the reading of a dominant, oppressive narrative along with the need for a liberating counternarrative to tell more about young people experiencing the name of the tardy policy through their eyes and perceptions.
This frames the students' counternarratives as valuable knowledge and expertise.
whose account is most accountable, accurate, and truthful.
And, in school environments, whose accounts are believed and upheld? Whose positions hold value?
students could engage in their own re-search for change in the present as they considered students who would follow them in secondary- level studies.
The value here is in the students' recognizing their potential to have a positive impact on a policy that affects not only themselves, but others.
students will be encouraged to generate counternarratives regarding the reproduc-tion of power asymmetries and deficit stereotypes applied to many Black youth.
This reminds me of the Young Chicago Authors' annual poetry festival, Louder Than a Bomb, which features student voices which often challenge mainstream narratives about Black youth and their literacies. https://youngchicagoauthors.org/programs/education-partnerships
When school is not enough, how might students learn to cultivate their literacies, nurture their spirits, and chart their own trajectories within out-of-school spaces?
We have an opportunity and a responsibility to encourage and support our students' greater engagement in their communities, especially if our goal is to help students successfully navigate the world outside of school.
fairy tales were selected because they represent a set of narratives that most young children are exposed to in early literary interactions or through educational chil-dren’s programs
The ubiquity of fairy tales and the use of the oral storytelling model mean that this activity could be introduced to significantly younger students as well. I could see a version of this being successful for early elementary school students.
educators and their curricular materials often show a greater degree of illiteracy to the racial and cultural wealth that Black female students like Marley bring into the classroom.
Powerful framing of awareness as a form of literacy. Are we as educators really teaching and engaging with literacy if our curriculum only allows a narrow definition of knowledge/value, especially if the curriculum ignores the experiences and identities of our students?
Whose story is this? Who benefits from this story? Whose voices are not being heard?
This a question we as adults need to be asking ourselves about the stories we consume as well, whether it be literature, tv/film, news, etc. We tend to accept narratives that reflect our own experiences and opinions. We must therefore actively seek out voices and stories that aren't a part of the mainstream. The more we are able to do this personally, the more we'll be able to do it for/with our students.
the larger culture needs to unlearn and rethink how the identities of Indigenous peoples are represented and taught.
One valuable resource in diversifying the representation of Native peoples in classrooms could be Matika Wilbur's Project 562. From the website: "Project 562 is a multi-year national photography project dedicated to photographing over 562 federally recognized tribes in The United States resulting in an unprecedented repository of imagery and oral histories that accurately portrays contemporary Native Americans." http://www.project562.com
as educators, we must understand that we will not always have the answers. We will not always feel brave while doing this work. We will sometimes feel vulnerable, and this is OK
What a powerful and necessary acknowledgement. And what an example this provides for our students, to admit that we are not experts in everything and don't have all the answers, and that our students' knowledge is insightful and deserving of respect as well.
the same racist brutality toward Black citizens that we see happening on the streets across the United States mirrors the violence toward Black students that is happening in our nation’s academic streets.
As Dr. Baker-Bell argues in "Linguistic Justice," anti-Black racism both infiltrates and affects the classroom as well as American society in general. The two cannot be separated, and we cannot adequately address racism in one area without also considering and affecting change in the other.
the election spotlighted the ever-present and different ways vulnerability affects particular members of classroom communities who are already positioned precariously in the inequitable structures and histories of oppression within and outside of schools
This is a great definition/exploration of privilege; are classrooms safe spaces, and to whom? How did the 2016 election change this and/or bring it to the forefront?
when they saw how their lives and stories intersected with the struggles of other people, they became more adept at making connections across cultures, races, and time periods.
One of the most profound aspects of literature is its ability to inspire empathy for others' experiences. Reminds me of Steven Pinker's assertion that the popularization of the novel led to a significant decrease in social acceptance of cruelty and violence because novels offer us the opportunity to empathize with others.
It is paramount that youth writers learn about and witness the writing processes of everyday writers in their lives and communities.
Yes! Writing requires real work and dedication; we have to demystify the process if we want our students to feel empowered to conceive of themselves as writers.
Writing Our Lives is as much about youth writers as it is about the support and professional development of teachers and community leaders they encounter each day.
It is our responsibility as educators to create spaces in which students feel safe and encouraged to explore these parts of their identity and literacies. We cannot expect them to develop these skills without being willing to do so alongside them.
This was a dominant misconception, however, because of the power given to writing and other literacies that are school sanctioned and assessed
This is the danger of narrowly defining what constitutes literature/literacy. When we expand that definition, we encourage and foster wider participation and representation.