
ICYMI: Teaching Writing with a Social Justice Lens
We hope you enjoyed our February Blog Series!
A meeting place for a world of reflective writers.
We hope you enjoyed our February Blog Series!
Pictures tell the story of a NYC public school that integrates social comprehension with literacy. At P.S. 59, identity, student voice, and activism are a part of school culture, and I’m honored to share it!
“Did he read it yet?” Anxiously, I stared into my mother’s eyes as she stepped inside the house, closing the front door behind her. After a day of teaching elementary … Continue Reading Honoring Student Voice: Teaching Writing With a Social Justice Lens
Persuasive speech writing is a powerful way to show students their voices matter, to use the mandated curriculum as that springboard for thinking critically. But before my students begin to write speeches, there is work to be done.
Today I continue our conversation with mentor texts when teaching writing through a social justice lens. Empathy is the first step toward building understandings beyond ourselves. It takes imagination and compassion.
We can have a positive impact on children’s reading lives when we attempt to make sure every child’s life is reflected in books AND that every child can understand the experiences of other people by reading books. By doing this, we not only positively impact our students, but we improve our society as a whole.
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of ways that each of us use language each day that intentionally or unintentionally limits some of our students capacity to learn from us. Here are just a few.
As we think about our implicit biases, maybe the most important thing is that we increase our awareness and act from a place of humility and reflection– with a willingness to take a look at parts of our belief systems and behaviors that are uncomfortable, at best. When we know better, we do better. And isn’t that the goal?
Throughout our posts this week, you may read the refrain, “When we know better, we do better.” We are on the continuum of growing our own understandings and practices around the importance of social justice, cultural awareness, empathy, and inclusion. We hope you join the conversation. Please comment. Please share your own experiences and resources. Please begin conversations within your own environments and practices.