More students need to physically hear that some adults are on their side and will support them.

I really appreciate the attention being brought onto rigor and high expectations. I feel that sometimes instructors practice restoration policies in a way where they expect the bare minimum from students.

And what better place to practice this than in a school environment.

This is interesting. I never thought about the connotative meaning of hallway "sweeps." In our school we still implement these simply to try and get students to class.

I can see this totally relating to how schooling is founded in Chicago. It always seemed crazy to me how different your schooling experience, school choices, and school funding is dependent on where you live...to the point where people feel obligated to lie about their address.

Yes! This reminds me of project that I did during my undergrad years at UIC where we examined food deserts.

Yes, students are experts in their own field and we can learn from the multitude of literacies they bring into the classroom.

Such a powerful idea to instill in students. Often time, especially with marginalized students, they are often told that they have the ultimate control over everything (they choose to fail, they choose to be poor, they choose to continue the cycle of violence, they continue to be addicts) when in reality there are complex systems of power working to make sure students don't succeed. I think this study goes beyond obesity and BMIs, it teaches students to be critical of the systems they live in.

This is an interesting take on how cannon literature portrays white characters vs black women characters. I remember reading an article that examines the whiteness of the fantasy genre and it had a very similar critique that these authors are mentioning.

Yes! Whenever people discuss racism, especially those that argue for a color-blind or neutral stand on it, I feel like they fail to mention how complex systemic racism is. Yes, outwardly calling an individual racial slurs is a manifestation of racism BUT "modernized weaponry" for racism is a lot more subtle. Like for example, the lack of black girl characters in literature OR the devaluing of BIPOC stories.

Again talking about the modern weaponry of systemic racism...this is one subtle but powerful consequence of modern day slavery.

Yes! Allow students to reclaim and retell their own narratives!

Yes! I totally agree with this. I know a lot of people both outside and inside of education critique this quote and I understand why. However, I do genuinely believe that an education based on critical literacy, where students, know how to read the world is a powerful one. Public education changed my life not only figuratively but literally.

Yes! A very valid critique and realistic way to look at our educational system as it currently stand. I would not be helpful or progressive if we ignore the elephant in the room.

This is a very interesting way to look at and analyze literacy in the real world or outside of the classroom.

Yes! I totally back up and will push content based skills. Yes, students should know the fundamental skills of knowing how to read. However, these should be reenforced and utilized to critically examine the power structures they are faced with.

This is totally important. I always think about the ways that literature can be intersectional. By studying how Indigenous individuals reclaim and critique mainstream narratives of their community, non-indigenous folk can better understand what appropriate and uplifting representation of this community looks like.

I think it goes to say that most people reading this article will know/recognize the story of Noah and the story of Genesis even if they themselves are not a devout Christian. This shows just how mainstream and normalized these stories are. While on the opposite end, unless you yourself are are indigenous or well versed in indigenous literature you probably don't know about "The story of the Milky Way" or "Beaver Steals Fire."

I didn't realize that most people group native literature as one whole genre...even though there is a lot of diversity among tribes.

Such a simple change but it can be so impactful!

I like this word choice. It really captures what this article is going for.

Yes! I often teach a rhetoric unit to our students. Inevitably, we have to talk about or discuss a speech given by Donald Trump. I often share one of his speeches not to polarize or trigger my students but to get them to see how powerful rhetoric can be...up to the point where a whole nation elects a nonsensical man to be president.

And English classrooms can be powerful sites of healing!

While sometimes it is difficult to discuss these topics, it is still essential that we do.

This paragraph and this statement puts perfectly into words the way I feel about school shooters.

Again, mainstream media and social media often posits these issues as simple moments rather than complex systems of inequity.

This reminds me of a unit that I am currently teaching on civil responsibility. Our central text is Elie Wiesel's memoir night. A major theme of his novel was that he did not blame the Nazis that were in the concentration camps individually, rather he placed both blame and shared a warning that indifference and dehumanization were the real culprits. Just like this comment by ridding black people of their humanity, having indifference toward their suffering, and denying their rights leads to incidents like this one.

Failing to acknowledge the intersections of race and other events is what leads to media representation that focuses or poses issues as black or weight. It is time for media and society at large to stop using color blind theories to examine injustices.

I like the use of the word "radical" here because it shifts the problem off of the students and onto the structures of power that radicalized their writing experience.

This is something I can do. Often when reading articles about social justice in education I tend to get overwhelmed and feel like I don't know where to start. However, this is something that I can realistically implement in my classroom.

Totally false! It is frustrating how society focuses on the students and blames them on an individual level...yet ignore the systematic racisms that are embedded in our society and educational systems.

This is an example of tough choices we need to make in the classroom. I for one always teach the 5 paragraph argumentative essay, not because I'm particularly a fan of this type of essay but because it is what the English department aligns on. I often cut out creative writing because it is not seen as "acceptable" or rigorous enough.

I think having a balance between both social justice and critical academic skills is important. I feel like in this day in age it is either one of the other; either you care solely about social justice or solely about academic skills. Personally, I'm in the middle of this spectrum. I do believe that teaching social justice is important and critical but I also understand in order to navigate real world power dynamics you have to a set of foundational cognitive skills at your dispense.

As teachers we have a responsibility to teach skills that will help students move beyond the classroom space. Part of our job as experts in literature is to ensure that our students are able to read the world.

Making class content related to the students is always a sure fire way to make it engaging. If it is not engaging then we, as educators, might need to reflect on what we can do or why it isn't engaging.

Try as we might it is important to really understand that this hierarchy will not go away. I think we need to teach student Standard English not because it is a better language, but because navigating through power relationships requires knowledge about Standard English.