MRA Primer 2023

Our Stories That Sing: Literacy Lessons for the K-12 Classroom and Beyond

MRA Primer 2023 | Volume 51, Issue 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS WELCOME TO THE MRA PRIMER 2023 ...................................................................................................4-7 Letter to the Members – MRA President Welcome from the MRA Primer Co-Editors Letter from MRA Annual Conference Chair

FEATURED ARTICLES Reimagining Writers’ Agency Cami Condie .......................................................................................................................................8-28 Supporting Literacy Specialists’ Success in Implementing the 2017 ILA Standards: Recommendations for School Leadership Adam R. Brieske-Ulenski and Jennifer Manak ........................................................................30-43 Teaching with a Critical Lens: The Importance of Inclusive Children’s Books in Early Childhood and Elementary Classrooms Susan Flis .........................................................................................................................................44-59 Finding Motivation in a Daunting Task: Supporting College-Wide Diversity and Equity Through Shared Learning Jacquelynne Anne Boivin and Sheena Rancher ......................................................................60-75 In Which Ways Is Culturally Responsive Pedagogy Consistent with Efforts to Dismantle Racism?

Jeanne Lima .....................................................................................................................................76-90

CHILDREN’S BOOK COLUMN Their Stories That Sing: Resiliency of Children’s Book Characters When Confronting Adverse Situations Elaine M. Bukowiecki .................................................................................................................92-105

MAKING SCHOOL CONNECTIONS A Proud Teacher Moment Nathalie G. Ais ...........................................................................................................................106-107

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Popular Culture Texts: Three Stories from the Classroom Melina Butler ....................................................................108-111 Critical Literacy Theory for the Classroom Brenda Marquis ................................................................112-115 Looking Back and Looking Forward: Leveraging Afrofuturism Multimedia to Pursue Joy in an 8th-Grade, ELA Classroom Maeve McDonald and Kierstin Giunco ......................116-121 Who Are You? Sheggai Tamerat and Betsy Lazo .................................122-126

BOOK REVIEWS FROM THE READERS OF MRA ...............127-135 Patricia Crain de Galarce Sarah Fennelly Ashley Houston-King Pattie Kelley Valerie Harlow Shinas Nancy Witherell

MRA PRIMER 2023 EDITORIAL BOARD CO-EDITORS Elaine Bukowiecki Valerie Harlow Shinas REVIEWERS Terrie Marr Mary McMackin Cynthia Rizzo Jo Ann Thompson Nancy Verdolino Nancy Witherell MRA EXECUTIVE BOARD 2023-2024 Pattie Kelley: President Patricia Crain de Galarce: President-Elect Adam Brieske-Ulenski: Vice President Nancy Witherell: Immediate Past President Valerie Harlow Shinas: Immediate Past President Laurie Brooks Heaney: Vice President-Elect Jo Ann Thompson: Treasurer Shantel Schonour: Secretary Sarah Fennelly: Webmaster

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MRA PRESIDENT’S LETTER Dear MRA Members, I am happy to share with you the MRA Primer entitled, Our Stories That Sing: Literacy Lessons for the K-12 Classroom and Beyond. This edition of the Primer is sure to inspire you as you read and reflect on the ways in which the authors of these articles offer insights into their fascinating research and evidence-based practices that engage and motivate students of all ages. One article is a classroom-connection piece geared towards using an anti-bias framework and children’s literature with preschoolers. One featured article highlights the body of research around writing agency. Additionally, be sure to enjoy the book review section that features children’s and YA literature. These articles and the entire publication are sure to captivate readers’ interest and thirst for knowledge.

I would like to thank all contributors for sharing their compelling research and best practices that advance MRA’s mission, “to promote literacy for all learners through professional development, research, publications, and advocacy.” Also, a huge thank you to the Primer’s co-editors, Elaine Bukowiecki and Valerie Harlow Shinas, for their dedication and tenacity in publishing this exceptional peer-reviewed journal.

Finally, mark your calendar for MRA’s 53rd Annual Conference: Liberating Literacies: Stories That Sing to be held on April 25th & 26th, 2024 at the Sturbridge Host Hotel in Sturbridge, MA. Conference Chair, Patricia Crain de Galarce, has planned an amazing lineup of speakers and keynotes with many exciting and fun-filled opportunities to connect with fellow attendees. Registration begins in January!

Be sure to take the time to relax and enjoy the articles in this latest edition of the Primer.

MRA wishes all of you a happy and healthy new year!

Joyfully, Pattie Kelley, Ed.D. President, MRA 2023-2024

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WELCOME FROM THE MRA PRIMER 2023 CO-EDITORS Dear Friends and Colleagues, We (Elaine and Valerie) are thrilled to share with you the newest edition of the MRA Primer. As co-editors of this fall’s publication, we are thrilled to share with you the research, books, and pedagogical inspiration for your teaching and professional growth.

The title of this volume, Our Stories That Sing: Literacy Lessons for the K-12 Classroom and Beyond, was inspired by the theme of the upcoming MRA Annual Conference, to be held in April 2024. You will find more information about the conference in the letters from our President, Pattie Kelley, and our 2024 Conference Chair, Patricia Crain de Galarce. The articles in this volume were selected especially for you to help you begin thinking about the ways stories inspire our teaching and help us find the joy in the world around us.

In this fall’s MRA Primer, you will find a carefully curated selection of scholarly articles; book reviews from MRA Board members; articles to spark new ways of thinking about your literacy lessons; and our children’s literature column by MRA Past President and Co-Editor of the Primer, Elaine Bukowiecki. We hope that you will be as excited as we are to read and share this year’s publication.

Please enjoy this volume of The MRA Primer 2023.

Wishing you warm wishes for a great new year and happy reading.

Yours in literacy, Elaine Bukowiecki & Val Shinas Co-Editors, The MRA Primer

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MESSAGE FROM THE 2024 MRA CONFERENCE CHAIR Dear MRA Readers, Teachers, and Literacy Enthusiasts, Are you ready to unearth joy and transform literacy practices? Mark your calendars for the 2024 MRA Conference titled "Liberating Literacies: Stories that Sing," taking place on April 25th and 26th, at the Sturbridge Hotel, in Sturbridge, MA. For 54 years, the Massachusetts Reading Association has gathered and inspired educators to promote literacy for all learners. This year’s conference will explore literacy practices that are joyful, restorative, inclusive, and liberating.

Here's a sneak peek at what awaits you at the conference: INSPIRING KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: Our lineup of keynote speakers is nothing short of extraordinary.

On April 25th, we open with Gholdy Muhammad—inspiring liberating literacies, inclusive pedagogy, humanizing curriculum, and joy. We also have the privilege of hearing from Mary Cowhey and children literacy award winner, Lauren E. Wolk. On the 26th, renowned literacy experts Lorena Escoto Germán and Kelly Gallagher are sure to captivate and breathe fresh ideas into our reading and writing strategies.

INTERACTIVE WORKSHOPS: Over 40 engaging sessions will delve into literacy practices that focus on topics like adolescent learners, early readers, cultural relevance, content literacy, learning differences, book clubs, coaching, and advocacy.

NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES: Connect with fellow educators from across Massachusetts and New England. Win prizes, exchange ideas, and discover how your local council provides support far beyond the conference. Additionally, you'll have the chance to meet authors, illustrators, scholars, and poets who champion the use of diverse and socially just books.

PRECONFERENCE OPPORTUNITY: On Wednesday, April 24th, from 3 pm to 7 pm, Old Sturbridge Village will host the "Out of the Margins" Institute. Explore the village and our local history with a unique focus on abolition and social change.

RESOURCE EXPO: Immerse yourself in a diverse range of educational resources, books, and innovative teaching materials. Discover books that represent and resonate with all your readers, including those who prefer ideas and information as well as stories.

EMPOWERING YOU: At the heart of this conference is our commitment to invest in you as an educator. We aim to provide you with knowledge, tools, and inspiration. You can immerse yourself in invigorating sessions and collective joy!

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Whether you're a seasoned educator, coach, administrator, or librarian with decades of experience or just beginning your teaching journey, the 2024 MRA Conference promises something for everyone. Ignite your joy in teaching, learn from the best in the field, and connect with a community that shares your dedication to equity and passion for literacy.

Join us at the 2024 MRA Conference and help us co-create a more literate and just future for all our students. You can sign up today to take advantage of early bird registration rates on our website at www.massreading.org.

We can't wait to welcome you to Sturbridge!

Gratefully, Patricia Crain de Galarce, Conference Chair, and the 2024 MRA Conference Committee

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REIMAGINING WRITERS’ AGENCY CAMI CONDIE

In many instances, writing explores identity and reveals confidence in self-expression, except when it doesn’t.

In my first year of teaching, I asked my fourth graders in my racially diverse class to write a haiku about a grandparent. My new-teacher-self carefully planned out several days of lessons, aligned the lessons to state standards, planned for reviewing syllables and adjectives for the haiku genre, and culminated with each writer recopying their haiku in their best handwriting to be displayed outside of the classroom. This writing unit occurred early in the school year, lasted about a week, and earned most students a high writing grade. I felt proud of what my students accomplished. To be clear, I hold with grace past teaching decisions. I used everything I knew to plan—my own learning experiences, the standards taught to me in my teacher preparation, and what my grade-level colleagues were doing. I wanted my students to have a guided writing experience and one that ensured everyone reached “success.” In essence, no one was left behind.

I now know, for a multitude of reasons, this instruction, though well-intentioned, was problematic. First, my standard-based lessons weren’t planned for students. It was too early in the school year to know each student’s home circumstances; I had no idea who had a grandparent and/or a healthy relationship with one, so the assigned topic was culturally insensitive and potentially unsafe. Second, as one of our first classroom writing experiences, I unintentionally stymied current (and possibly future!) creativity by communicating that in our writing pieces, I (the teacher) provided the ideas and the format. And my limiting of their experimenting with topic, line structure, and, frankly, syllable count inadvertently implied that I valued compliance over choice. Unsurprisingly, the pieces were “easy” to assess because the measures of success were so clear, 17 syllables in three lines; but these pieces were also an absolute chore to grade because none were distinguishable; all were cookie-cutter writing produced from the narrow parameters. Most students wrote a “successful” haiku, but few opportunities existed to grow, or experiment, or be messy, or find joy as a writer.

My haiku example highlights some of the dissonance I felt as a writing teacher—I wanted my students to feel successful as writers, and I wanted them to grow as writers. Success and growth can overlap but not in that haiku space. I could argue that my students could have shaped their poem to be about a personal experience with a grandparent or about a grandparent’s characteristic, but the reality is: the topic was further narrowed by the genre. In the end, their haiku “success” was at the expense of writing development or experimentation because my students were left without choice, without agency. The questions become: “What does agency look like in a writing classroom?” “How can a writing teacher nurture agency?”

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Theoretical Foundations Throughout this paper, I take a transdisciplinary lens—looking across writing traditions and bodies of research (e.g., cognitive science/Science of Writing, education studies, sociocultural research). With a transdisciplinary lens, we have a clearer picture of what is needed for students to experience writing agency, which will be investigated through these questions: 1.

2.

3.

4.

“What is writing agency?”

“What impacts writers’ agency?”

“How can agency be encouraged and nurtured in a writing classroom?”

“How can greater writing agency move us forward to increased educational equity and justice?”

After the foundation is presented, writing agency is explored in practical ways for teachers, literacy coaches, and administrators to consider instructional routines and strategies to promote more agency for student-writers.

What is Writing Agency?

Agency has been defined as the choices we have within our control existing inside assigned parameters (Hatt & Urrieta, 2020), and as “the sense of control and freedom someone has when responding to a teacher’s comments” (Griffiths, 2003, para. 6). When agency is present, the writer can apply knowledge, experiences, word choices, stylistic flairs, conventions, and more in whatever way makes sense for the writer’s audience, purpose, format, and/or topic. In agentic spaces, a writer has the opportunity and the capacity to choose, “the power of possibility” (O’Rourke & Addison, 2017, emphasis in the original, p. 2). In a meta review of student agency in literacy contexts, Vaughn and colleagues (2019) concluded that agency is often defined by intentionality, interactiveness, choice-making, persistence, and self-perception.

Agency provides space for playfulness (Dyson, 2020), where experimentation supersedes perfection. Importantly, for more than 20 years, we have known that supporting students' agency is a characteristic of the most effective teachers; they provide their students with the instruction and the opportunities to make their “When agency is present, the own learning decisions (Pressley et al., 2001).

What Impacts Writers’ Agency?

Student-writers are more likely to use agency when they are motivated (Reeve & Shin, 2020). Selfdetermination theory (Niemiec & Ryan, 2009) names three factors that lead to more motivation and engagement.

Namely, and first, autonomy, the confidence and self-given permission to make choices. In this setting, autonomy does

writer can apply knowledge, experiences, word choices, stylistic flairs, conventions, and more in whatever way makes sense for the writer’s audience, purpose, format, and/or topic.”

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not mean autonomous or independent, rather it is the belief that you can make choices, or enact agency, in this setting with this task. Second, relevance, the belief that what you are doing is meaningful and worthwhile to yourself, first, and secondarily, to someone else. And third, competence, the belief that given the circumstances, parameters, and your abilities, that you can be successful—as you define success—in this moment. Absent (or lacking) any of one of these factors, motivation suffers and, thereby, so does agency.

Types of Skills The complexity of writing also demands integration and competency with many skills to act with agency. Paris’ (2005) remarkable work exploring skill mastery explains that mastery can only be attained if there is a “ceiling” or uppermost limit to the number of elements to be learned or demonstrated, like knowing alphabet letter names. There are 26 letters in English; once the letter names are known, a learner has achieved “mastery.” Paris calls this set of mastery-potential skills, “constrained;” they can be learned quickly and are constrained or defined by their limits. In contrast, unconstrained skills, such as vocabulary and reading comprehension, are far more difficult to measure because they continue to develop throughout a learner’s lifetime and are more learner dependent in terms of how fast or slow the skill is learned. For example, children’s ability to summarize becomes more sophisticated as they develop greater reading proficiency, and as they read texts that are more difficult and more complex in their later schooling. This summarization growth is unconstrained.

Writing has few constrained skills; letter formation is constrained as is phonetically spelling consonant-vowel-consonant (cvc) words (e.g., hat, mop) and accurately spelling the first hundred high frequency words (e.g., was, the). But relatively quickly, high-frequency words become lower-frequency, and writers quickly move beyond short-vowel spelling patterns into more complex patterns. Few writers are perfect spellers, so spelling is an unconstrained skill with specific subskills (e.g., spelling cvc words), showing constrained qualities. Writing’s unconstrained skills include audience awareness, use of metaphor, incorporating flashbacks into organization, foreshadowing, etc. Writing integrates many unconstrained skills!

Writing theorists talk about skills in terms of lower- and higher-level writing skills (Hayes, 2004; MacArthur & Graham, 2016). Lower-level skills are more likely to have constrained characteristics, like spelling, punctuation, and handwriting, and typically occur at the word level. (As mentioned, lower-level skills can also be unconstrained when considering lower-frequency spelling patterns.) Higher-level writing skills include audience awareness, stylistic considerations for voice, and considering the piece as a whole rather than at the word level. In teaching, the lower-level skills are easier to see learners’ “progress” and “mastery,” while the higher-level skills are much harder to define and measure, similar to the difficulty assessing unconstrained skills. In addition, we have rich, new literacies (e.g., composing with sound, digital, visual, etc.) that allow writers more opportunities to express themselves and their identity (Muhammad, 2015; Muhammad & Haddix, 2016) that draw

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on higher-level, synthesis skills. Greater writing agency also includes opportunity to make choices with higher-level processes, including reflection with goal setting, content generation, decision making, inferencing, and organizing the content as the text develops (MacArthur & Graham, 2016). As writers engage in iterative problem solving throughout the writing process, they make planning decisions regarding the content to be included in the piece. All writers plan but vary in amount and effectiveness (Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1987). Interestingly, though, we often teach planning as the step prior to the act of writing. Research has shown much of this type of reflective planning occurs during the act of writing, itself, as part of evaluating and making “gap-filling” decisions (Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1987, p. 1420).

Like the whole writing process, planning is also iterative, more than just repetitive; recursive, rather than linear. By returning to the way we envisioned the task, the purpose, and the audience, we evaluate and change our plan in light of these factors (Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1987).

In addition to motivation and a writer’s skills, sociocultural research (Bazerman 2016) demonstrates that the environment—both physical and social aspects (Hayes, 2004)—impacts a writer’s experience and includes a writer’s knowledge of societal-created genres and language. In particular, is a writer’s view of their perceived audience and their collaborators’ influences on the writing experience (Bazerman, 2016). Writers also learn the social norms of the context, particularly those routines and expectations learned in the classroom (Christie & Derewianka, 2010), and learned from home experiences (Heath, 1983).

Memory Impacts Skill Use The integration of lower- and higher-level skills plays out in the working and long-term memories (MacArthur & Graham, 2016). Cognitive science shows that working memory allows attention to be allocated to various processes for the immediate task at hand. Long-term memory draws on working memory and includes the writer’s knowledge of the topic, genre, audience, and their knowledge of language (Hayes, 2004). To note, learners with processing needs have extra demands on their working memory that can impact their ability to communicate effectively and efficiently through writing (Connelly & Dockrell, 2016).

As the lower-level processes become automatic in the working memory, then more cognitive capacity can attend to the complex thinking processes involved in writing more complex text (MacArthur & Graham, 2016). In other words, when lower-level aspects of writing are quick and effortless, writers write more, write faster, and write higher quality texts. We absolutely want this ease in writing, but we need to approach how we teach lower-level skills with deliberateness (and some caution).

Cautions for Teaching Writing Skills Alongside researchers from other education fields, cognitive researchers caution that sometimes primary-grade teachers overemphasize basic writing skills (grammar, handwriting, and spelling) (MacArthur & Graham, 2016). This overemphasis is also represented in a narrow view of writing found in early childhood writing standards that privilege letter formation and other low-level skills over craft moves and higher-level skills (Tortorelli et al., 2022). Our young writers are capable and need

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exposure to higher-level writing tasks. Researchers from cognitive science and sociocultural research agree that teachers must situate basic skills within a larger writing experience that includes generating, planning, revising, and evaluating text—all higher-order functions.

Overemphasizing lower-level skills can look like a teacher saying: “Remember to use capitals at the beginning of sentences.” or “Don’t forget the word wall to spell our high-frequency words.” These well-meaning reminders may cause young writers to forget what they had planned to write next due to an overwhelmed brain capacity.

Because of misinterpretations, a second caution is the relationship between handwriting, a lower-level skill, and writing ability. It makes sense that laborious handwriting—where the writer struggles with fine motor control, or stamina, or remembering how to form letters, or to spell basic words—can lead to memory loss; their overloaded working memory can forget words in a phrase because so much time and effort were used forming the individual letters and words (MacArthur & Graham, 2016). Laborious handwriting can also affect stamina and the quantity of writing produced. We may be tempted to simplify the finding: “handwriting predicts writing,” but that argument is questionable and has unfortunately resulted in handwriting-mechanics practice replacing actual writing instruction that develops craft and voice. Importantly, legibility is not predictive; rather, it is the ease and fluency in handwriting that directly impacts a writer’s ability to produce text. In other words, it’s the fluidity in the production, not the readability, which impacts writers’ flow. To add, “handwriting predicts writing” is ableist and implies learners with motor difficulties are at a deficit as writers. Certainly, with appropriate tools, which can include using speech-to-text, other dictation supports, or typing, writers with disabilities and other challenges can demonstrate their writing proficiency. (Many devices, e.g., Chrome Books and programs, e.g., Google Docs, now come with accessible, built-in dictation resources.)

How Can Agency be Encouraged and Nurtured in a Writing Classroom?

Sometimes, it is easier to describe something by what is missing. In my grandparenthaiku instruction, agency was very, very limited; so, without writing agency, students were compliant, writing was formulaic, and minilessons were obediently adhered to, and, in the end, the collection of writing pieces read similarly. For writers to have agency, the context matters. It matters where and when we are writing. It matters for whom we are writing. It matters for what purpose the writing is being produced.

“Our young writers are capable and need exposure to higher-level writing tasks.”

Classroom Parameters that Impact Agency Knowing the importance of the context, writing classrooms have many considerations. Teachers face restricted agency, which then impacts students’ agency.

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Hatt and Urrieta (2020) explain, “In a classroom, agency involves the choices available to students and teachers within such imposed structures as mandated curriculum, standardized testing, school-wide discipline policies, or daily schedules” (p. 202). In Dyson’s research (2020), a first grader noted, “This isn’t my real writing.” (p. 119), a nod to the “too-tight” curricular constraints primary-grade teachers enacted from the mandated curriculum; his “real writing” was collaborative with his grandpa—short song lyrics— not the heavily revised and edited piece he created to please his teacher, which was then evaluated and passed on to the school district. Realistically, full agentic power may be limited in school settings, though the potential for expanding student writing agency still exists.

Environment Characteristics that Nurture Writing Agency.

Building writers’ agency will likely require thinking and approaching writing from a fundamentally different perspective and deliberately implementing important aspects of writing instruction (Condie, 2022). Writers have greater “freedom of possibilities” with these eight characteristics of writing instruction: 1. Writing agency increases when consistent time for writing is provided (Calkins & Ehrenworth, 2016; Murray, 1968). Writers need protected writing time, some arguing for a minimum of 45 minutes a day (Graves, 1983), so that writing is seen as a valuable part of learning and an area worthy of focus (Condie & Pomerantz, 2020).

2. Writing agency blossoms with predictive, consistent writing routines. Then, writers focus on the writing—not what to do, where to find things, or what to do if they hit a stumbling block. (See Fletcher & Portalupi, 2001; Rohde & Condie, 2018; or Calkins’ Units of Study, 2013, for a studentautonomy building routine: “If you think you’re done, you’ve just begun.”) With clear routines and structures, writers, particularly those who struggle with executive functioning, increase their cognitive space to write because distractions are minimized, and they have confidence in the available tools. Routines can further agency when students work collaboratively, like using writing partners to determine next steps (Calkins & Ehrenworth, 2016).

3. Writing agency thrives when there is space for experimentation (Graves, 1983). Writers need permission to try something new. Few things deter creativity more than emphasis on correctness. Sharing draft pieces with peers, or the whole class, for feedback celebrates the messiness of the process, not just the polished, heavily revised and edited, finished product (Calkins & Ehrenworth, 2016).

4. Writing agency increases when writing is meaningful and authentic, specifically, writing for audiences and purposes that exist outside of school spaces (Condie & Pomerantz, 2020; Duke et al., 2006). As examples, students can write to the Town Council to create a food bank (Vaughn, 2020) or ask the School Board to talk to members of the Native American community and work collaboratively to create and share a school Land Acknowledgement statement (Idea from MA teacher, Joe George).

5. Writing agency requires knowledge of the writing craft. Explicit instruction on craft moves (e.g., using imagery, foreshadowing, considering the readers’ ability to follow the flow of

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ideas), and how and when to use them in writing, provide writers with tools; agency is decreased when knowledge is limited. Minilessons can be interventions, like providing specific formulas to write an opinion piece (“PER, the Catalan acronym for Penso, ‘(I) think’ (an idea), 3 Explications ‘3 explanations,’ and Resum ‘Summarize’” (Salas et al., 2021, p. 1664). Other minilessons can provide resources for editing needs, like Serravallo’s (2017): “Visualize the Word and Have a Go” or “Use Words You Know to Spell Unknown Words.” Learning and practicing craft moves through minilessons and strategy instruction provide knowledge for enacting agency.

6. Writing agency benefits from seeing accessible writing models and mentor texts.

Well-chosen examples (e.g., picture books, other peers’ writing, teacher examples) highlight craft moves student-writers can implement themselves (Laminack, 2017; Pytash & Morgan, 2014; Qin & Uccelli, 2021). Additionally, using texts written by or about underrepresented groups allows marginalized populations to see themselves in previously excluded spaces as well as using texts that enable conversations around social, cultural, political, spiritual, or economic foci (Muhammad, 2012).

(See Rudine Sim Bishop’s important work [1990] on Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Doors and consider the Coretta Scott King award lists by African American authors and illustrators; the Pura Belpré award by Latinx writers; the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature for writers from these communities; the Stonewall Awards and the Rainbow Book list about the LGBTQIA+ community; and the Charlotte Huck award for fiction books on compassion, with many characters including people with cognitive differences or physical abilities.)

7. Writing agency needs feedback that communicates high expectations and belief in the writer (Griffiths et al., 2023). Griffiths (2023) explains, “Correcting spelling errors is not agentic feedback. Telling a student that they need to reread the piece because there are multiple spelling errors throughout is agentic feedback” (para. 4).

Griffiths and colleagues (2023) found that teachers are more likely to give openended feedback—feedback that allows for more agency—for students who are perceived as more proficient writers. For those students who experienced writing difficulty, teachers often lightened the cognitive load by rewriting the sentence or spelling the unknown word. Rather, a teacher could start with an acknowledgement that the student was experiencing difficulty; sitting with the student as they choose their next step builds confidence in using agency. If the student continues to struggle, a more supportive scaffold could be offered, like reminding them of an editing minilesson that provided resources for spelling. More agentic feedback leads to an active partnership between the teacher and student rather than passive acceptance (Griffiths, 2023).

8. Lastly, writing agency allows space beyond skills-centered writing including identity exploration (Muhammad & Mosley, 2021; Souto-Manning, 2020).

Muhammad and Mosley (2021) argue, “If we want all students, especially those from historically marginalized backgrounds, to be successful in literacy, we need to 14

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create opportunities for all students to know both themselves and those with different cultural experiences” (pp. 193-194). In practice, Muhammad (2015) describes Black girls’ literacies as multimodal, tied to multiple identities, including historical, collaborative, intellectual, and political/critical. Outside of school, Black girls share their literacy through social media posts and videos (like YouTube, TikTok). Traditionally, we, as teachers and researchers, have discounted the value of these spaces and the content creators themselves. Yet, planning for text, music, movement, and acknowledging audience, length, purpose, presentation, and format reflect many of the writing craft moves we frequently teach in our writing instruction—evidence of rich, thoughtful, deliberate, literate behaviors.

How Can Writing Agency Impact Our Work toward Educational Equity and Justice?

In an article about agency, it would be short-sighted not to mention the ways that agency is thwarted and trivialized in our current inequitable systems (Delpit, 1992; Ladson-Billings, 2006; SoutoManning, 2020). We know there is an education debt owed to marginalized communities because opportunities have not been provided (Ladson-Billings, 2006). Too often, learners from minoritized racial communities, lower socioeconomic circumstances, those living with disabilities, and/or multilingual learners have been told to assimilate into White-centered ways of knowing and communicating. Learners are further marginalized when they are (1) missing from meta-analyses of writing (Graham, 2020); (2) asked to assimilate their styles of writing (Dyson & Smitherman, 2009; Godley et al., 2007; SoutoManning, 2021); (3) minimized in their use of language assets (Martínez, 2018); (4) required to produce in inauthentic ways (Duke et al., 2006); or (5) lacking accommodations and other assistive resources (Connelly & Dockrell, 2016). It’s necessary to name and address these spaces so we can continue the work to deconstruct the structures that perpetuate inequity.

Pushing Back on Dominant Discourse As an example, Standard Edited American English, the dominant writing discourse, has influenced, minimized, and “othered” many writers and their writing (Greenfield, 2011). Consider this bell hooks’ (1994) example: Though it has become common in contemporary culture to talk about the messages of resistance that emerged in the music created by slaves, particularly spirituals, less is said about the grammatical construction of sentences in these songs. Often, the English used in the song reflected the broken, ruptured world of the slave.

When the slaves sang “nobody knows de trouble I see—” their use of the word “nobody” adds a richer meaning than if they had used the phrase “no one,” for it was the slave’s body that was the

“Too often, learners from minoritized racial communities, lower socioeconomic circumstances, those living with disabilities, and/or multilingual learners have been told to assimilate into Whitecentered ways of knowing and communicating.”

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concrete site of suffering. And even as emancipated Black people sang spirituals, they did not change the language, the sentence structure, of our ancestors. For in the incorrect usage of words, in the incorrect placement of words, was a spirit of rebellion that claimed language as a site of resistance. (emphasis in original, p. 170) Souto-Manning (2021) describes linguistic racism as: “the imposition of White language practices and communication norms as superior and desirable” (p. 2). Instead, equitable practices include revising editing rubrics to de-emphasize “standard” English (Patton-Terry & Connor, 2010) and providing space to experiment with language (Hartman & Machado, 2019). In addition, we can encourage translanguaging, where multilingual learners use all that they know about language to write, recognizing “children’s sophisticated remixes” across named languages like Portuguese and English (Souto-Manning et al., 2021, p. 4).

Supporting Marginalized Racial Communities Agency can be particularly beneficial to marginalized, racial communities because equitable, literacy practices value identity exploration and personal meaning making (Muhammad & Mosely, 2021). As reflected in culturally sustaining pedagogies, writers bring their knowledge of words, audience, and text to multimodal spaces (Greene, 2021; Muhammad, 2015). In Muhammad's (2015) research on Black girls’ literacies, “writing became a hybrid medium to construct ideals of self amid dominant discourse” (p. 243). Here, learners built self-efficacy (Bruning, & Kauffman, 2016)—confidence in their abilities—and found community that embraced their multiple, intersectional identities.

Supporting Students with Disabilities Agency and equity are also partners in inclusive teaching practices for students with disabilities. Adaptive technologies can provide the means for these learners to participate alongside their peers; inclusive accommodations create space for equity. An interesting note about equity is that for students with severe disabilities, the educational practice of assigning a one-on-one aide can limit a student’s agency (Brock et al., 2020). Unintentionally, student autonomy can be decreased due to an over- reliance on the aide (or over- support from a teacher), leading to learned helplessness. Brock and colleagues (2020) argue for more training and using other accommodations, like speech-to-text devices, and more support from peers, rather than an aide or teacher.

With this foundation, we can now turn to enacting and building spaces in our classrooms for greater writing agency.

Writing Agency Practices for Classroom Teachers

In this next section, strategies to build student-writers’ agency will be explored in three aspects of writing: developing and selecting topic ideas, exploring

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organizational structure, and playing with conventions.

Agency in Ideas For my best-intentioned, earlier teacher-self and those teachers like me, we began writing lessons with brainstorming ideas, and there are many ways to set students up for more success and agency in this space. First, we want students to develop what Ralph Fletcher (1996) refers to as “a writer’s eye,” a mindset to be on the lookout for a great writing story, a new way of approaching a favorite topic, or another reason to support an argument. These writing ideas can be captured in a Writing Notebook (Fletcher, 1996).

Collecting Ideas Specific lessons around developing personal writing ideas include Mapping the Heart (Serravallo, 2017) that can lead to a treasure trove of narrative or memoir pieces; Observing the World (Portalupi & Fletcher, 2001) that often elicits more descriptive, informational writing; or Writing Territories (Atwell, 1998) that are genre-neutral and are appropriate for middle and high school writers as a repository of potential pieces. In these lessons, we often list things we care about, know a lot about, or often think about. For me, I care about my family; my friend, Leah; indoor, vertical gardens; and art museums. My Heart Map would include words, images, and phrases representing these ideas.

These minilessons generate the topics writers find personally meaningful for the times we may say, “I don’t know what to write.”

Writers with agency have options. For most writers, brainstorming sessions need to be revisited. Periodically, reminding students to add (or delete, if feelings change) a topic from a Heart Map is a great exercise to bring attention to the writer’s personal list of ideas. Revisiting a Heart Map can also include listing possible ways or genres we could use to explore a topic, like my friend Leah.

I could write a two-voice poem about a funny conversation we had; a short graphic novel; a smallmoment story about sliding downward on the ice as we tried to walk uphill; or an information piece that will help someone else determine if they have found the right shade of Leah’s favorite color pink— baby pink, never rose gold.

Exploring Writing Topics Critical to our brainstorming ideas minilesson are the next instructional steps that build our students’ autonomy and agency. First, some writers will need instruction to select a topic that makes sense for the piece and audience. Once an upper elementary teacher approached me about a surfacelevel piece his student wrote after his grandfather’s passing. The teacher knew the student’s writing could be more developed and skillful, but the topic was too close and too personal to be shared in public spaces, even with a kind teacher. Helping our students determine what would make a good writing topic at this time, with this potential audience, is an important next step after the brainstorming lesson.

Agency includes knowing how and when to make decisions.

