Stories are powerful. They shape the way we think about the world, ourselves and each other. The stories we choose to present to students at school, as teachers and librarians, profoundly affect how students perceive the world and their place in it. We want to help you choose culturally diverse resources that reflect students’ diverse lives, promote inclusion, challenge stereotypes, confront racism and ultimately strengthen our multicultural society.
Part 2 – Choosing culturally diverse literature
Resource auditing and recommendation session with LMERC and SLAV librarians
Tuesday 15 September, 4:00 – 5:00 pm (Online Event)
Cost:
- $10 – LMERC / SLAV / VicTESOL members (including other state & territory TESOL associations affiliated with ACTA)
- $20 – Non-members
In part 2, we discuss possible ways to audit your current text lists or collections, and give resource recommendations for you to consider introducing at your school or institution.
Jennifer Peck will take you through the resources available through LMERC, including lists of culturally diverse texts.
Stella Schools Manager Lenny Robinson will introduce the audience to two resources developed by Stella Schools to support diversity in text selection: The Read Up Reading Guide, developed in partnership with the Victorian Government, and the Stella Sparks Reading Guide, one of several resources included in their Resource Kit for Stella Sparks schools program.
We will then split into groups facilitated by SLAV and LMERC librarians who will take you through some resource recommendations relevant for the age of your readers.
Focus on primary students (age 6 -12 years)
Raffaela Grasso is the current full time Primary Teacher Librarian /eLearning Facilitator for the Primary school Years 2-5 at Bialik College. Raffaela is currently undertaking the Master of Education (Teacher Librarianship) degree. Throughout her career she has worked closely with Primary classroom teachers to support and develop a love of reading and develop respectful and responsible use of technology in the Primary years.
Focus on lower secondary students (age 13 – 14 years)
Hope Do is currently the Information Services Coordinator at Caroline Chisholm College, a school with a diverse population of more than 83 nationalities. She has been the Head of Learning Resources at Loyola College, a Catholic Secondary co-educational College in Watsonia from 2015- 2019. Hope started her life as a Maths teacher in 2002. She then returned to study completing a Master of Information Management at RMIT. Prior to joining Loyola in 2015, Hope spent a number of years as a Teacher-Librarian at St. Monica’s College.
Focus on upper secondary students (age 15 – 18 years)
Erin Wamala has previously worked in children’s publishing and bookselling and is now a Teacher Librarian at Trinity Grammar School in Melbourne. She is also currently an Older Readers Judge for the Children’s Book Council of Australian Awards.
Focus on adults (18 years plus)
Jenny Peck is the manager of the Languages and Multicultural Education Resource Centre (LMERC), a small specialised Department of Education and Training library for educators across all sectors including early childhood and adult education. The LMERC library specialises in resources to support delivery of the Victorian Curriculum in the areas of English as an Additional Language, Languages, Cross Curriculum Priority areas and Intercultural Capability. In this role she manages a small team of 2 part time staff, assists teachers to find resources – in the library or remotely, writes a quarterly newsletter, develops the collection, produces curated lists of resources and delivers presentations to groups. She has been a librarian since 2007.
This series of professional learning events is a result of collaboration between staff from the Languages and Multicultural Education Resource Centre (LMERC), the School Libraries Association of Victoria (SLAV), Stella Schools, and VicTESOL.
About the Organisers
The School Library Association of Victoria (SLAV) offers dynamic and inspiring opportunities for teacher-librarians and library teams to build their essential role in engaging and developing lifelong learners. Through leadership, advocacy and collegiality and an extensive professional learning and publications program.
Stella is an organisation that champions cultural change through recognising, elevating and celebrating Australian women’s writing. It includes the annual Stella Prize award for women’s writing, the Stella Count, which examines gender bias in book reviewing and Stella Schools, which develops programs that seek to inspire and empower young people to find their own creative voices, challenge stereotypes and imagine a future not limited by their gender.
https://thestellaprize.com.au/
The Languages & Multicultural Education Resource Centre (LMERC) is for educators across all sectors K-12. LMERC provides resources in the areas of English as an Additional Language (EAL), Languages other than English, the Intercultural Capability and the cross curriculum priorities areas of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures, Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia, and Sustainability. The library holds an extensive collection of over 25,000 resources in all formats for educators across all sectors and at all levels, early childhood to adult. Library membership is available free to teachers from these educational settings: early childhood centres (in receipt of government funding), schools F-12 across all sectors, pre-service teachers and lecturers (in the areas of EAL and languages), homework clubs and community language schools. Home school parents, teachers of adults and community workers in education roles are also welcome to join.
https://lmerc.softlinkhosting.com.au/oliver/home/news
Notes about attending a VicTESOL online event:
Prior to the event, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the event using the online platform Zoom. We suggest you test the link on your computer and that you allow time to download Zoom if required. The software should automatically install when you click the link, but if you have difficulty you can refer to this help information or email victesol [at] victesol.vic.edu.au. It is recommended that you carry out a pre-meeting test check to ensure that your audio settings are configured correctly. You are welcome to join the session 10-15 minutes early to check that the link is working.
