# data[].attributes.headline
Windows, Mirrors, & Sliding Glass Doors by Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop

# data[].attributes.subject
Windows, Mirrors, & Sliding Glass Doors by Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop

# data[].attributes.headline
The Danger of a Single Story TEDTalk by Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie

# data[].attributes.subject
The Danger of a Single Story TEDTalk by Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Get a daily email featuring the latest talk, plus a quick mix of trending content.

By subscribing, you understand and agree that we will store, process and manage your personal information according to our Privacy Policy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.

# data[].attributes.headline
American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL)  by Dr. Debbie Reese

# data[].attributes.subject
American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL)  by Dr. Debbie Reese

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A short history of American Indians in Children’s literature, bios of its co-owners, and why AICL matters

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Children's Books in Children's Hands: A Brief Introduction to Their Literature, 6th Edition

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Children's Books in Children's Hands: A Brief Introduction to Their Literature familiarizes current and future teachers with the best and most recent books for children. The renowned author team presents richly illustrated, practical ideas for sharing literature with children as a source of enjoyment and inspiration that will last them all their lives.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
About the Brown Bookshelf - The Brown Bookshelf

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Brown Bookshelf is designed to push awareness of the myriad Black voices writing for young readers. Our flagship initiative is 28 Days Later, a month-long showcase of the best in Picture Books, Middle Grade, and Young Adult novels written and illustrated by Black creators. You can read more abou…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.embed_code
Tweets by MsKass1

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.embed_code
Tweets by JAPANsociology

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.embed_code
Tweets by MisterMinor

# data[].attributes.headline
Teachers College Inclusive Classrooms Project

# data[].attributes.subject
Teachers College Inclusive Classrooms Project

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Teachers College Inclusive Classrooms Project

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Diagnostic Teaching Teams Make a Difference

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
By Kass Minor, TCICP Staff Developer TCICP created Diagnostic Teaching Teams (DTT) in partnership with New York City's Department of...

# data[].attributes.headline
Thinking and Learning through Children's Literature

# data[].attributes.subject
Thinking and Learning through Children's Literature

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Toby Rajput, National Board Certified Teacher,(renewed 2012), directs the School Library program at National Louis University and is the Children's and Youth Literature Librarian for the University and for the Center for Teaching through Children's Books.

# data[].attributes.headline
We Got This: Equity, Access, and the Quest to Be Who Our Students Need Us to Be

# data[].attributes.subject
We Got This: Equity, Access, and the Quest to Be Who Our Students Need Us to Be

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Equity, Access, and the Quest to Be Who Our Students Need Us to Be

While challenging the teacher as hero trope, We Got This shows how authentically listening to kids is the closest thing to a superpower that we have. Cornelius Minor identifies tools, attributes, and strategies that can augment our listening, allowing us to make powerful moves toward equity by broadening access to learning for all children.

"That's the problem with you, Minor" a student huffed. "You want to make everything about reading or math. It's not always about that. At school, you guys do everything except listen to me. Y'all want to use your essays and vocabulary words to save my future, but none of y'all know anything about saving my now. "

In We Got This Cornelius Minor describes how this conversation moved him toward realizing that listening to children is one of the most powerful things a teacher can do. By listening carefully, Cornelius discovered something that kids find themselves having to communicate far too often. That "my lessons were not, at all, linked to that student's reality."

While challenging the teacher as hero trope, We Got This shows how authentically listening to kids is the closest thing to a superpower that we have. What we hear can spark action that allows us to make powerful moves toward equity by broadening access to learning for all children. A lone teacher can't eliminate inequity, but Cornelius demonstrates that a lone teacher can confront the scholastic manifestations of racism, sexism, ableism and classism by showing:

exactly how he plans and revises lessons to ensure access and equity

ways to look anew at explicit and tacit rules that consistently affect groups of students unequally

suggestions for leaning into classroom community when it feels like the kids are against you

ideas for using universal design that make curriculum relevant and accessible

advocacy strategies for making classroom and schoolwide changes that expand access to opportunity to your students

"We cannot guarantee outcomes, but we can guarantee access" Cornelius writes. "We can ensure that everyone gets a shot. In this book we get to do that. Together. Consider this book a manual for how to begin that brilliantly messy work. We got this."