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Similarly, our favorite pet or place to visit can sometimes be too big of a topic and becomes an overview rather than a more focused piece. These overview pieces read like a bed-to-bed story, where every event of the day—getting out of bed, to playing with the family pet, to receiving an award, to brushing teeth before bed at night—receives the same weight and attention. Narrowing in on one memory can help write a more meaningful piece about a cherished pet or receiving the award. (See Small Moment Stories by Lucy Calkins, 2013.)

Additionally, student-writers may need minilessons on writing a “single memory” that is actually drawn from a collection of memories, something I call “Elaborating with FuzzyDetails.” For me, I loved to camp in Acadia National Park with my family, and we visited several times. Telling the story of eating lobster in butter sauce in our tent because the rain deterred us from lighting a fire will be a lot more interesting if I can gather details from other times I have been caught in rainstorms. I don’t remember that particular storm; I just knew it was raining. To develop this story, I can use facts and details that originate across several moments or experiences and then are used to “embellish” where the actual lobster-in-atent details are fuzzy. Sometimes, our students get stuck trying to be accurate, and a little literary license can tell a more compelling, still-believable-and-truthful story. Agency includes permission to embellish in ways that maintain the purpose of the piece.

Prompt Writing Cautions In this section, I have deliberately avoided discussion of writing from prompts.

Returning to my fourth graders’ haikus, my narrow instruction parallels many writing prompts, where students are told what and how to write. I could have provided more agency by allowing students to choose a topic for the haiku or presenting several kinds of poetry (e.g., haiku, non-rhyming, narrative, two-voice, acrostic) and allowing writers to choose which fit best with their writing goals; the key here is the opportunity to make choices.

Just as early childhood educators have moved away from letter-of-the-day instruction, we are moving away from prompt-of-the-day writing for many reasons, namely because we need and want to build student agency. Writing to a prompt is a skill needed for writing a constructed response on the standardized test as well as responding to an email from a principal or colleague. For teachers, prompts may also allow for some ease in instruction and continuity in grading. Some teachers also use prompts for students who do not know about what to write. To consider: a student asking for a writing idea needs instruction on developing ideas and on using criteria to find a writing topic that works for them (e.g., returning to the Heart Map), more than for the teacher to provide the answer.

To continue the scenario, if the teacher gives a writing topic today, in many instances, that student will return to the teacher tomorrow for the next idea and the next idea, repeatedly surrendering their agency to the teacher.

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Agency in Organization

Using Graphic Organizers An important part of agency is to allow writers to make organizational decisions. Many of us were taught to write by beginning with an outline or another type of graphic organizer. In reading, graphic organizers are useful when they highlight the relationship between ideas, often with the use of arrows.

Returning (with grace) to my prior classroom teaching, I often used many narrative organizers that had a box for characters; a box for setting; and three boxes for beginning, middle, and end of the story. My intent varied from using the organizer that matched the basal reading story of the week in my writing instruction—an indication that I was trying to make reading and writing connections—to simply having a graphic organizer because I was told they were useful, though I didn’t really know why. One challenge is that I used multiple organizers, constantly teaching a new one each week, and none of the narrative organizers allowed for more than three plot events, thereby, limiting my students’ writing.

Purposes of Graphic Organizers One key reason we use graphic organizers is to provide a scaffold. Vygotsky’s (1986) theory of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) suggests that learners can use scaffolding to be successful at more demanding tasks. Scaffolding, as described by Bickhard, reduces “the demands of a particular problem for the sake of the eventual solution to the whole problem” (as cited in Kamberelis & Bovino, 1999, p. 145). In this light, if a graphic organizer’s scaffold is appropriate and at the right level of support, then it can assist writers to create more effective and sophisticated texts.

Teaching Graphic Organizers The gradual release of responsibility offers an instructional model, where graphic organizers can be introduced through teacher modeling, practiced with feedback, applied for independent use, and then transferred to less-structured writing settings. In this way, we are preparing students to become less dependent and more autonomous as they continue to use the organizer. Explicit instruction of the how, when, and why we use graphic organizers will help when writers are allowed the agency to determine if they want to continue to use the tool.

Graphic Organizer Cautions Three cautions to consider: First, we must find organizers that represent the five main text structures (that is: sequence, cause and effect, problem/solution, compare/ contrast, description) (Meyer, 1975) and use those same five organizers consistently to avoid reteaching an organizer every time students write. (I find Thinking Maps to be useful here.)

“The complexity of writing also demands integration and competency with many skills to act with agency.”

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The second caution is: if the organizer requires more instruction than—or overshadows—the relationships between the ideas, it is likely too complex and should be reconsidered. For example, a baseline for a generic, narrative graphic organizer is one that allows for less restrictions (e.g., students can sequence more than the standard three events) and then use arrows to more clearly demonstrate the relationships between the sequence of their ideas.

Another caution is related to the duration of scaffolding. Sociocultural theorists argue that within students’ ZPD, increased scaffolding can improve student achievement.

This belief drives our conversations about accommodations, particularly for our students with disabilities. Yet, for the last 30 years, writing research has revealed an interesting conclusion, namely, that in scaffolded writing tasks, the highest degree of scaffolding did not lead to the most sophisticated writing (Donovan & Smolkin, 2002; Langer, 1992). Rather, the high level of support may have impeded a writer’s ability to demonstrate writing knowledge.

Donovan and Smolkin (2002) caution, “The fact remains that while the complexity of writing increased across the grades in my study, this increase was not considerable, and the oldest children still relied on the lower levels of organization in their informational writing” (p. 436), concluding: “A scaffolded task does not guarantee higher levels of performance” (p. 460).

So, why not? Why didn’t the scaffolded task guarantee the most stellar work? Maybe the writers overused graphic organizers; maybe leaving scaffolding in place prevented more sophistication. Maybe the writers’ zone of proximal development—where they needed the scaffold—changed, and the scaffold (that is, the graphic organizer) could have been removed.

The goal is not permanent usage of graphic organizers; rather, the goal is to know when and how ideas are related. Knowing when to remove the scaffold will require knowledge of students and differentiation. In a class, some writers will be ready earlier than others to be weaned off graphic organizers.

When removing any instructional scaffold, learners’ less-supported attempts are likely to be messy. Wrestling in some messiness is how writers use their agency to make choices. The messy-writing space is important and allows for conversations about organization; about craft moves, like transitions, that can indicate for the reader changing ideas; or about big-picture conversations, if the ideas flow in a logical order. These resulting conversations can refer to the organizers as a tool (a scaffold) but do not require returning to the scaffold indefinitely. (To note, within the Science of Writing research, a heavy emphasis is placed on using formulas in Self-Regulated Strategy Development [see Graham, 2020]). I argue that formulas are a variation of an organizer, and though useful for a season, the same cautions are applicable and noteworthy.

Alternatives to Graphic Organizers Highlighting the difference between school-like writing and real-world texts can support the less-scaffolded writing experiences. For instance, five-paragraph essays are often

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used for teaching opinion writing. Yet, opinion authors in the real world decidedly do not write in five paragraphs nor do they use strict “opinion, reason, explanation, and a restatement of the opinion” within paragraph structure. Authentic writing pieces (mentor texts) can become the new scaffolds to help writers explore more sophisticated organizational presentations. These mentor texts can be taught as minilessons, exploring where the topic sentence is placed, and how ideas build on each other. (The Week has opinion pieces that are paired to show multiple sides of a current event for middle and high school students, and Scholastic Kids and Time for Kids have examples accessible for younger learners.) As we support our writers to experiment with their writing organization, we provide the context for agency.

Agency in Conventions To begin, conventions are most powerful when they are considered with an external audience in mind (Hartman & Machado, 2019; Muhammad & Haddix, 2016). Research has mixed results on the effectiveness of teaching conventions. In their metareview of literature, Graham and Perin (2007) found that teaching grammar had a negative effect size, literally indicating that student-writers’ grammar was less correct after receiving grammar instruction. If we frame this grammar-finding in terms of agency— asking writers to find and correct the errors in a mistake-laden sentence—then this is about identifying or guessing what is correct/incorrect rather than making decisions. Agency is missing in this exercise.

On the other hand, teaching sentence combining can help writers use more sophisticated ideas and has a positive, significant effect size. Here, agency is present. There is space to make choices. The point is to be deliberate in teaching conventions to preserve and promote writers’ agency.

Wrestling with Correctness Agency with language use and conventions is part of two much larger discussions that will only briefly be mentioned here. First, who determines what is correct? A difficult space for many teachers is related to conventions, specifically grammar and language choices. As Muhammad and Haddix (2016) remind us: “Tensions still persist within classroom spaces where the linguistic distance between teachers and students is steadily widening, and this gap has real consequences for the educative outcomes for students of color, including Black girls” (p. 312). Many of us have posed or have wrestled with the argument that knowing how to write for testing, college, and the workplace requires Standard Edited American English. In contrast, consider Toni Morrison’s caution on losing language: The worst of all possible things that could happen would be to lose that language. There are certain things I cannot say without recourse to my language. It’s terrible to think that a child with five different present tenses comes to school to be faced with those books that are less than his own language. And then to be told things about his language, which [are] him, that are sometimes permanently damaging….This is a really cruel fallout of racism. (as cited in LeClair, 1981, para. 20) (For further reading, consider bell hooks, 1994 and Muhammad and Haddix, 2016.)

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agreed upon (and correctness is rooted in “othering” or non-Standard Edited American English ways of speaking.) (See Greenfield, 2011; Souto-Manning, 2020.) Additionally, a first grader who focuses on correct spelling and correct capitalization will typically sacrifice ideas.

Emergent writers often do not have the brain space to hold attention for both conventions and content (Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1987). (That can be true for more mature writers as well.) One solution is to sequence content; then, once the ideas are communicated, turn to conventions. In my first-grade class, a student wrote a long dragon story, consistently using “and then” whenever he wanted to begin a new idea—essentially each new sentence. He needed a personal minilesson on substituting “and then” for an ending punctuation mark, “so the reader knew when to take a breath in his writing.” Agency is about the space for choice.

In these instances, agency can be developed when writers consider conventions in terms of the reader’s experience or because the writer plans to manipulate or interrupt the reader’s pacing or prosody.

Wrestling with Prioritization A second, much larger discussion, outside the parameter of this article, relates to the Science of Reading/Writing. Parallel to the Science of Reading recommendations that prioritize component skills (e.g., phonics), research into the Science of Writing spotlights skill work, like handwriting, punctuation, and sentence structure. Few writing teachers will say foundational skills are irrelevant; they are absolutely critical in communicating with an outside audience. Wise writing teachers will also recognize these skills are an incomplete view of writing proficiency, and, when overly represented in instruction, skill work can limit writers developing confidence and are particularly harmful for marginalized communities (Muhammad & Mosley, 2021). We are left with the question: “Where is the space for student agency in writing conventions?”

Playfulness in Conventions A Caldecott-Honor book, titled Yo! Yes? (Raschka, 1993), provides a model for using conventions in playful, meaningful ways. Throughout the story, two children have a singleword conversation on each page. “Yo?” asks the child on the left page; “Yes!” replies the child on the right. Back and forth, they continue, “Well? Well.” and “Me! You?” Only through the punctuation, including font size to show loud and soft and bolded text to indicate emphasis, do we know the storyline, and how these two strangers eventually come together as friends. (See Kwame Alexander’s [2014] Crossover for a middle and high school example of deliberate, non-conventional conventions.)

When we teach conventions as tools to communicate meaning (Heveron-Smith, 2012), we move toward writers’ agency. Playful, deliberate manipulation of conventions requires knowing the rules and then deliberately breaking them. Relatedly, writers must know more than a few basic punctuation marks to use them more flexibly and creatively (Heveron-Smith, 2012). A writer can ask: “Which words can I bold?” “How can different

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fonts, sizes, and colors communicate a lion’s roar versus a mouse’s squeak or document frustration versus gentleness?” or “When and why would I put a question mark where the reader anticipated a period?” Writers have agency as they are allowed to use conventions to communicate meaning in their writing.

Conclusion As writing teachers, we have a rich body of knowledge that provides us with strategies, tools, and principles to teach our student-writers and to promote their agency. This article took a deliberate, transdisciplinary approach to highlight all we know about teaching and learning across many fields.

We are in the midst of an era where some bodies of research, such as cognitive science research, like Science of Reading/Writing, are embraced, while other sound research, such as educational studies, sociocultural research, and qualitative and observational designs (see Hoffman et al., 2020) are debased and discredited. This article and the research questions are explored across disciplines and research traditions. Even within the Science of Writing field, researchers note that meta-analyses in their field often fail to account for students who experience writing difficulties or those learners with disabilities (Graham, 2020). Additionally, Science of Writing meta-analyses often use spelling as a proxy measure for writing achievement (MacArthur & Graham, 2016). Spelling is surely a component of writing but a rather weak indicator of overall writing ability. For example, argument writing requires craft moves like bringing in expert opinions, repeating key terms or phrases, giving examples to illustrate a point, addressing readers directly, and asking them to reflect on their own experiences (Calkins & Ehrenworth, 2016) in addition to spelling key, technical vocabulary correctly.

Cognitive science researchers in writing have provided many useful formulas and specific intervention for skills and strategies that can be used effectively when writers struggle (see Graham et al., 2013 for a review of writing interventions from the cognitive science research.), and yet, many others have clearly argued to integrate in- and out-of-school writing and the creativity, identity exploration, and voice development that develops in less-structured, out-of-school spaces (Muhammad, 2012).

Additionally, as Muhammad and Mosley (2021) argue, “[T]he emphasis on skills alone for improving literacy suggests that other factors are not important despite the evidence that they make a big difference for culturally, racially, and linguistically diverse learners” (p.193). Throughout this theoretical foundation section, I hope readers consider how narrowing the scope of research to cognitive science is counterproductive in our work toward greater educational equity. To narrow “We want our students our focus to skill-based or formula-driven approaches is to limit the knowledge of what we know works for our to become confident and learners. joy-filled writers.”

The ultimate goal is providing the “freedom for possibility” for writers, where playfulness is part of the writing experimentation (Dyson, 2020; Yoon, 2019). We

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want our students to become confident and joy-filled writers. In agentic settings, studentwriters can use more autonomy, see themselves as competent and capable, and find meaningful ways to share their voice in community (Niemiec & Ryan, 2009). Writing agency allows for the opportunity for choice; it encourages students to use what they know to make decisions about what would meet their goals for a specific writing piece, at a specific time, and for a specific audience. Writing teachers are essential in agentic spaces and provide instruction on writing skills and resources, like developing ideas with Writing Territories (Atwell, 1998) and carefully monitoring when scaffolds like graphic organizers can be removed and more sophisticated mentor texts can become the learning scaffolds. Likewise, writing teachers provide the possibility for agency as student-writers see themselves in control of when and how conventions are used to communicate with language that feels right, which may buck conventional, dominant-discourse patterns. In this way, writers are in the driver’s seat—not passive, but active decision makers in their writing experience.

Looking back to my fourth-grade teacher-self, I am challenging once-accepted, lessagentic ways of knowing and expressing knowledge. With new knowledge, we can provide our learners with the space to explore and experience their full agency. To do so will require continuing to problematize the inequitable structures for our marginalized learners, because where equity is lacking, agency will be limited. As we promote equity and justice through agentic writing opportunities, a writer has the “desire, ability, and power to determine their own course of action” (Vaughn, 2018, p. 63); students will have a fertile ground for play, for growth, and for a love of writing to develop.

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Portalupi, J., & Fletcher, R. (2001). Nonfiction craft lessons. Stenhouse.

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Qin, W., & Uccelli, P. (2021). Textual borrowing in science summaries: Upper-elementary and middle school students learning to write the language of science. Reading and Writing, 34 (10), 2505–2528 https://doi. org/10.1007/s11145-021-10155-4 Reeve, J., & Shin, S. H. (2020). How teachers can support students’ agentic engagement. Theory into Practice, 59(2), 150-161.

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Vaughn, M. (2018). Making sense of student agency in the early grades. Phi Delta Kappan, 99(7), 6266.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Cami Condie is an associate professor of childhood education and care, McKeown School of Education at Salem State University in Salem Massachusetts. At Salem State University, Dr. Condie is Faculty Fellow at the Center of Teaching Innovation and Lead Faculty Advising, MSOE.

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Our Stories That Sing: Literacy Lessons for the K-12 Classroom and Beyond | Reimagining Writers’ Agency • CAMI CONDIE

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SUPPORTING LITERACY SPECIALISTS’ SUCCESS IN IMPLEMENTING THE 2017 ILA STANDARDS: Recommendations for School Leadership ADAM R. BRIESKE-ULENSKI AND JENNIFER MANAK

Introduction Literacy/reading specialists are individuals who primarily work with students who experience difficulties with reading, writing, and language (ILA, 2018). For the purpose of this paper, we will refer to them as literacy specialists because the ILA standards describe the role as one who delivers reading, writing, and language instruction. The planning, teaching, and evaluation of instruction conducted by literacy specialists serves to accelerate student literacy learning and achievement (Bean et al., 2010; Elish-Piper & L’Allier, 2011). This is reinforced in Bean’s study that found high-performing schools have literacy specialists who primarily instruct students (2003). However, recently, literacy specialists have increasingly engaged in other responsibilities in addition to working with students (Bean et al., 2015; Galloway & Lesaux, 2014). Considering that literacy specialists often have their attention directed away from working with students, it is important for administrators to understand ILA’s definition of the literacy specialist role to positively impact students’ literacy success.

School leadership, inclusive of administrators and other teacher-leaders, is essential to the success of literacy specialists. While professional organizations such as the International Literacy Association (ILA) provide standards and guidelines for literacy specialists, research suggests that administrators are often not familiar with the standards (Hathaway et al., 2016; Mahaffey et al., 2020). Research also suggests that principals are completely responsible for determining the roles of the literacy specialist and identifying which roles they consider are most important within their schools (Hathaway et al., 2016; Mahaffey, et al., 2020). When administrators understand the role of literacy specialists, they are more likely to establish a climate that encourages collaboration between literacy specialists and other stakeholders (Bean et al., 2003). The level of support literacy specialists receive from administration determines how effective they are in facilitating teachers to implement literacy instruction within their schools (Selvaggi, 2016). An administrator who supports their literacy specialist’s efforts to improve the school’s literacy landscape and feels comfortable asking for information about literacy instruction is an invaluable resource to help grow the literacy environment at the school. It is important for administrators to be familiar with the ILA standards in order to best understand how literacy specialists can be most effectively utilized within their schools to support their teachers and students' literacy needs.

This article highlights the literacy specialist role as seen in the current ILA standards towards writing instruction and intervention. Thus, we hope that our review of the 2017 ILA standards, along with suggestions for administrators and other literacy leaders, will provide practical ways for the literacy specialist to deliver writing intervention and support writing instruction.

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Current Roles of the Literacy Specialist While literacy specialists have often been considered an integral part of reading instruction, the ILA Standards for the Preparation of Literacy Professionals 2017 (ILA, 2018) call additional attention to their role in writing instruction and intervention. Previous research reinforces ILA’s position about the importance of connecting reading and writing instruction. “In our society, at this point in history, reading and writing, to be understood and appreciated fully, should be viewed together, learned together, and used together” (Tierney & Shanahan, 1991, p. 275). For more than 30 years, researchers have examined reading and writing connections from various perspectives and have formulated an understanding of how and why these processes develop together (Pearson & Tierney, 1984; Shanahan & Tierney, 1990; Tierney & Shanahan, 1991). Reading and writing are both constructive processes. Pearson and Tierney (1984) suggest that reading is a composing process that resembles the composing process proposed by writing scholars such as Graves (1983) and Calkins (1994). For example, within the intervention process, writing can support reading comprehension because “it allows readers to slow down, reflect, and carefully consider what they think about their reading” (Fountas & Pinnell, 2017, p. 497). As such, reading specialists need to critically reflect on the instructional practices they use to leverage writing to support their diverse students’ literacy development.

Current school leaders should be cognizant that within ILA’s 2017 standards, the literacy specialist role is articulated as “an instructional one, with the literacy specialist working predominantly with students who are experiencing difficulties with reading and writing” (ILA, 2018, p. 3). With the emphasis on the literacy specialist role as one who works primarily with students, specialists are seen as those who address the reading and writing needs of struggling and at-risk students, with increased attention to supporting students’ writing proficiency (ILA, 2018). For example, the standards both explicitly and implicitly state that a literacy specialist is expected to integrate writing within the content areas, incorporate digital tools during writing instruction, and emphasize connections between reading and writing. The release of the 2017 ILA standards necessitates an awareness of the utilization of literacy specialists for writing intervention and supporting classroom writing instruction.

A Review of the Standards: Delivering Writing Intervention and Instruction The release of the current ILA standards prompted us to conduct a review to identify and suggest ways in which literacy specialists can support student writing acquisition and development with the support of administrators. We closely reviewed standards one through six, their components, and indicators of performance to identify where the topic of writing was both explicitly and implicitly emphasized. Standard 7 was not included in our review because it is used to evaluate practicum settings for ILA’s National Recognition Program.

In the next section, we share ways literacy specialists can

“Reading specialists need to critically reflect on the instructional practices they use to leverage writing to support their diverse students’ literacy development.”

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be supported by administrators as they prepare to take on the new standards regarding writing intervention and writing instruction.

Standard 1: Foundational Knowledge This standard requires that literacy specialists understand “the theoretical, historical, and conceptual knowledge of writing development and instruction” (ILA, 2018, p. 34). The language in component two provides clear evidence that a literacy specialist needs to have the content knowledge regarding the development of writing skills acquired from preK to proficiency. Literacy specialists would need to familiarize themselves with recent research surrounding instructional practices for writing development and writing intervention.

Examples of writing instructional practices used in the classroom may include strategy instruction, text structure instruction, and self-regulation skills for writers (Graham 2006; Graham et al., 2012; Koster et al., 2015). This knowledge would provide specialists with an understanding of the ways in which writing instruction should be delivered in the classroom.

Bean et al. (2002) explained that the literacy specialist needs to move beyond the traditional view of pull-out intervention and towards a more collaborative nature, where specialists work alongside classroom teachers to provide intervention within the classroom. Thus, literacy specialists need a strong understanding of the theoretical and researched, evidence-based practices for delivering writing instruction/intervention both inside and outside of the classroom. Current research indicates that there are several writing interventions that are highly effective in supporting struggling writers. Koster’s and colleagues’ (2015) meta-analysis of writing interventions concluded that goal setting, text structure instruction, strategy instruction, and peer interaction and feedback are all effective interventions when writers struggle. Literacy specialists should develop their knowledge through professional readings regarding these highly effective writing interventions “Bean et al. (2002) explained and incorporate them into their sessions with struggling that the literacy specialist writers.

needs to move beyond the traditional view of pull-out intervention and towards a more collaborative nature, where specialists work alongside classroom teachers to provide intervention within the classroom.”

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Standard 2: Curriculum and Instruction Within the Curriculum and Instruction standard, literacy specialists are expected to design, implement, and evaluate writing curricula, instruction, and materials across the content areas, while being responsive to the needs of their diverse learners. This standard emphasizes that literacy specialists support literacy instruction within the traditional literacy block found in many public schools. In most public schools, traditional literacy blocks are often 90-120 minutes

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set aside in schools for literacy instruction that integrate the language arts and incorporate a variety of instructional practices. In addition, literacy specialists are expected to intentionally integrate language arts instruction across the content areas for students to gain information from specific disciplines (Vacca et al., 2011).

As early as the elementary grades, teachers can begin to integrate content-area specific literacy strategies into their instruction in order to prepare students to read and write across the disciplines (Shanahan & Shanahan, 2014). Teachers and literacy specialists can support students reading and writing narrative and informational texts across academic disciplines in many ways. For instance, the reading and discussion of informational texts during science instruction could be viewed as mentor texts or models for students’ writing of informational texts during the literacy block. While literacy specialists must have the ability to find appropriate-level informational texts for reading intervention, they must also be able to use similar mentor texts during writing intervention to scaffold writers in authentic, meaningful writing assignments that demonstrate their knowledge and abilities as writers.

A broad repertoire of content-area writing strategies can be implemented to engage students in authentically conveying their content-area knowledge (Ming, 2012). Students may record their observations in science notebooks that may be integrated into a writing workshop framework, where scientific writers benefit from having an audience to share their writing and discuss their knowledge (Morabito, 2017). Furthermore, students may also be encouraged to write a poem describing a concept or demonstrate and explain their mathematical problem solving in a math journal. Quick writes, journal entries, and free responses in addition to reports and essays can be integrated across the curriculum and modified for students’ needs.

Within the literacy block and beyond, literacy specialists are expected to be able to differentiate writing instruction for their diverse students. Lee and Schallert (2016) found that English language learners’ writing performance was enhanced by providing them with extensive reading and writing experiences throughout the curriculum. In order to support struggling students in various academic settings, specialists are expected to “select, adapt, teach, and evaluate evidence-based, supplemental, and intervention approaches and programs” that will support classroom writing instruction (ILA, 2018, p. 36). This highlights the need for literacy specialists and classroom teachers to work collaboratively in determining the curriculum and instruction that best meets the needs of their diverse writers.

Standard 3: Assessment and Evaluation Guidance for literacy specialists surrounding their role with writing assessment and evaluation is provided through the evidence for component two of this standard. For example, the evidence states “candidates administer and analyze multiple sources of data (e.g., assessments, writing artifacts, student self-assessments, work samples, classroom observation, parent interviews)” (ILA, 2018, p. 37).

Evidence under component two guides literacy specialists to engage in analysis of student writing during the intervention process and writing produced in the classroom through collaboration with teachercolleagues.

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An example of this in action can be viewed through how Primeaux (2000) explained the ways in which literacy specialists support the Response to Intervention (RTI) process.

During the RTI process, literacy specialists engage in a cycle of data collection, planning, and instruction to develop students’ writing skills. As such, literacy specialists should be using writing assessment to determine targeted instruction inside and outside of the classroom as a way of developing student writing proficiency. Others call for literacy specialists to use the RTI process as a way to collect data to determine how students are making progress towards identified benchmarks (Hoover & Love, 2011). Furthermore, Calkins and Enrhenworth (2016) emphasized that schools that are seeking to improve writing instruction need to be engaged with analyzing writing data within and across the grades. Literacy specialists should be knowledgeable about key writing assessments, including their validity, reliability, purposes, and their strengths and limitations. This knowledge should be used to help literacy specialists administer appropriate writing assessments to better understand the needs of their diverse writers and to help classroom teachers select assessments that will offer useful data to plan targeted instruction.

Components three and four of this standard encourage literacy specialists to collaborate with classroom teachers in delivering writing assessments, collecting and analyzing writing data, planning and delivering writing instruction, and advocating on behalf of the student’s writing needs. Literacy specialists may collaborate in this way by meeting with grade-level teams and developing expectations for writing at each grade level (Calkins & Ehrenworth, 2016). Then, select members from each grade level could meet as a schoolwide team and develop writing expectations for the entire school as a “shared lens” of what writing performance could look like across the grade levels (Calkins & Ehrenworth, 2016, p. 11). Ultimately, the literacy specialist would be collaborating with teacher-colleagues in analyzing writing data and establishing writing expectations, with the end goal of purposefully supporting the trajectory of student writing skills from one grade to the next.

Understanding the writing expectations for each grade level enhances a literacy specialist's ability to develop writing interventions that prepare the student for writing at the next grade level.

Standard 4: Diversity and Equity Although this standard does not explicitly address writing, component one of this standard emphasizes the need for literacy specialists to be knowledgeable of culturally responsive, literacy instruction. Culturally responsive, instructional practices foster culturally and linguistically diverse students to become successful readers and writers by building upon their existing strengths, while addressing issues of culture and language (Au, 2009/2010; Beaulieu, 2002). Furthermore, culturally responsive instruction promotes high achievement among students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds (Delpit, 2006; Gay, 2000; Ladson-Billings, 2013).

In order to motivate and engage all writers, this standard expects specialists to be

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familiar with ways to embrace students’ linguistically and culturally diverse experiences within the writing classroom. The literacy curriculum must value diversity and students’ funds of knowledge to enrich their literacy learning. Literacy teaching is a complex process that requires teachers to be responsive to students’ motivations, cultural and linguistic differences, as well as emotional needs (Scott & Teale, 2009).

Teachers and literacy specialists must design writing instruction to bridge the gap between students’ school and home worlds and differentiate instruction to meet all writers’ needs (Algozzine et al., 2009; Gay, 2000). This may include being knowledgeable of culturally authentic children’s literature that reflects students’ language, culture, and life experiences that students can view as mirrors of their own lives (Bishop, 1990) as well as models for their own writing. In addition to literary texts, Colwell (2019) suggests that socially and culturally relevant literacy instruction can be achieved across the disciplines by teachers’ intentional selection of informational texts.

In order for literacy specialists to most effectively work with diverse students and develop culturally and linguistically relevant instruction, component two of this standard suggests literacy specialists develop a culturally diverse knowledge base and become further aware of their own identities, privilege, and biases (Ladson-Billings, 2013). Culturally responsive teachers focus on developing selfawareness by reflecting upon their own social locations and how these identities have influenced their experiences of power and privilege. Since unconscious bias undermines students’ success as readers and writers, literacy specialists must be aware of their personal biases and learn how to intentionally act in ways that maintain similar expectations for all students, thus, limiting their impact on students. Overall, this standard urges literacy specialists to be advocates for diversity and social justice. Additionally, standard four empowers literacy specialists to convey to their students that their words and experiences matter and need to be written and shared.

Standard 5: Learners and the Literacy Environment The evidence under the components in this standard provide insight into how literacy specialists are expected to support student writers and design environments conducive to developing writers.

Research has noted that instruction provided by literacy specialists should be congruent to the instruction that is being provided by the classroom teachers (Bean et al, 2002; Foorman et al., 2016). This suggests that literacy specialists and classroom teachers need to collaborate on designing environments conducive to fostering writers. Furthermore, collaboration is necessary during lesson planning, with focused attention “The literacy curriculum must on the types of traditional and digital tools literacy value diversity and students’ specialists plan to use within their writing instruction, funds of knowledge to enrich so that the intervention mirrors the classroom writing their literacy learning.” instruction.

Component one of this standard draws attention to relevant topics in literacy such as nurturing the social and

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emotional well-being of student writers. Literacy specialists should understand the social and emotional well-being of their students and how it relates to their literacy development.

As such, literacy specialists need to apply knowledge of social and emotional theories when developing writing lessons for whole-class and intervention sessions, selecting strategies for writing instruction, and making modifications to support their diverse student populations.

Literacy specialists could utilize the social and emotional themes offered in Buckley’s (2012) book, Sharing the Blue Crayon: How to Integrate Social, Emotional, and Literacy Learning, to facilitate an environment that fosters students’ social-emotional development, while simultaneously developing them as readers and writers. For example, Buckley (2012) explained that texts focused on concepts of kindness could be used to guide teachers to create a welcoming, supportive, and engaging writing environment. Literacy specialists may utilize this knowledge when reflecting upon the environments in which literacy instruction is being delivered.

When literacy specialists incorporate digital literacy tools into their work with student writers, it is beneficial to use tools that are similar to the ones used in the classroom during writing instruction. For example, the evidence under component two states that literacy specialists should “integrate literacy pedagogy and content knowledge with technology-enabled learning principles to expand opportunities for reading, writing, and collaboration” (ILA 2018, p. 39). This explains that literacy specialists can enhance writing environments through the use of a variety of digital tools as students engage in the writing process. Beschorner and Hall (2017) offered a vision for the ways literacy specialists could support students’ use of digital tools during the prewriting process as they conduct online research, use apps to enhance text features while writing, and share their work with a global audience on digital platforms. Additionally, literacy specialists could use the coding process as a scaffold to support struggling writers as they begin, revise, and publish a piece of writing (Hassenfeld & Umaschi Bers, 2020).

Standard 6: Professional Learning and Leadership Inherent within standard six, literacy specialists are expected to be committed to continual professional development, leadership, and reflection as they create supportive instructional contexts for writing, engage with diverse writers, and lead the development and implementation of differentiated writing curriculum and instruction. Specialists are asked to be “critical consumers of research, policy, and practice” (ILA, 2018, p. 58), who seek out recent research supporting writing instruction within inclusive classrooms. Further, literacy specialists must also ensure that students’ production and distribution of written texts in various genres, for multiple purposes, are aligned with the state standards. While standard six does not explicitly include writing within the standard, the second component of the standard emphasizes that literacy specialists must, “engage in collaborative decision making with colleagues to design, align, and assess instructional practices and interventions within and across the curriculum” (ILA, 2018, p. 40).

