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It's kinda weird how biases work
Aug. 3rd, 2014 12:12 pmI was reading a post elsewhere, and somebody was putting together a booklist for a 9/10th grade English class that is focusing on fantasy and sci-fi. She had a five or six books with male protagonists, and wanted one more with a female protagonist to round things out.
Which already is a bit strange to me, because I would not consider 1 out of 6 to be a good representation at all!
But then I glance at the booklist as is, and the recommended books by other posters, and see that it's all white. And maybe it shouldn't surprise me, but it did, because I spend so much time actively searching for books with non-white protagonists, and I socialize online with others who do the same. Sometimes it's hard to remember that other people don't have the same exact filters I do, and vice versa.
Anyway, over on reddit some (newbie?) middle school teacher wants to stack their classroom library. As is the norm for this sort of thing, people seem to be more interested in listing the books they read as kids than listing the books they've seen kids reading today. Nothing wrong with that, many of those are great books, but it does make the library slightly skewed. So, because I'm nice like that, I thought I'd ask anybody here who happens to know what kids today are reading (librarians, teachers, parents) to crosspost some suggestions. I mean, the OP's specific complaint was that the books they inherited were 40 years old! Some more recent books could really fill in a few gaps.
If you don't have a reddit account and don't want one, but do want to name a few books (I know that making book lists is certainly a favorite pastime of mine), shove 'em in the comments.
********************************************************
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Which already is a bit strange to me, because I would not consider 1 out of 6 to be a good representation at all!
But then I glance at the booklist as is, and the recommended books by other posters, and see that it's all white. And maybe it shouldn't surprise me, but it did, because I spend so much time actively searching for books with non-white protagonists, and I socialize online with others who do the same. Sometimes it's hard to remember that other people don't have the same exact filters I do, and vice versa.
Anyway, over on reddit some (newbie?) middle school teacher wants to stack their classroom library. As is the norm for this sort of thing, people seem to be more interested in listing the books they read as kids than listing the books they've seen kids reading today. Nothing wrong with that, many of those are great books, but it does make the library slightly skewed. So, because I'm nice like that, I thought I'd ask anybody here who happens to know what kids today are reading (librarians, teachers, parents) to crosspost some suggestions. I mean, the OP's specific complaint was that the books they inherited were 40 years old! Some more recent books could really fill in a few gaps.
If you don't have a reddit account and don't want one, but do want to name a few books (I know that making book lists is certainly a favorite pastime of mine), shove 'em in the comments.
An Australian take on gendered marketing. Spoiler alert: It costs you more at the store.
In rural villages, little protection for Alaska Natives
In the tiny Tlingit community of Kake, a brutal murder highlights how help often comes slowly and public safety is in short supply
Scientists have shown that human skulls changed in ways that indicate a lowering of testosterone levels at around the same time that culture was blossoming. Heavy brows were out, rounder heads were in. Technological innovation, making art and rapid cultural exchange probably came at the same time that we developed a more cooperative temperament by dialing back aggression with lower testosterone levels
White Lies Make Social Networks Stronger. Selfish Lies Tear Them Apart.
The red-nosed pros at the 2014 World Clown Association annual convention know you think they’re creepy. How does a maligned and misunderstood centuries-old art form survive bad PR and cultural decline?
Little Girls Are Better At Designing Superheroes Than You
IT HAS A CUTE FEATHERED DINOSAUR IN IT!
The most insane deaths seen by an NYC medical examiner
As the United States and Europe step up economic sanctions against Russia, Moscow’s food-safety epidemiologists have been working overtime.
In the past few weeks, Russian agricultural and consumer watchdog agencies have announced the discovery of harmful levels of antibiotics in U.S. poultry, contaminants in Ukrainian dairy, pests in European produce and bacteria in U.S. fast food.
Fighting raged Sunday on the western outskirts of Donetsk as the advancing Ukrainian army tried to seize control of the rebel stronghold. In danger of being encircled, the separatists renewed their calls for Russia to send troops to their aid.
Joniah Baker was just 11 months old when his parents rushed him to the ER. It fell to Sergeant Brenda Nichols and her team to determine what had happened. There are graphic descriptions of child abuse in this article.
Islamic State fighters seized control of Iraq's biggest dam, an oilfield and three more towns on Sunday after inflicting their first major defeat on Kurdish forces since sweeping through the region in June.
Stop blaming black parents for underachieving kids
Exodus: Why Europe's Jews Are Fleeing Once Again
Gaza crisis: Deadly strike 'at UN school in Rafah'
At least 175 people were killed and 1,400 injured after a strong earthquake hit southwest China's mountainous Yunnan province on Sunday, bringing homes crashing to the ground and sparking a massive relief operation.
How guys tried to pick up girls in the 18th century
Today one of the biggest threats to our planet comes from the production of food. If we don’t get the where and how of food production right over the next 40 years, we're toast
So Long, Seafood! Ocean Acidification Projected to Slam Alaskan Fisheries
Syrian Conflict Isn't Just A Civil War, But 'A War On Childhood'
Transparent Mice Are Not Science Fiction
The hard lives — and high suicide rate — of Native American children on reservations
Study: People Lie to Women in Negotiations. A Lot.
Naked Brooklyn woman dragged from apartment, left topless in hallway for minutes by NYPD officers who say she beat 12-year-old daughter
Why Did Police Arrest This Man In Front of His Kids at Eric Garner's Funeral?
Silicon: After the chip, another revolution?
Mother's Fears Are Passed to Children Through Smell, Study Suggests
Delivery drone carrying marijuana, cellphones and tobacco crashed outside a S.C. prison
CNN Anchor Lashes Out At Fox: 'You Willfully Ignorant F**ksticks’
Two Theories of Poverty
If We Release a Small Fraction of Arctic Carbon, 'We're Fucked': Climatologist
Lebanon suffers heavy losses in clashes with jihadists near Syria
The UN has warned that up to 200,000 people have been forced to flee their homes after militants took over more towns in northern Iraq.
