Multicultural Literature and Discussion as Mirror and Window?

In recent years, multicultural literature has made its way into language arts education reform documents, onto classrooms shelves, and ultimately into the hands of the diverse student body in the United States. This article documents the experiences of a ninth‐grade class as students read and responded to N. Scott Momaday's The Way to Rainy Mountain and related texts. By including multicultural texts in her curriculum, the teacher helped her students respect and understand their own culture and that of others. While the experience enabled minority students to find their voices in the classroom, in some respects it simultaneously stifled the voices of majority students. Although the use of multicultural literature sheds light on the cultures of others and holds up a mirror to students' own culture, it can also reinforce notions of “culturelessness” among white, European American student populations. If multicultural literature is to act as mirror and window for all students, thus leading to a more culturally affirming reality in schools, it is imperative for teachers and students to include “whiteness” in conversations about culture.