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Literacy specialists need to be their own agents of learning as well as collaborate with teachercolleagues to improve student learning. Professional development, often led by literacy specialists, provides teachers with a system of support to work collaboratively with colleagues to examine, understand, and reflect upon their curriculum, instructional practices, and their students’ progress (McCarthy & Woodard, 2018; Peck, 2010). According to McCarthy and Woodard (2018), long-term, coherent professional development in writing helps teachers feel most comfortable adapting a mandated writing curriculum to their students’ needs.

Teachers and literacy specialists must regularly engage in collaborative, professional discussions regarding their curriculum and their students’ progress. While some discussions may focus on the collaborative design of writing tasks to strategically develop students’ writing skills (Matsumura et al., 2015), other discussions may include ways to ensure that differentiated instruction provided during intervention complements the students' classroom writing instruction. Effective writing instruction flourishes at schools, where teachers engage with specialists in a variety of professional development opportunities and share instructional practices to best support their students’ writing.

Implications In the following section, we outline specific recommendations that offer insights regarding ways that administrators can support literacy specialists in engaging in writing intervention and instruction in their schools. We address how administrators can support literacy specialists in being agents of their own learning as they incorporate the standards in their work with students and teacher-colleagues.

Additionally, we offer practical ways in which administrators can support and further prepare literacy specialists as they develop their understanding of the writing expectations within the standards. We offer a summary of our recommendations in the table below.

Table Summary of Recommendations for Administrators by ILA Standard ILA Standard

Standard 1: Foundational Knowledge

Recommendations for Administrators • • • •

Standard 2: Curriculum and Instruction

• • •

Review the standards with the literacy specialist Engage in discussion with the literacy specialist about their role Communicate the role of the literacy specialist to entire faculty Advocate for the literacy specialist and classroom teacher to use similar writing instructional frameworks Adopt push-in intervention models Provide time for co-planning between classroom teacher and literacy specialist Build in time during the day for the literacy specialist to reflect on the writing curriculum with classroom teachers

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Standard 3: Assessment and Evaluation Standard 4: Diversity and Equity

Standard 5: Learners and Literacy Environment

Standard 6: Professional Learning and Leadership

•

Support literacy specialists as they work with classroom teachers in analyzing writing data

•

Include in your budget, children’s texts that reflect the cultural and linguistic diversity of students and teachers

•

Encourage other forms of collaboration through peer mentoring among classroom teachers that allow them to visit and observe each other’s classrooms

•

Develop and implement structures that allow time for literacy specialists and classroom teachers to collaborate Offer to provide or send the literacy specialist to professional development regarding writing instruction and intervention Support literacy specialists in setting professional goals related to ILA standards, with attention towards writing intervention, instruction, and assessment

• •

Recommendations for Administrators It is essential for administrators to understand and be supportive of the role of the literacy specialist as viewed through the current ILA standards. Administrative support is crucial to the success of literacy specialists as they support classroom teachers and students (Bean et al., 2018). Administrators should meet with their literacy specialist to discuss what the literacy specialist’s role looks like at their school. In addition, administrators must clearly communicate this defined role to the staff and faculty at their school.

To better understand the role, we recommend that administrators and literacy specialists read through and familiarize themselves with the current ILA standards for literacy specialists. As administrators and literacy specialists review the standards together, we suggest that they notice how ILA has highlighted the need for writing instruction and intervention through the language in each standard, components, and evidence.

Furthermore, literacy specialists and administrators need to consider how the current standards will inform the literacy specialist’s practice within their school context and setting.

In addition, we recommend that administrators support literacy specialists in setting professional goals, targeting one of the standards they would like to enhance in their practice as teachers of writing. Thus, the administrator should help the literacy specialist seek out professional literature, workshops, conferences, and other professional development opportunities. Examples may include professional texts such as Literacy Specialists and Literacy Coaches in the Real World (Shearer et al., 2019); Best Practices of Literacy Leaders: Keys to School Improvement (Swan Dagen & Bean, 2020); and annual professional conferences such as the International Literacy Association Conference (https://

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www.literacyworldwide.org/meetings-events/ila-conference), the National Council of Teachers of English Conference (https://convention.ncte.org), and the National Reading Recovery Conference (https:// literacyconference.org). We also highly recommend that administrators help literacy specialists seek out state and district-level conferences and workshops.

Due to the increased call for collaboration in the standards, it is recommended that administrators develop structures that offer time for literacy specialists and teacher-colleagues to collaborate as they develop their professional repertoire for teaching writing and working with struggling writers. This means that administrators should support literacy specialists and teachers as they work alongside each other on lesson planning, analyzing data, and reflecting on curriculum and instruction for writing. Administrators who adopt the push-in RTI model offered by Woodward and Talbert-Johnson (2009) would encourage this level of collaboration to occur as the specialists and teacher-colleagues have more contact time, while they teach together in the same setting.

An administrator who supports collaboration between literacy specialists and classroom teachers provides the literacy specialist with opportunities to provide writing intervention that mirrors and supports classroom writing instruction. The alignment of curriculum and instructional frameworks for writing instruction will provide a smooth transition between the intervention session and classroom writing instruction. An example of curriculum and instructional frameworks that an administrator can advocate for literacy specialists and classroom teachers to simultaneously use could include, but should not be limited to, the writer’s workshop (Calkins,1994; Graves, 1994); 6 Traits of Writing (Culham, 2002; Spandel, 2012); and components of a balanced literacy program (Fountas & Pinnell, 2017). Using similar frameworks would allow the literacy specialist and classroom teacher to provide aligned, complementary instruction that would allow the student to see their learning as building upon one another in both instructional settings. Additionally, teacher-colleagues and literacy specialists would benefit from administration that allocated funding to purchase diverse children’s literature that would be incorporated into the writing curriculum. Utilizing these resources would reinforce the co-planning and delivery of instruction in writing, using mentor texts that reflect students’ backgrounds or serve as windows into other experiences and cultures.

While we encourage collaboration between literacy specialists and classroom teachers, we recognize that this is not the only form of collaboration. Another form of collaboration, peer-mentoring, can occur between teacher-colleagues. Since modeling is the most effective coaching action that supports teacher development (Dole, 2004), administrators can develop structures for teachercolleagues to mentor one another in their school settings and conduct lesson studies. Literacy specialists should be knowledgeable of adult learning theories to support classroom teachers as they mentor and provide demonstration lessons for their colleagues. As supportive mentoring continues to occur amongst teachers and literacy professionals, the capacity for writing instruction should increase among teachercolleagues. Literacy specialists become highly valued by classroom teachers when modeling, co-teaching, observing, and giving feedback are part of the mentoring process.

School- and district-based administrators need to offer literacy specialists support as they incorporate more writing instruction during intervention and as the specialist supports classroom

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writing instruction. It is essential that administrators ensure that literacy specialists receive professional development that includes developing additional knowledge regarding writing acquisition and development, the writing process, assessment tools, and the differentiation of instruction for the diverse needs of all writers. Administrators can be the change agents by leading the way for literacy specialists to embed writing instruction in the classroom and during interventions through their words, actions, and budgets. Thus, high-quality professional development that focuses on writing instruction is required for literacy specialists and teachers as they collaborate to support their diverse writers. Administrators can enhance literacy instruction and student literacy success when they commit to providing professional development opportunities for their teachers and are knowledgeable of effective literacy practices (Peck, 2010). As administrators support literacy specialists and teacher-colleagues in addressing the writing needs of their students, all will have the opportunity to learn and grow.

Summary The support of school leadership is recognized as an important factor in the success of a literacy specialist. Administrators, literacy specialists, and other teacher-leaders need a collective understanding of the ways literacy specialists need to deliver writing intervention and support classroom writing instruction as seen through the 2017 ILA standards. We encourage administrators to review the standards and use the ideas presented in this article to support their literacy specialists as they engage in writing instruction and intervention with students within their schools. It is our hope that our review and recommendations will provide school leadership with guidance to meet the demands of teaching writing and supporting diverse writers in today’s schools.

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Bean, R. M., Draper, J. A., Hall, V., Vandermolen, J., & Zigmond, N. (2010). Coaches and coaching in Reading First schools: A reality check. The Elementary School Journal, 111(1), 87–114. doi:10.1086/653471 Bean, R. M., Kern, D., Goatley, V., Ortlieb, E., Shettel, J., Calo, K., . . . Cassidy, J. (2015). Specialized literacy professionals as literacy leaders: Results of a national survey. Literacy Research and Instruction, 54(2), 83–114.

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programs: Functional, versatile, and prepared. The Reading Teacher, 56(5), 446-455.

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Beaulieu, L. M. (2002). African American children and literacy: Literacy development across the elementary, middle, and high school years. In S. J. Denbo & L. M. Beaulieu (Eds.), Improving schools for African American students (pp. 133-145). Charles C. Thomas.

Beschorner, B., & Hall, A. H. (2017). Taking a closer look at your informational writing instruction. The Reading Teacher, 7(5), 597-600.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS Adam R. Brieske-Ulenski is an associate professor of reading education at Bridgewater State University in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

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TEACHING WITH A CRITICAL LENS: The Importance of Inclusive Children’s Books in Early Childhood and Elementary Classrooms SUSAN FLIS

Children’s books have long been used as an instructional tool for the teaching of reading in elementary schools (Creighton, 1997). However, that has not always been the case. Up until the mid-nineteenth century, the teaching of reading was limited to the introduction of the alphabetic code, key words, spelling exercises, and phonemic segmentation using primers and similar texts (Venezky, 1987). At that time, the availability of printed material increased, and there was a shift in thinking about the value of reading (Goodman, 1989; Tracey & Morrow, 2017).

Comprehension became the focus of reading instruction, and students were taught to use picture and context clues to decipher the meanings of unknown words.

Today, elementary classrooms are filled with picture books and chapter books from a variety of genres. These books are used to teach reading through independent reading, guided reading, shared reading, and interactive read-alouds. Also, their purpose can go beyond basic instruction of decoding and comprehension skills. Books in classrooms can be used to promote social justice and democratic principles, such as equality, equity, and justice, when teachers apply a critical lens to their book selection and lesson planning (e.g., Leland et al., 2017). There are some books that perpetuate stereotypes about historically marginalized identities. Teachers must also examine those books critically and teach their students to do the same.

Stories have a profound impact on children of all identities. They allow children to see themselves represented but also to see others with vastly different cultural backgrounds. Through the themes presented in stories, children can make connections, build empathy, and broaden their perspectives. Inclusive children’s books, both fiction and nonfiction, tell the stories of people’s identities.

“Stories have a profound impact on children of all identities.”

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To facilitate learning and growth with inclusive children’s books, teachers need instructional support.

It is important for teachers to understand the benefits of instructing with inclusive children’s books. This understanding and awareness from teachers is particularly critical in the current political climate of the United States. The 2022-2023 school year brought an increase of book banning in classrooms and in school libraries. According to PEN America, there were 1,477 individual books banned in schools during the first half of this school year alone, which equals a 28% increase from the last half of the 2021-2022 school year. Of the titles banned, 30% are books about race, racism, or have characters of color, and 26% have LGBTQIA+

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themes or characters (Meehan & Friedman, 2023). Removing these books from classrooms and libraries sends a dangerous message to both students and teachers. Banning books devalues the diverse identities of students and fosters fear amongst educators. In this article, I argue for the need to use inclusive children’s books in instruction. Also, teachers need support with this instruction due to their own implicit biases.

Teacher Biases A roadblock to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in a school is the presence of teacher biases in the classrooms. These biases negatively impact teacher-student relationships and relationships amongst students. When teachers and other school personnel use heteronormative, ableist, gender-conforming, and racist language, it creates a culture of exclusion.

Fantus and Newman (2021) wrote about creating a positive school climate for LGBTQIA+ youth.

Although they only recognized the LGBT identities in their work, their findings have implications for all sexual and gender identities. Their research cited the devastating impact a hostile school climate can have on LGBTQIA+ youth, including truancy, low achievement, and damage to social-emotional health and physical well-being. They discussed how heteronormative and antigay language and actions of school personnel contribute to this hostile environment. In their discussion, one of the interventions they propose to combat the bullying of LGBTQIA+ youth is educator-training programs that engage teachers in practices of reflexivity. This would allow teachers to examine their biases about the LGBTQIA+ population.

A study by D’Urso and Symonds (2021) looked at teacher attitudes towards the representation of the LGBTQIA+ population in media, and how this impacted their view of students who identify as LGBTQIA+. The participants in this study were primary and secondary teachers in Italy, but the discussion has global implications. They found that it is difficult for teachers to promote a climate of inclusion in their classrooms when they have personal biases and prejudices against the LGBTQIA+ community.

Naser et al. (2021) proposed an intervention to address racial bias in schools, specifically when it comes to discipline of Black, male students. Their research cited the implicit, racial biases of teachers as a cause of the overrepresentation of students of color receiving disciplinary actions. In their discussion, they suggested that schools must use interventions to combat implicit, racial bias. These interventions include teacher training and reflective practices. They also promote empathetic responses to misbehavior.

Shah et al. (2021) wrote about the presence of teacher bias in class discussions. They argued, “research shows that teachers tend to privilege participation from students who look like them, talk like them, and produce knowledge like them. This matters because participation in classroom discourse has a significant impact on student learning” (p. 42). They concluded by acknowledging that teacher bias is not the only inequity that students of color confront. However, it is an inequity that teachers can change.

Teachers may not intend to exclude students of historically marginalized groups, but it happens anyway.

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It is imperative for teachers to examine their own biases to make more equitable decisions in their classrooms. Inservice and preservice teachers require support to mitigate biases and adopt critical literacy skills (Kelly et al., 2020; Lee, 2016; Norris et al., 2012). Applying critical literacy skills to instruction involves analyzing the texts teachers choose to use and making them available to students.

The Impact of Inclusive Children’s Literature It is imperative that classroom libraries are stocked with literature where all identities are represented. Representation has an impact on students from historically marginalized groups and on students from the dominant culture. Bishop (2016) described an approach to integrating diverse texts into a classroom: When diversity is absent from the literature we share with children, those who are left out infer that they are undervalued in our society, and those whose lives are constantly reflected gain a false sense of their own importance, a sense that they are the privileged “norm.” (p. 120) Privileged identities include people who are White, dominant, American English-speaking, Christian, male, cisgender, heterosexual, middle to upper class, and non-dis/abled (Jewell, 2020).

Historically, there is a lack of representation of diverse identities in children’s books (Cooperative Children’s Book Center, 2023). This is especially true when considering the social construct of race. While there has been an increase of children’s books with Black characters since the studies conducted by Larrick (1965) and Chall et al. (1979), the increase has not been significant enough to overcome the dominating Whiteness of children’s literature. When children of color do not see themselves represented in texts, they feel undervalued. When White children constantly see themselves represented in texts, it cultivates a sense of superiority and promotes racial biases (Welch, 2016).

Across the country, there are states banning books that discuss race and racism as well as forbidding critical literacy practices. Holmes et al. (2017) wrote about using counterstories with first-grade students to promote racial justice. Counter-stories highlight the lived experiences of communities of color. They found that first graders were able to engage in conversations about racism, slavery, Civil Rights, and fairness. The researchers noted that successfully implementing this curriculum hinges on the comfort level of teachers and that teachers need support.

Similarly, Husband (2019) wrote about the importance of using multicultural picture books to promote racial justice in early childhood classrooms. He argued that “in addition to providing affirming and cross-racial experiences for children, multicultural

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picture books can also help children develop a sense of empathy toward other racial groups in society” (p. 1069).

Often when diverse, racial identities are represented in children’s texts, those identities are portrayed in a harmful way through tokenism and stereotypes. In response to studies that highlighted the lack of racial diversity in children’s texts, some publishers changed secondary character names or races (Smith et al., 2016). However, the original stories remained the same, and they were not reflective of diverse cultures. Stories with Indigenous characters have been particularly guilty of perpetuating dangerous stereotypes. Both children’s books and children’s movies have portrayed harmful representations of Indigenous characters. Also, history textbooks have told lies and half-truths about the history of Indigenous people in the United States and Canada.

Peterson and Robinson (2020) wrote about using Indigenous children’s literature as reconciliation in education. They selected 10 Indigenous texts published in Canada between 2015 and 2019 and analyzed them for authenticity. They argued that introducing inclusive stories into the classroom is not enough. Educators must use Indigenous knowledge as a framework to instruct with Indigenous texts, while being careful to not engage in cultural appropriation of Indigenous customs.

Even though the United States does not have a national language, most children’s books feature characters who speak dominant American English. When linguistically diverse students enter classrooms, their native language is seen as a deficit, and they are pushed to focus solely on English (Fu et al., 2019).

This not only devalues a student’s cultural and linguistic identity, but it is also a detriment to the school community.

Diverse linguistic identities are valuable and enrich the lives of all stakeholders. Machado (2017) reviewed how early childhood teachers foster and sustain students’ diverse language and literacy practices. The studies she reviewed highlighted the need for early childhood teachers to support bi/ multilingual students with learning the language of the dominant culture, while also sustaining their own cultural and literacy practices. One of the ways teachers can do this is by taking a multiliteracies or multimodal approach to literacy instruction. This includes blending literary genres to be more reflective of a student’s cultural practices.

Likewise, Reyes-Torres and Raga (2020) wrote about using a multimodal approach when teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) with picture books. Based on the New London Group’s (1996) multiliteracies pedagogy, they developed a multimodal toolkit to support preservice and inservice teachers. They used The Snow Lion by Jim Helmore and Richard Jones (2018) as a model, and they concluded that “picture books prove to be an effective multimodal artifact in helping students develop the three dimensions of literacy-cognitive, conceptual, and sociocultural-in the [Foreign Language] (FL) and create a

“Diverse linguistic identities are valuable and enrich the lives of all stakeholders.”

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natural bond with creativity, stories, and literature” (p. 115). Indeed, picture books have a strong impact through their visuals, rich language, and the themes they present. This is one of the reasons why critical text selection is so important.

One way for schools to support bi/multilingual students and to celebrate linguistic diversity is to stock classroom libraries with dual-language picture books. Dual-language picture books can be translingual, where the text moves between two languages; or bilingual, where the text appears in both languages on the same page; or dual versions, where the same book is published in multiple languages (Short et al., 2023). Even with dual-language picture books, a critical analysis is necessary because sometimes English is prioritized with the placement of the text, font type, or text color choice. This promotes the false idea that the language of the dominant culture is superior.

Bucholtz et al. (2017) wrote about language and culture as sustenance: When young people’s language and culture are recognized as valid and valuable, and when young people themselves are respected as linguistic and cultural experts, then educators and students become partners in learning and in using their collective knowledge to bring about social change. (p. 55) Linguistic diversity should be seen as an asset, not a problem to be solved.

Christianity is the religion of the dominant culture in the United States. However, there are many children in this country who practice non-Christian religions or no religion at all. When Christian children are not introduced to other beliefs or the possibility of other beliefs, they may assume that theirs is the only way.

Children’s literature is a way to educate students about diverse religions and beliefs.

Green and Oldendorf (2005) studied religious diversity in children’s literature. They offered guidance for teachers about text selection with diverse, religious representation. They wrote, “when teachers and children learn about different spiritual traditions, they develop empathy for others and become global citizens with interests and understandings beyond their own experiences” (p. 216). This also applies to children from families who do not practice any religion, or who identify as atheists.

Introducing texts with religious representation can be controversial for public school teachers. Many public schools ignore religion out of fear and a lack of cultural knowledge.

Dávila (2015) wrote about religious neutrality in schools and argued for religious and cultural pluralism. She surveyed preservice teachers, asking them if they would use the text In My Family/En Mi Familia by Carmen Lomas Garza (1996) in their future classrooms.

In My Family/En Mi Familia is a memoir of special events in the author’s life. One of these events is “The Miracle/El Milagro,” and another is “The Virgin of Guadalupe/La Virgen de Guadalupe.” These are both religious events that are tied with Garza’s culture. Based

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on the preservice teachers’ responses, Dávila concluded that preservice teachers need foundational knowledge of the diverse cultures and religions of the world. She wrote, “otherwise, the national call for more diverse books will do little to advance multicultural education, let alone cultivate children’s cultural/religious literacies in becoming citizens of a pluralistic society” (p. 78). Offering students texts with representations of a variety of beliefs can turn assumptions and judgments into acceptance and understanding.

Being a cisgender male is a privileged gender identity. Many children’s texts present gender as an either/or binary. Problematic children’s texts include stereotypes about binary gender roles. A study conducted in 1993 by Patt and McBride examined gender equity in children’s books in preschool classrooms. The purpose of the study was to explore the frequency of male versus female characters and to look at pronoun usage in the texts. Between books read aloud and books that were available for the students in the classroom, there was a total of 471 books surveyed. Among those books, the researchers found that most of the characters were either considered male or nongendered (animal characters or personified objects), with only 22% of the sample considered female. They also found that 70% of the main characters were considered male. Finally, traditional male pronouns were read aloud 3.3 times more frequently than traditional female pronouns. A limitation that the researchers pointed out in this study was the small sample size of teachers and classrooms, and that all the classrooms were in one school (Patt & McBride, 1993). A further limitation of this study is that it considers the traditional binary genders of male and female only.

There have been multiple studies about the representation of gender in children’s books. For example, Ernst (1995) analyzed titles of children’s books and found that traditional male names appeared twice as often as traditional female names. Even more dangerous than the lack of representation is the way female characters are presented in many children’s texts. Fox (1993) wrote, “gender stereotypes in literature prevent the fullness of female human potential from being realized by depriving girls of a range of strong, alternative role models” (p. 84).

Although there was progress in female characterization throughout the 1970s, that progress was delayed in the 80s with the conservative political climate. Studies conducted at the end of the century have highlighted the need to critically examine children’s texts for damaging gender stereotypes (Worland, 2008). In more recent research, Filipović (2018) found that there is “Offering students texts a lack of awareness amongst educators about gender role representation in children’s texts. with representations of a Being that male and female are not the only gender identities, it is important to consider the representation of non-binary and transgender characters in children’s literature. Crawley (2017) conducted a critical content analysis of nine realistic picture books that featured children who identified as a different gender than their biological

variety of beliefs can turn assumptions and judgments into acceptance and understanding.”

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sex. While he acknowledges the important role these texts serve in the advocacy and representation of trans youth, he also found that these texts continue to perpetuate gender stereotypes. For example, when the protagonist identifies as female, they often want to wear dresses or grow their hair long. Also, the families of gender-nonconforming characters are all White, mostly middle class, and cisgender. While Crawley only analyzed nine children’s books, it is important to note the similarities across these texts in advancing conformity and ignoring the intersectionality of social identities.

Tapia (2020) wrote about cultivating an inclusive culture for LGBTQIA+ students and the need to start at the elementary level. He argued that children as young as preschool apply stereotypes and that elementary students are aware of discrimination. He also wrote that when schools do not disrupt systems of oppression and inherent bias, then children accept that as “norm.” He encouraged teachers to select stories with a diverse representation of gender roles and to consider the intersectionality of the representation in these texts.

Likewise, Luecke (2021) studied children’s books with representation of gender diversity and their impact on elementary students. She conducted a book group discussion with five elementary students, some who identify as transgender and some who are cisgender allies.

They listened to various stories, where LGBTQIA+ identities are represented. She found that the participants engaged in conversations about identity and power. She suggested that gender- expansive books be a part of the elementary curriculum, and she wrote, “readers of all genders should be affirmed in knowing that they can be true to themselves and develop compassion toward others” (p. 35). It is important for teachers to critically examine their text selection, so they do not promote gender stereotypes. This will create a classroom culture of belonging.

Class is an identity that is often ignored in children’s literature. With about 1 in 6 children living in poverty in the United States, the normalizing of the middle and upper class in picture books is not an accurate representation of many of this nation’s youth (Children’s Defense Fund, 2019). Jones (2008) wrote about “the great void” (p. 46) in children’s literature. This void refers to the lack of representation of working-class and poor families in texts. She argued that just increasing the amount of representation will not be enough to engage readers and urged teachers to enact critical literacy practices with texts that have “validating representations of working-class and poor families and children” (p. 49).

Similarly, Dutro (2009) argued for critical inquiry of children’s texts. She examined how middle schoolers responded to a curriculum-mandated response to text prompt. The text used was Leah’s Pony by Elizabeth Friedrich (1996). This story takes place during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, and the students were prompted to write about the signs of hard times. Their responses were connected to their own experiences of hard times living in poverty. Dutro argued that the curriculum makes social-class assumptions and does not allow the teachers or students to engage in critical literacy practices.

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In a more recent study, Terrile (2021) analyzed the depictions of housing and homes in 185 picture books that were published in the United States from 1999 to 2019. She discussed the representation of homelessness and housing instability, but also characters living in apartments, trailers, or other kinds of homes that are not middle- to upper-class, single-family homes. She found that many of the books she analyzed displayed single-family homes, where children had their own bedrooms and material possessions. She also found that kitchens were represented with an abundance of food. She argued that these images advance middle-class values and norms. Finally, she found that many books with representation of diverse home settings presented the lived experiences of the characters in these homes as a problem. This attaches a stigma to people of lower-income or working-class backgrounds.

She pushed for more picture books, where diverse homes are represented, and where the concept of home is not the focus of the story. Children who live in middle- to upper-class, single-family homes need to see that other home settings exist. Also, children who live in diverse home settings need to feel represented in positive ways.

The ability identity is another area where representation is either lacking or problematic. In the past, children’s literature with portrayals of characters with dis/abilities were either poorly written or the representations were inaccurate. These books may have advanced deficit thinking around diverse abilities (Wopperer, 2011).

A study conducted in 2016 by Wilkins et al. examined elementary students’ perceptions of dis/ abilities through the use of children’s literature. The researchers used 12 books with characters with dis/ abilities in third- and fourth-grade classrooms at three elementary schools. They found that the students’ responses to these texts were influenced by external factors like societal messages and academic responses, as well as internal factors like how the dis/ability was portrayed in the book and the influence of the adult reading the text. They argued that this has implications for teachers. Teachers must be aware of how they influence their students’ responses and allow for open-ended discussions that will promote critical thinking. Teachers must also apply critical thinking to their text selection.

The representation of differing abilities in children’s books is a pathway to developing an inclusive mindset. Pennell et al. (2017) wrote about respectful representations of dis/ability in children’s literature.

They conducted a review of picture books with the goal of compiling a list of books that would not only give all students insight into the diverse range of abilities but also give students with dis/abilities an opportunity to see “It is important to note that themselves represented in text. The result was a list of 72 books that met their criteria. They noted that they found representation of an identity mostly books with characters with physical impairments is not enough. Teachers must and far fewer books with characters with autism-spectrum engage students in critical disorders or learning dis/abilities. This points to the conversations about inclusive ongoing gap in the representation of ability identities in children’s literature. texts.”

It is important to note that representation of

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an identity is not enough. Teachers must engage students in critical conversations about inclusive texts. Adomat (2014) conducted a study about literature discussions around books that have characters with dis/abilities. She recorded elementary students’ talk before, during, and after literature discussions. At the end of the teachers’ unit on dis/ability, they noted that general education students were more empathic and understanding of students with dis/abilities in their classrooms. There were more positive social interactions within the classroom and within the school community at-large. It is important to note that this study took place during a curriculum unit focused on dis/ability. Representations of diverse ability identities and all diverse identities should be ongoing and not presented in isolation.

The literature reviewed shows the positive impact of inclusive children’s books. This points to the idea that teachers should think critically when selecting texts for instruction.

The inclusion of diverse identities in children’s books is not the only factor to consider. Texts must be critically analyzed for their degree of cultural responsiveness, and how the diverse identity is represented.

Critical Conversations Ensuring access to children’s books with representation of diverse identities is imperative for all students. However, just stocking classroom libraries with these books is not enough. Teachers must think critically about using these texts in their instruction.

Inclusive children’s books are a source for engaging students in critical conversations about diverse identities and social justice. Lewison et al. (2002) wrote, “when critical conversations become part of the regular curriculum, school has the potential of becoming an exciting place where stimulating, intellectual work is the rule rather than the exception” (p. 216).

In most early childhood and elementary classrooms, these critical conversations occur during interactive read-aloud lessons. Interactive read-alouds typically take place as a whole-group, learning activity. The teacher reads a selected book aloud, while engaging the students in conversations before, during, and after reading. The benefits of interactive readalouds include building a community of learners with shared knowledge regardless of their reading-ability level and actively engaging readers in processing language and ideas (Fountas & Pinnell, 2019).

Kesler et al. (2020) wrote, “interactive read-aloud[s] gives children opportunities to talk about topics of social justice with the teacher’s guidance, learning by and through talking” (p. 210). They conducted action research on the power of the interactive read-aloud in a third-grade classroom. They argued that students gain deep understandings of social justice issues and a range of reading skills when they participate in critical conversations about picture books.

Interactive read-alouds and the conversations that stem from those lessons can build empathy in elementary students. Empathy is a necessary quality in the healthy psychological

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development of children. It lowers aggression, encourages inclusion, and broadens a child’s perspective.

Empathy development includes two domains, cognitive and affective empathy. Cognitive empathy is the ability to accurately name another person’s feelings. Affective empathy is how the other person’s feelings make us feel (Dadds et al., 2008). Both cognitive and affective empathy can be fostered through interactive read-alouds, using inclusive children’s books.

Developing reading skills, acquiring understandings of social justice, and building empathy all come from the conversations students and teachers engage in during interactive read-aloud lessons.

Harste et al. (2000) wrote, “critical conversations are important because they highlight diversity and difference while calling attention to the nature and role of literacy in our society” (p. 507).

An interactive read-aloud is not a passive story time. It is an immersive, social experience. Since learning is social, students learn a great deal from the book in which they participate with their teachers and peers during interactive read-aloud lessons. Pantaleo (2004, 2007) examined conversations that occurred in a first-grade classroom during read-aloud sessions. She found that the students were able to use oral language to think collectively about the texts. She noted the evidence of children interthinking during the read-aloud, which is when students are engaging in critical conversations with peers and extending their own thinking based on those conversations (Mercer, 1995).

However, reading and talking about books is still not enough. Dewey (1916) wrote about the need for schools to encourage students to be active participants in social learning: While books and conversation can do much, these agencies are usually relied upon too exclusively. Schools require, for their full efficiency, more opportunity for conjoint activities in which those instructed take part, so that they may acquire a social sense of their own powers and of the materials and appliances used. (p. 40) Engaging students in critical conversations about diverse children’s books encourages them to reflect on what they can do to disrupt systems of oppression.

Instructing with Inclusive Children’s Books As stated previously, an interactive read-aloud is not a passive activity. Teachers must fully understand the benefits of the interactive read-aloud to effectively implement it. They must also apply critical literacy theory when selecting the texts they read and when planning the questions they pose to students. Cunningham and Enriquez (2013) wrote, “read-alouds can provide the necessary scaffolding for the close reading of complex, powerful, and transformative texts” (p. 29). They provided recommendations to teachers on text selection and instructional practices with read-alouds. They encouraged teachers to examine the questions they plan to pose to students during an interactive readaloud. The open-ended questions they proposed pushed students to take an inward glance at how a text may have changed their own attitudes and beliefs, and what they can do to advocate for social justice.

Bishop (1990) developed the metaphor of looking at books like mirrors, windows, and sliding

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glass doors. Books as mirrors reflect a student’s culture and identity. Books as windows provide a view into other realities. Books as sliding glass doors allow readers to step inside those realities to gain a deeper understanding of diverse cultures. Although this metaphor provided teachers with a valuable framework for instructing with inclusive children’s books, other researchers have highlighted the need for teachers to take a more, critical stance when selecting texts.

Botelho (2021) encouraged a critical, multicultural analysis of texts. She wrote, “just because a book is deemed multicultural does not mean its words and images will resonate with readers, and that it is immune to stereotypes and dominant worldviews” (p. 122).

She argued that when instructing with inclusive children’s books, teachers must use text sets as mirrors, windows, and doors. Text sets are a collection of multiple books around a similar theme. Botelho wrote, “analyzed side by side, texts can generate intertextual ties, connections, disconnections, and questions while allowing the reader to take notice of the context of the text” (p. 122). This is not limited to books. It includes other text sources like newspapers, music, videos, and blogs.

Enriquez (2021) applied Bishop’s (1990) metaphor of mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors to instructional practice. When thinking of inclusive children’s books as mirrors, she urged teachers to gain an understanding of their students’ various identities and to engage students in classroom text selection. To effectively use books as windows, teachers must analyze the yearlong curriculum across all content areas. Inclusive children’s books should be read aloud all year long and should be integrated into other content areas like writing, science, and social studies. Finally, when using inclusive children’s books as sliding glass doors, teachers must consider the perspective of the text, and which texts they can choose that highlight the voices of people from historically marginalized groups over those who traditionally hold power and privilege.