(click any section below to continue reading)

Contents

Foreword, Kwame Alexander

Acknowledgments
Introduction: PART 1 This Ain't Everybody's Hero Story-It's Yours 1. Begin by Listening We All Want Better
How Listening Can Help

How to Listen to What Students Are Really Communicating
2. You Can Disrupt the Status Quo in Your Class
How to Ensure That Your Lessons Speak to What Students Say They Need

Question the Things That Define Your Classroom Culture

Identify Any Groups That Consistently Benefit Less from the Way Things Are
3. Do Your Homework and Then Go for It
Change the Way You Do School So That Kids Have More Opportunities to Succeed

Identify Why Change Needs to Happen

Do a Little Bit of Research

Decide What to Do and Make a Plan

Execute the Plan
PART 2 Taking Your Dreams off Deferment
Find a Productive Way to Say No

4. Show Kids That You Hear Them

Plan for and Hold Regular Class Meetings to Maintain Community

Designate Specific Kids Who Can Give You Feedback
5. Make Curriculum Work for Your Kids
Shift from a Punitive to an Instructive Mind-Set

Use a Universal-Design-for-Learning Framework to Make Learning Accessible

Understand Exactly What You're Being Asked to Do

Understand What Test Prep Is Really Asking You to Do

6. Being a Good Teacher Versus Being a Good Employee

Engage in Imaginative Mind-Set Work

Gather a PR Team as You Make a Plan to Be Better for Kids
Epilogue: The Gravity of Our Work
Bring It Back to the Classroom

Companion Resources

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
While challenging the teacher as hero trope, We Got This shows how authentically listening to kids is the closest thing to a superpower that we have. Cornelius

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Skip to the content of this page, the main menu, Google Translate, the site search form or go to the the site home page.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Minor Collective is a community-based movement, both on the ground and virtual, led by Kass and Cornelius Minor. School. Lifelong memories are made there. Kids don't just learn there. They become. For many adults, the experiences we had in school did not simply teach us. For better or for worse, they made us.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Today on the Heinemann Podcast, author Cornelius Minor on how the teacher as superhero narrative can be misleading if we don't spend time with the imperfections that allow us to be human.

In his new book,We Got This: Equity, Access, and the Quest to Be Who Our Students Need Us to Be, Cornelius crafts a better hero story for the profession of education. He writes: "we are allowed to fail, reflect, improve and try again." To do this, he says it starts with authentically listening to our students.

If you're a longtime listener of the podcast, you've no doubt heard Cornelius in earlier episodes on " Building Your Teacher Team," or his recent interview with Kwame Alexander. Now, in his new book, Cornelius expands on his thinking of equity and access. He identifies tools, attributes, and strategies to help us make transformative teaching moves.

Our conversation begins with Cornelius's early experiences in school, and his own search for powerful teaching...
Below is a full transcript of the conversation...
Cornelius: The peculiar thing about being a student who's new to the United States is, life can be really hard. I am originally from Liberia, and when I got to this country, I was used to Liberian ways of doing things, Liberian ways of saying things, Liberian ways of seeing the world. But then, when you get thrust into an American school, the object becomes to get as American as you can as fast as possible. And I think so many teachers encounter that where so many teachers are welcoming, and so many schools are open, but when you're a kid, you don't see any of that. You just want to fit in,.

And so I remember, as a young student, just laboring, doing everything I could to fit in. If American kids ate hamburgers, I wanted to eat hamburgers better. If American kids listened to hip-hop, I wanted to listen to more hip-hop. I spent so much of my life studying, really, America, specifically Atlanta and New York City, to figure out ... If I learn everything about McDonald's, and then a kid's having a conversation about McDonald's, I can jump in to that conversation and maybe I'll be cool. Or if I learn everything about hip-hop and read all the source magazines, maybe I can sit at that special lunch table where all the hip-hop kids sit.

And so I think, for teachers who are looking at a school ecosystem, that isn't always healthy for outsiders, or that isn't always healthy for the new kid. Considering culture and classroom culture and school culture is really important. Comic books were by ticket in. For me, hip-hop was my ticket in. For me, eating French fries at McDonald's was my ticket in. And so these things weren't mere cultural artifacts. They were survival for me. And I think for many of the kids that we mentor and many of the kids that we teach, doing our work in a way that is sensitive to those survival maneuvers and mechanisms is really important.

Brett: One ticket in for you, and you write about this pretty early on in the book, was Spider-Man.

Cornelius: Thank you.

