Sample Solution

I believe the topic I selected to research is one that is constantly present and necessary in the lives of my students. Children’s literature is a reflection of the culture from which it comes and as a society with many family dynamics, students deserve to be reflected and represented (Gritter, 2017). While not all students will be in a single parent household, it helps them to understand and potentially support their peers who may be in that situation. Discussions and access to diverse literature are important when building a positive classroom community and when teaching students to respect and appreciate the differences of people inside and outside their classroom (Van Horn, 2015). Reading can be such an outlet and escape for so many students and having literature accessible to them that they feel related and connected to only fosters that relationship with books. Students connect to books which have similar characters and issues to them in their life and providing books that reflect their own issues lead to vivacious and eager readers (Serafini & Moses, 2014). Sometimes authors write from their own experiences, books they wish had been available for them when they were in their youth, which leads to accurate and positively represented characters and situations, such as Roald Dahl who wrote about the life, he wished he’d had at school as a child.

Students end up in single or uncommon parent/guardian situations for a variety of reasons, but this does not mean that there should not be literature available to them to help them understand and be more comfortable with what is happening to them in their lives. It is not one story that exists when discussing single parents. Most people think immediately of single mothers, but there is a growing number of single fathers, about 22% of single parent families are single fathers (Census, 2016), single parents through adoption and grandparents who are parents to their grandchildren. All families are valued, and literature needs to be available in the classroom which shows more than just a single story.
Diverse literature is very important to include in all classrooms (Leland et al., 2012) but diverse does not only cover race, religion or economic situation; it also covers who loves and looks after you. Especially students who see other students with mums and dads while they only have one or the other need to be supported, shown and encouraged that they are just as loved as those with two parents. Students can feel alienated if the only books available to them uphold stereotypes and reinforce the nuclear family. Children’s literature provides a window for students to explore the world and students who are not exposed to diverse literature can grow up with misconceptions and stereotypes about single parent families (Serafini & Moses, 2014).
When students are having difficult times in their lives, literature can provide solutions and support from relatable characters through mirrors and windows in books. Books can be windows which offer a look in to the lives of the characters and while mirrors reflect our own lives and experiences to us which gives readers a sense of self-affirmation and comfort in their troubles being shared (Bishop,