It is imperative for teachers to think critically about their text selection and their instructional practices with those texts. Offering students diverse perspectives through inclusive children’s books is a way to disrupt systems of oppression. The lingering question that remains is, “What should teachers do with the children’s books in their classrooms that advance stereotypes about diverse identities?”

Problematic Children’s Books When teachers develop a critical, multicultural analysis stance of children’s literature, they can assess texts for stereotypes about race, language, religion, gender, sexual orientation, class, and ability. Texts that perpetuate stereotypes advance problematic thinking about diverse identities. Kneeskern and Reeder (2022) conducted a study to examine the impact fiction literature with non-stereotypical protagonists had on the gender perceptions of 8- to 12-year-old children. Using the Gender-Stereotyped Attitude Scale for Children (GASC) (Liben & Signorella, 1980), they found that when children were exposed to

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a multi-chapter story that featured a counter-stereotypical protagonist, those children’s endorsement of gender stereotypes was reduced. This was most prevalent in male-identifying students when the protagonist was a non-traditional male. They point out a limitation of this study is the scale they used.

Although the GASC is a published tool, it could be outdated, especially given its binary nature. However, the reduction of children’s stereotypical perceptions points to future research concerning other categories of stereotypical perceptions, like race, language, class, sexual orientation, and ability.

Conclusion As mentioned previously in this article, non-dominant identities are vastly underrepresented in children’s literature. This article has argued that all classrooms need libraries full of inclusive and diverse children’s books. Also, teachers must engage students in critical conversations about these books.

If teachers continue to use books that promote stereotypes and problematic thinking about diverse identities, they are cultivating dominant biases and maintaining systems of oppression.

Kohl (1995) wrote about the role of power in children’s literature. He analyzed the classic children’s story of Babar the Elephant by Jean de Brunhoff (1931). At first glance, Babar may come across as a charming children’s tale that serves the purpose of entertaining readers. However, Kohl adopted a critical, multicultural analysis stance when examining this text. He asked, “Who has the power in Babar?

Who makes the decisions in the story? Who is obeyed and tells the other characters what to do? And how is power distributed among the characters in the text?” (p. 5). Upon analysis, Babar is a story that glorifies colonization and promotes racist and sexist ideas.

Teachers must make critical decisions about which books remain on their shelves. The intention of this is not to encourage censorship or book banning in any way. However, to disrupt systems of oppression, we must stop teaching children a white-washed version of society. Instead, we can teach students to critically analyze texts by asking these questions: “Which identities are represented in this text, and which are not?” “How are those identities represented?” “Who holds the power?” “Whose voice is heard and whose voice is silenced?”

References Adomat, D. S. (2014). Exploring issues of disability in children’s literature discussions. Disability Studies Quarterly, 34(3). https://dsq-sds.org/article/view/3865/3644 Bishop, R. S. (1990). Mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors. Perspectives: Choosing and Using Books for the Classroom, 1(3), ix-xi.

Bishop, R. S. (2016). A ride with Nana and CJ: Engagement, appreciation, and social action. Language Arts, 94(2), 120-123.

Botelho, M. J. (2021). Reframing mirrors, windows, and doors: A critical analysis of the metaphors for multicultural children’s literature. Journal of Children’s Literature, 47(1), 119-126.

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Bucholtz, M., Casillas, D. I., & Lee, J. S. (2017). Language and culture as sustenance. In D. Paris & H. S. Alim (Eds.), Culturally sustaining pedagogies: Teaching and learning for justice in a changing world (pp. 43-59). Teachers College Press.

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Children’s Defense Fund. (2019, September 10). New census data reveals continued child poverty crisis in America. https://www.childrensdefense.org Cooperative Children’s Book Center. (2023, June 2). CCBC diversity statistics: Primary character/ subject. https://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/literature-resources/ccbc-diversity-statistics/ Crawley, S. A. (2017). Be who you are: Exploring representations of transgender children in picture books. Journal of Children’s Literature, 43(2), 28-41.

Creighton, D. C. (1997). Critical literacy in the elementary classroom. Language Arts, 74(6), 438-445.

Cunningham, K. E., & Enriquez, G. (2013). Bridging core readiness with social justice through social justice picture books. New England Reading Association Journal, 48(2), 28-37.

Dadds, M. R., Hunter, K., Hawes, D. J., Frost, A. D. J., Vassallo, S., Bunn, P., Merz, S., & El-Masry, Y. (2008). A measure of cognitive and affective empathy in children using parent ratings. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 39, 111-122. https://www.doi.org/10.1007/s10578007-0075-4 Dávila, D. (2015). #Whoneedsdiversebooks? Preservice teachers and religious neutrality with children’s literature. Research in the Teaching of English, 50(1), 60-83.

Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and education: An introduction to the philosophy of education. The Free Press.

D’Urso, D., & Symonds, J. (2021). Teacher attitudes towards the representation of homosexuality in films and television: A new self-report questionnaire. Sexuality & Culture, (25), 1726-1741. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-021-09846-5 Dutro, E. (2009). Children writing “hard times”: Lived experiences of poverty and the class-privileged assumptions of a mandated curriculum. Language Arts, 87(2), 89-98.

Enriquez, G. (2021). Foggy mirrors, tiny windows, and heavy doors: Beyond diverse books toward meaningful literacy instruction. The Reading Teacher, 75(1), 103-106. https://www.doi. org/10.1002/trtr.2030 Ernst, S. B. (1995). Gender issues in books for children and young adults. In S. Lehr (Ed.). Battling dragons: Issues and controversy in children’s literature. Heinemann.

Fantus, S., & Newman, P. A. (2021). Promoting a positive school climate for sexual and gender minority youth through a systems approach: A theory-informed qualitative study. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 91(1), 9-19. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ort0000513 Filipović, K. (2018). Gender representation in children’s books: Case of an early childhood setting.

Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 32(3), 310-325. https://doi.org/10.1080/025685 43.2018.1464086 Fountas, I. C., & Pinnell, G. S. (2019, January). “What is Interactive Read-Aloud?” Web blog post. What Is Series. Fountas & Pinnell Literacy Blog.

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Fox, M. (1993). Men who weep, boys who dance: The gender agenda between the lines in children’s literature.

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Goodman, K. S. (1989). Whole-language research: Foundations and development. The Elementary School Journal, 90(2), 207-221. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1002030 Green, C., & Oldendorf, S. B. (2005). Teaching religious diversity through children’s literature. Childhood Education, 81(4), 209-218.

Harste, J. C., Breau, A., Leland, C., Lewison, M., Ociepka, A., & Vasquez, V. (2000). Supporting critical conversations in classrooms. In K. M. Pierce (Ed.), Adventuring with books: A booklist for preK-grade 6 (12th ed., pp. 507512). National Council of Teachers of English.

Holmes, K. A., Garcia, J., & Adair, J. K. (2017). Who said we’re too young to talk about race? First graders and their teacher investigate racial justice through counter-stories. In N. Yelland & D. F. Bentley (Eds.), Found in translation: Connecting reconceptualist thinking with early childhood education practices (1st ed., pp. 129147). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315165042 Husband, T. (2019). Using multicultural picture books to promote racial justice in urban early childhood literacy classrooms. Urban Education, 54(8), 1058-1084. http://doi.org/10.1177/0042085918805145 Jewell, T. (2020). This book is anti-racist: 20 lessons on how to wake up, take action, and do the work. Quarto Publishing.

Jones, S. (2008). Grass houses: Representations and reinventions of social class through children’s literature.

Journal of Language and Literacy Education, 4(2), 40-58.

Kelly, K., Laminack, L., & Gould, E. (2020). Confronting bias with children’s literature: A preservice teacher’s journey to developing a critical lens for reading the word and the world. The Reading Teacher, 74(3), 297-304.

Kesler, T., Mills, M., & Reilly, M. (2020). I hear you: Teaching social justice in interactive read-aloud. Language Arts, 97(4), 207-222.

Kneeskern, E. E., & Reeder, P. A. (2022). Examining the impact of fiction literature on children’s gender stereotypes.

Current Psychology, 41, 1472-1485. https://doi.or/10.1007/s12144-020-00686-4 Kohl, H. (1995). Should we burn Babar? Essays on children’s literature and the power of stories. The New Press.

Larrick, N. (1965, September 11). The all-White world of children’s books. Saturday Review, 63-65, 84-85.

Lee, C. (2016). Teaching multiple literacies and critical literacy to pre-service teachers through children’s-literaturebased engagements. Journal of Language & Literacy Education, 12(1), 39-52.

Leland, C. H., Lewison, M., & Harste, J. C. (2017). Teaching children’s literature: It’s critical! Routledge.

Lewison, M., Leland, C., Flint, A. S., & Moller, K. J. (2002). Dangerous discourses: Using controversial books to support engagement, diversity, and democracy. The New Advocate, 15(3), 215-226.

Liben, L. S., & Signorella, M. L. (1980). Gender-stereotyped attitude scale for children (GASC) [Database record].

APA PsycTests. https://doi.org/10.1037/t09185-000 Luecke, J. C. (2021). Using literature to make expansive genders visible for pre-adolescent readers. Children’s Literature in Education, 54, 17-38. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-021-09447-8 Machado, E. (2017). Fostering and sustaining diverse literacy practices in the early childhood classroom: Reviewing

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the literature in three areas. Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, 66, 309-324. https://doi.org/10.1177/2381336917718178 Meehan, K., & Friedman, J. (2023, April 20). Banned in the USA: State laws supercharge book suppression in schools. PEN America.

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Pantaleo, S. (2007). Interthinking: Young children using language to think collectively during interactive read-alouds. Early Childhood Education Journal, 34(6), 439-447. https://www.doi. org/10.1007/s10643-007-0154-y Patt, M. B., & McBride, B. A. (1993, April). Gender equity in picture books in preschool classrooms: An exploratory study. American Educational Research Association.

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Peterson, S. S., & Robinson, R. B. (2020). Rights of Indigenous children: Reading children’s literature through an Indigenous knowledges lens. Education Sciences, 10(281), 1-14. https://doi. org/10.3390/educsci10100281 Reyes-Torres, A., & Raga, M. P. (2020). Multimodal approach to foster the multiliteracies pedagogy in the teaching of EFL through picture books: The snow lion. Journal of the Spanish Association of Anglo-American Studies, 42(1), 94-119. http://doi.org/10.28914/Atlantis-2020-42.1.06 Shah, N., Ortiz, N., Stroupe, D., & Reinholz, D. (2021, March). Who participates? Analyzing data with context can help educators detect inequalities in classroom participation and reduce implicit bias. Educational Leadership, 78(6), 41-46.

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Tapia, M. (2020). An LGBTQ+ inclusive culture begins in elementary school. Leadership Magazine. www.acsa.org Terrile, V. C. (2021). Scenes from the class struggle in picture books: Depictions of housing and home in books for young children. Children’s Literature in Education, 53, 526-546. https://doi. org/10.1007/s10583-021-09458-5 58

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Tracey, D. H., & Morrow, L. M. (2017). Lenses on reading: An introduction to theories and models (3rd ed.). The Guilford Press.

Venezky, R. L. (1987). A history of the American reading textbook. The Elementary School Journal, 87(3), 247-265.

Welch, B. F. (2016). The pervasive Whiteness of children’s literature: Collective harms and consumer obligations.

Social Theory and Practice, 42(2), 367-388. https://doi.org10.5840/soctheorpract201642220 Wilkins, J., Howe, K., Seiloff, M., Rowan, S., & Lilly, E. (2016). Exploring elementary students’ perceptions of disabilities using children’s literature. British Journal of Special Education, 43(3), 233-249. https://www.doi. org/10.1111/1467-8578-12138 Wopperer, E. (2011). Inclusive literature in the library and the classroom: The importance of young adult and children’s books that portray characters with disabilities. Knowledge Quest, 39(3), 26-34.

Worland, J. (2008). Girls will be girls…and so on: Treatment of gender in preschool books from 1960 through 1990.

Children and Libraries: The Journal of the Association for Library Service to Children, 6(1), 42-26.

Children’s Literature Cited de Brunhoff, J. (1931). Babar the elephant. Random House.

Friedrich, E. (1996). Leah’s pony. Boyds Mills Press.

Garza, C. L. (1996). In my family/En mi familia. Children’s Book Press.

Helmore, J., & Jones, R. (2018). The snow lion. Peachtree.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Susan Flis was a classroom teacher for over 20 years and is now an instructional coach and literacy interventionist for the Somerset Public Schools in Somerset, MA. She is currently a PhD candidate at Lesley University, researching how to support elementary teachers in instructing with inclusive children’s literature.

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FINDING MOTIVATION IN A DAUNTING TASK: Supporting College-Wide Diversity and Equity Through Shared Learning JACQUELYNNE ANNE BOIVIN AND SHEENA RANCHER

Have you ever started a challenging task or strived to achieve an intimidating goal alone and felt utterly overwhelmed, and the second someone says they’ll join for the ride, it suddenly felt far more doable? For example, having a gym-buddy so that you can hold each other accountable for working out routinely and having that companionship makes exercise something you authentically want to do. Having people alongside us on hard journeys can make us feel like we can do what we previously thought was impossible. That’s how we feel about diversity and equity work. Collaboration and shared experiences are the root of effective action and deeprooted change. This edition of the Primer is all about how to excite and motivate students to read and write, and in order for students to have those experiences, it is integral that they feel they are in a safe space to express themselves and feel valued and wanted authentically. This article is about establishing important diversity and equity understandings and motivation in educators, so that all students feel welcomed and nurtured.

In this article, we will unpack what a college-wide diversity and equity council can look like by explaining our own, shared background regarding the end-of-year conference we planned for the college and explain a research study that we conducted as part of the conference regarding faculty’s, staff’s, and administration’s “Multicultural Efficacy,” using an inventory tool for pre and post data collection. We strive for you to leave this article feeling like you have the understanding and tools to inspire collegial collaborations in the name of anti-racism at your institution, whether it be in K-12 or higher education. Consider the content of this article as a possible roadmap for supporting colleagues at any educational level to ensure all students have the opportunity to feel motivated to read and write.

What is a Diversity and Equity Council?

“Collaboration and shared experiences are the root of effective action and deeprooted change.”

We are co-chairs of the Bridgewater State University’s College of Education and Health Sciences’ (CEHS) Diversity and Equity Council (DEC) Committee.

Our mission is, “To prepare high-quality, caring professionals to serve within a society influenced by growing diversity, intersecting identities, and accelerated change.” Our goals are within the domains of opportunity, diversity, and social justice, and we strive toward the following: • Provide multiple, data-driven, strategic, and infused opportunities that advance social justice learning in and across all departments

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• Foster a culture of diversity, equity, integrity, inclusivity, and transparency • Reflect continuously on personal biases and organizational inequities to further individual and collective processes for antiracism and equity • Support student and faculty work that promotes social justice and the development of culturally responsive professionals • Communicate clearly, transparently, and effectively about issues of social justice and provide opportunities for CEHS students to practice their own equity talk and teaching • Lead and provide resources for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts at all levels—local, state, national, and international Our mission statement and goals were a work-in-progress for about two years. We sought feedback from numerous sources and even in their “finalized state,” we understand that these are never permanent as we grow, learn, and reconsider what we hope to achieve over time.

Our council is made up of volunteer members from departments across the College of Education and Health Sciences. These departments range from teacher-preparation to Communication and Hearing Disorders programs. What these departments share is that they support future professionals in their journeys to help people. With service-focused professions at the root of our college, this common thread allows us to see that to best serve everyone in our given fields, and for our students to best serve everyone in their given fields after graduation, they must value and harbor equity. We are also fortunate to have administrators as members of the council; their support helps with navigating policies and seeking support “up the institutional ladder.” To make this council as accessible as possible, we meet once per month for an hour online. The focus of each meeting varies, but typically these meetings are used to brainstorm and plan programming to support faculty in their anti-bias actions and ongoing learning.

For example, at the start of the fall 2022 semester, we asked the membership about what they would like to see from the council for the upcoming year. There was interest in offering programming rooted in equity to departments within our college. Based on the discussion and hearing what it sounded like departments wanted and needed, we designed a mini-workshop that could be presented at any department meeting throughout the college. The mini-workshop was called, “Jumpstart Your Equity.” It was 30-minutes in duration and could be offered in-person, online, or hybrid, depending on the requests of the department. As co-chairs, we took the lead on facilitating these sessions, and it served as a powerful way to introduce ourselves to colleagues who may be unfamiliar with us or the Diversity and Equity Council. It was like an equity traveling show, of sorts. The requests we received when designing the mini-workshop were to keep it short, keep it simple, and leave the participants wanting more. Many council members shared that they feared their departmental colleagues were overwhelmed by equity work and the lack of an entry point. The group agreed that a short workshop that shared baseline information and encouraged considerations for application was needed, rather than a long workshop that might feel like too much to absorb at once.

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Our session started with reviewing terminology, graphically describing “equity” versus “equality,” and placed emphasis on “justice” as a goal to always keep in mind. We then shared a short video, which varied by department, but with the underlying message of understanding what biases are and how they can be detrimental. Reflective questions wrapped up the session, along with the recommendation for each participant to consider how they will continue learning about these ideas after the session.

These sessions were successful, based on the post-session feedback we received.

We were even asked to share a short version of our session with the spring 2023 cohort of student teachers and the full mini-workshop to all of the special education student teachers. “Such a presentation has the potential to have incredible impacts,” considered one faculty member in a teacher preparation program. That faculty member may start to teach about equity in education and then, their students become student teachers, who now have strategies to advance equity in their placement classrooms. The benefits of this mini-workshop were multilayered. As co-chairs, we also were able to hear voices from participants, students, and faculty, alike, about what they need to feel supported in pursuing diversity and equity work. Collaborations led to this workshop, and collaborations with participants enhanced our insights toward future programming. And soon after our last session, we started thinking ahead.

A Conference of Sharing and Learning from One Another Early in the spring 2023 semester, the idea came up at one of our council meetings to have some sort of culminating event at the end of the academic year. While “departmental retreats” in May were typical, we wanted something college-wide that felt different. We discussed how “retreat” did not accurately represent what we envisioned for this large event.

Rather, we wanted to showcase the inspiring, incredible work of our colleagues that focused on diversity and equity. We thought the descriptor “conference” would spur greater collegial interest and provide colleagues opportunities to share their accomplishments, teaching and service practices, and scholarship. Collaboration and discussion were intended to be key components of this conference.

As we planned the event, we were fortunate to have an organized, prompt, motivated, creative team of council members who formed a conference-planning subcommittee. We led this subcommittee and never once took for granted the paramount help and support they were able to lend with such busy schedules. This group of faculty, from a variety of departments, helped with a myriad of tasks, ranging from creating the program, to supporting the technological needs, to making the conference hybrid, and to making decisions about the conference agenda. As a team, we learned from one another as to which programming would help others in learning about diversity and equity. We decided that we wanted participants leaving being able to: • Explore inclusive practices and culturally responsive teaching aimed to meet all students’ exceptionalities 62

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• Identify intersectional, root causes of exclusion/othering (race, social class, ethnicity, English language proficiency, gender, sexuality, ability) and consider the role programs have in creating inclusive, learning environments for all students • Unpack the fallacy of race as an historical background in the struggle for anti-racism While a conference, in theory, sounded like a great idea, we knew it could be a costly endeavor.

We applied for a specialized grant through our institution’s provost’s office to fund things like the keynote speaker honorarium, food, raffle books, and more. We felt very fortunate to receive this grant, which made the conference possible.

We were fortunate to have Dr. Joseph Mathews as our keynote speaker. He is an assistant professor of education at Oklahoma State University and the author of a variety of books, including Things I Wish My Teacher Knew About Me (Matthews, 2015). He worked with us to ensure his talk was in alignment with the needs of the conference participants. He did a fantastic job sharing his experiences as a Black, male student and educator and his thoughts and advice about higher education. The salient message of working to ensure all students, of all races and backgrounds feel embraced at your institution daily was impactful and carried into how all faculty need to feel valued and nurtured as well. Shifting our gaze from recruitment to retention of students of color sparked strong participant considerations. As a predominantly White institution, we felt that having a keynote speaker of color was instrumental to this conference. His perspective, told through vivid, emotional anecdotes, felt more impactful than any long, dense research article could show. This keynote speech was motivating as we headed into the breakout presentations.

While the conference started with hearing a voice from outside our institution, we wanted to give colleagues an opportunity to share their diversity and equity work in the breakout sessions. Prior to the conference, we designed a call for proposals, for which we were seeking proposals that aligned with the conference objectives. Accepted proposals ranged from colleagues’ work in establishing and maintaining anti-racism committees in individual departments to the power of civic education in promoting equity. A mixture of faculty and administrators presented during the breakout, presentation time. These presentations led to a lunchtime reflective discussion and opportunity to journal about the learning that took place.

The conference ended with a book raffle for participants. The conference subcommittee worked together to create a list of books that could be used to support conference participants to continue learning after the conference was over. We called the list our council’s “Summer Reads,” to encourage participants to read a book tied to diversity and inclusion during the summer months, which are often less taxing in terms of workload. Some of these books were: • Teaching Race: How to Help Students Unmask and Challenge Racism (Brookfield & Associates, 2018) • Becoming a White Antiracist: Strategies for Teaching (Brookfield & Hess, 2021) • Equity and Inclusion in Higher Education (Kumar & Rafaei. 2021) MRA Primer 2023 | www.massreading.org

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• Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies: Teaching and Learning for Justice in a Changing World (Paris & Alim, 2023) • A Race is a Nice Thing to Have: A Guide To Being a White Person or Understanding the White Persons in Your Life (Helms, 2019) • No Study Without Struggle: Confronting Settler Colonialization in Higher Education (Patel, 2022) • Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race (Tatum, 2017) • Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do (Eberhardt, 2020) • From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: Expanding Practitioner Knowledge for Racial Justice in Higher Education (McNair, Bensiman, et al., 2019) • Pedagogy of the Oppressed: 50th Anniversary Edition (Freire, Ramos [trans.] et al., 2018) • Handbook of Research on Teachers of Color and Indigenous Teachers (Gist & Bristol [eds.], 2022) The grant that paid for these books also paid for a variety of children’s literature and young-adult literature that is diverse and inclusive. We shared these books at the conference as a way to announce the establishment of the College of Education and Health Sciences first ever “Diversity and Equity Library,” which would be conveniently located in a centralized location at the college. We aimed to have students sign these books out for usage when working with young people (like in schools or other placements based on the academic discipline). In the list below, you can see that we wanted to offer books for a variety of age levels and on different topics, ranging from race, to ability, and to socio-economic status.

These books included: • We March (Evans, 2016) • The Anti-Racist Kid: A Book About Identity, Justice, and Activism (Jewell. 2022) • Stamped (For Kids): Racism, Antiracism, and You (Sherry-Paul, Reynolds, & Kendi, 2021) • Wonder (Palacio, 2012) • True Biz: A Novel (Novic, 2022) • Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body (Taussig, 2021) • And Tango Makes Three (Richardson & Parnell, 2015) • Island Born (Diaz, 2018)

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• Where are You From? (Mendez & Kim, 2019) • Last Stop on Market Street (de la Peña, 2015) • Let’s Talk about Race (Lester, 2008) • Eyes that Kiss in the Corners (Ho, 2021) • The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family (Muhammad, 2019) • Hanukkah Lights, Hanukkah Nights (Kimmelman, 1999) • The Day You Begin (Woodson, 2018) • I Didn’t Stand Up (Falcone, 2019) • Captain Perseverance: How I Became a Superhero (Bagert, 2016) • The Dot (Reynolds, 2003) • Pilu of the Woods (Nguyen, 2019) An important part of the conference was the usage of self-reflections. As previously mentioned, time to discuss the sessions and keynote presentation with colleagues was provided in the conference agenda. In addition, a self-reported, multicultural inventory was an important part of the conference programming prior to the start of the conference and after the conference concluded.

Taking Inventory of Multicultural Efficacy: A Study to Understand Ourselves and Each Other As we planned the conference, we thought it would be beneficial for us to gain insights into where participants were in terms of their multicultural efficacy, before and after the conference.

Multicultural efficacy is the belief that you can confidently address issues within a multicultural setting, like the classroom (Guyton & Wesche, 2005). Our study’s goal was to understand ourselves and each other by tracking any changes in confidence, using the Multicultural Efficacy Scale (MES) (Guyton & Wesche, 2005) as a form of feedback to our programming in the event that we would be able to host another conference the following year.

Theoretical Framework This study utilized Critical Race Theory (CRT) as its theoretical framework, which says that race is a socially created construct. This systemic construct has made it so White people could have increased leverage over others, particularly minoritized groups, allotting White people greater amounts of privilege and societal standing/benefits (Delgado & Stefancic, 1995). The three central pillars of CRT are race, law, and power. The framework states three pivotal points, which include: “(1) race continues to be significant in the United States; (2) U.S. society is based on property rights [rather] than human rights; and (3) the intersection of race and property creates an analytical tool for understanding inequality” (Ladson-Billings

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& Tate, 1997, p. 47). Since CRT makes clear that race is systemic, racism can be tied to every facet of life in the U.S. Systemic racism is present in the U.S. and influences every aspect of everyday life. CRT, while originating from law school studies, has the potential to guide our work in higher education as this framework highlights systemic inequities and areas for improvement.

When serving as leaders of the College of Education and Health Sciences’ Diversity and Equity Council, we regularly discussed the systems and norms that are within our institution and surrounding community to question how these systems and norms could advance the council’s progress toward college-wide equity. We, as co-chairs, “put on our researcher hats” and decided that we needed some data to take inventory as to how our programming was affecting participants. We thought a multicultural efficacy data collection, through a CRT lens, to ground the findings in the notion that areas that showed marked growth could be more widespread and deeper with systemic change and would be a helpful starting place. In addition, the biases and areas of low multicultural efficacy that participants reported ahead of the conference highlight areas of systemic change that are needed for a greater impact, because those who need that support, most likely did elect to come to the conference, as discussed in the results section.

Methodology This study assessed the multicultural efficacy of higher education professionals before and after our conference. We sent this survey, along with the consent letter, via email in our invitation announcement of the conference. To try and glean more responses, we also provided time during the first few minutes of the conference for participants to take the survey. We posted a QR code to access the survey on the main screen for easy access. We provided time at the end of the conference as well. A limitation of this study is that a oneday conference is not a sustained amount of time to have deep-rooted impacts on a person’s multicultural efficacy. However, with this understanding in mind when administering the survey and to help make decisions about future programming, we reminded ourselves that the goal is to gain sights about which programming had at least some positive effects on participant confidence and which areas were not affected Instrument

“Systemic racism is present in the U.S. and influences every aspect of everyday life.”

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Multicultural Efficacy Scale (MES) We used Guyton’s and Wesche’s (2005) Multicultural Efficacy Scale (MES) for this pre/post survey. We agree with Guyton and Wesche that this scale goes beyond multicultural understanding as efficacy serves as a powerful, teaching tool. They developed this

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instrument to measure multicultural efficacy in teacher education. The MES is a 35-item instrument, with subscales for experience (7 items), attitude (7 items), and efficacy (20 items). We administered the efficacy subscale (20 items), a shortened version of the scale that Guyton and Wesche created, but still maintained the usage of “I can” statements, each of which was followed by a Likert scale ranging from: “I do not believe I could do this very well” to “I am quite confident that this would be easy for me to do.” Examples of the survey statements were, “I can provide instructional activities to help students to develop strategies for dealing with racial confrontations” and “I can help students work through problem situations caused by stereotypical and/or prejudicial attitudes.”

Results Using the MES (Guyton & Wesche, 2005), we hoped to gain insights from our registered conference attendees (N: 31); however, we were able to learn more about the attendees (n: 11) who were interested in participating in this study. Overall, the results revealed that most participants were confident that they could either do the tasks reasonably well, if there was time to prepare or easily do the task. Of the 20 items, focusing on scores from the range of “I could do this reasonably well, if I had time to prepare” and “I am quite confident that this would be easy for me to do,” six items revealed no change in confidence from pre to posttest, 13 items revealed an increase in confidence at posttest, and one item revealed a decrease in confidence at posttest.

Participants’ confidence did not change after the conference regarding tasks, including but not limited to, developing instructional methods that dispel myths about diverse groups (Q4), helping students work through problem situations caused by stereotypical and/or prejudicial attitudes (Q12), and presenting diverse groups in our society in a manner that builds mutual respect (Q7).

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After the conference, 82% of the participants were confident that they could develop instructional methods that dispel myths about diverse groups (Q4), help students work through problem situations caused by stereotypical and/or prejudicial attitudes (Q12), and help students take on the perspective of ethnic and cultural groups different than their own (Q18). However, when helping students work through problem situations, 64% of the participants could do this reasonably well, if there was time to prepare.

Below, the graphs show that 91% of the participants were confident that they could provide instruction, showing how prejudice affects individuals (Q9), and identify ways in which various groups contribute to our pluralistic society (Q17).

All of the participants were confident that they could present diverse groups in our society in a manner that builds mutual respect (Q7). However, 55% of the participants needed time to prepare.

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Among the 12 items that revealed increased confidence at posttest, all participants believed that they could accomplish the tasks reasonably well, if they had time to prepare or easily complete tasks. At posttest, 73% of the participants were confident that they could easily get students from diverse groups to work together (Q13) as shown below. Sixty-four percent of the participants could easily identify school practices that may harm diverse students (Q14), and 55% could easily identify societal forces that influence opportunities for diverse people (Q16).

As depicted in the graph below, 100% of the participants were confident at pretest that they could analyze instructional materials for potential stereotypical and/or prejudicial content (Q5); however, at posttest, 91% of them were confident, showing a decrease in confidence. One participant believed that this task would be difficult for them.

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Discussion The data that we collected from the MES (Guyton & Wesche, 2005) has provided us with valuable insights as we reflect on our conference programming and as we plan for future events and offerings through the Diversity and Equity Council. Our findings revealed that most of the higher education professionals who attended the conference were confident that they could do most of these tasks reasonably well with time to prepare or complete them easily. Their efficacy in multiculturalism was showing! Guyton and Wesche (2005) recognized efficacy as a powerful factor in teaching.

Teachers’ Self-Efficacy (TSE) is the teacher's belief in his, her, or their capability to organize and execute courses of action required to accomplish a specific teaching task in a particular context (Tschannen-Moran et al., 1998). The MES (Guyton & Wesche, 2005) gives us the specific tasks to consider while in multicultural classrooms and was designed to measure one’s multicultural efficacy, a step further in measuring teachers’ beliefs about their professional practices. As higher education professionals, it is important to acknowledge that our teacher autonomy is different from those within the P-12 setting. Sehrawat (2014) described academic freedom, the freedom to study, learn, and teach, as examples of teacher autonomy. We have the academic freedom to plan and develop instructional activities and materials to promote equity and justice within our classrooms. Choi and Mao (2021) revealed that the relationship between professional development in multicultural education and teacher self-efficacy in multicultural classrooms is strengthened when a teacher has classroom autonomy. Hence, teachers need autonomy when structuring their learning environments and preparing their instructional materials.

Our study revealed that participants were confident in some tasks before attending the conference and were able to maintain that level of confidence after listening to the perspectives of a diverse group of people, showing us that we can sit and listen to others, who may or may not share the same beliefs, and still hold on to our confidence and ability to learn and teach in multicultural settings. As educational professionals who strive for intercultural sensitivity, we know that respect and openness (Cushner et al., 2019) are two attributes that are needed to be effective on our lifelong journey to equity and justice. These “We do not get to select the education professionals were confident that they students who come to our could identify ways in which various groups contribute classrooms, but we must be to our pluralistic society, help students take on the able to build a community perspective of ethnic and cultural groups different from their own, provide instruction that showed how to get students to work prejudice affects individuals, and plan instructional together.” activities to reduce prejudice toward diverse groups.

Participants’ confidence increased on over half of the

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tasks from the MES (Guyton & Wesche, 2005). Notably, all participants believed that they were able to get students of diverse groups to work together. This task is an everyday task in the lives of educational professionals. We do not get to select the students who come to our classrooms, but we must be able to build a community to get students to work together. In building a community, the educational professional must be able to identify harmful practices within the school. CRT reminds us that racism can be tied to every facet of life. With this understanding, professionals in this field must be able to identify societal forces that influence opportunities for diverse people. After the conference, all participants believed that they could identify these practices.

