More on "Insider vs. Outsider"

After doing research on the Middle East Book Award and reading the articles for this upcoming week's class I feel like there is no escaping the "insider/ outsider" debate. It really seems to come up everywhere. Part of the reason I really enjoy this class is that we have read some really thought provoking articles about topics that I had never really considered before. I am especially engaged in the readings that pit one side against another because it forces me to check my own thoughts and opinions on the matter. When it came to the readings this week I realized that I had never even thought twice about the numerous different awards available for authors and illustrators to win, let alone how I felt about the criterion for winning such awards.

As I reflect on the articles I can see the benefits of each side of the argument, but I lean more towards Aronson's perspective that the various different awards should be kept, but honored based on content, rather than race. I mean, I don't think that there is a "right" answer when it comes to this debate, it's point of contention that people will battle over in the future, all I know is that this position in the argument makes more sense to me right now. I suppose I want to be the teacher that incorporates ALL the literature into my classroom- whether it be books written by insiders or outsiders, or books that feature characters not represented in my classroom.

At the end of the day, a book that has an award seal on the cover doesn't automatically make it a quality book anyway.