This is a concern all students have, and it is evidently the result of years of not feeling listened to, nor valued. Schools should be the first place after their homes where they can feel that their voices matter.

This would also give students the voice, the tools and the clear panorama of what can be done to change what is wrong in the system. By doing so, the teacher is creating agents of change.

This reminds me to author Angela Valenzuela's uncovering internalized oppression piece, in which she describes how not being able to express herself, not being understood at school built up a sense of internalized fear, oppression and powerlessness. Students' voices should be heard and the opportunities to express themselves should be given in classroom spaces. In this way they are not only heard, but also, valued.

I totally support this statement. Our students can always teach us something new as they hold the truth from an honest and innocent perspective. They should be treated and valued as holders of knowledge; expectations should be high as they are a reflection of their environment.

Good example for students, as they can also identify themselves as Malcolm's experiences. There are many cities in which violence is an everyday thing.

This is great evidence of the impact of this project and the extend to which critical thinking can be developed through our students products. The fact that Malcolm is now able to ask himself such question, demonstrates that he is now able to see further and be aware of the problematic that surrounds the community.

Personally, I was not exposed to academic articles or research news articles when growing up for school assignments. This practice of exposing students to such materials are definitely highly valued resources that can help develop critical thinking and open students' to various means of communication and expression is something I would do as well.

Getting to know our students better and allowing them to explore their own worlds are key and the starting point for change. Being aware of our surroundings helps us to identify what changes need to be made and find ways to counter the narratives.

This is key, and should be teachers' goal to create awareness because everything has a direct impact on our lives and the development of our society. The way we treat the environment affects tribes and their quality of life. For example, deforestation and the exploitation of soil directly reduce the life expectancy of indigenous communities and with them, the nation's history fades. It is a cycle or a chain that, if one of the parts is deteriorating, the entire system will stagger.

Exposing our students to experiences or stories first-hand written by insiders will impact the way our students see the world.

During my schooling experience, I had the opportunity to witness the reality of some indigenous tribes. My school offered an opportunity for community involvement that allowed me to see the context and the power of the communities that are most of the time silenced by the dominant culture. Exposing students to such experiences pave the way for a rich and deep classroom discussion that could help students to value the diversity and honor indigenous communities.

This section reminded me Dr. William Shcubert's book Curriculum: Perspective, Paradigm and Curriculum. He is a big advocate of a similar view of teaching and learning and critical literacies. Teaching our students and being mindful when reading between lines and asking questions to ourselves, pondering whose story is this, whose truths are being exposed and who are silenced, is a great way to reflect and approach teaching pedagogies.

This section aligns with a previously discussed content that covered the topics of literacies and literacy education and how to cultivate social justice and healthing through literacy education and practices. It particularly relates to the Chapter 5 of the book 'En Comunidad' written by Espana and Herrera. In this chapter the authors describe the many ways that literary texts chosen for school curriculum can impact our students' lives either positive or negatively. #CI45022

Although my schooling experience was outside the US, I have read a lot about this topic. Several authors discuss and dismantle the reality of the black population and their struggles within the education system. Author April Baker-Bell makes emphasis on this topic in her book Linguistic Justice. In my opinion, it is our task to help our students understand the dominant narratives and create opportunities for our students to create counter narratives.

I really like this article, in particular, this section where authors provide recommendations of materials and strategies to teach our students to think critically and develop their own stories with characters that look more like them so as to counter those dominant narratives. This section also reminded me of the book Trombone Shorty, by Troy Andrews. This book is also a perfect way to show our students that not all the traditional or popular stories are about imaginary white characters, but that there are also real heroes, people that look more like us who are making history through their talents. Trombone Shorty tells the story of a music prodigy with New Orleans roots. Really fascinating and catching, this def aligns with the article.

It is definitely important to provide a holistic and diverse curriculum so as to honor all of our students' narratives and funds of knowledge.

Having high expectations on our students' abilities can make a great impact in their lives and future academic decisions. Empowering them through meaningful lessons and critically relevant pedagogy not only can help youth blossom as agents of change but also, allow them to believe that they can also make art out of their personal stories. #CI45022

Authors España & Herrera (2020) in their book En Comunidad, stress the need for knowing our students histories and to take informed stances against injustice. This section of the article depicts España and Herrera's point when they state that celebrating students production by allowing some space for them to share them, helps fight racial inequality. #CI45022

In these first sentences, the author tells what seems to be a reflection of the sociocultural historical theory. She does not only provide mere lessons to help on academic skills but also directs attention to students' apprenticeship. Her teaching practices allows students to develop multiple ways of understanding the world. #CI45022

This section reminds me of the book 'En Comunidad' by España and Herrera (2020) Both authors emphasize the importance of centering the voices and experiences of bilingual students. Their focus is on latinx students, but the narrative applies to the diversity of a classroom. They highlight the importance to understand that our students live in the intersections of many cultural practices and identities, hence, this piece in the article makes it clear how having students connect with different realities can help spark interest and help them thrive as intellectuals and producers of their own knowledge. #CI45022

The Writing Our Lives project's goals reminds of authors who touched upon 'resistance' in the book titled Reclaiming the Multicultural Roots of U.S. Curriculum: Communities of Color and Official Knowledge in Education by Au, Brown, & Calderon, 2016. In this book they describe how, historically, people of color, were seen as less educated and those who produced in academia were never mentioned, just because of their skin color. There has long been rejection and prejudice in regard to 'the ability' of people of color in academia. In this case, the article and the project described depict a great opportunity for those who have long been relegated, to show who they are and resist to the dominant narratives. This is an impactful project for several youth who, I hope, now have a space to speak out through writing. #CI45022

Transactional reader response theory highlights the importance of connecting with the environment and how we interact with the world. Allowing students to connect their lived experiences with text or media by critical thinking and writing is a great opportunity for them to construct their own meanings, hence, change the word as it is the aim of the writing project. Theory and practice are well merged. #CI45022

The author's definition of 'radical' reminds me of the scholarship of Dr. Schubert, who highlights the different ways to 'teach the knowledge that is worth knowing for WHOM it is intended to.' In this regard, the definition of radical, inspired by Freire is a reminder of the importance of being involved and experience the world so it can be transformed in different, but positive and impactful ways through literacy. #CI45022

The connection between Writing Our Lives' project and the critical literacy theory perfectly match the idea of honoring students' funds of knowledge and affirms the worth each young writer's culture has through their ability 'to read the world.' #CI45022

It's a powerful approach to inquiry. This can help uncover the decontextualized view of students of color and reconstruct their own selves. The social model, discourse and metacognitive thinking needed to empower our students can impact their lives.

Another very important point to highlight. Giving voice: this is another claim that the author Kathleen Collins (2003) emphasized as her reason to conduct her research. By 'giving voice' to our students, we empower them, we learn from them and they succeed.

Supportive Writing Communities: Author Collins (2003) in her book Ability Profiling conducted a study for which she worked closely with a student of color who was seen as underperformer, rebel and uninterest in school work. She got involved in Jay's everyday life in and out of school and found out discrepancies on the expectations people had about Jay at school and in the community. The author related that the teacher and Jay's classmates were different from him, they were white and that made Jay want to 'fit' and act as something he wasn't which caused him troubles. However, when observed in his community, Jay was able to be the boy he was, and nobody had any complain about him nor his behavior. It's a really interesting perspective and a good way to depict or illustrate the reality of many of our students.

This piece relates to author Collins (2003) and her book "Ability Profiling," which depicts a child's struggle to be seen as competent in school. This type of study helps to make visible the reality our students face throughout their academic and community lives.