Several participants were able to identify their ability to complete the tasks of the MES (Guyton & Wesche, 2005), if they had time to prepare. Currently, our schools and other professional settings are becoming more diverse as we work to include those who have been marginalized, and we, educational professionals, must set aside time to build our knowledge base and multicultural efficacy. As previously explained, DEC offered a mini-workshop called “Jumpstart Your Equity” as a scheduled professional development of 30 minutes and an end-of-year conference. Collaboration as a non-negotiable practice creates an opportunity for us to be effective in the classroom and in our professional growth settings. As a council, we understood this as we promoted other professional development opportunities offered on campus, such as a Data-Driven Equity Talk to Equity Walk workshop. These initiatives were designed to promote personal and professional growth with equity and justice in mind but also allow colleagues to access professional development at a time that fits their schedules.

This study can guide administrators in higher education and the P-12 setting when developing schedules for professional development and understanding that teachers are willing and capable of completing tasks that drive equity, inclusion, and justice, when they have time to prepare. Perhaps, principals and other administrators can use the MES (Guyton & Wesche, (2005) to determine professional development opportunities that address the tasks in which teachers lack confidence and set aside time for them to engage in learning. To do this, we need leaders who are BRAVE (Bold, Resilient, Authentic, Versatile, and Empowering) (Ulster University, 2023). The BRAVE leadership framework (Ulster University, 2023) allows leaders to understand how their beliefs and actions can influence the community/institution and aid them in growing into a more effective leader. Leaders who are BOLD speak up. Those who are RESILIENT are proactive and can quickly recover. Leaders who are AUTHENTIC commit to working on themselves and supporting others to grow. A VERSATILE and EMPOWERING leader will display a positive attitude, be open to change, and give those around them autonomy in their work.

As co-chairs of the Diversity and Equity Council (DEC), we continue to develop into BRAVE leaders as we work on ourselves and work to support our colleagues in their personal and professional development in anti-racism. Moving forward, we are interested in tailoring our offerings based on our research findings. The findings of this study suggest that educational professionals’ confidence can increase after receiving professional development, including, but not limited to, having the time to reflect and journal, listen to different perspectives, and having a variety of literature sources to delve into after the session. However, Guyton and Wesche (2005) warned us to recognize the complexity of this field and to be mindful that their scale cannot single-handedly measure one’s multicultural efficacy.

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multicultural efficacy through interviews and/or focus groups. This will allow us to pinpoint the professional practices that promote multiculturalism. In the future, we can potentially compare the results of educational professionals to teacher candidates in order to gain insight on how their efficacies may be different.

When reflecting on the findings, we must create a learning space that is open to those who are confident, less confident, and/or need additional support and time to complete the task at hand. Similarly, to the safe space we need to establish for our students, we also need room to express ourselves and feel valued. Educational professionals will need time set aside to prepare for the tasks associated with learning and teaching in multicultural settings. We must tailor our future professional development opportunities to address how to analyze instructional materials for potential stereotypical and/or prejudicial content.

We know that professional development is not a one size fits all, and we have the ability to create specialized development activities when we collaborate with those within and outside of our discipline. With this in mind, we hope to promote the growth of equity and justice in educational professionals through our equity workshops. Ultimately, we look forward to customizing professional development opportunities that build multicultural efficacy for faculty, staff, and administrators, because, when our students see us reading and writing, we have the potential to spark them to do the same. Our Diversity and Equity Council’s story sings of authenticity, equity, and justice.

Implications for Educational Professionals As we consider this study, it is clear that bringing faculty together, dedicated to diversity and equity, is important for any workplace that wants to be a more inclusive and nurturing place for everyone to thrive, especially those from minoritized populations. By serving as co-chairs of our college’s Diversity and Equity Council and having learned as researchers from this study, we ask that educational professionals consider the following reflective questions to spur next steps toward diversity and equity: • “Do you have a group dedicated to diversity and equity? If so, consider becoming involved, if you’re not. We are all busy and can produce excuses to not join, but you are needed and wanted.”

• “When planning diversity and equity programming, are there a variety of voices as part of the conversation (i.e., different disciplines, races, ethnicities, abilities, religions, sexual orientations, gender affiliations, and more)?”

• “Is the concept of ‘equity’ and ‘justice’ clear to your learning community? If not, how could it be strengthened?”

• “Based on the data from the research study presented in this article, do you think that the areas of multicultural efficacy upon which you are going to focus moving forward are areas that warrant a focus in your learning community?”

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• “Which opportunities have you helped supply or could eventually offer at your institution that could aid in your learning community’s multicultural efficacy?”

References Choi, S., & Mao, X. (2021) Teacher autonomy for improving teacher self-efficacy in multicultural classrooms: A cross-national study of professional development in multicultural education. International Journal of Educational Research, 105.

Cushner, K. H., McClelland, A., & Safford, P. (2019). Human diversity in education: An intercultural approach. (9th Ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

Delgado, R., & Stefancic, J. (2017). Critical race theory: An introduction. (3rd ed.). NYU. Guyton, E., & Wesche, M. (2005). The multicultural efficacy scale: Development, item selection and reliability.

Multicultural Perspectives, 7(4), 21-29.

Ladson-Billings, G., & Tate, W., IV. (1995). Toward a critical race theory of education. Teachers College Record, Fall (1), 47-68.

Matthew, J. (2015). Things I wish my teacher knew about me: Memoir of a disengaged student. Create Space Publishing.

Sehrawat, J. (2014). Teacher autonomy : Key to teaching success. Bhartiyam International Journal of Education & Research, 4(1), 1-8.

Tschannen-Moran, M., Woolfolk Hoy, A., & Hoy, W. K. (1998). Teacher efficacy: Its meaning and measure. Review of Educational Research, 68(2), 202-248.

Ulster University (2023). Leadership culture: Brave. Ulster University. https://www.ulster.ac.uk/peopleandculture/ people-development/learn-more-at-uu/leading-and-managing/brave

Professional Books Cited Brookfield, S. D., & Associates (2018). Teaching race: How to unmask and challenge racism. Wiley.

Brookfield, S. D., & Hess, M. E. (2021). Becoming a White antiracist. Routledge.

Eberhardt, J. L. (2020). Biased: Uncovering the hidden prejudice that shapes what we see, think, and do. Penguin Books.

Freire, P., Ramos, M. B. (Trans.), et al. (2018). Pedagogy of the oppressed: 50th Anniversary Edition. Bloomsbury Academic.

Gist, C. D., & Bristol, T. J. (Eds.). (2022). Handbook of research on teachers of color and Indigenous people.

American Education Research Association.

Helms, J. E. (2019). A race is a nice thing to have: A guide to being a White person or understanding the White persons in your life. Cognella.

Kumar, R., & Rafaei, B. (2021). Equity and inclusion in higher education: Strategies for teaching. ABC Books.com.

McNair, T. B., & Bensimon, E. M., et al. (2019). From equity talk to equity walk: Expanding practitioner knowledge for racial justice in higher education. Jossey-Bass.

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Paris, D., & Alim, S. (Eds.) (2023). Culturally sustaining pedagogies: Teaching and learning for justice in a changing world. Teachers College Press.

Patel, L. (2022). No study without struggle: Confronting settler colonialization in higher education.

Beacon Press.

Tatum, B. D. (2017). Why are all the White kids sitting together in the cafeteria? And other conversations about race. Basic Books.

Children’s Literature Cited Bagert, B. (2016). Captain perseverance: How I became a superhero. Brad Bagert DBA Juliahouse.

Cherry-Paul, S., Reynolds, J., & Kendi, I. Y. (2021). Stamped (for kids): Racism, antiracism, and you.

Little, Brown and Company.

Evans, S. W. (2016). We march. Roaring Brook Press. de la Pena, M. (2015). Last stop on Market Street. G. P. Putnam’s Sons.

Diaz, J. (2018). Island born. Penguin Random House.

Falcone, L. (2019). I didn’t stand up. Clockwise Press.

Ho, J. (2021). Eyes that kiss in the corners. Harper.

Jewell, T. (2022). The antiracist kid: A book about identity, justice, and activism. Versify.

Kimmelman, L. (1999). Hanukkah lights, Hanukkah nights. Harper Collins.

Lester, J. (2008). Let’s talk about race. Harper Collins Publishers.

Mendez, Y., & Kim, J. (2019). Where are you from? Harper.

Muhammud, I. (2019). The proudest blue: A story of Hijab and family. Little, Brown and Company.

Nguyen, M. K. (2019). Pilu of the woods. Oni Press.

Novic, S. (2022). True biz: A novel. Random House.

Palacio, R. J. (2012). Wonder. Alfred A. Knoff.

Reynolds, P. H. (2003). The dot. Candlewick Press.

Richardson, J., & Parnell, P. (2015). And Tango makes three. Little Simon.

Taussig, R. (2021). Sitting pretty: The view from my ordinary resilient disabled body. Harper One. Woodson, J. (2018). The day you begin. Nancy Paulsen Book.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS Dr. Jacquelynne Anne Boivin is an assistant professor of elementary and early childhood education at Bridgewater State University in Bridgewater, MA, USA, where she supervises student teachers, mentors honors thesis projects, and teaches math methods to elementary teacher candidates and seminars on deconstructing racism by integrating schools and decolonizing social studies curricula. She is co-chair of her department’s Anti-Racism Matters committee and supports and facilitates student and faculty professional development focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion. She is also co-chair of the College of Education and Health Sciences’ Diversity and Equity Council committee.

Dr. Sheena Rancher is an assistant professor of special education at Bridgewater State University, where she teaches cultural diversity, curriculum and instruction, and supervises student teachers. She also serves as co-chair for the Diversity and Equity Council committee in the College of Education and Health Sciences. Her research interests include teacher candidates’ dispositions, social justice, and disability education.

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IN WHICH WAYS IS CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PEDAGOGY CONSISTENT WITH EFFORTS TO DISMANTLE RACISM? JEANNE LIMA

A while ago, a friend of mine, a psychologist, shared that her biracial son had to endure microaggressions in second grade. Revealing my complete ignorance of the matter, I asked her what microaggressions were. She explained that her son missed recess as a punishment for some infringement of school rules, while his White classmates did not suffer the same punishment for the same infringement. Shortly after I heard this story, a colleague suggested I learn more about culturally responsive pedagogy (Ladson-Billings, 2009), an approach that aims to dismantle racism.

Research Base In my quest for new knowledge regarding culturally responsive pedagogy, I discovered five themes concerning this topic: multicultural awareness, expectations of success, student-centered learning, equity practices, and affective factors. Regarding multicultural awareness, LadsonBillings (1995) suggests that “culturally relevant pedagogy must provide a way for students to maintain their cultural integrity while succeeding academically” (p. 476). To achieve this, teachers must understand the cultural backgrounds of their students. And yet, many content-area teachers fail to provide sufficient scaffolds for these students, such as allowing students to avail themselves of their native language resources to understand the content. Teachers’ insistence on an English-only approach in the classroom stems from a deficit perspective that impacts their students’ academic performance and devalues their sense of cultural identity in the classroom (Ferlazzo, 2020). Student-centered learning, in which students take an active role in their learning by building knowledge in a manner that is relevant to their life experiences (Magdalinski & Branigan, 2020), is one equitable practice that emerges from the literature.

Regarding equity practices, it is important to note that equity and equality are not the same. Equality generally addresses fairness in terms of sameness, whereas equity deals with this concept in terms of differences. For example, the teacher may provide scaffolding to ensure that all students can attain a fair result (Wiles & Kobayashi, 2020). These are, in many ways, related to the affective factors that emerged from the literature: conflict/empowerment, empathy, and motivation.

Multicultural Awareness

Teacher Preparation The multicultural awareness that teachers bring to the classroom contribute to the impact that they have on their students. According to Cherng and Davis (2019), little research has examined how the varied levels of multicultural awareness, exhibited by students in teacher education programs, are connected to teaching proficiency. Drawing from a sample of 2,437

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undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in initial teacher certification programs between 2010 and 2015 at a large private university in the mid-Atlantic states, the researchers investigated how the prior experiences of the teacher candidates in educating minority students affected their level of multicultural awareness, and how this, in turn, contributed to the classroom environment.

The first finding indicated that the differences in racial and ethnic understandings among student teachers, as well as their prior work in schools, do affect multicultural awareness. For instance, when compared to their White counterparts, Latino and Asian American teacher candidates seemed to have gained increased cultural awareness through their prior work with minority groups. Nevertheless, previous experience of teacher candidates of any ethnic background contributed towards their skill in nurturing positive classroom settings. Consequently, community organizations that serve racially diverse students provide fertile ground for developing within prospective teachers the multicultural awareness required to promote an equitable classroom environment.

Closely aligned with the theme of multicultural awareness is that of color blindness, a perspective in which race or ethnicity is thought to be irrelevant under the guise of “All men are created equal.”

Durand and Tavaras (2021) addressed this issue by arguing that multicultural teaching must transcend the common, stereotypical notions of cultural traditions and commit itself to school activities that treat all students equitably and honor their diversity. Teachers who overlook the differences that students of various ethnic/racial backgrounds bring into the classroom are promoting a color-blindness that ignores the cultural richness in these differences. Furthermore, it invalidates the very identities and uniqueness of these students.

Student Perspectives Students, themselves, have noticed the need for their teachers to develop multicultural awareness. Jett et al. (2016) discussed how nine university students reflected upon their prior schooling experiences. The students were participating in the McNair Program, a national program that supports minority students in pursuing doctoral degrees. To qualify for this program, students must be firstgeneration, college students from underrepresented ethnic groups. Of the nine students in the study, five were African American, one Ethiopian, one Colombian, one Jamaican, and one Honduran. The purpose of this study was to examine how culturally diverse students pictured culturally responsive pedagogy.

The McNair Scholars, in reflecting upon their prior, academic experiences, noted that their teachers had offered instruction that was often unclear. For instance, one student, who entered the United States from Colombia after tenth grade, lamented that she received very little guidance into pursuing post-secondary education. She was not familiar with the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), and her questions to guidance counselors and teachers went unanswered, leading to her conviction that teachers of culturally diverse students should become educated about cultural diversity. The McNair scholars also noted the disproportionate number of White, female teachers in the public schools. Furthermore, these teachers were not “culturally competent” (Jett et al., 2016, p. 526) in managing a diverse classroom because they were not attuned to the needs of culturally diverse students.

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The curriculum, itself, can hinder the promotion of multicultural awareness in the classroom. Dyches (2017) conducted a case study of a teacher, Sam (pseudonym), who taught three British literature classes in a high school in the southeastern United States.

Sam’s 67 students comprised various ethnicities: 54 African American, 4 White, 4 Hispanic, 2 Asian, and 3 of two or more races. Although Sam identified himself as a White, middle class, Christian male, he also recognized his marginalization as a gay man – a factor which he believed sensitized him to the plight of his minority students. This case study examined Sam’s attempts to apply culturally responsive pedagogy to the canons of British literature.

There were three barriers that Sam faced. The first barrier lay in the sociocultural tensions that occurred between the curriculum and the students. For instance, Bissonnette and Glazier (2016) have indicated that the British canon has often been regarded as “inaccessible and irrelevant, particularly to students who do not identify with its almost entirely White, Anglo, male authorship” (p. 685), thereby, making it difficult for Sam’s students to identify with stories that presented a cultural background so dissimilar to their own. For instance, even though Sam provided background information, students found it difficult to relate to the characters in Oscar Wilde’s (2005) The Importance of Being Earnest because the refinement and manners of rich, upper-class, White citizens of the Victorian period presented a lifestyle far removed from their own. Sam described the canon of British literature as extremely White, thereby, making it difficult for culturally diverse students to form any connections to the narratives.

The second obstacle lay in the tension that arose between Sam and his students.

Despite his attempt at engaging in culturally responsive pedagogy, Sam encountered opposition from his students in the form of accusations that Sam’s Whiteness made it impossible for him to understand the struggles of African American students. When Sam admitted that he did have certain privileges because he was White, but he did not agree with that status, one of his students retorted, “Well, yeah, but you’re still getting the privileges’’ (Dyches, 2017, p. 12).

Finally, administrative factors contributed to Sam’s inability to fully act on his convictions in delivering culturally responsive pedagogy. First, he feared punitive measures from his superiors if he promoted a curriculum that integrated the notion of social justice.

Second, time and resources hampered his ability to teach canonical subject matter in a culturally responsive manner.

Nevertheless, Sam did find ways to combat these obstacles. First, he encouraged dialogue among his students, by allowing them to rewrite the canonical text in such a manner that they could see themselves in the story, thereby, making connections to the social injustices that might occur. Sam further offered a safe community in his classroom, whereby, his students could engage in social critique of racial, ethnic, and gender discrimination. This was especially vital to one of his students who was transgender.

Furthermore, Sam was able to make his students aware of social injustices inherent in the

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text, such as the knight’s rape of a maiden in The Wife of Bath’s Tale (Chaucer & Geracti, 2021) and the outrages of child labor in the poetry of William Blake, thereby, encouraging critical reading.

Multicultural awareness highlights the importance of allowing students to develop their own racial identities. Gray et al. (2019) explored how eight, African American, fifth graders, comprised of four males and four females, engaged in a multicultural project that involved creating dioramas of traditional African cultures. In a study conducted in an under-resourced, urban, public school, Gray and colleagues asked: (1) “How did the project change the racial identities of these students within a mixed-race school?” and (2) “What cultural universals did the students draw from the project that enabled them to identify with the people of traditional African cultures?” Using pre and posttest surveys to explore the change in racial identity among students, Gray et al. found a positive, statistically significant difference for the statement, “I have a strong sense of belonging to other Black people” (p. 13). Researchers attributed this to students developing an increased appreciation of African cultures through the project.

Regarding cultural universals, the students were able to identify many popular ones that they had in common with the cultures that they researched, including the requirements for food, shelter, and clothing, as well as the need for storage containers for food.

Expectations of Success Expectations of success are central to culturally responsive pedagogy. The study of Jett et al.

(2016) points out how the nine McNair Scholars used their prior, academic experiences as an impetus to reach their career goals. Early on in their education, the students recognized the deficit views that teachers held of them. They also identified the factors behind these deficit perspectives: race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and language. This awareness spurred them on to not only excel academically but also to pursue their degrees with the goal of instituting social change. The deficit perceptions and stereotypes that teachers held of culturally diverse students manifested themselves in their teachers’ low expectations of them. One student described her experience with the White, Advanced Placement (AP), English teacher in high school. The teacher asked all the students in her classroom to stand up. Then she asked all those who were non-White to sit down. Finally, she asked all the girls who were still standing and weren’t wearing pants to sit down. (Back then, the girls wore skirts, so they would all have to sit.) At the end of this exercise, the teacher stated that those left standing – three White males – comprised the students that could be taught.

Farinde-Wu et al. (2017) pointed out the importance of teachers’ expectations of success for their students in their study of seven, award-winning teachers from the urban Butler Independent School District (BISD) in the southeastern United States. The teacher participants were all African American, save for one White female. They represented a wide range of content areas, grade levels, and years of teaching backgrounds. Findings unveiled that the following practices contributed to the success of these teachers in implementing culturally relevant pedagogy:

“Multicultural awareness highlights the importance of allowing students to develop their own racial identities.”

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1. All employed the RACCE philosophy – Respect, Act Immediately, Communicate, Celebrate, and Encourage Students; 2. They imbued their classrooms with an expectation of success and community.

Student-Centered Learning Student-centered learning also plays a key role in the implementation of culturally relevant pedagogy. All seven of the award-winning teachers in the study of Farinde-Wu et al. (2017) employed practices that incorporated student interests into the curriculum. They developed academic content in their teaching in such a manner that it became relevant to the lives of their students, allowing students to make connections between new learning and their cultural identities. Riordan et al. (2019) further described the benefits of studentcentered learning in their study of two urban schools in a northeastern city: the Midway School (Grades 6–12) and Highland Academy (Grades 6–8). Both schools had adopted what is known as the EL Education model, which encourages student-centered instruction in the form of project-based learning, inviting student inquiry and devising authentic tasks.

Student engagement comprises a key component in student-centered learning. Flynn et al. (2017) discussed this issue regarding teaching in community colleges, stating the need for college faculty to comprehend culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) in such a manner that it not only engages but empowers students. Rather than adhering to a prescribed curriculum, educators who incorporate CRP into their teaching relate their subject matter in a manner that connects new knowledge with the diverse backgrounds of their students. In this way, teachers can engage their students, and the dynamic between teachers and students becomes a collaborative enterprise. Furthermore, the authors warned that community colleges no longer simply represent a continuation of high school. Instead, they have become spaces where traditionally marginalized students can enter advanced education and career preparation. Therefore, the faculty must move beyond simply conferring degrees upon these students. In light of the diversity in their classrooms, they should conduct instruction that encourages critical thinking so that students are empowered. Students, who have been economically deprived and culturally outcast, need to develop their own voices within a society that otherwise would keep them enslaved. Culturally responsive pedagogy supports freedom in that it encourages critical thinking.

Similarly, Yuan (2017), investigated the application of culturally relevant pedagogy in a specific area of college life: the university graduate student. He interviewed five College of Education master and doctoral degree, minority students from the University of Washington, none of whose native language was English. His goal was to uncover how racial and cultural elements influenced their education at the university. His findings indicated that the pedagogy, itself, including the materials and assignments, was not culturally relevant, making it difficult for all five participants to relate to the instruction. Furthermore, all five students revealed that although their professors were very knowledgeable in their academic

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fields, they lacked the ability to convey this knowledge to students from culturally diverse backgrounds.

Moreover, the university, as a whole, offered little in the way of multicultural courses and resources.

Likewise, Flynn et al. (2017) asserted the importance of fashioning distance learning courses in such a way that the students and teachers form a community. For instance, a forum, such as Blackboard, might feel safer for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) students than a physical classroom of mostly White students. The researchers further emphasized the importance of culturally relevant pedagogy in supporting critical thinking that facilitates building community, spreading cultural capital, and empowering students. These findings echo the feelings of isolation reported by Yuan’s (2017) participants. They reported that their cultural identities and developing English separated them from classmates and faculty; disparities between their cultural learning styles and those of the faculty diminished their sense of community.

Finally, providing practical learning experiences should play a major role in student-centered learning. In their study of CRP for college/university students, Flynn et al. (2017) recommended integrating practical learning experiences that facilitate student reflection on culturally relevant pedagogy. This concurs with the findings of Cherng and Davis (2019) in which Latino and Asian American, teacher candidates grew in cultural awareness through their work with minority groups. Actual practice in the community facilitates student awareness of the varying socioeconomic environments in which they perform field work. They deal with issues such as disability, social inequity, and English language learning, which encourage these student interns to engage in constructive problem-solving to actively address these circumstances, thereby, contributing to their development as productive citizens of the community. Furthermore, facing these challenges in the field invites self-reflection, which faculty might encourage through student-group discussion, peer-learning teams, and mentoring, thereby, fostering self-awareness.

The inadequacy of hands-on experience for teacher candidates also surfaced in the study by Jacobs (2019), who conducted an investigation at a large, urban university to determine how preservice teachers brought their culturally responsive pedagogy training into the reality of the classroom.

Thirteen students, who were enrolled in a reading specialist, certification program, joined in the study.

The majority of the participants were White female; the rest were comprised of one female Korean American and two male African Americans. All teacher candidates were placed in urban schools, ranging from elementary through high school with one exception—One of the White females was placed in a suburban, neighborhood middle school.

Findings from this research indicated the need for offering teacher candidates an avenue for discussion of their field experiences. As they engaged in their teaching, they realized that the urban community comprised its own culture. Consequently, they faced the task of making sense of this urban culture through the lens of their own perspectives on it. Among these perspectives existed the deficit view of ethnic minorities in urban schools. The researchers posited that new teachers need to not only study the principles of culturally responsive pedagogy but also integrate them into their own philosophies and activities in conducting a classroom. Results indicated that inquiry-group sessions

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enabled these preservice teachers to come to terms with previously held assumptions about urban schools by facilitating self-awareness of their beliefs through discussion.

Equity Practices Equity practices contribute to the implementation of culturally responsive pedagogy.

Riordan et al. (2019)1 discussed teachers who modeled instruction that fosters equity. For instance, the teachers at Midway read aloud challenging texts to their students but, at the same time, offered definitions of complex words to make the reading accessible to all students. Furthermore, at Highland Academy2, teachers addressed inequitable, disciplinary practices, such as doling out a disproportionate number of punishments to minority students.

Equity practices at Midway (Riordan et al., 2019) took the form of addressing local issues to foster deeper and more active learning. The teachers held classroom discussions on local issues, such as the 1863 New York City Draft Riots; conservation initiatives to save horseshoe crabs in New York Harbor; and areas in New York City, where people were unable to procure nutritious foods. They posed questions that centered on social injustices and power imbalances across racial and ethnic minorities, thereby, fostering a pedagogy that was both critical and equitable.

Another aspect of equity practices addresses student voices in the classroom but with the caveat that these need to be informed voices. For instance, none of the students interviewed in the focus groups at Highland Academy (Riordan et al., 2019) could identify instances of learning, where the curriculum content spoke of social justice or fairness. Of course, the researchers (Riordan et al., 2019) also indicated that these students may not have been able to make explicit connections between the issues of equity being addressed in the schools and those presented in a social studies class, thereby, emphasizing the need for a pedagogy that is not only culturally relevant but also encourages critical thinking through explicit instruction about social justice and equity. Likewise, at Highland Academy (Riordan et al., 2019), students in content-area classes, such as social studies, found few connections to issues of equity or justice. Nevertheless, one teacher, who taught eighthgrade language arts, was able to facilitate a discussion on social justice by demonstrating a comparison between issues of racism in To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee, 2005) and those found in an actual, current, news article entitled “Alabama Pardons 3 Scottsboro Boys after 80 Years” (Blinder, 2013).

More recently, Shaw (2020) conducted a case study of teachers in a professional development program at the Urban Music Education Institute, which employed CRP as a tool to facilitate multicultural awareness in music teachers. During the year-long program,

1 2

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See information from Riordan et al.’s 2019 study previously described in this paper.

See information from Riordan et al.’s 2019 study previously described in this paper.

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one of these teachers, Kristy, found herself directly confronting the Black Lives Matter movement.

Kristy was a ninth-year teacher, who grew up in a mostly White, wealthy suburb. After three years of teaching students with backgrounds similar to her own, Kristy transferred to a predominantly African American middle school, teaching music to Grades 6-8. When Tyre King, an African American who used to play football with students from the choir, was shot less than a mile from the school’s concert hall, Kristy felt confused as to how to deal with the students’ reaction to this tragedy. The tension among her students worsened when the local police conducted a school assembly. Kristy interpreted the gist of the message from the police as follows: “Basically what [the assembly] boiled down to was, ‘Just don’t go outside. Don’t be Black in a bad neighborhood because we’re probably going to think you’re a criminal’” (Shaw, 2020, p. 454). However, because of her participation in the CRP workshops, Kristy was beginning to recognize issues of White privilege and systemic inequity in the community where she was teaching, which resulted in her deciding to confront these issues with her students. Therefore, she collaborated with them to present a community concert featuring two choirs from two adjacent neighborhoods, one being her own classroom community and the other a White, suburban area. Despite their proximity, these communities vastly differed from one another in demographics. Kristy helped the students to prepare for this concert by prompting classroom dialogue that enabled students to confront systemic racism. For example, the students discussed the preconceptions that the singers from the White community might have about them. Together, they considered the influence of social media and chance encounters on these preconceptions. Kristy even invited the local police to the concert, in the hope of disrupting their deficit views of urban youth. At the event, Kristy noticed how the difference in performance attire between the two choirs reflected their backgrounds. Nevertheless, Kristy’s students sang Steinberg’s and Kelly’s “True Colors,” which conveys the message of loving another person exactly as they are. Furthermore, the choir invited the audience to join in with the singing. Kristy’s initiation of this event in the face of the Black Lives Matter movement indicated her growth in multicultural awareness through the CRP training. However, it also pointed out her continued need for growth. For instance, the music presented at the concert consisted solely of songs composed by White artists.

The Black Lives Matter movement also surfaced in the study of Tanase (2022). Thirteen mathematics and nine science teachers, newly graduated from the urban, graduate teacher residency program at a mid-sized university in the southeastern United States, took part in the study. The program directors placed these new teachers in eight urban middle and high schools in the surrounding area. One of the research questions addressed how these teachers incorporated the cultural “Equity practices contribute backgrounds of their students into their instruction. One to the implementation of the mathematics teachers, Chris, addressed social of culturally responsive justice concerns by incorporating the Black Lives Matter issue into math problems. For example, he presented pedagogy.” word problems that addressed how many participants would be needed for a rally and how much time the rally would require, hence fashioning the problems so that they related to current issues that directly affected his students.

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As indicated above, even teachers of mathematics can successfully employ equitable practices in the classroom. Leonard and Evans (2018) explored how 11 preservice teachers (4 undergraduate and 7 graduate) in a Philadelphia university addressed the gap between meaningful mathematics instruction and the cultural and daily lives of students from diverse ethnic/racial backgrounds. The teachers interned at two sites: the Zion Church, which offered after-school and summer enrichment programs for early childhood and elementary students, and the Haven Church, which provided an after-school program for at-risk, high school students. All the teacher interns were enrolled in mathematics methods courses offered by the teacher-researcher involved in the study. Her students were immersed in readings and discussion that promoted equity, social justice, and culturally relevant pedagogy.

Known as the Math Links pilot study, findings highlighted the benefits of offering to teacher interns field experiences within the community that they served (Leonard & Evans, 2018). For instance, five of the seven graduate interns shifted from their traditional methods of teaching math to the culturally relevant practices of their coursework, thereby, focusing on thinking and rationalizing skills in math. This reformed teaching practice is based on inquiry methods and culturally sensitive attitudes towards teaching and learning.

The inquiry approach does not rely on an external authority, such as the teacher, but rather emphasizes that students rely on their own reasoning capabilities to assess the reliability of a mathematical argument.

Furthermore, teachers need to familiarize themselves with the cultural patterns in their students’ communities so that they can better communicate with their students about mathematical thinking (as cited in National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2000). Five of the seven graduate students also revised their stereotypical perceptions of the mostly African American students who participated in the after-school program, opening their eyes instead to the students’ enthusiasm for mathematics. Finally, this pilot study provided an opportunity for all the preservice teachers to experience the meaning of social justice.

They were able to view their own White privilege against the background of poverty and educational inequity that many of their students experienced.

A single study neatly pulls together all four of the above themes: multicultural awareness; expectations of success, student-centered learning, and equity practices. Oemig and Baptiste (2018) conducted a five-month study of 30 Latino, high school students in a suburban area in the western United States. These students were part of a program known as Engaging Latino Communities in Education (ENLACE), an organization which supported Latino/a students in pursuing college studies. The student sample was comprised of four students in tenth grade, fifteen in eleventh grade, and twelve in twelfth grade, with an equal number of males and females. Fourteen of the students had emigrated from Mexico. At the time of the study, the students were achieving success in their ENLACE classes but not performing as well in their required science classes. As a result, the researchers explored the meaning of multicultural education in the science classroom through focus interviews with the students.

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Oemig and Baptiste (2018) relied on Banks’s (2016) five dimensions of multicultural education as the basis for their analysis. These dimensions encompass content integration, the knowledgeconstruction process, prejudice reduction, equity pedagogy, and empowering school culture and social structure. The first dimension, content integration, describes the degree to which educators draw on examples from various cultures to depict fundamental concepts within a particular discipline (Banks, 2016). Interviews with the students indicated that the science lessons lacked multicultural, content integration in that they were teacher-centered and allowed little opportunity for students to ask questions. For instance, Jazmine was a 12th-grade, female, ENLACE student and a devout Latina Christian, who belonged to a fundamental Baptist church. She struggled with the concept of evolution in her biology class, particularly upset by the assertion that man descended from monkeys. Darwin’s (1871) theory did not fit in with her Latina, Christian background, and her questions went unanswered as she struggled to reconcile her religious and cultural frame of reference with the concept of evolution (Oemig & Baptiste, 2018).

The second dimension, the knowledge-construction process, defines how educators assist students in uncovering how biases and cultural assumptions within a discipline impact the way knowledge is constructed. Furthermore, the teachers assist students in constructing knowledge themselves (Banks, 2016). For instance, most of the students in the study viewed the scientific method as an immutable law, underlying the creation of all scientific knowledge. They failed to recognize that the scientific method actually emerged from a particular, historical setting and cultural influences, which in the case of science, were largely Eurocentric and male-dominated (Oemig & Baptiste, 2018).