Brett: How did Spider-Man become the ticket for you?

Cornelius: Here's the thing. Spider-Man is universal. So growing up in Liberia, I knew how Spider-Man was. I knew all the adventures. But the thing about transatlantic culture is we didn't always get all of the books. Or if we got the books, we got them years later. If we got the cartoons, we go them a season after.

Being in the United States and being able to pick up Spider-Man comics as they came out was a huge thing for me, and I remember getting my first comic book. For me, I read with a passion. Yes, I want to find out what's going to happen next. But I also want to know this world. Peter Parker lives in New York, and if he can navigate New York being as awkward and as strange as he is, then I can navigate New York being as awkward and as strange as I am.

So in many ways, it wasn't just a ticket. It was permission to be.

Brett: You also write that your ability to sustain a life depended on your teacher's ability to see you authentically. Say more about that.

Cornelius: Yeah. As I've worked in my own classroom and work through many people's classrooms, one of the things that I have to really resist doing is using this shorthand of seeing, where if I've got the kid that's the teacher pleaser, I've seen 20 other teacher pleasers before. And so if I meet a new kid that is a teacher pleaser, I start to treat them like all of the other teacher pleasers that came before them. Or if I've got a defiant kid, I start to treat that defiant kid like all of the other defiant kids before them.

And what that does is it erases a kid's identity. I don't get to see Rosa or Marshall or Virgil for who they are. I see them as this composite history that I've experienced, and that's not who kids are. So I think that we can best reach kids when we can look at Marshall and see Marshall for who he is. And so even if Marshall might be resistant, he's resistant a different way than last year's resistant kid was, and I can optimally teach Marshall when I labor to understand why he does what he does.

I think when we look at kid behavior and we look at the work that kids compose in our classrooms, all of that is communication. So when Marshall sits in the back of the classroom and puts his hoodie up, he's saying something to me, and I've really gotta listen.

Brett: You talk about how when we focus on heroes and when we think about heroes, we tend to omit the messy. Why is that a problem?

Cornelius: Hero worship is more American than almost anything I can consider. When one considers the story of America, there's the founding fathers. There's George Washington. There's all of this stuff. And what hero worship does is, again, it erases complication. If you have a society that is upheld by powerful teachers, things get disrupted, things change, because teachers see individuals. And if we see individuals, we can't do business as usual.

When I think about how oppression works and how silence works, one way to silence people is to deify them, because when you deify a person, what happens is that person all of a sudden now is not allowed to make a mistake, because they're a hero. Or that person isn't allowed to be complicated, or that person isn't allowed to grieve or to mourn.

I think hero worship is problematic because it takes away my humanity. It takes away all of the parts that aren't fully formed yet, all of the parts that are flawed. I really resist anything narrative that teachers are heroes. Yeah, we do awesome stuff every day, seven periods a day. But also, life is hard sometimes, and also, I don't know which direction to move, and also, I need support. And I think that's what excites me most about this current historical moment, is that there are teachers actively engaged in the dialogue of becoming. And I think when we label ourselves as "hero", that says I've already become.

Brett: One of the biggest themes in the book is how listening is our teacher superpower. How do we be better listeners?

Cornelius: Well, listening, first of all, centers the student. And we talk about being student-centered all the time. We go to big conferences that want us to be student-centered. But when we get to the question of how, again, that's where it often eludes us.

And one thing is always being present. I think a lot about my lesson planning, for example, and if I'm always in my head with what I'm going to teach next as a social studies teacher, as a science teacher, as an English teacher, then I'm not present with the kid. And so I've really been thinking about planning ahead of time and simplifying my plan so that when I'm in the classroom, I'm not thinking about my content, but I'm thinking about my children.

A second big part of it has been understanding that kids won't always communicate with words, or they won't always communicate with words that I want to hear. I think a lot of times as a teacher, the impulse to tone police kids is huge. And I have to consider my position. Often as a teacher that's communicating to a kid, I'm holding a lot of power. And whenever the powerful engage with the relatively powerless, that can become an issue, and kids can't always say the things that they need to say for fear of retaliation in my grade book.

And so wanting to distribute power is a really key component of listening. If I am listening, but then I'm holding all the power while I'm listening, kids aren't really communicating to me. And so really thinking about, how can I distribute power? How can I meet kids where they are so that when messages come up, even if they come up in ways that I don't want to hear or I'm not used to hearing, I'm still allowed to hear them?

