americans was not at all how things happened in her home. But there was not a story she could relate her experience to. Romona was certainly not like her; nor was Laura; nor Anne; nor any of the heroines in the books we read together.

As an adult, I wonder how lonely that must have been—to once or twice see your culture represented in books (usually incorrectly and incompletely); to never have a hero or heroine who speaks your language; to never see a family that mirrors your own. How can anyone who is not white, who is multilingual, who has one or three or four parents, who has same sex parents, who is not Christian…how can anyone of these people feel like they have a community?

That will not stand in this school.

So, we continue our journey as a school, fighting bias and racism in the broader world, in our school and within ourselves. This step? Our bookshelves.

We will begin work to diversify our libraries, using the work of Rudine Sims Bishop, Windows, Mirrors, and Sliding Glass Doors.

Within our libraries, there will be books that are mirrors, reflecting each child’s language, race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, family, and religion.

There will be books that are windows, allowing children to peak into the experiences of people unlike themselves.

There will be books that are sliding glass doors, allowing children to step into the story, imagining themselves as part of a different environment, culture, religion, race, ethnicity, gender, experience.

No child should have to feel as though they are alone in their experience. Every child should have the opportunity to know about and understand people different from themselves.

Imagine a child, who gets to share the beauty of their family and culture with a group, who embraces and celebrates them. Imagine a child, who gets exposure to a wide variety of families and races and cultures and seeks to understand them. Imagine a world full of adults who were once those children.

That is the hope and promise.

Clay-Platte Montessori