The third dimension, prejudice reduction, depicts the instructive methods and activities that teachers can use to foster in their students more positive relationships with others from a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. These might include introducing multiethnic materials that represent other cultures in a positive manner (Banks, 2016). In the study of Oemig and Baptiste (2018), the need for prejudice reduction in the science classes became evident when the students were asked to draw a scientist. Most drew this person as male, White, and in a lab coat, thereby, revealing the stereotypical ethnocentric image of the scientist.

The fourth dimension, equity pedagogy, describes the need for teachers to adapt their teaching methods so that students from a variety of cultural and socioeconomic levels can achieve academically (Banks, 2016). The students in the study of Oemig and Baptiste (2018) indicated that their science courses lacked sufficient hands-on learning in the laboratory. They also felt that their teachers did not relate the material in a manner that facilitated connections with their own lives.

Finally, the fifth dimension, empowering school culture and social structure, calls for a total reorganization of the school environment, so that students from various cultural backgrounds feel that they are being treated fairly and equitably, so that they experience a sense of equality within the diversity of their classroom. This dimension encompasses a reassessment of attitudes and perspectives on the part of teachers and administrators. The school needs to institute fundamental changes in combatting systemic racism, thereby, promoting academic opportunities for all students (Banks, 2016).

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To explore this factor, Oemig and Baptiste (2018) investigated the school’s structural supports, such as the School Advisory Committee (SAC), which offered meetings between faculty and parents. They discovered that despite the efforts of the school administration to encourage student achievement by inviting parents to become involved in their children’s academic efforts, none of the Latino, ENLACE students, who participated in the study, had ever taken an advanced placement (AP), STEM course. Moreover, most who registered for these courses were White, European Americans.

The SAC meetings that Oemig and Baptiste (2018) investigated focused on highstakes testing as a means of averting state penalties, a consequence of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) (“No Child Left Behind,” 2013). This priority was not lost on the students in the study. One student lamented that the class involved mostly bookwork, where the teacher assigned various readings in the science textbooks and asked the students to memorize answers to questions at the end of the chapter, meanwhile, offering little assistance in the way of explanation for these answers. Teachers were attempting to pour as much knowledge as possible into their students in order to prepare them for state testing, seriously draining any time and resources that the teachers might devote to multicultural education.

Affective Factors Dyches (2018) conducted a case study of Geneva Wilson, an African American teacher of British literature, whose students were White. In this study, the teacher, herself, stood in conflict to the White canon of British literature by virtue of her African Americanness. Geneva worked at Mountain Valley High School, in which most of the 2,300 students were White and living in a prosperous community. The British canon that she taught reflected the predominantly White, student demographic in her classroom. However, that same canon invited little connection with Geneva’s African American background, and it was this disparity between the literature and her culture that led to her belief in culturally responsive teaching. Her desire to open up critical conversations about multiculturalism in the classroom left her feeling vulnerable in this predominantly White classroom.

Nevertheless, she endeavored to move beyond the restrictions of her curriculum by introducing strategies to her students that would facilitate their deconstructing the British canon in such a manner that they could view it as text, which stemmed from ideational, subjective, and even dogmatic beliefs of the times in which it was written. In this manner, Geneva used culture as a means of empowering students to read canonical texts with a critical eye.

The role of empathy in culturally diverse classrooms surfaces in the investigation conducted by Warren (2014). His subjects were four White, female high school teachers and their African American male students from a Midwest school district. The purpose of the study was to examine how these four educators applied empathy in their professional capacity as educators. Interviews with the teachers, classroom observations, and an

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empathy survey indicated that empathy occurred in two phases: (1) Attainment of new knowledge and (2) Making pedagogic modifications based on that knowledge, while interacting with students. In short, the “application of empathy includes perspective taking (PT) and empathic concern (EC)” (p. 11).

Perspective Taking (PT), or gaining knowledge about the students from a social and cultural view, took many forms among the four teachers (Warren, 2014). For example, these educators used written and oral communication, such as prompts, to open up debate about a reading. They also encouraged their students to write daily journals to which the teachers responded. Furthermore, student letters provided not only a means for students to introduce themselves but also served as a vehicle to offer feedback to their experiences in class. Finally, the teachers made question boxes available to students, so they could write down anything that they did not feel comfortable asking verbally. The feedback from these communication activities informed the teachers’ lesson plans, as did the teachers’ understanding of the community in which their students lived. Three of the teachers grew up in the community in which they now taught, providing them with a valuable reference point for relating to their students’ personal lives. Furthermore, the teachers allotted classroom time for students to discuss their lives outside of school, including family celebrations and plans for future gatherings.

Empathic Concern (EC), or the ability of teachers to imagine the classroom experience from the students’ point of view, flowed from Perspective Taking (PT) (Warren, 2014). Moreover, these teachers applied EC in an astute manner by not permitting their students to cite their daily challenges as a reason not to excel academically. However, this did not prevent the teachers from attending to the needs of the whole student. For instance, one student indicated that the same teacher who chastised him for not being prepared for class also took measures to ensure that he possessed what he needed to succeed in the class. In other words, these teachers, while adamant about providing the support their students needed to achieve, also made clear to their students that they, themselves, must own that achievement. Other strategies that these teachers used in relation to empathic care for culturally diverse students included making known to the class that they were a family, making themselves available to their students by working around students’ family schedules and sports commitments, and getting to know their students simply by listening. The result of these teachers applying this two-fold notion of empathy - Perspective Taking (PT) and Empathic Concern (EC) - in their classrooms manifested itself in the students’ academic success on state tests as well as fewer incidents of disciplinary problems in or out of the classroom.

Besides the affective factors of conflict/empowerment (Dyches, 2018) and empathy (Warren, 2014), a third affective factor, motivation, surfaces in the study of Kumar et al. (2018). This investigation explored four major tenets of motivation in conjunction with the application of culturally relevant pedagogy: meaningfulness, competence, autonomy, and relatedness. Meaningfulness suggests that students are more apt to engage in educational tasks that connect with their personal lives. Culturally responsive pedagogy focuses on meaningfulness in terms of validating the cultural realities of ethnically diverse students’ lives and aligning academia with their home and community experiences, socioeconomic circumstances, and cultural ways of learning.

The second principle of motivation, competence, suggests that students who have faith in their

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abilities will be more competent in their academic pursuits. Of course, the students’ sense of competence in a culturally diverse classroom will depend upon the cultural competence of teachers, who shift their focus from an ethnocentric view of teaching to one that embraces the cultural perspectives and abilities of other ethnicities. Competence also suggests the third tenet of motivation, autonomy, because competence empowers students to carry out the tasks placed before them. Minority students who realize themselves as autonomous beings are also unafraid to think critically about what they study in the classroom. They are unafraid to stand up to the social justice issues that surface from their readings and to unearth the role that the text plays in marginalizing them. Their confrontation with ideas that conflict with their own reality is reminiscent of the conflict/empowerment theme previously discussed in Dyches (2018).

Finally, the fourth tenet of motivation—relatedness—manifests itself in the form of a caring, learning community. Teachers who espouse culturally relevant pedagogy not only collaborate with the parents of their students to support achievement but also immerse themselves in the community lives of their students. They validate the cultural identities of their students by learning about their language, culture, ways of life, and beliefs, applying this knowledge in ways that open up communication and provide a foundation for academic achievement. Relatedness suggests the role of empathy in teaching, as indicated in the previously mentioned study of Warren (2014).

Conclusion This research yielded important findings. For example, with regard to culturally responsive pedagogy, few studies of English learners in early childhood, elementary, and middle schools exist when compared to research examining secondary schools and higher education. Much of the literature is focused on teacher education programs as teachereducators must grapple with how to prepare new teachers to understand and implement CRP. There is an urgent need to examine more closely the experiences of students at all grade levels to determine how CRP can transform the educational landscape.

“Teachers who espouse culturally relevant pedagogy not only collaborate with the parents of their students to support achievement but also immerse themselves in the community lives of their students.”

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Magdalinski, T., & Branigan, E. (2020). Student-centered learning. In M. E. David, & M. J. Amey (Eds.), The SAGE encyclopedia of higher education. Sage UK. Credo Reference: http://ezproxyles.flo. org/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/sageukhe/student_centered_ learning/0?institutionId=1429 National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2000). Principles and standards for school mathematics. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

No child left behind act of 2001. (2013). In Gale (Ed.), Gale encyclopedia of everyday law (3rd ed.).

Gale. Credo Reference: http://ezproxyles.flo.org/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/ content/entry/galegel/no_child_left_behind_act_of_2001/0?institutionId=1429 Oemig, P. A., & Baptiste, H. P. (2018). Investigating the development of science-literate identities through a multicultural perspective. Multicultural Perspectives, 20(2), 81–91.

Riordan, M., Klein, E. J., & Gaynor, C. (2019). Teaching for equity and deeper learning: How does professional learning transfer to teachers’ practice and influence students’ experiences?

Equity & Excellence in Education, 52(2/3), 327–345.

Shaw, J. T. (2020). Urban music educators’ perceived professional growth in a context-specific professional development program. Journal of Research in Music Education, 67(4), 440–464. https://doi-org.ezproxyles.flo.org/10.1177/0022429419889295 Tanase, M. (2020). Is good teaching culturally responsive? Journal of Pedagogical Research (JPR), 4(3), 187–202. https://doi-org.ezproxyles.flo.org/10.33902/JPR.2020063333 Warren, C. (2014). Toward a pedagogy for the application of empathy in culturally diverse classrooms.

Urban Review, 46(3), 395–419.

Wiles, J. L., & Kobayashi, A. (2020). Equity. In A. Kobayashi (Ed.), Encyclopedia of human geography (2nd ed.). Elsevier Science & Technology.

Yuan, H. (2017). Respond to diversity: Graduate minority students’ perceptions on their learning experiences in an American university. IAFOR Journal of Education, 5(1), 33–45.

Children’s Literature Cited Chaucer, G., & Geraci, C. (2021). The wife of Bath’s tale. Carmen Geraci.

Lee, H. (2005). To kill a mockingbird. Harper Perennial/Modern Classics.

Wild, O. (2005). The importance of being earnest. Prestwick.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jeanne Lima is a PhD candidate at Lesley University, focusing her studies on teaching elementary, English learners by applying a functional, meaning-making approach to grammar.

Currently, she works at a local elementary school with English learners, who have tested at the WIDA emerging levels, assisting them in attaining grade-level academic proficiency.

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CHILDREN’S BOOK COLUMN Primer 2023 | Their Stories That Sing: Resiliency of Children’s Book Characters When Confronting Adverse Situations ELAINE M. BUKOWIECKI

Throughout the history of children’s books publication, are book characters who exhibited resilience when confronted by an adverse situation. Among so many memorable book characters are Cece in Cece Bell’s (2014) El Deafo, Brian in Gary Paulsen’s (1986) Hatchet, Ponyboy in S. E. Hinton’s (1967) The Outsiders, Kek in Katherine Applegate’s (2014) Home of the Brave, and William in William Kamkwamba’s (2012) The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, who showed perseverance and courage when faced with a variety of obstacles. Whether it was combating deafness, surviving in the Canadian wilderness, fitting in with the right group, living in the cold and snowy Minnesota winter, or building a windmill to save their village, these book characters indeed have stories that sing.

For this Children’s Book Column, MRA Primer 2023, 12 children’s and young adult books are reviewed, with book characters who demonstrate resilience and courage during a time of need. Some of these books are beautiful picture books relevant for the elementary school audience. Others are powerful and thought-provoking chapter books and young adult novels reserved for middle school, intermediate-grade, and secondary school readers. Some of these books are newly published, while others were published several years ago. Several of these books are recipients of the American Library Association’s (ALA) 2023 book awards.

There are varied themes that are reflected in these books being reviewed: the African American experience in the United States; racism; political unrest; overcoming a learning difference; young love, old regrets, and forgiveness; saying good-bye to a friend; and cyberbullying. Thus, the book reviews in this Children’s Book Column are categorized by these particular themes. All of these books have truly inspiring characters, whose stories of resilience and courage will long be remembered and shared with students, elementary school through secondary school.

The African American Experience3 It’s me, it’s me, O Lord Standing in the need of prayer It’s me, it’s me, O Lord Standing in the need of prayer. (Old Negro Spiritual; Weatherford, 2022, p. 1) This lilting verse is the thread that is woven throughout the beautiful picture book, Standing in the Need of Prayer: A Modern Retelling of the Classical Spiritual, written by Carole For this category of book reviews, the term African American is mostly used. This is for two reasons. First, it is an acceptable term by the American Psychology Association (APA), which is the publication style used in the Massachusetts Reading Association’s (MRA) journals. Second, the term African American is the preferred and acceptable term used by the Coretta Scott King Annual Awards Committee. Two books in this section of this Children’s Book Column have received Coretta Scott King honors for 2023: one book for illustration and one book for fiction.

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Boston Rutherford and illustrated by Frank Morrison (2022). This is the first book in this category and the first book in this Children’s Book Column to be reviewed. This exquisite and inspirational picture book chronicles African American history in the United States, beginning with the arrival of the enslaved people from Africa in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619; to Nat Turner’s slave rebellion in 1831; to the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863; to the Great Migration of African Americans to northern cities such as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia (1910-1970); to the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II; to Ruby Bridges, who was the first Black student to attend an all-White school (1960); to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s-1960s; and to modern-day protests such as Colin Kaepernick, the NFL quarterback, who knelt during the American national anthem in protest of police brutality and racial inequality, and the Black Lives Matter movement founded in 2013. This book also highlights the accomplishments of African American musicians and athletes such as Duke Ellington and Florence Griffith Joyner. For any reader who has had the incredible experience of visiting the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington, D.C., this book is the perfect complement to the vast information presented at this museum.

Standing in the Need of Prayer (Weatherford, 2022) does not showcase the resilience of one particular character but rather chronicles the history of one group of people and their ability to persevere in even the direst of situations. The message of faith, courage, and resilience will resonate with readers of all ages today.

Carole Boston Weatherford’s riveting but sparse text and Frank Morrison’s exquisite and thought-provoking paintings are painful reminders of the past, hopeful images for the present, and inspirational dreams for the future. Frank Morrison received the 2023 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for his beautiful illustrations in this book.

Standing in the Need of Prayer (Weatherford, 2022) concludes with descriptions of the people, places, and events featured in this picture book, along with an author’s note as to her purpose for writing this book and an explanation regarding the importance of the spiritual to African American people.

Standing in the Need of Prayer (Weatherford, 2022) should be enjoyed by students in elementary school, middle school, and possibly even secondary school. It will be an excellent introductory book or a companion picture book to other picture books and chapter books regarding the African American experience in the United States.

While Standing in the Need of Prayer (Weatherford, 2022) focuses on the perseverance of African Americans in the United States throughout history, Freewater (Luqman-Dawson, 2022) tells the story of 12-year-old Homer and his 7-year-old sister Ada who escape from Southerland Plantation, where they are enslaved, in the middle of the night. Although Homer loves his mother and fears for her life by leaving her behind on the plantation, Homer knows there is no turning back, especially with the plantation’s overseer on their trail. Through tangled vines and muddy swamp water, using a hidden boat made out of the trunk of a tree, a hidden room in the trunk of another tree, a secret door under water, and a sky bridge made of rope and suspended among trees, Homer and Ada find a secret community called Freewater deep in the swamp.

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In this society created by former slaves and some freeborn children, Homer finds new friends and almost forgets about Southerland Plantation from where he came.

However, when Homer learns that Mr. Crumb, the owner of Southerland Plantation, plans to hire trained militia men to track down runaway slaves in the swamp as well as set up a lumber business in the swamp near Freewater, Homer, with the help of his new friends in Freewater, devises a plan to rescue his mother and Anna, Homer’s friend and another slave at Southerland Plantation, as well as steal supplies from the supply cabin at Southerland Plantation to bring back to Freewater.

Freewater (Luqman-Dawson, 2022) is loosely based on the history of maroon communities in the South during the mid-1860s and is a story of survival, adventure, friendship, and courage. Debut author Amina Luqman-Dawson (2022) has seamlessly woven fiction with historical facts in telling the story of a boy who worked to free himself and his family from slavery. Amina Luqman-Dawson is the 2023 recipient of the John Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Award.

Freewater (Luqman-Dawson, 2022) is beautifully written with much suspense and rich, descriptive language. The book, which is most appropriate for middle-grade students, is divided into three parts: Part 1: The Journey, Part 2: Freewater, Part 3: The Return and also includes an author’s note, where Luqman-Dawson (2022) presents historical information about the maroon communities in the southern forests and swamps during the time of slavery. Each chapter in the book has one of the book’s character’s name for the chapter title and presents information about that character to advance the plot.

In a different, historical time in the United States, Stella, an African American, young girl living in segregated Bumblebee, North Carolina during the Great Depression era, faces racial segregation every day. Some stores Stella can go into, and others she cannot. Some people are most pleasant to Stella, and others not so much. And the Klu Klux Klan hasn’t bothered the African American community for years. Similar to Homer and Ada in Amina Lugman-Dawson’s (2022) Freewater, Stella and her eight-year-old brother, Jojo, in Sharon Draper’s (1998) Stella by Starlight must persevere and daily combat racial prejudice. This is her way of life, and Stella has accepted this, until one night when everything changes.

One late night when Stella was up and wandering around outside with Jojo, they witnessed something in the woods they should never have seen. It was the burning of a cross by the Klu Klux Klan. This event signals a change that is about to occur in Bumblebee, North Carolina, a change that is definitely not expected or welcomed. As Stella’s community and her world are upended, Stella decides to fight back.

Sharon Draper (1998) so poignantly and so clearly describes the racial differences and injustices in this small community in the segregated South of the late 1920s-mid-1930s. The Black and White children attend separate schools. The White school is located in a beautiful brick building with a glass front, updated textbooks, and separate classrooms and teachers

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by grade level as compared to the Black school, which is a one-room schoolhouse, where children of all grades are taught in the same classroom by the same teacher, and who receive donated, outdated textbooks from the White school. There are separate churches in which to worship and separate doctors to treat each race. The Whites can easily vote in federal elections, while for the Blacks, this is a lot more difficult and controversial to do. The Black community is a lot poorer than the White community, clearly seen by home-made clothes and no shoes for the Black children as compared to store-bought clothes and shoes for the White children.

While Sharon Draper (1998) so vividly describes the racial injustices in this community, she also clearly shows how not all White people are racist and members of the Klu Klux Klan. When the Klan torches a Black family’s house because the father of the family is one of three Black men who registered to vote in the next presidential election, it is White community members who come to the aid of the family along with Black neighbors, by helping with the bucket-brigade to try to extinguish the fire as well as donating clothes, shoes, food, dishes, cooking ware, and lumber to help this family survive after much loss. Additionally, when three Black community members proudly march to the town’s sheriff’s office to vote in the presidential election, with entire Black community marching behind them, it is White community members as well as the Blacks who cheer them after they have voted.

Sharon Draper (1998) in Stella by Starlight clearly depicts the resiliency of the Black community as they daily face the hatred and discrimination of some members of the White community, especially the Klu Klux Klan. Stella, Jojo, their family, and neighbors truly celebrate what they have by hosting a neighborhood dinner, with the telling of delightful colloquial stories; attending church together; and assisting each other’s families whenever there is a need.

This book is most appropriate for the middle-grade student.

The fourth book in this Children’s Book Column to be reviewed is The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage (Alko, 2015). The book is written by Selina Alko and illustrated by Sean Qualls and Selina Alko and tells the true story of Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving who wanted to get married but couldn’t as it was against the law where they both lived. Mildred and Richard were of different races: Richard was White and a fair-skinned boy, who quickly sunburned in the summer; Mildred was what was called “colored,” with her skin a light caramel color. Richard and Mildred met in 1958 and lived in a small town in Virginia called Central Point. People of all races lived together in this town. However, it was against the law at this time in Virginia and 16 other states in the United States for people of different races to marry. Mildred and Richard could not get married in Virginia but could get married in Washington, D.C. And so, they had a small wedding in Washington, D.C. and then moved back to Central Point, Virginia to live and raise a family.

However, soon after Mildred and Richard arrived back in Virginia, they were arrested for “unlawful cohabitation” or living together against the law. After spending a few nights in jail, Mildred and Richard were told by the authorities that if they wanted to live together as a married couple, they would have to leave Virginia. Sadly, both Mildred and Richard left their families and friends in Virginia and moved to Washington, D.C., where Richard found work and he and Mildred had three children. The

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Lovings missed Central Point, Virginia and their family and friends, and in 1966, they hired lawyers to help them fight for the right to live in Virginia as a married couple. The lawyers worked very diligently to make their case for interracial marriage, and on June 12, 1967, the case of Loving v. Virginia began at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. After much debate between the Lovings’ attorneys and the attorneys for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Supreme Court reached an unanimous decision: Interracial couples could now marry legally in Virginia.

This book ends with an author’s note and a clarification about the art in this book.

Selina Aiko, the author of this book, and Sean Qualls, one of the book’s illustrators, are married to each other. They have an interracial marriage, with Selina being a White, Jewish woman from Canada and Sean, an African American man from New Jersey. It is both Selina Alko’s and Sean Qualls’ hope that someday soon, all people who love each other will be able to legally marry.

The Case for Loving is a perfect book for primary-grade students. The text is very understandable for young readers with key points being emphasized in large, bold print.

Selina Alko and Sean Qualls worked together on illustrating this book, by blending their styles of paint and collage to create the book’s illustrations.

Racism In the first four books that are reviewed in this column, the African American experience in the United States was the focus. By looking back at the history of African Americans in the United States, the bravery of a young boy during the era of slavery, a young girl combating the hatred of the Klu Klux Klan during the Depression era, and a young couple suing the Commonwealth of Virginia for the right to have an interracial marriage in the late 1960s, the resilience of African Americans to defy racism and soar above it is clearly seen. In Maizy Chen’s Last Chance (Yee, 2022), the ability of Asian Americans, specifically Chinese Americans, defying racism leveled at them is clearly presented.

Maizy Chen’s Last Chance (Yee, 2022) is a heartfelt novel that brings together the present and the past, weaving together the contemporary story of 11-year-old Maizy Chen with that of her great-great grandfather, Lucky, who immigrated to the United States from China over a century ago. Maizy is the narrator of the contemporary story as she describes her summer in Last Chance, Minnesota, spending time with Opa (German for grandfather) by watching a food travel show on television, sharing Chinese and German lunches together, and learning to play poker. Maizy also describes spending time at her grandparents’ family, Chinese restaurant, the Golden Palace, where she helps her Oma (grandmother in German) and her mother, by cooking and taking care of the restaurant’s patrons’ needs. Along the way, Maizy gets to know some of the residents of Last Chance and is confronted by racism for being the only Chinese family in Last Chance.

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Maizy Chen had never been to Last Chance, Minnesota before. She is now visiting Last Chance with her mother for a few weeks until her grandfather gets better from a heart ailment. However, when Opa’s health continues to worsen, Maizy and her mother are forced to spend the summer in Last Chance by helping Maizy’s grandmother run the Golden Palace Restaurant, which has been owned by Maizy’s family for generations. Maizy makes several discoveries at the restaurant as to how people order food, how people can surprise you in good and bad ways, and that the restaurant has secrets. However, the more Maizy discovers, the more questions she has such as why her mother and grandmother are always arguing, and who the people are in the photographs on the office wall. Finally when Maizy discovers that Bud, a large, wooden bear and mascot to the Golden Palace, is missing and someone left a racist note, Maizy decides that it is time to find some answers to her questions and to uncover these family secrets.

The parallel story told in this book is in the voice of Lucky, Maizy’s great-great grandfather. Lucky immigrated to San Francisco, California from China in 1869, where he worked building train tracks for the Central Pacific Railroad. Conditions were harsh for the Chinese working for the railroad company, and racism, discrimination, and hatred toward the Chinese were most evident. The Chinese, railroad workers were segregated from the other workers and given the most dangerous jobs to do. Lucky became the cook at the Chinese workers’ camp and later a kitchen assistant and cook for the Philips, a wealthy and prominent San Francisco family. When Lucky is falsely accused of stealing from the Philips’ household, he is forced to flee San Francisco. It is by chance he arrives in Last Chance, Minnesota, where he begins a new life. The rest of Lucky’s story is about his life and his family’s in Last Chance as well as the restaurant he later buys, the Golden Palace. Sadly, discrimination against the Chen family, the only Asian American family living in Last Chance, continues as the Golden Palace is burned twice by racist arsonists.

Maizy Chen’s Last Chance (Yee, 2022) is written for children, ages 8-12, and has a humorous, sincere style that presents endearing characters who find out how valuable it is to learn about the past in order to appreciate and understand the present. The book also blatantly presents the discrimination and racial hatred the Chinese and other Asian Americans have experienced for centuries and continue to experience in the present. The book concludes with an author’s note, where Lisa Yee describes information about her own Chinese ancestry, family pictures, and research regarding the Chinese emigrating to the United States. There is also a recipe for Oma’s delicious, cream cheese wontons.

Maizy Chen’s Last Chance (Yee, 2022) has received three book awards for 2023. This book is a Newbery Honor Book, a National Book Award Finalist, and the recipient of the Asian-Pacific American Award for Children’s Literature.

Political Unrest The next two books reviewed in this Children’s Book Column regard book characters who lived in places during political unrest and persevered. I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World (Yousafzai with McCormick, 2014) is an inspiring memoir by Malala Yousafzai, who describes her brave actions to champion for education for women in Pakistan under the Taliban.

Jennifer A. Nielson’s (2018) A Night Divided tells the story of 12-year-old Gerta, whose family is divided overnight during the sudden rise of the Berlin Wall (Sunday, August 13, 1961).

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Malala Yousafzai was 10 years old when the Taliban took control of the section of Pakistan where she and her family lived. Malala was raised in a once peaceful area of Pakistan that now is transformed by terrorism. Malala was always taught to stand up for what she believes is right and just, and thus, in a time when girls were forbidden from going to school, Malala fought for her right to be educated. On October 9, 2012, while riding the bus on her way home from school, Malala was shot point-blank on the left temple. No one expected her to survive, but she did. Now Malala is an international symbol for peaceful protest and the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, along with activist Kailash Satyarthi.

This edition of Malala Yousafzai’s best-selling, adult memoir was adapted with the assistance of Patricia McCormack for the young reader audience (intermediate-grade students). This updated version of Malala Yousafzai’s memoir includes exclusive material and photos, a new epilogue, a glossary, and a timeline of key events mentioned within the book.

I Am Malala (Yousafzi, 2014) is divided into five parts along with a prologue and an epilogue. The book chronicles the peaceful life for Malala and her family before the presence of the Taliban; the terror and uncertainty of living under Taliban presence; and life in Birmingham, England after Malala was shot and almost died. Throughout this book, Malala describes her continued advocacy for girls to have an education, as well as her hope for her family to return to their homeland of Pakistan someday.

In reading this book, it is hard to imagine how young Malala was when she wrote this book. Malala’s writing truly conveys her passion and advocacy for girls throughout the world to receive an education.

In another period in history and in another part of the world, Jennifer Nielson’s (2018) A Night Divided tells the story of a family suddenly separated by the construction of the Berlin Wall, dividing Berlin and Germany into two sections: East Berlin/East Germany, controlled by the Soviets, and West Berlin/West Germany, governed by the Germans.

Twelve-year-old Gerta is the protagonist in this historical fiction novel. She demonstrates perseverance and resilience as she tries to reunite her family, who are suddenly divided overnight by the construction of the Berlin Wall on Sunday, August 13, 1961. Gerta, her mother, and her brother Fritz now live on the Soviet-controlled eastern side of the wall.

Gerta’s father and middle brother, Dominic, who had gone west in search of work, are unable to return home. Although Gerta knows it is dangerous to watch the wall and to think forbidden thoughts about freedom, she cannot help herself. She sees the East German soldiers with their guns focused on their own citizens, watching for any sign of escape. Gerta, her family, her neighbors, and her friends are suddenly prisoners in their own city.

One day, however, Gerta sees her father on a viewing platform on the western side of the wall, pantomiming a particular dance. She also receives a drawing of an abandoned building in East Berlin from her father, which was embedded in a condolence letter to the

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family of a friend. Gerta concludes that her father wants her and her brother Fritz to tunnel underneath the wall to escape from East Berlin, constructing this tunnel in the abandoned building sketched in the drawing Gerta’s father sent to her. However, if Gerta and Fritz are caught, the consequences could be deadly. No one in East Berlin can be trusted.

The main action of this book concerns Gerta’s and Fritz’s quest to build a tunnel to escape to West Berlin. They must overcome many obstacles in order to succeed, such as the constantly collapsing tunnel, the problem of what to do with the mounds of dirt from the tunnel, nosy neighbors, the East Berlin police, and the East German guards of the wall. The ending of the book is both dramatic and climatic as the reader is left in total suspense as to whether or not Gerta; Fritz; their mother; and other citizens of East Berlin, who have joined them on this mission, will escape to West Berlin and freedom or not.

A Night Divided (Nielson, 2018) reflects the harrowing history of the postwar years in East Germany. With poignancy and wit, Jennifer Nielson (2018) brings to life the story of one girl’s courage and perseverance to survive in a most adverse time.

Each chapter in this book begins with a historical quote regarding Germany and the German people that is relevant to the content of the chapter. After the conclusion of the novel, there is a section in the book called “After Words.” In this section, there is information about the book’s author, an interview with the book’s author; photographs of divided Berlin; a timeline of the Berlin Wall; and a “sneak peek” at Jennifer Nielson’s next book, Resistance. A Night Divided (Nielson, 2018) is written for the middle-grade reader.

Learning Differences The next two books in this Children’s Book Column show the resiliency of two students to defy their learning differences in certain subjects and to showcase their giftedness in art and creative writing.

Trisha in Patricia Polacco’s (1998) Thank You, Mr. Falker is having much difficulty learning to read.

Samantha in Samantha Abeel’s (1994) Reach for the Moon could not comprehend number concepts, correct spelling, and grammar. However, both Trisha and Samantha were gifted in other areas. Their stories are definitely ones that sing and ones to read!

Trisha in Thank You, Mr. Falker (Polacco, 1998) could not wait to go to school and learn to read.

Her mother, who was a teacher, read to her every night. When she would visit her grandparents at their farm in Michigan every summer, they would read to Trisha, too. Trisha’s grandfather would pour honey on a book and tell Trisha how sweet knowledge is that is found within books. Trisha could not wait until she was five and could go to school to learn to read.

However, once in school, reading, math, and comprehension were very difficult for Trisha. When she would try to read aloud, all the letters looked fuzzy, and she could never line the numbers up to add and subtract them. The other students made fun of Trisha and bullied her. She began to feel dumb and hated school. The only time Trisha was happy in school was when she was drawing. Trisha had a true gift for art, and all her teachers and the other students marveled at her artistic talent.

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When Trisha entered fifth grade at a new school in California, a new teacher came to the school to teach fifth grade. His name was George Falker. He was tall and elegant and a sharp dresser. All the students liked him and wanted to be the “teacher’s pet.” Trisha was still having a tremendous amount of difficulty with her schoolwork, except for art, where she continued to excel. Mr. Falker soon realized that Trisha learned differently than other children and worked with Trisha every day after school, along with Miss Plessy, the reading teacher, to help Trisha learn to read. They were successful. Trisha did learn to read that year and never stopped learning or reading after that. Trisha has a learning difference that needed specific instruction for her to persevere and succeed.

Thank You, Mr. Falker (Polacco, 1998) is a beautiful and powerful memoir and tribute to a teacher who saw the possibilities and giftedness in a student who was having tremendous difficulty learning. The author of the book, Patricia Polacco, is young Trisha. The book’s message is powerful as it so clearly emphasizes the important fact that all children can learn and succeed. It just takes specially trained teachers, specialists, and relevant programs to provide this help.

Samantha Abeel, the author of Reach for the Moon (1994), struggled in some school subjects but excelled and showed giftedness in others. Like Patricia Polacco, author of Thank You, Mr. Falker (1998), Samantha had a wonderful teacher, special education services in her school, and supportive family and friends to help her deal with her learning difference, while at the same time, providing the needed guidance for her to excel as a writer.

The main focus of Reach for the Moon (Abeel, 2014) is Samantha’s outstanding and creative poems and stories. Charles Murphy, a family friend, gave Samantha photographs and slides of his watercolors for her to use as inspiration for each of her stories and poems. What Samantha wrote were beautiful, imaginative, and creative pieces that were her interpretation of each watercolor. Charles Murphy was most impressed with Samantha’s interpretation of his art. What is so remarkable about Samantha’s writing and this book is that Samantha began this book project in seventh grade and finished it in ninth grade. Samantha is truly appreciative of Mrs. Williams, her seventh-grade, English teacher, who guided this writing as well as the special education staff and her family who looked beyond Samantha’s learning difference to advocate and support her gift and talent for language and writing.

