SED 407 -- D & Z Chapter 4: Toward a Balanced Diet of Reading

Chapter 4 of Daniels and Zemelman emphasizes the importance of using content materials outside of the textbook. Although they acknowledge that teachers are already pressed for time to cover the material in their classes, they point out that the national curriculum standards actually recommend for teachers to limit the number of topics covered in class in order to delve deeper into fewer topics. Daniels and Zemelman suggest that materials from other genres, such as creative non-fiction, journalism, primary sources, biographies, etc., can provide elements of engagement that are not present in textbooks, and can make some of the same information more readable and memorable.

Daniels & Zemelman also recommend that some of the reading material should “hold a mirror” up to students, reflecting their “story, culture, and experience.” They criticize the reading recommendations of American education experts William Bennett and Diane Ravitch, whose reading lists are dominated by long-dead, white, British, upper-class men. I think their criticism is valid, and it made me think of a reading from another class: "Culture, Imperialism, and Goals 2000" by Harold Berlak (1995). The Bennett and Ravitch reading lists reminded me of Berlak’s description of “cultural imperialism” in American education policy, where the governing elite try to maintain dominance over formerly colonized peoples and their offspring (i.e. minorities) by controlling what and how they are taught. Declaring that the only literature worth reading is by dead, white, upper-class, British men discounts the culture and experiences of the majority of the population.

One important thing that I think Daniels and Zemelman fail to emphasize in this chapter is the importance of exposing students to materials with a non-American perspective, particularly newspapers and other journalism sources. From my personal experience I would say that the rest of the world receives plenty of American news, but there is more balanced coverage of other news from around the world outside of the US. The media here is so vast and competitive that it makes events happening in the rest of the world seem especially remote. I’ve also noticed that other English language newspapers around the world often have a different perspective than American media on events that occur within the United States. Even if that perspective seems “wrong,” it’s important to know that the outside world has that perception. It would also be a great opportunity for debate and discussion.

Overall I think that the recommendations for a balanced diet of reading seem reasonable, but a little intimidating. The textbook has always seemed like a safe guide through a content area, particularly in the sciences and math, whereas supplemental readings require good judgment and ingenuity to find ones that are appropriate and effective. I appreciated the list of books provided at the end of the chapter, and agreed with the choice of the ones I’ve already read. Unfortunately, none of the ones that I have read are in my content area! I suppose I should look at this as an opportunity to become more well-read in general, and particularly in my content area.