Diversity in Literature for Young People
Working Group Report
Many books focus on encounters between different lifestyles and realms of experience. But which of these works portray multiethnic societies in a nuanced, credible, and appreciative manner and are well written and well illustrated? Are there quality criteria that we can base our evaluations on? The participants tested different methods using the graphic novel The Arrival by Shaun Tan and shared ideas with experts on their classroom experiences with the book.
Nina Wilkens led the working group with contributions by
- André Barth, Ernst Schering School, Berlin
- Ulrich Hipler, B. Traven School, Berlin.
Nina Wilkens:
Methods for Working with the Graphic Novel The Arrival
The Arrival is a wordless graphic novel by Shaun Tan that explores coexistence in a multicultural society. The illustrations evoke various emotions, including familiarity, fear, and uncertainty. The inhabitants of the new country depicted in the novel come from different religious and cultural backgrounds. They have been separated from their families and driven from their homes by poverty, violence, and war.
The methods tested on the book revealed that definitions of “normal” and “different” depend on arbitrary time- and location-specific circumstances. In the safe space of our workshop, we were able to tap into the participants’ feelings of belonging and being different.
Based on reports from practical work in the classroom, we discussed whether the wordless novel provided a good foundation for educational work with heterogeneous groups of learners.
A Report from the Classroom by Ulrich Hipler
As part of a project week devoted to diversity, all of our ninth graders read the graphic novel The Arrival by Shaun Tan one morning of the week.
Students in our welcome classes for refugees also participated, despite their different German skills.
In a reading phase in the first half hour of class, the students familiarized themselves with the book. They were then given a comprehensive catalog of questions and tasks – first for chapters 1–3, and then, in the second learning module (after a break), for chapters 4–6.
Each young person was asked to solve four of the creative writing or drawing tasks (two tasks for chapters 1–3, two for chapters 4–6).
At the end of the creative phase, the class read each of the chapters illustration by illustration. Taking turns, each student contributed at least one sentence from the main character’s perspective (e.g., “I’m packing a picture of my family to have something to remember them by on my journey”). After each chapter was read, the students presented their results.
Our conclusion: the use of The Arrival in class was a valuable and enriching experience for the young people involved.
Contact
Dr. Diana Dressel
Head of Education Department
T +49 (0)30 259 93 515
d.dressel@jmberlin.de
Conference Documentation: Schools and Museums Conference Working Groups (19)
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Schools and Museums Conference Working Groups
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Raising Awareness of Diversity
Working Group Report, group with Dr. Czarina Wilpert (Eine Welt der Vielfalt e. V.) and Grit Gottschalk (Ernst-Schering-Schule, Berlin), moderator: Meral El (Jewish Museum Berlin)
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A Three-Perspective Approach
Bringing Together an Interculturally Aware School, a Diversity-Focused Museum, and Anti-Discrimination Education, panel with Zahide Doğaç, Ibrahim Gülnar and Leontine Meijer-van Mensch, moderator: Dr. Rosa Fava
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Language across the Curriculum
Report on a Working Group by Lilo Martens
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Learning to Talk about Racist Discrimination
Report on a Working Group by Toan Nguyen
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Exhibitions are Created by Museums, Right? On the Varied Significance of Exhibitions for Schools
Working Group Report, group with Petra Zwaka, Silvia Linnenbürger and Jutta Dücker, moderator: Dr. Diana Dressel
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Diversity through Participation: How Student Participation Can Help Schools Manage Diversity Effectively
Working Group Report, group with Karin Schreibeis and Sandra Christall, moderator: Andrea Blaneck
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Learning about History in a Multiethnic Society
Working Group Report, with inputs by Dr. Elke Gryglewski (Haus der Wannsee-Konferenz, Berlin), Selman Erkovan (educational consultant, Berlin) and Fabian Schnedler (Jewish Museum Berlin), moderator: Ulrike Wagner (University of Leipzig)
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Diversity in Literature for Young People
Working Group Report, impulses by André Barth (Ernst-Schering-Oberschule, Berlin), Ulrich Hipler (B.-Traven-Oberschule, Berlin) and Nina Wilkens (Jewish Museum Berlin)
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How Can Political Leaders and Society Support Intercultural Awareness at Schools?
Report on a Panel Discussion with Özcan Mutlu, Evelin Lubig-Fohsel, André Barth and Dr. Diana Dressel, moderator: Dr. Nkechi Madubuko
Video
13 Oct 2014 -
Fond of Difference and Critical of Discrimination: The Challenges Facing Educational Institutions in a Multiethnic Society
Report on a Talk by Professor Paul Mecheril (Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg), followed by a discussion led by Dr. Anja Durdel (German Children and Youth Foundation)
Video
14 Oct 2014 -
Opportunities, Challenges, and Approaches to Successful Collaboration between Schools and Museums
Report on the World Café, moderator: Jutta Weimar
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“We want to change things – but only with the help of others!”
Working Group Report, input by Andrea Blaneck, moderator: Marlous Behrendt (both: Deutsche Kinder- und Jugendstiftung, Berlin)
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Caught between Identification and External Perceptions: What Constitutes “School”?
Working Group Report, inputs by Heinrich Meise (Refik-Veseli-Sekundarschule, Berlin), Markus Schega and Dr. Michael Senn (Nürtingen Grundschule, Berlin), and Friedhelm Botsch (Hermann-Hesse-Schule, Berlin), moderator: Meral El (Jewish Museum Berlin)
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Educational Theater: Methods and Approaches for Educators in Schools and Museums
Working Group Report, group with Laura Söllner, Anja Scheffer, Heidemarie Link and Eva Albert , moderator: Dr. Diana Dressel
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Working with Biographies to Increase Cultural Awareness
Working Group Report, group with Franziska Bogdanov, Beate Klammt, Rainer Brieske and Michael Merbitz, moderator: Sarah Hiron
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Film as a Method in Anti-Discrimination Education
Working Group Report, group with Gunnar Meyer and Vera March-Berg, moderator: Fabian Schnedler
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Marginalized Biographies: Using the Life Stories of Jews, Roma, and Sinti in Educational Work
Working Group Report, group with Steffen Jost and Katharina Obens, moderator: Ulrike Wagner (University of Leipzig)
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Antisemitism in Social Media
Working Group Report, group with Gabriele Rohmann and Martin Gegenheimer (Archiv der Jugendkulturen e. V., Berlin), André Barth (Ernst-Schering-Oberschule, Berlin) and Martina Brandes-Parow (B.-Traven-Oberschule, Berlin), moderator: Jutta Weimar
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Schools and Museums in a Society Shaped by Migration
Reflections on the Conference, moderators: Dr. Anja Durdel (Deutsche Kinder- und Jugendstiftung) and Tanja Petersen (Jewish Museum Berlin)