Reach for the Moon (Abeel, 1994) begins with “Samantha’s Story,” where Samantha poignantly describes her struggles with mathematical concepts, spelling, and writing mechanics. In the eighth grade, Samantha was recognized as has having a learning difference and received the support she needed to help with her learning challenges.

Samantha truly believes that every student who has a learning difference also has an area where they can excel.

This book ends with a section called “Samantha’s Journey,” where Samantha’s mother; her seventh-grade, English teacher; and Samantha advocate for the importance of special

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education services and programs for students with learning differences, in order for them to find their strengths in areas where they will thrive.

Reach for the Moon (Abeel, 1994) does not have one specific age/grade level associated with it, but rather is written for all students with learning challenges and for all those who support them to rise above these learning differences and find success in other areas.

Young Love, Old Regrets, Forgiveness; Saying Goodbye to a Friend; Cyberbullying The last three books in the Children’s Books Column test their characters’ strength when faced with young love, old regrets, forgiveness; saying goodbye to a friend; and cyberbullying. These three books are: All My Rage (Tahir, 2022); Under the Blanket Sky (Fischer, 2023); and Backlash (Littman, 2016).

All My Rage (Tahir, 2022), the first book in this section to be reviewed, begins in Lahore, Pakistan, where Misbah, a dreamer and a storyteller, is newly married to Toufiq through an arranged marriage.

After their young life is shaken by the unexpected deaths of Toufiq’s parents, Misbah and Toufiq emigrate to the United States and open the Clouds’ Rest Inn Motel in Juniper, California, hoping for a new start.

They have one son, Salahudin (Sal), and struggle to keep the Clouds’ Rest Inn Motel thriving.

The plot then shifts to the present and Juniper, California. Salahudin and Noor are best friends.

Growing up as outcasts in the small, desert town of Juniper, California, they understand each other in ways that no other people do. Noor lives with her uncle, Chachu, and his wife, Brooke. Chachu rescued Noor from the rubble of a massive earthquake in Pakistan when Noor was six years old. Noor and Salahudin are constantly together until the Fight, when Noor kissed Salahudin, that quickly destroys the bond of friendship they have between them.

Now Salahudin tries to run the family motel as his mother’s, Misbah, health fails and his grieving father, Toufiq, descends into alcoholism. Noor, meanwhile, is living a life of deception, working at her abusive uncle Chachu’s liquor store, while secretly applying to college, so she can escape her uncle and Juniper forever.

When Salahudin’s attempts to save the motel by selling drugs at the high school he and Noor attend, life for Salahudin and Noor spins out of control. Thus, Salahudin and Noor must ask themselves what friendship is worth, and what it takes to defeat the monsters in their past and the ones in the present.

All My Rage (Tahir, 2022) is a challenging reading experience and is the recipient of the 2023 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, the Michael L. Printz Award, and Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction and Poetry. The book is divided into six parts, with each section beginning with lines from the poem, One Art, by Elizabeth Bishop (2011). Chapters in the book are written in the voices and perspectives of Misbah (representing the past, then) and Noor and Salahudin (representing the present and future, now). The reader needs to be cognizant when reading this book of these changing plot perspectives and periods in time.

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At the beginning of the book is a disclaimer by Sabaa Tahir (2022) regarding the serious issues presented in the book: drug and alcohol abuse, physical abuse, mentions of repressed sexual assault, racism, tense exchange with law enforcement, and death. Thus, this book is appropriate for the adolescent reader at the secondary school level. However, despite the strong content presented in the book, the book is beautifully written with poetic language and an exciting plot.

Under the Blanket Sky (Fischer, 2023), the second book reviewed in this section of this Children’s Book Column, is a beautiful picture book for primary-grade students about loneliness, finding a friend, and then having to say goodbye to that friend. One sunny morning, a lonely, young boy is visited by a mysterious and majestic owl, forming an instant friendship and a sense of belonging. What follows is a summer full of joy, fun, and adventure as the little boy and the owl spin pinwheels together, draw chalk pictures on the ground, play with the little boy’s toy soldiers, fight pretend dragons, and take naps together.

However, when the time comes for the owl to travel onward, the young boy and the reader, too, are left to reflect on the bittersweet nature of time passing, finally, finding solace in remembering those who passed through our lives and changed them forever.

The sparse text and extraordinary, shadowy illustrations so clearly and so simply reflect the inevitability of having to say goodbye to a friend and celebrate the beauty of ordinary places and the time to stop and enjoy them. For several pages in the book, the illustrations, alone, tell the story, allowing the reader to use their imagination as to the conversation the boy and owl are having.

This is the debut picture book for Tim Fischer, and readers will definitely wait anxiously for the next one to be published.

The last book to be reviewed in this Children’s Book Column is Backlash by Sarah Darer Littman (2016). This book is for young adult readers and so clearly and painfully reflects on the dire consequences comments on social media can have on young lives.

The words on the screen don’t make sense. They can’t.

He says: You’re an awful person.

He says: You’re a terrible friend.

He says: I know you have been checking out dresses for the homecoming dance.

He says: What makes you think I’d ask you out?

He says: I’d never be caught dead at the school dance with a loser like you. (Littman, 2016, p. 1) This is the message Lara, the protagonist in this novel, saw on her Facebook wall.

It was posted publicly there by Christian, who Lara thought liked her. They had been conversing on Facebook for weeks. So, why this sudden change? Why was Christian saying

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such terrible things about Lara? Are they true? And this conversation was public. It already had 25 likes.

These are the opening lines of Backlash (Littman, 2016) and set the book’s plot in motion. Lara used to be overweight and depressed when in middle school, but now in high school, she has lost 30 pounds, had been happy, felt pretty, and just was selected for the varsity cheerleading squad at her high school. She was making new friends after her best friend in middle school, Bree, suddenly is not talking to Lara. Christian’s hash words on Facebook changed everything for Lara, causing her to attempt suicide by overdosing on a variety of pills she found in her family’s bathroom medicine cabinet.

This book so powerfully shows how a few hurtful comments posted on Facebook could affect someone’s life. It presents the realities of cyberbullying and the damaging effects of airing one’s problems in a public forum.

The book is written in four alternating voices: Lara’s; Sydney’s, Lara’s sister; Bree’s, Lara’s former, best friend; and Liam’s, Bree’s brother, giving four different perspectives to Lara’s story. While the book’s main focus is on Lara and her life and mental health following her suicide attempt, the book also powerfully describes life for Lara’s sister, Sydney; Bree; Bree’s brother, Liam; and Lara’s and Bree’s families.

As the plot evolves, the reader learns the truth behind Christian’s Facebook postings. As this truth slowly becomes known, there are devastating effects for Lara, Sydney, Bree, Liam, and Lara’s and Bree’s families and friends. Both the reader and book characters become painfully aware of the backlash that can follow when posting hurtful comments on social media.

Final Thoughts This Children’s Book Column for the 2023 MRA Primer focuses on four picture books and eight immediate-grade and young adult novels and memoirs that feature characters who withstood a variety of challenges and persevered. From escaping a master’s rule on a southern plantation, to facing the Klu Klux Klan in a segregated South, to pursuing an interracial marriage when it was against the law, to facing racism as immigrants in a new home in the United States, to surviving political unrest in the community where the character lived, to excelling in an area of strength when certain pedagogical concepts were so difficult to master, to saying goodbye to a friend, and to combating cyberbullying, the characters in these books demonstrate courage and resilience and succeed against so many odds. These characters, the books in which they are featured, and their authors will long be remembered by readers of all ages. It is the hope of this column’s author that these books will provide rich reading experiences and discussions with students of all ages.

Happy Reading!

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References Literature Cited in this Children’s Book Column Applegate, K. (2014). Home of the brave. Feiwel & Friends.

Bell, C. (2014). El deafo. Penguin/Random House.

Bishop, E. (2011). Poems. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Hinton, S. E. (1967). The outsiders. Hester Press.

Kamkwamba, W. (2012). The boy who harnessed the wind. Penguin/Random House.

Paulsen, G. (1986). Hatchet. Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books.

Books Reviewed in this Children’s Book Column Abeel, S. (1994). Reach for the moon. Pfeifer-Hamilton.

Alko, S. (2015). The case for loving: The fight for interracial marriage. Levine/Scholastic.

Draper, S. M. (1998). Stella by starlight. Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

Fischer, T. (2023). Under the blanket sky. Bantom Doubleday.

Littman, S. D. (2016). Backlash. Scholastic.

Lugman-Dawson, A. (2022). Freewater. Little, Brown and Company.

Nielson, J. A. (2018). A night divided. Scholastic Gold.

Polacco, P. (1998). Thank you, Mr. Falker. Philomel Books.

Tahir, S. (2022). All my rage. Razorbill.

Weatherford, C. B. (2022). Standing in the need of prayer. Penguin-Random House Crown Books for Young Readers.

Yee, L. (2022). Maizy Chen’s last chance. Random House.

Yousafzai, M. (2013). I am Malala: How one girl stood up for education and changed the world. Little, Brown and Company.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Elaine Shaw Bukowiecki, EdD is professor emeritus at the College of Education and Health Sciences at Bridgewater State University, where she taught (and still teaches part time)

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courses in the graduate programs in reading, was coordinator of the graduate programs in reading for eight years, and was chairperson of the Department of Counselor Education for seven years. Elaine was also the editor of The Graduate Review, a graduate journal of research and creative scholarship, for seven years. Elaine is past president of MRA and MACURE and is currently the co-editor with Valerie Harlow Shinas of MRA’s publications and treasurer of MACURE. Elaine treasures the beautiful picture books her students have given her throughout her years as an elementary school, classroom teacher; a district-wide language arts coordinator; and a university professor.

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MAKING SCHOOL CONNECTIONS A Proud Teacher Moment | June 14, 2017 NATHALIE G. AIS

Just wanted to share a proud teacher moment that happened to me last week.

I've instituted a new, independent reading/literature circles unit at the end of this year with my 9th graders. Students had to read a book, any book, of their choice. I wanted to counteract the culture that reading is not cool, is boring, and it’s too much work. The goal was to build a love for reading, a culture of reading; and develop an identity that they, my students, are, in fact, not only readers, but that they actually enjoy reading. One of my students, Stefan4, expressed a strong dislike, almost a hate to reading, even to reading the directions for an assignment. He would often whine about reading even one page of a rigorous text in class. The task seemed too hard for him, in his eyes. He also displayed elements of learned helplessness. I worked really hard to encourage him to just even get a little bit of work produced from him.

So, it came to my delightful surprise one day when I saw him with his cellphone hovering over the pages of his book. I provided a wide range of texts and genres, from urban fiction, to young adult novels, to nonfiction, and lots of high-interest texts, including the Bluford High series, which he was reading. His reading level was low. I had already observed how he began to read for 5 minutes, then to 10 minutes, then to 20 minutes without stopping in one day. His reading stamina was growing!

But today, something else happened.

I asked, "Stefan, what are you doing?" completely confused.

He pulled himself from his focused work, eyes glued to the page, and quickly responded, "Ms. Ais, I'm taking pictures of my book."

"Why are you doing that?" I asked.

"So I can read it at home," he nonchalantly answered.

Wait. What?

Did I just hear Stefan say, "so I can read it at home?”

4

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As in, “Give yourself additional homework?” As in, “I'm liking this book so much I want to see what happens next?” As in, “I'm so hooked into reading this book,” from the kid who complained about reading three pages in our Book Pass activity, when students learned to sample different books before selecting the one they were to read?

"Oh. Ok," I replied as if this was usual, and normal, and everyday behavior that he expressed.

But yet, in that moment, I scored! I hit a home run! I did a flip, somersault, and triple twirl in the air! I won the lottery! Nevertheless, I had to act like nothing was different; be under radar.

I wanted to burst out dancing, but I didn't want to draw attention to the magnificent, ginormous change that has just occurred; a shift really.

And, so, when the bell rang, I told Stefan to make sure he puts his book back so that the next class can read the books, as students were sharing the limited copies of books in our classroom. And then, it was back to life as normal. But I guess it was a new normal. Shifting the culture of reading, one student at a time.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Nathalie G. Ais is a leadership consultant and instructional coach in Cambridge, MA, who helps leaders and teachers own their voices. At the time of this writing, she was an English teacher leader and instructional coach in Boston. Connect with her at ais.nathalie@gmail.com.

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MAKING SCHOOL CONNECTIONS Popular Culture Texts: Three Stories from the Classroom MELANDA BUTLER

As a child growing up in the 50s and 60s, I consumed a lot of popular culture texts.

One of my earliest, popular culture memories was watching the Captain Kangaroo show every weekday morning (Keeshan, 1955-1984). I would plunk myself down on the floor with my blanket and revel in the black-and-white television offerings of the wonderful adventures of Tom Terrific and his wonder dog, Manfred (Weiss, 1957-1959). I howled with laughter when Mr. Moose released ping-pong balls from the ceiling after one of his knock-knock jokes, and I whispered along with the Captain when he called out, “1, 2, 3…Grandfather!” to wake up the grandfather clock (Keeshan, 1955-1984). As I grew a little older, I devoured every Archie comic book (Coyne et al., 1941-present) I could get my hands on, delighting in the antics and scrapes of Jughead, Reggie, Betty, Veronica, Betty, and Moose. Early Sunday mornings, I rushed down the driveway, rain or shine, to get the newspaper, and my sisters and I read the funny pages to keep up with the adventures of Prince Valiant (Foster et al., 1939-1971). Later, I guffawed while trying to sing the silly parodies in Mad Magazine (Kurtzman et al., 1952-2018) and marveled at the satire in the comics and the fake commercials. Upon closer reflection, I consumed popular culture all through my K-12 years. However, I do not recall any of my teachers mentioning or integrating comic books, television, the funny pages, or other popular culture texts. In fact, I cannot imagine any of my teachers considering integrating popular culture texts into curricula.

When I became a public-school teacher at the age of 45, connecting with students’ out-of-school literacies and integrating popular culture into lessons were not yet on my radar.

However, over my 15 years of serving as a teacher and a reading coach in public schools, and four years teaching literacy courses in higher education, my perspective on the power of popular culture texts to connect with others has grown exponentially.

Popular culture may be defined in a variety of ways. One of Storey’s (2001) definitions is simply that which is currently popular. Interestingly, Duff and Zappa-Hollman (2013) note: Television programs, commercials, movies, sports broadcasting, radio programming, hip-hop, online media, blogs, YouTube, concerts and poetry slams, computer games and simulations, comic books and trade fiction, and various social media, texting tools, and clothing fashions can all be considered contemporary manifestations of popular (pop) culture—usually with mass (commercial) appeal and relevance to large swaths of the population. (p. 1) Honoring, valuing, and integrating students’ out-of-school literacies is very beneficial for teachers and students. Moll et al. (2005) refer to funds of knowledge as “historically accumulated and culturally developed bodies of knowledge and skills” (p. 73). Popular-culture researcher Petrone (2013) provides clarity about how funds of knowledge apply to the bridging

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of out-of-school and in-school literacies. Petrone (2013), writes, “Bridging refers to connections made between students’ cultural knowledge, skills, and practices and school-sanctioned knowledge, skills, and practices….how literacy educators draw upon their students’ popular culture funds of knowledge to make connections between them and official curricula” (p. 251).

Integrating popular culture texts into lessons and curricula supports and motivates students in various ways. As Marsh (1999) states, “Work based on a popular text can be connected to narratives with interrelated themes; from Batman to Orpheus, from She-ra to Bodicea” (p. 119). Importantly, Morrell et al. (2013) posit that the study of popular culture supports critical literacy. They note, “Students learn the difference between being a critical consumer and being a passive consumer when they engage with different forms of popular culture” (p. 20). Clearly, getting to know students and their popular culture schema is a worthwhile occupation. Indeed, over the years, I have discovered some interesting and powerful ways to accomplish this. In this article, I offer three stories to illustrate the ways I have integrated popular culture into the curriculum.

Stories Story 1: Almost 20 years ago, a colleague and I attended a day-long workshop with Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy, authors of many children’s books in Spanish and English and importantly, authors of Authors in the Classroom: A Transformative Education Process (2004). Ada and Campoy (2006) shared many strategies for writing with English Learners (ELs) and their families, and my colleague and I were very motivated and excited to return to campus to implement these ideas. We learned that writing very simple acrostic poetry with students and encouraging families to write together were engaging, educational, and fun. In fact, I was struck by the simplicity and power of the writing strategies that were shared. Later, back on my campus, I introduced acrostic poems to a group of fifth graders; most of the students in the class were language learners. These amazing students created their acrostic, name poetry and published them as PowerPoint presentations. Additionally, the students recorded their poetry, using the microphones on the personal computers (PCs), and we created recordings using Windows Media Player. Many of the students selected popular-culture pictures for each page of their PowerPoint poetry slide decks. That is, students choose pictures of: pit bulls, Lamborghinis, favorite television shows, and famous basketball and football players to represent themselves. Displaying great teamwork, students worked in small groups in the computer lab, collaborating and supporting each other as issues occurred around composition and/or technology.

Story 2: As an instructional reading coach, I was required to tutor third- and fifth-grade students who did not pass their first round of standardized reading tests. Reading fluency was often a reading goal for these amazing, young people. I searched for and found a poetry book filled with hip hop lyrics that students were excited about and could not wait to read: Hip Hop Speaks to Children: 50 Inspiring Poems with a Beat, edited by Nikki Giovanni (2008). Students were drawn to Eloise Greenfield’s (1978) “Things,” the lyrics to “Ladies First” by Queen Latifah (1989), and “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugar Hill Gang (1979).

After reading, rereading, reciting, and sometimes memorizing these texts, I recorded the students’ recitations on CD-ROM. Students loved listening to themselves reciting and/or rapping; they received a recording to share at home, and their fluency was greatly improved.

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Story 3: While working on my dissertation research with the topic of teachers’ perceptions of popular culture texts, I asked our administrator if I could facilitate a popular culture book club after school. I sent home invitations for six fifth graders to stay after school one day per week, and six families gave their permission. In fact, one of the parents purchased a semester’s worth of juice boxes, gummies, and chips. I had a small budget to purchase graphic novels and bought six copies of Hatke’s (2016) graphic novel Mighty Jack and Siegel’s (2017) graphic novel Five Worlds: The Sand Warrior. Every week, we read and discussed graphic novels, wrote and shared our own cartoons or graphic novels, consumed lots of snacks, and created video recommendations. During that time, I was constantly amazed at the amount of popular culture schema the students possessed and shared with me. I was truly a learner during our weekly meetings.

Conclusion In this article, I have described the popular culture texts I consumed as a child. I have shared three stories from the classroom and offered suggestions about ways to bridge out-of-school literacies and in-school literacies into lessons and curricula. I would love to think that the students remember the acrostic name poetry projects, the memorization and recording of rap and poetry, or reading and writing graphic novels in our book club. I would love to think that seeds of engagement and literacy were planted.

References Ada, A. F., & Campoy, F. I. (2004). Authors in the classroom: A transformative education process. Allyn & Bacon.

Ada, A. F., & Campoy, F. I. (2006). How to turn your language learners into writers and Authors [Staff development resources presentation]. Houston, Texas.

Coyne, M., Silberkleit, L., & Goldwater, J. L. [Founders]. (1941-present). Archie comics. Archie Comics Publishers, Inc. Duff, P. A., & Zappa‐Hollman, S. (2012). Using popular culture in language teaching. The encyclopedia of applied linguistics. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal1239 Foster, H., Murphy, J. C., Murphy, C., Murphy, M., Morrow, G., Wood, W., Gianni, G., Schultz, M., & Yeates, T. (1939-1971). Prince Valiant in the days of King Arthur. King Features Syndicate, Giovanni, N. (Ed.) (2008). Hip hop speaks to children: 50 inspiring poems with a beat (A poetry speaks experience for kids, From Tupac to Jay-Z, Queen Latifah to Maya Angelou). Sourcebooks Explore.

Greenfield, E. (1978). Things. In E. Greenfield, Honey, I love and other love poems. Crowell.

Hatke, B. (2016). Mighty Jack. First Second.

Keeshan, R. [Executive Producer]. (1955-1984). Captain Kangaroo [TV Series]. Robert Keeshan Associates.

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Kurtzman, H., Martin, D., Jacobs, F., Drucker, M., Prohiás, A., Berg, D., & Aragonés, S. (1952-2018). Mad Magazine.

DC Entertainment (1952-2018).

Latifah, Q. (1989). Ladies first. Tommy Boy Records.

Marsh, J. (1999). Batman and Batwoman go to school: Popular culture in the literacy curriculum. International Journal of Early Years Education, 7(2), 117-131. https://doi.org/10.1080/0966976990070201 Morrell, E., Duenas, R., Garcia, V., & Lopez, J. (2015). Critical media pedagogy: Teaching for achievement in city schools. Teachers College Press.

Moll, L., Amanti, C., Neff, D., & Gonzalez, N. (1992). Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. Theory into Practice, 31, 132-141.

Petrone, R. (2013). Linking contemporary research on youth, literacy, and popular culture with literacy teacher education. Journal of Literacy Research, 45(3), 240-266.

Siegel, M. (2017). Five worlds (book 1): The sand warrior. Random House Graphic.

Storey, J. (2001). Cultural theory and popular culture: An introduction (3rd ed.). Pearson Education Limited.

Sugar Hill Gang. (1979). Rapper’s delight. Label-Sugar Hill.

Weiss, W. M. [Executive Producer]. (1957-1959). Tom Terrific. Terrytoons.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Melinda Butler is an assistant professor and teaches literacy education courses at the University of Southern Maine. Her research interests are popular culture texts, independent reading, and literacy clinic best practices. Melinda loves reading children's popular culture texts and mystery series.

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MAKING SCHOOL CONNECTIONS Critical Literacy Theory in the Elementary Classroom BRENDA MARQUIS

In today’s ever-changing world, what it means to be literate and how we teach literacy must also be continually adapted in order to best serve our student population. In a world where it is easy to become overloaded with information and media manipulation, students need the skills to critically analyze and question texts in order to obtain a deeper understanding. One tool available for teachers to use in their classrooms is critical literacy theory, which can aid our students in becoming more global thinkers and problem solvers. Implementing the use of critical literacy theory not only helps our students in the present, but it also prepares them to become contributing members of society going forward into their adulthood.

Critical literacy theory is a concept that has been many years in the making. It has been influenced by several social justice movements throughout history that focus on gender, race, ethnicity, and social constructs. These different influences have helped to create a tool that will allow the reader to view any piece of text through varying perspectives.

Paulo Freire (1968) is often credited as one of the founding fathers of critical literacy theory. His work, along with the work from the Frankfort School of the 1920s, combined to create the framework for critical literacy theory. Since then, several researchers have contributed and continue to shape the theory into what we have today. One such researcher, Vivian Vasquez (2017), defines critical literacy as a perspective and a way of being that should be constructed organically, using the inquiry questions of learners, beginning in the first days of early learning.

She believes that the skill of critical thinking is something that students will be able to use, not only within the confines of a classroom, but in their everyday lives.

According to Freire (1968), reading and writing are acts of knowing, and, therefore, the student must assume the role of critical thinker in order to navigate the written word and to foster a deeper understanding of the world around them. This includes questioning what appears in the text as well as what is omitted from the text.

The goal of critical literacy theory is to disrupt a common understanding, so that students can gain perspective by looking at a text in a different way. It encourages students to look at the text from multiple viewpoints, allowing them to see those who are represented, and those who are not. Social and political issues are examined to determine power relationships within a story, thus, allowing students to see the world through someone else’s eyes. Students are also challenged to take action to bring about change in an unequal or unjust situation (Lewiston, et al., 2002, pp. 382-392).

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Fostering Critical Literacy Skills Young children are naturally curious about the world around them. This curiosity creates an ideal teaching ground for critical literacy concepts. Creating an environment that fosters questioning and is supportive of exploration in a respectful manner allows students to develop critical literacy skills. These skills include questioning, analyzing, evaluating, and reflecting.

Critical literacy encourages students to ask probing questions about the text that they are reading. It encourages them to consider different perspectives and to look at implicit and explicit messages within the text. For example: “Who or what are included in the text?” “Who or what is missing from the text?” “Who is marginalized?” “What does the author want you to think?” “ If I switch something in the story, what story might an alternative text tell?” “How can information in the text be used to promote social justice?” (McLaughlin & DeVoogd, 2004). Each of these questions requires the student to delve deeper and to look at the text from different perspectives. When analyzing a text, students learn to closely examine what they are reading, looking for biases, stereotypes, and assumptions that can influence their understanding. Being able to determine the credibility and reliability of a source and distinguishing between fact and opinion are skills that students need in order to navigate their way through the information that they are bombarded with on a daily basis.

The skill of evaluating the material is a major component of critical literacy theory. Evaluating a text includes being able to form your own opinion about the writing, and how you would support your opinion. Students are also asked to reflect on their own beliefs and assumptions and to identify how these impact their understanding of the text. By nurturing each of these skills in our students, teachers can lay a solid foundation for academic and intellectual growth.

Promoting Social Awareness and Empathy As our world becomes increasingly connected, we are no longer able to turn a blind eye or claim a lack of information as a reason for not changing the injustices of the world. Critical literacy theory fosters a sense of responsibility by encouraging students to delve deeper into issues of equity, justice, and social change. Just as children are innately curious, they also have an innate desire for fairness, or for things to go well for others. Some may consider this naivete, but exposing and growing this empathy muscle will result in a more compassionate and, hopefully, proactive citizen. Challenging students to stand up against injustice and helping them to see the role that they can play in making their world a better place can only be a positive thing.

These challenges can be accepted and worked through when students understand the problem, and how their lives fit into the solution. By including diverse texts that represent various cultural backgrounds and viewpoints, critical literacy theory encourages inclusivity and celebrates diversity.

This allows students to see themselves and others in the books that they are encountering during their education. Studies have shown that when students can see themselves represented in a text, they are more likely to connect with that text. Simply reading diverse texts without a critical literacy lens provides an incomplete picture for the student. Students need to analyze, question, evaluate, and reflect on the

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text in order to gain the most complete understanding and then decide how they can act upon that understanding.

Emphasizing Active Citizenship One of the key components of critical literacy theory is empowering students to become active citizens who play a role in their communities. These communities can include their families, schools, organizations, towns, states, or countries. Helping children to critically examine media, advertising, and political messages will allow them to become better-informed citizens and less susceptible to manipulation from various modes of information. Critical literacy theory teaches students to use their voices effectively, express their opinions, stand up for causes in which they believe, and respectively participate in constructive disagreements. Critical literacy theory enables students to become active participants in their own education. Students are able to have their voices be heard through dialogue and debate. Teachers who are implementing critical literacy theory are providing students with a safe place for this to occur. This increased engagement and motivation can lead to a more authentic and meaningful educational experience. These skills are vital for students who are committed to changing the world around them and making social progress.

Implementing Critical Literacy Theory in the Classroom As stated earlier, critical literacy theory is not a separate curriculum to be taught within the classroom; rather, it is a lens through which students can interact with a text. Any topic can be evaluated and analyzed using critical literacy theory. Once students have learned to look at a text or digital information through the lens of critical literacy, they are able to use that lens on any text or material that they may encounter. When creating lessons where critical literacy skills will be used, teachers must remember to engage students’ thinking; guide their thinking, when necessary; extend students’ thinking; and allow for and encourage reflection.

Cooperative learning and engaging conversations are important parts of critical literacy. Having questions prepared ahead of time that challenge the students to think deeper can help to facilitate these discussions. The job of the teacher is to facilitate and not to instruct during this time. Teachers want the students to lead the discussion and to uncover their beliefs and perceptions about the text. While it is acceptable to facilitate the conversation, it is not advised that the teacher lead the discussion. The teacher is there to present questions that will cause the students to think about the text differently. Teachers can aid in this process but must not take charge or direct the outcome of the process.

Beginning with a complete story can be overwhelming for students when first practicing critically looking at a text. A great exercise to begin practicing critical literacy skills is to have students write down the messages that they see in public places or cut out advertisements from magazines. Using these small samples of information will help to prevent the students from becoming overwhelmed with the process.

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Next, you can proceed to doing a read-aloud story that is known to the students. A good one to use is The Three Little Pigs. This story lends itself to some great discussions for the students, and most of them are familiar with the story. The familiarity of the story leads the students to believe that they know all there is to know about the story and its characters. Once teachers start to use a critical literacy lens to look at the story, the students are usually quite surprised by what they didn’t see within the story before.

Conclusion The inclusion of critical literacy theory into the classroom can enable students to critically analyze texts and allow them to embrace diverse perspectives. Critical literacy theory can help to foster critical thinking, empathy, inclusivity, and challenge students to become active participants in their own education. It challenges students to look at the world and a text through a different lens and then to act, based off what they see. These are all skills that will set students up for success in the ever-changing world ahead.

References Freire, P. (1968). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Penguin Modern Classics.

McLaughlin, M., & DeVoogd, G. L. (2004). Critical literacy: Enhancing students’ comprehension of texts. Scholastic Teaching Resources.

Lewison, M., Flint, A. S., & Van Sluys, K. (2002). Taking on critical literacy: The journey of newcomers and novices.

Language Arts, 79(5), 382-392.

Vasquez, V. M. (2017). Critical literacy. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education. http://doi.org/10.1093/ acrefore/9780190264093.013.20

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Brenda Marquis is a fourth-grade, ELA teacher at the Edgar B. Davis Elementary School in Brockton, Massachusetts. She has taught for the last 17 years in the city of Brockton. She holds a master’s degree in Curriculum Design and is currently studying for a master’s degree in Reading at Bridgewater State University.

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MAKING SCHOOL CONNECTIONS

LOOKING BACK AND LOOKING FORWARD: Leveraging Afrofuturism Multimedia to Pursue Joy in an Eighth-Grade, ELA Classroom MAEVE MCDONALD AND KIERSTIN GIUNCO

Culturally relevant pedagogy (Ladson-Billings, 2014) is distorted and corrupted when educators believe that including books about people of color and posting “diverse” images around their classrooms constitute the extent of the pedagogy. Though it is essential to choose texts and images that combat the invisibility of diverse people, there must be a simultaneous effort to represent these individuals and their larger communities in authentic and meaningful ways that do not perpetuate stereotypes. Maeve (first author), a middle/secondary, English Language Arts (ELA) educator, recognized this challenge in her own classroom and, therefore, had intentional, pedagogical questions, especially given her positionality as a White educator. She was specifically concerned with how her students—who identified as students of color—received and interpreted messages around their identities, and how her classroom space supported their identity development. These concerns drove Maeve’s curricular design for a new, 8th-grade, ELA unit in her second year of teaching.

Interested in how literature can intentionally represent futurism and, therefore, support students’ imagining more just futures, Maeve began reading and researching Afrofuturism. Ebony Elizabeth Thomas’s (2019) work, The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games, became her core pedagogical text. Thomas calls for ELA instruction to shift away from White, heroic protagonists and, instead, to illuminate the imaginary stories of people of color, who stand at the margins. This work involves not only critiquing and reframing preexistent texts but also highlighting newly emerging Afrofuturistic texts. While reading Thomas’s work, Maeve was also in a graduate program that required a Reflective Practice Seminar rooted in anti-bias, anti-racist pedagogies. Kierstin (second author), a former, elementary school teacher and current doctoral student, co-facilitated this seminar and encouraged the group to use Gholdy Muhammad’s (2023) book, Unearthing Joy: A Guide to Culturally and Historically Responsive Teaching and Learning as a frame for their discussions. In doing so, the Reflective Practice Seminar continuously returned to Muhammad’s five pursuits: identity, skills, intellectualism, criticality, and joy. Melding Thomas’s and Muhammad’s work together, Maeve saw an opportunity to look both backward and forward when designing her unit.

