I loved how the article “Stirring Up Justice” defined literacy as active community engagement and creating positive change. This article continued to expand my own ideas about what literacy is and how it can be used in the classroom. When I was in high school, I had a very narrow definition of literacy. I saw it as being able to read and write, and applying those skills to standardized tests like the SAT and AP tests. Literacy often became synonymous with good test-taking skills because that was the way my literacy was evaluated. I think this is a common view of literacy in K12 schools today, especially as a result of No Child Left Behind legislation that emphasizes standardized testing. The “Stirring Up Justice” article offered a refreshing definition of literacy that goes so far beyond test scores. The students in Jessie’s classroom are required to use interdisciplinary skills to research an issue in their communities and then find a way to teach that issue to the rest of the class. This project will develop so many more skills in the students than the test-taking most students are subject to. Students in Jessie’s classroom will be a lot more prepared for college or the workplace because they are practicing analytical skills, interpretive skills, and presentation skills that teach them to be engaged citizens in their communities.
2 thoughts on “Literacy as Social Activism”
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I also loved this broader conception of literacy! I think it is so important to show students how the skills that they are learning can be applied in the wider-world. The skills emphasized in “Stirring Up Justice” are critical to creating engaged, democratic citizens. I think students are more motivated to learn, and learn more deeply, when they can clearly see the connections between the classroom and their lives outside of school. While reading this article, I was reminded of an experience visiting a public high school in NYC last year. I visited a math class that was teaching statistics by looking at data about poverty and other socioeconomic issues in the US. The energy and engagement this real-world contextualization created was palpable in the classroom! Connecting literacy, and all learning for that matter, to larger issues seems like an awesome way to inspire and motivate students.
I agree that Jessie’s approach to teaching is a fantastic way to not only improve students’ literacy skills, but also to empower students to become an active member of their community and be engaged in social activism in an even broader sense. I think it’s important to bring up Jessie’s strategy of bringing choice into the classroom to engage students. She allows students to choose which activist they want to study and which books they read. She even allows students to pick several books that the entire class reads during the course of the year. Teachers often complain that in order to cram in the material needed to prepare for standardized testing, they are unable to cater to what the students are most interested in. Jessie is an inspiration because she is able to get through the required material AND incorporate that which the students show an interest for.