Pin it to Teach it

Diversity was always what I wanted in a school, but I was not prepared a year ago for my ideal teaching setting.  I had no idea how to connect to students that were living completely different lives than I have ever lived.  The program gave me the opportunity to read different YA texts that students could see themselves in.  My focus beforehand when looking for a text was that it was the appropriate level and contained the subject matter that we were learning.  I found though that as a white female it was generally pretty common for me to be abel to pick up a book and relate to the character(s).  I wanted my students to feel that way as well when they read.  I search for texts now that they can find some commonalities between themselves and the book.  This idea improves both engagement and therefore memory of the text which increases comprehension.  Finding texts that relate or teach cultural ideas such as diversity and equity became a mission and will continue to be one as I teach.