Insider/Outsider

I strongly believe that multi-cultural literature is important for people of all ages to read. It is especially important to begin teaching diverse literature in the classroom at a young age. One of the most important factors to influence the authenticity of the literature is the author. Knowing the writer makes a big difference in the way diverse literature should be looked at.

There is an ongoing debate about whether or not diverse literature can be considered authentic and reliable if the author is not an "insider". An insider is someone who is part of a culture and chooses to write about it. They have first-hand experience and can relate to what they are writing. An outsider does not have this experience and therefor may not be considered reliable by some.

I believe that it is important for someone to have experience with the culture they are writing about in order to accurately inform readers. It is an important aspect of diverse literature, to me, to be as authentic as possible. An author with first-hand experience and knowledge of a culture is more likely to write accurately about that culture. I will be sure to choose diverse literature for my own, personal library written by authors sharing authentic information.