Maeve looked backward and considered historical ways of conceptualizing joy through Muhammad’s (2023) work. Muhammad discusses the importance of remembering the practices of Black Literacy Societies when expanding beyond skill instruction, as these communities centered all of the pursuits, ultimately, unearthing joy as the recognition and honor of beauty within individuals and humanity. One way to foster this type of joy in the classroom is through texts that simultaneously respond to the present, while remembering the past, and hoping for the future. For Maeve, this required a nuanced look forward through Afrofuturism and specifically Thomas’s (2019) scholarship about how “all” people need new mythologies that center their identities through Afrofuturistic and Black, fantastic tales. Indeed, a future orientation cannot

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ignore current and historically-rooted injustices. As Love (2020) argues, “Black joy is an acknowledgment of one’s full humanity; a celebration of one’s identity as a strong, beautiful, Black person; and an understanding that dark people come from generations of survivors who fought for the right to thrive” (p. 120). Afrofuturism, then, nurtures Black joy as its speculative fiction is rooted in a critical understanding of Black people’s reality, while providing a hopeful path in moving forward and engaging in social justice.

Focal Lesson Sequence Inspired by these Black, female scholars, Maeve set out to create a unit comprised of three components that not only touched upon the five pursuits (criticality, skills, intellect, joy, and identity [Muhammad, 2023]) but also brought to the forefront the power of fantasy, multimedia texts and the genre of Afrofuturism as a whole.

Joyful, Short Film The first multimedia text was the seven-minute, Oscar-nominated short film, Hair Love (Cherry, n.d.), which centers around the relationship between an African American father, Stephen; his daughter, Zuri; and her hair, which Stephen must style. This short film allowed Maeve to feature an essential expression of love in the Black community, namely the styling of hair, as a way of exploring identity.

After watching the film, students discussed their reactions as a class. Though they laughed at the personification of Zuri’s hair, they also connected her story to their own experiences and times when their hair had “a mind of its own.” This discussion transitioned into an activity about writing theme statements – an important skill for 8th graders to master. Supported by the social justice themes underlying this short film, students explored themes related to embracing one’s culture, standards of beauty, and familial connections.

Afrofuturist Film

Hair Love (Cherry, n.d.) served as a launching pad for the film study of Black Panther (Coogler, 2018), the second cornerstone in the unit. Black Panther expanded the idea of Blackness by imagining a futuristic and uncolonized Africa, specifically the nation of Wakanda, which is the most technologically advanced country in the world because of its lack of European colonization. To introduce the film, and, more specifically, the Afrofuturistic lens through which Maeve wanted the students to view the piece, students watched an episode in the “It’s lit!” series (a video, essay series sponsored by PBS [Public Broadcasting Services], n.d.). The episode entitled Afrofuturism: From Books to Blockbusters provided a digestible overview of the genre and highlighted examples, ranging from Adeymi’s (2018) Children of Blood and Bones, to Janelle Monáe’s music and aesthetic contributions, and, eventually, to Black Panther. This discussion framed students’ viewing of the movie. Then, after watching Black Panther in its entirety in class, students read an article about the themes most common in Afrofuturistic writing and media. Maeve started to connect these themes and Black Panther by providing a few examples. One such example was the propensity of Afrofuturism projects to bend time and space, merging ancestral history with future possibilities. This theme plays out most clearly in the film when T’Challa visits his

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deceased father on the ancestral plane. Using this example to guide them, students worked in groups to create a T-chart, identifying at least one instance in the movie that reflected each larger theme in Afrofuturism. After viewing and discussing this popular, accessible piece of mainstream media, students were beginning to develop the language necessary to read an Afrofuturistic novel entitled Akata Witch (Okorafor, 2011).

Afrofuturist Novel

Akata Witch (Okorafor, 2011) has affectionately been dubbed the “Nigerian Harry Potter.” Set in a small town in Nigeria, it tells the story of Sunny and her classmates, Orlu and Chichi, who discover their magical abilities as “free agents.” The characters are quickly tasked with tracking down and defeating a serial killer, who is a threat to the livelihood of their community. Rather than being another example of fantasy or scientific fiction that only incorporates Black characters as those upon whom violence is enacted, this novel allowed for studying a “hero’s journey” through a unique lens, namely, a diverse, female one. While reading the novel, students took notes, using the elements of a hero’s journey to guide their thinking. At the same time, they continued their T-chart, which they started for Black Panther (2018), identifying Afrofuturistic themes from the novel. At the novel’s end, Maeve turned towards an alternative assessment that honored one of the students’ favorite pastimes, watching Netflix. Specifically, they were tasked with creating a Netflix series for Akata Witch (Okorafor, 2011). To do this, students created the series’ cover page and at least 4-episode titles and descriptions. (See Figure A and Figure B below for the template used.)

This assessment nurtured their creativity and provided a joyful and nontraditional means of communicating their understanding of the plot, characters, and larger themes, as students had the flexibility to choose how the story was laid out, what titles of specific episodes should be, and more.

Figure A.

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Figure B

Reflection Shortly after teaching this unit, Maeve was given the unique opportunity to reflect on its implementation through the Reflective Practice Seminar. Kierstin and the facilitators tasked Maeve with annotating the unit sequence, using Muhammad’s (2023) framework, by labeling moments where each of the five pursuits was unearthed.

Maeve’s annotations confirmed that there was space for all pursuits in this unit. Joy was foundational to these lessons as the instruction valued the humanity and beauty of those so often othered. The texts inspired powerful discussions about the pursuits of identity and criticality in ways that prioritized hopeful futures. Students also honed their skills and intellect as they had small-group and whole-class discussions about the brilliance of Black communities and wrote theme statements that linked back to Afrofuturism. At the same time, Maeve continuously reflected on her positionality as a White teacher, using Afrofuturism as a framework and, thus, embraced the reality that she always had room to grow and could not do this work in isolation. Turning to Kierstin as a thought partner, Maeve was eager to brainstorm ways to grow this unit and further center people of color’s voices. Through these conversations, they identified ways to incorporate more diverse voices by highlighting the author/ director’s motivations for creating each piece. For example, the creator of Hair Love, Matthew Cherry (n.d), explains that his inspiration for the short film was to authentically represent Black culture and fathers, a role that is often stereotyped. In future iterations of this unit, Maeve identified ways to bring this perspective to the forefront and highlight the real person who created imaginary characters in response to harmful stereotypes. In this way, Maeve continued to pursue similar goals as the ones she MRA Primer 2023 | www.massreading.org

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established in her unit, namely, to look backward while, at the same time, looking forward.

As other educators consider ways to approach their own curricular design with the principles of Afrofuturism and Muhammad’s (2023) pursuits, the following practices should be kept in mind: • Finding resources to support student identity development and interest must be balanced, while remaining mindful of the multifaceted nature of diversity and the corresponding requirement of presenting many voices/narratives.

• Leveraging multimedia texts, which vary in format, complexity, and authorship, can be a powerful way to nurture joy and present Afrofuturism as a genre pursuing criticality.

• Providing opportunities for alternative assessments presents students with varied ways of demonstrating skills and intellect.

• Reading diverse scholars’ work provides important perspectives when looking backward and forward with students and one’s own self.

We hope this piece—and the practices that undergird it—inspires other classroom teachers to center Afrofuturism as a joyful and critical genre that honors truthful histories and hopeful futures.

References Adeyemi, T. (2018). Children of blood and bones. Henry Holt and Company.

Cherry, M. (n.d.) Hair love. http://www.matthewacherry.com/hair-love.

Coogler, R. (2018). Black panther. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Ladson-Billings, G. (2014). Culturally relevant pedagogy 2.0: a.k.a. the remix. Harvard Educational Review. Retrieved from: www.hardvardeducationalreview.org.

Love, B. (2020). We want to do more than survive: Abolitionist teaching and the pursuit of educational freedom. Beacon.

Muhammad, G. (2023). Unearthing joy: A guide to culturally and historically responsive teaching and learning. Scholastic.

Okorafor, N. (2011). Akata watch. Viking.

Public Broadcasting Service. (n.d.). It’s lit! PBS. https://www.pbs.org/show/its-lit/ Thomas, E. E. (2019). Dark fantastic: Race and the imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games. New York University Press.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS Maeve McDonald is a recent graduate of Boston College’s Urban Catholic Teacher Corp, where she received her Master of Education. She is currently a middle-school, English Language Arts teacher in Boston. In her teaching, she strives to create an affirming, empowering classroom through continuous and collaborative reflection.

Kierstin Giunco is a doctoral student at Boston College and the Director of Curriculum and Professional Development for Mission Grammar School in Boston, MA. In her research, she often partners with teachers to support their professional agency as they explore questions about their teaching practices.

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MAKING SCHOOL CONNECTIONS Who Are You? SHEGGAI TAMERAT AND BETSY LAZO

Years ago, sometime in our pre-pandemic life, we sat in a professional development centered on culturally responsive teaching, and the facilitator asked us to partner up and stand face-to-face with a colleague and simply ask them, “Who are you?” Our partners responded with automatic answers, and we were instructed to repeat the question again. “Who are you?” With each iteration, the exchange grew increasingly uncomfortable, and it started to feel more like an identity interrogation than PD.

Who are you?

A teacher.

Who are you?

A Black teacher.

Who are you?

An Ethiopian American.

Who are you?

A mom, a wife, a sister, a friend

Who are you?

I don’t know.

The discomfort was palpable. These familiar nouns and adjectives were not enough to get us through this task. We had exhausted our more familiar and public answers to this fairly easy question, and now we had to think of the other aspects of our identity that we had not yet revealed, the ones that were harder to name, the ones that we intentionally kept hidden. When it finally ended, we sat back down, uneasy on the padded cushions of the auditorium seats. We wondered if people felt they would be judged later for sharing too much of themselves. Had we given ammunition to our colleagues to betray us?

There is something both brave and childlike about the question “Who are you?” So many of the YA books we teach are stories of young people reckoning with this very question, and, yet, we struggle to share with our students how we continue to reckon with this question each and

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every day. We ask them to put their guard down, to take on difficult tasks, to come to read literature with an open mind and an open heart, to endure heartbreak with grace, and to confront discord with kindness. We ask our students to be vulnerable.

Brene Brown (2018) writes that “vulnerability is not winning or losing, it's having the courage to show up when you can’t control the outcome” (p. 157). As educators, there is so much that is beyond the realm of our control, and in an effort to protect ourselves from the pain of failure, we make ourselves less vulnerable in the very spaces where our students need us to be the most. Being vulnerable to our students does not mean oversharing our own personal dramas, but it does mean being open and honest with ourselves about the person we are, why we came to this practice in the first place, and why we continue to practice each and every day. Perhaps in this introspection, we can reckon with our own identity as Teacher and confront our own ways of knowing, so that we may better understand our students, and, perhaps, we might even find ourselves.

We have chosen this writing opportunity to answer the question “Who am I?” in hopes that it will keep us grounded in the work we do with our students. In giving our honest answers to this question, we hope that our readers will get to know us as comrades in literacy, and, in turn, we hope our readers will allow themselves to be vulnerable and reflect on this question as well.

Who Am I? My name is Sheggai Tamerat, and I am constantly evolving; I am a work in progress, a lover of life and learning. As I look back on the many roads that have led me to teaching, I can’t help but think about my mother, my father, my sister, and so many others who have come before me. Teaching feels ingrained in me, a part of my composition, a part of my DNA. However, the older I get, and the harder life becomes, I can’t help but wonder if I am continuing to choose this profession, or if it is, in fact, choosing me.

As a college student, I was eager to take on the classroom–and the world. I wanted to mold and shape the lives of so many, young children, who I just knew needed to feel that spark, read that book, and have that experience. But today feels different. The call to teach feels far more like an underwater current, a gravitational pull–one that I cannot escape.

I power through what all too often feels like troubled waters, feeling the impact of each ripple… each wave jolting through me, increasingly intense. The chaos which surrounds me, makes me feel alive, and so, I carry on, not knowing what lies ahead. It’s an arduous journey that I willfully travel over and over again.

But now, I wonder, having traveled through these seas nearly 20 odd years, what is it that keeps me here? Is it the thrill of it all? The challenge to conquer the unknown? Or perhaps, those moments of respite and peace, earned by steadfast determination?

I love teaching. I feel called to these waters. I don’t possess any naive assumption that I will single-handedly save the world. But right now, at this moment, here feels like home, and I have learned to find comfort in that.

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I have ridden through the Gobi Desert on the backs of camels with my students, trekked across the Great Wall of China, and stood within the walls of the Colosseum. I have seen the beauty of the world, not just through their eyes, but alongside them. For these moments and these experiences, I am thankful and have been filled with insurmountable joy. When I think about teaching, I think about the kind of people I want my students to become, globally aware, socially responsible… people who care about people. I want these things to become a part of their identities through travel, through literature, and through conversations.

In my many years of teaching, I have learned that there are unforeseen forces that I can never control–state mandates, standardized tests, prescribed curriculum–each threatening to steal my seafarer’s joy. But there is also so much beauty here, and I have learned to see it, love it, and search for more.

Each and every year, I hope for calm waters, beautiful skies, and a peaceful journey.

In the midst of all too frequent chaos, I simply want joy.

I have learned that to ensure happiness and longevity in this career, your outer and inner lives must align. You must allow your life’s passions to creep into the conversations you have, the books that you teach, the clubs you lead. You must, as I learned in that professional development, make yourself vulnerable by standing unapologetic and unafraid, bold enough to say, this is me. When I come to work each day, I feel invigorated by opportunities and conversations that refuel my outside interests and, in turn, redefine my sense of professional purpose. When I feel aligned, I feel like I am doing something right, like I’m on the right path, that at least for now, I’m where I’m supposed to be.

Who am I? I am Betsy Lazo, a middle-school, literacy specialist; a seventh-grade, English teacher; a mother; a wife; a sister; a daughter; and a friend. I am both mature and immature, wise and foolish, brave and cowardly, enlightened and ignorant. When I was in college, I wrote a poem that started “Betsy Lazo is a run-on sentence.” Nearly 20 years later, I can honestly say that this description is the most fitting to describe the way I exist in this world. I have so much that I want to do, but oftentimes, I shamelessly ignore the rules in order to do it.

I am also a mess. When doing a thing, anything, I must take everything out, sift through it all, make piles of stuff everywhere, and leave it all out with hope that I will continue the thing later. I leave lots of piles everywhere. Paradoxically, although I am a mess, I absolutely love order. As a child, I loved school so much because it was so organized—the rules were clearly written on laminated poster boards, the seats were assigned, the books were in alphabetical order, and our learning happened during neatly carved out 45-minute blocks.

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But was it the tidy structure that made me love school so much that I became a teacher? I keep returning to the reason why I became a teacher, and I am having a hard time recalling the exact moment when I made this decision. I know the answer I have given during job interviews, but that’s not it; that’s not the real reason. I chose to study English because it was easy for me. When it came time for graduate school, I decided to pursue English education because I liked school, and I liked English, and I was good at these things. In short, I chose the path to become a teacher because it was easy. This is hard for me to admit.

It was ignorant of me to think that I could be a good teacher because I was a good student.

My first year teaching was very difficult, and in classic Betsy fashion, a big mess. There were so many initiatives that I started, then completely abandoned because I was trying to do too much, had a hard time prioritizing what to focus on, and everything I wanted to do. I tried so hard to make it perfect.

Teaching is not easy, and I came here because I thought it would be.

This is my seventeenth year of teaching and my third year of being a literacy coach, and too often, I catch myself feeling scared each time I try something new. I am afraid of failure, of looking like I don’t know what I am doing, and I can feel myself reverting back to old ways of doing things because I worry that people will lose faith in me. I’m obsessed with perfectionism, making sure I look the part, sound the part–I so want to be accepted. I worry that when my students need me to be there for them, when they make themselves vulnerable, I will fail them because I won’t know what to do because I can barely handle being vulnerable myself.

I’ve failed far more times in this practice than I have succeeded. And yet, somehow, I find so much joy in this work. My soul is renewed when I’ve earned the trust of a student who opens their heart in a memoir. My heart delights when a child discovers a book that changes them. I am almost knocked over when a reluctant reader volunteers to read in front of the class. There is so much joy in this work, and I keep learning, stretching, and growing with each year. I’ve discovered so much, and the world continues to change. I never imagined living in an age when a computer could write an essay, create a piece of art. Is it art? I have to focus on the aspects of this work that make us human, the parts that are emotional, the parts that are vulnerable. That is the connection we form with the things we read.

I have to confront the ways I teach with honesty, without berating myself for not being perfect. I must continue to do the work, show up, and embrace change, so that I am able to be the person my students need me to be.

Reference Brown, B. (2018). Dare to lead. Vermilion.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS Sheggai Tamerat teaches ninth-grade English as well as the new AP, African American Studies course in Boston, MA. She is a proud product of Boston Public Schools and received her BA from Boston University (English) as well as her MA from Emmanuel College (Principalship and Administration). She is passionately interested in global citizenship and strives to foster empathy, compassion, and love in the classroom. She lives in Boston, Massachusetts with her husband and two beautiful children, their dog, and a few fish.

Betsy Lazo taught middle-school English in Boston for several years and currently works as a middle-school, literacy specialist and English teacher for students with language-based disabilities in Needham, Massachusetts. She is a recent graduate of Framingham State University in their Reading Specialist program and earned her BA and MS from Syracuse University. She lives in Sherborn, Massachusetts with her husband and two children, Holden and Ramona, and their miniature schnauzer, Miles.

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BOOK REVIEWS FROM THE READERS OF MRA

UNEARTHING JOY:

A Guide to Culturally and Historically Responsive Teaching and Learning Muhammad, G. (2023). Unearthing joy: A guide to culturally and historically responsive teaching and learning.

Scholastic Professional.

A joyful read! Unearthing Joy: A Guide to Culturally and Historically Responsive Teaching and Learning by Gholdy Muhammad (2023) beautifully blends critical pedagogy, poetry, history, art, stories, lessons, and music. It leaves the reader singing, reflecting, examining, unlearning, dancing, and advocating for genius and joy. This colorful book extends the justice orientation and humanizing pedagogies of her earlier book, Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy (Muhammad, 2020).

While continuing a focus on histories, identities, literacies, and liberation, this recent work emphasizes joy.

A joyful experience: The book is truly a multisensory and reverberating experience. It is a symphony of words, poetry, and art on the page. These pages are filled with stories, poetry, color, photos, biographies, literacy examples, tools, history, and tips. Each chapter starts with an inspirational quote, focus questions, and a QR code that brings you to a playlist of songs to accompany the chapter’s theme. Each chapter ends with reflection questions accompanied by coloring pages that give our minds space to digest new information and internalize messages in our hearts.

A joyful explanation: Joy is expressed as a pursuit that comes with happiness, beauty, culture, art, and self-love. Joy is described as connected to justice, self-determination, criticality, collaboration, and selfempowerment. Joy can infuse our relationships with students, our curriculum, our instruction, and our advocacy. Gholdy Muhammad (2023) argues that our truths, justice, problem-solving, anti-racism, and anti-oppression define our joy. Other significances of joy include liberation, abolition, and healing. Joy is centering student voices, music, art, and love.

A joyful model: With passion, insight, and a profound commitment to equity, Dr. Muhammad (2023) presents a compelling guide to Culturally and Historically Responsive Teaching and Learning (CHRTL).

This approach emphasizes people and events that have traditionally been ignored or misrepresented in schools. Her model is accompanied by an instructional framework including the pursuits of identity, skills, intellect, criticality, and joy. These five components are infused into missions, professional development, strategic plans, teaching, and creative works. Lesson units for students of all ages are shared, helping the reader to visualize the power of this model.

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A joyful learning: Dr. Gholnecsar (Gholdy) Muhammad’s (2023) scholarship focuses on literacy, language, and culture. Unearthing Joy intricately weaves theory into practice, inviting us all to work towards justice and joy. Gholdy uses her expertise and experiences to share the critical contexts that underscore equitable teaching and learning. She embraces multiple, theoretical perspectives such as cognitive theory, sociocultural theory, social constructivism, critical theory, and feminist theory. Her voice centers the work of others and features practical tools for educators.

A joyful connection: As a former teacher, reading specialist, district administrator, curriculum director, and school board president, Dr. Muhammad (2023) understands educators’ various needs. She uses the pages of this book to nurture our joy, challenge our passivity, and touch our hearts and minds. As we relate to Gholdy’s art, words, and research, we learn the importance of connecting with students honestly, critically, and joyfully.

And a joyful call to action: In Gholdy’s (2023) closing letter to educators, she encourages us to take a moment to be still, to rest, to love, to claim our joy, and to remember our purpose.

With its powerful message of joy, inclusion, and equity, this book has the potential to reshape our teaching and inspire hope for a better future. With a joyful lens, our classrooms can be full of art, music, multimodalities, creativity, and intellectualism. With this joyful lens, our schools can serve as spaces of healing and wellness. With this joyful lens, we can transform our practices to be more abolitionist and liberating. I hope Dr. Muhammad’s book moves you as it did me with possibility dancing in my head, inspiration singing in my heart, and joy smiling through my teaching.

ABOUT THE READER: Patricia Crain de Galarce, EdD directs the Center for Inclusive and Special Education at Lesley University’s Graduate School of Education. Her heart is in the classroom, teaching in special, elementary, graduate, and international education. For 12 amazing years, Patricia led a trilingual immersion PreK–6 school. Her scholarship contributes to teacher development, trauma and resilience, inclusive school cultures, and equitable school practices. Patricia is president-elect of the Massachusetts Reading Association (MRA) and 2024 MRA Conference Chair.

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BAN THIS BOOK: A NOVEL

A Gratz, A. (2018). Ban this book: A novel.

Tom Doherty Associates.

I am excited to be starting my new role in the middle school, working with small groups as an interventionist. One thing I will miss is the whole-class read-aloud I did with my big groups. The last few years I have been reading Ban This Book

by Alan Gratz. This book is timely and a classic at the same time.

This book covers many topics at the same time in a way that is relatable to kids. It led to many great discussions in my classroom. The topics included: • Freedom of Speech • Banning books • Finding your voice • Family communication • Getting to know someone before judging them • Author’s view of having their books banned-Dav Pilkey, author of Captain Underpants series The main character, Amy Ann Ollinger, begins this journey when she goes to the library and discovers that her favorite book From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (Konigsburg, 1998), is banned from the library by the school board because, according to one parent, it teaches children to lie, cheat, and steal. This peaked my interest because that book is one of my favorite books of all time.

And I also learned that that book, plus all the books discussed in Ban This Book: A Novel (Gratz, 2018), were banned at one time. There are many twists and turns that made for perfect stopping points to keep my students interested and begging for more. I would highly recommend this book as a read aloud, but I would grab it quickly, because it may get banned, itself, for discussing banned books!

ABOUT THE READER: Sarah Fennelly, MEd is webmaster for the Massachusetts Reading Association, where she also serves as a member of the Executive Board. Sarah is a reading specialist and just began a new position as an interventionist at Stoneham Central Middle School, Stoneham, Massachusetts Public Schools.

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WE WANT TO DO MORE THAN SURVIVE:

Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom Love, B. (2020). We want to do more than survive: Abolitionist teaching and the pursuit of educational freedom. Penguin/Random House.

I first discovered the words of Dr. Bettina Love in January 2020. I was in my fourth year of teaching in a public school, serving Black and Latinx students, and I was feeling the classic burnout. At this time, I was one of the few teachers of color in my school, and the only teacher who identified as African American. I remember being so frustrated by the inequities I was seeing (e.g. erasure of Black, Indigenous, Latinx history in the curriculum; large class sizes; insufficient special education support), especially with how we supported students experiencing difficulties with learning in school. I was desperately seeking answers to questions on what I wanted to do with my life, and what my future in education could look like.

As a Black woman, I am constantly seeking knowledge and wisdom from Black thinkers throughout history to better understand how they made sense of the world, how they navigated the world, how they found joy in the world, and what their hopes and dreams were. Much of Black history is erased from our school curriculums, allowing for the spread of misinformation and perpetuation of anti-Black narratives. As a lifelong learner, I am committed to learning about the knowledge, struggle, wisdom, and joy of Black folks in history. I seek their wisdom as I navigate my own racial equity journey, as we are all constantly evolving on our pursuit of becoming (whoever we want to be). As I learn, I plan to share this knowledge with others, in hopes that it will make our classrooms and schools more humanizing, racially just, and joyful places to be.

It is a pleasure to be able to share the incredible work of Dr. Bettina Love (2020). Her influential text, We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Education Freedom, changed my life as a human and journey as an educator. Throughout the text, Dr. Love provided me with the language for which I had been searching to express the systemic inequities I was seeing within my own classroom, school, district, state, and federal education as a whole. Love allowed me to make sense of why I always had a bad feeling in my stomach when people used gimmicks like “show grit!” and “work hard,” when deep down, we were really ignoring the social, political, and economic conditions in which our students lived.

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Love (2020) describes the struggles and possibilities of what it means to commit ourselves to an abolitionist approach toward education freedom instead of education reform. She calls for a paradigm shift away from the deficit perspectives and narratives we tell ourselves about students—these perspectives (both consciously and subconsciously) continue to perpetuate harm, violence, and the dehumanization of Black students. Instead, she asks us to engage in abolitionist, teaching practices that work toward education freedom that is built on criticality, historical truth, joy, love, creativity, coalition, and the overall deep-down belief that students, Black students, matter. She beautifully explains abolitionist teaching as being rooted within each of us as, the internal desire we all have for freedom, joy, restorative justice (restoring humanity, not just rules), and to matter to ourselves, our community, our family, and our country with the profound understanding that we must “demand the impossible” by refusing injustice and the disposability of dark children.” (Love, 2020, p. 7) We must work to unlearn, relearn, and grow as educators to truly support our students.

Dr. Love highlights the importance of taking an intersectional approach to our social justice commitments. She describes that our multiple and complex identities (e.g. race, gender, sexuality, cultures, languages, abilities, religions, spiritualties) cannot be looked at in isolation, as many of our students simultaneously experience multiple forms of oppression. She critiques the social, political, and economic conditions in which our children are going to schools. The racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, Islamophobia, classism, mass incarceration, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are all protected systems that our government and public education systems uphold that continue to perpetuate harm to historically marginalized communities.

Dr. Love challenges educators to expand beyond the well-intentioned and “feel good” language that dominates “social justice” conversations. Instead, we must recognize that our school foundations are rooted in Whiteness and White Supremacy—leading to the terrorizing and spirit murdering of our students. She writes: Too much of the field of education is filled with quick fixes or slogans (e.g. No Excuses), gimmicks (e.g. grit), best practices (e.g. benchmarking), and professional developments (e.g. understanding poverty) that focus on dark students through the lenses of daily struggles with trauma, gaps in learning, poverty, hunger, and language barriers. Each fix falls short precisely because it fails to acknowledge how these struggles are direct consequences of injustices. (Love, 2020, p. 13) Dr. Love is demanding that we, as educators, or more broadly, folks who care about the lives of young people, commit to transforming ourselves, our schools, and our society to be a more equitable, racially-just world. We must center the mattering (yes, mattering as a verb) of our students; learn their histories; and work in solidarity with folks in the community to provide students with the knowledge and tools to disrupt inequities as they face them throughout their lives.

As I write this book review, I cannot help but feel giddy, knowing Dr. Love has a new book

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called Punished for Dreaming that is set to be out in September 2023. This text will look at the harm caused by the last 40 years of education policy (e.g. standardized testing and accountability measures) and its deep roots in anti-Blackness. I hope as soon as you finish reading this column, you head over to your nearest bookstore to check out both of Dr. Love’s incredible texts as you engage on your own journey of becoming a more justice-oriented teacher.

ABOUT THE READER: Ashley Houston-King is a Massachusetts educator and is the chairperson of the Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity Committee for the Massachusetts Reading Association (MRA).

OUT OF MY HEART

Draper, S. M. (2021). Out of my heart.

Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

In this heart-warming sequel to Sharon Draper’s New York Times best-selling novel, Out of My Mind, (2012), we find mighty Melody, a year older and ready for new adventures. Melody, who has cerebral palsy, is entering 6th grade and is determined to attend summer camp before the new school year begins.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and found myself cheering for Melody and her camp comrades, who also have various challenges, as they participate in all the exhilarating activities the camp has to offer, which include swimming, horseback riding, campfire sing-alongs, and a magical night of dancing.

Draper does not disappoint in this sequel. I loved the figurative language and imagery that was also apparent in Out of My Mind (Draper, 2012). My granddaughter, who is entering sixth grade, read the book for her summer reading assignment, and she agreed that Out of My Heart (Draper, 2021) was eye-opening and inspirational. I can only hope that Sharon Draper continues to share with her readers Melody’s escapades as she ventures into her teenage years.

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ABOUT THE READER: Pattie Kelley, EdD is the president of the Massachusetts Reading Association. She is a past president of the Nobscot Reading Council and serves as their treasurer at this time. Pattie recently retired from the public school setting, where she was a classroom teacher, reading specialist, curriculum supervisor, and the Title I director. Pattie is a visiting assistant professor at Framingham State University, where she teaches Research and Practice in Reading and supervises graduate students during their practicum.

THE SUM OF US:

What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together McGhee, H. (2002). The sum of us: What racism costs everyone and how we can proposer together. One World.

Many of us think about racism as a systemic form of violence that primarily impacts those who identify as BIPOC or as members of a religious or cultural group not affiliated with the White majority. Heather McGhee (2022) challenges this belief as she argues that systemic racism harms everyone. In her thoughtprovoking, beautifully written text, The Sum of Us, McGhee describes and unpacks the historical, social, economic, and political drivers of racism in the United States and shines a light on the many ways that systems of oppression, such as the draining of desegregated public pools and neighborhood redlining, harm every member of society. McGhee skillfully builds a compelling argument on a foundation of data and strong evidence. She contends that systems of oppression have allowed society to place the blame for racist injustices on those impacted and disrupted opportunities for true, interracial collaboration. Pointing to the fear-based history of diversity in the U.S., McGhee reasons that “the diversity that is causing an often-unconscious, racial panic in so many White Americans is actually our biggest strategic asset” (p. 281).

This outstanding book is a must-read for anyone who is interested in understanding the harms that racism inflicts on every one of us. If you are looking for a book to read with your colleagues – a text that will provoke important conversations in your school or district – this is an ideal choice. The book will change your perspective and move you to action.

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ABOUT THE READER:

Valerie Harlow Shinas, PhD is a Professor and Chair of the PhD program in the Educational Studies Department in the Graduate School of Education at Lesley University. A former middle school teacher and reading specialist, she has a keen interest in bridging the divide between research and practice in literacy and teacher education. Valerie is deeply committed to the mission and work of MRA – she is the Immediate Past President of the Massachusetts Reading Association (MRA) and Greater Boston Reading Council, Secretary of MACURE, and a member of the Executive Board of the Nobscot Reading Council.

THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK Perez, C. C. (2017). The first rule of punk.

Puffin Books.

In The First Rule of Punk (Perez, 2017), we follow the journey of a Mexican American girl who challenges cultural norms and finds empowerment through her love for punk music and self-expression.

She’s punk and please call her Malu. Maria Louisa is not the Mexican senorita her super Mexican mother (who was actually born in California) wants her to be.

Malu’s mother transfers from California to Chicago for a two-year, visiting professor position, and this rocks Malu’s world. She misses her non-Mexican dad and helping in his record store. Things get worse on the first day in her new school when Malu becomes the target of the seventh-grade “Queen Bee” and is subjected to taunts and bullying behaviors.

Malu loves rock music, skate boarding, and making zines. She hates cilantro and speaking Spanish. She’s different and loves her differentness. She becomes a voice for activism as she acts and speaks against the accepted norm. Malu shows her strength as she begins a band, makes a place for herself in her new world, and discovers that maybe she is a little bit of a Mexican senorita.

This book is a great coming of age story that evokes critical literacy lessons as the “Queen Bee” calls Malu “coconut,” which is a racial slur implying brown on the outside and white inside. Malu counters the war of “coconut” by naming her band the Cocos. The story addresses themes such as cultural identity, stereotypes, belonging, and the importance of embracing one’s heritage. It emphasizes the importance of family, friendship, and being ourselves.

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This book is an excellent choice for teaching critical literacy skills as it prompts students to examine and challenge societal norms and assumptions. The experiences and the social issues that Malu faces give us a deeper understanding of how identity, the power of personal expression, and activism can bring about positive change. By fostering critical literacy skills through this book, students can become informed, empathetic, and socially conscious individuals who can actively contribute to a more equitable society.

Sidenote: Malu is a zine maker. A zine, a short diary/magazine type of self-publication, can be written about any topic. The book fascinates us with examples of Malu’s zines, which become a great model for a reader’s response. The following site gives an explanation and directions: https://www.readbrightly. com/how-to-make-zine/

ABOUT THE READER: Nancy Witherell, EdD is immediate past president (for the second time) of the Massachusetts Reading Association and is a professor emerita from Bridgewater State University; she remains there part time.

Nancy has authored and co-authored numerous professional books.

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