And so, again, understanding that behavior is communication. Understanding that when a kid enters the room, their posture is communication. Understanding that when a kid engages another kid, the way they make eye contact is communication. And there's so much that we can read. But if I'm always listening for the message as my teacher ears are used to hearing it, then I'm going to miss out on so much of the kid life that's happening in my classroom.

Brett: You have a lot of personal stories in the book where you talk about your failures of not listening, or moments where you realized you weren't listening, and then something negative or something bad happened on the other end of it.

Cornelius: The consequence for not listening can be great in any relationship. In amorous relationships, in student-teacher relationships, in family relationships. So I think it's important for us to hold onto stories. Each failure that I have is instructive. We know the instructive nature of failure in sport, in writing, but to really look at the instructive nature of failure in relationships is critical for me. I think I tell stories not just so that I can be better, but so that we can be better.

Brett: You also talk about how you listen for what you call transferable skills.

Cornelius: Yes.

Brett: What do you mean by that?

Cornelius: Well, a transferable skill for me is any skill that can be used in one context and then taken into a different context. I think a lot of times about what we teach kids, and the skills that we teach kids are good when you're in class. But class is a relatively sanitized environment. It's safe in a classroom. I control all the conditions.

But to take something that I learned in school and to walk out into society with it, sometimes it doesn't work. So if I teach kids, this is the way, how an essay always goes, and then they walk out into the world and an essay doesn't go like that, that erodes trust. Being able to transfer skills, for me, isn't just academic. It's relational, that I can build trust in a classroom community if, when I teach you a thing in this classroom, it works when you talk to your stepdad. Or if I teach you a thing in this classroom, it works when you talk to your two moms.

And so one of the things that's really, really important for me is thinking about, how can I help kids to do a thing like text evidence, and then also helping them to understand, yeah, text evidence in my classroom, in this essay, is also going to help you live in a way in the world where people are going to give you what you want because you're always supporting your ideas with evidence? We're not going to get kids who hold onto our lessons if they only work in academic settings, because so much of the lives that they want to live, so much of the world that they want to change, is out there. And I've gotta teach you how to use the tools that I give you here out there.

Brett: And you even have some really good examples in the book of the tools and certain situations ... You have the story of [Quick 00:09:21], for example, who ... That was a moment where both you needed to listen, and you also needed to give him some transferable skills.

Cornelius: So years ago I taught a kid. His name was Quick, and Quick was in many ways the perfect student. He was the most popular, the most athletic, the most good-looking. He was everything that a middle school kids wants to be. And there was one day during lunch where he stepped into my classroom and he asked me for help.

And Quick never struck me as the kind of kid that would need help. And so when he came to me, and he's like Minor, I need your help," I looked at him and I was just like, "Quick, for all I know, you're passing all your classes, your friends are really supportive. You don't need my help." And he immediately became angry.

And as I watched his anger grow in intensity, one of the things that I realized was my initial statement that you don't need my help was dismissive, that I read his social status and I assumed that a kid like that would never need my help. And so I completely erased his truth in a sentence.

And the lucky thing for me was that Quick was the kind of kid that wouldn't let me get away with it. So immediately, he challenged me. And at the time, he was going through a really tough situation at home, and he's hidden that from all of his peers. And so that wasn't a thing that I would've seen in the classroom, but he was ready to tell me about it, but I had silenced him. And one of the things that came up for Quick was that he needed to get some adults to listen to him. None of them were listening to him, and so he wanted my advice about it.

And the more I reflected on that, I was like ... Wow. I've got all of these adults who profess to love students and profess to love kids like Quick, but they're not listening to them. And Quick needed to figure out a way to be heard. And the more I reflect on it, I thought I had taught him these things. But I had taught him these things in a very academic kind of way. So I had taught him how to make strong claims in essays, and I had taught him how to present counterpoints in essays. But I hadn't taught him how to do those things when you're confronted with adults who refuse to hear you.

So how do I teach a kid to take the claim that I taught you in English class and bring that claim into a principal's office so that the principal will listen? How do I teach that kid how to take this counter-evidence and take that out of an essay and present it to the director of a homeless shelter to get that person to listen to you?

And so I've really become quite obsessed with looking at ... What do kids have to face in life, and how can I take all of these discursive tools that I'm teaching in literature class, and teach them how to use those tools in their lives?

Brett: One of the things you said there was that Quick challenged you, and you write in the book how you like to create an environment where the students challenge you. Why is that important to you?

Cornelius: So much of teaching, if we're not careful, can become monologue, where it's me talking at kids. And if I create an inclusive environment, there's a possibility that our teaching can become dialogue, and I live for that possibility.

The idea that what I say isn't ever going to be the final word, that learning has to occur, and the best way for that learning to occur is for kids to talk back to me. There are really concrete things that we can do to create these spaces for kids, and one of the things is showing vulnerability so that kids know that I am not an expert. I apologize to kids, and so when I mess up, here's an adult who's going to say, I'm sorry. And so what that communicates is, if he messes up again, we can alert him, and it's not going to be dangerous for me, the kid.

So many times when kids alert us to our own shortcomings, that becomes an academic liability for the kid. And so what that does over time is it silences kids. We've grown whole generations of kids that don't talk back to adults because we don't let them. And so I think it is really, really important to craft these spaces where kids can challenge us.

One of the things that has happened to me is sometimes, I silence kids if the message doesn't sound like I want to hear it. There was a day where we were all supposed to go on a field trip to the Botanic Gardens, and the Botanic Gardens in Brooklyn are amazing. They're probably the best Botanic Garden on the planet. I'm very biased, but they're amazing. And it rained on that day, so we couldn't go. And the kids were visibly disappointed.

And as we were filing in that morning, I was meeting them at the door and just telling them that the rain is pretty severe, so we can't go to the Botanic Garden. And one particular kid was audibly and visibly angry. So when she communicated her anger to me, it was not pleasing to my ears. And so again, I silenced her. But then as I moved through the day, I was like, a kid who's been looking forward to the Botanic Gardens all month is not going to be calm when they talk about not being able to go.

And so I realized that I should've created some space for her to be angry, because that's what I would be if I was looking forward to the Botanic Gardens all month. That's what I would be if first thing I learned in the morning is I'm not going to go on this trip. And so I've really been thinking about ... I'm going to communicate a message to some kids, and they're going to feel a certain way. They might be sad, they might be angry. What part of my classroom allows that sadness to sit for a while, and then what part of my classroom helps them to work through that sadness so then it can be productive?

I don't allow for things like disrespect or just rampant, unchecked anger. But I do allow for anger, because we feel it. I do allow for sadness, because we feel it, really illustrating for kids that sadness can belong here, and that's okay, that you're allowed to emote. You're allowed to be an individual, you're allowed to be human. And we all are that. And I think that so much of teaching and learning, we've subscribed to this stoicism that is really unhealthy for us.

Brett: If a teacher hears that and they get nervous about things like losing control of the room or losing control of the class, how do you respond to that?

Cornelius: Well, there is a way to share power without losing control, and I think about that a lot. For example, everything down to the time that I use in a classroom ... So one of the things I might say simply to a kid is, hey, I'm about to teach this lesson. This lesson's going to be nine minutes long, but I tend to run over some time, and so could you hold onto my watch and just give me a hand signal when I'm at eight minutes, and so I'll know that I have one minute left?

And that seems like a pretty innocuous request of a kid. But that does several things. That publicly says to every kid in that room that this teacher values our time. And as teachers, often one of the things that we do is we undermine our own authority by lying to kids. So we say a thing like, hey, we're going to do this thing for five minutes. And then 17 minutes later, we're doing the same thing. That's an implicit lie, and so kids trust us less.

And so being able to say to a kid, I want my lesson to be nine minutes, will you help me keep track of the time, is a powerful thing, because kids ... Okay, this guy means what he says. But then every kid in the room just saw me hand power over to another kid. So now, all of a sudden, a 12-year-old can weigh in with the teacher and say, hey, your lesson's going too long. That simple sharing of power ... And do I really need a kid to do that? No, I can tell time. But I think it's really important to make these demonstrative, generous, giving power away, being really generous in that way, because then kids start to say, well, what else would he share? And if I share this idea, would he honor that? And through my actions, the answer is yes.

One of the things that I'm always looking at ... How can I raise a kid's status in the eyes of their peers? And so when you now have the power to ask the teacher to stop teaching, all of a sudden your status in front of your peers goes up. And when you are able to raise a kid's status around their peers, they become loyal to you. Here's a teacher who's not going to demean me. Here's a teacher who's not going to disrespect me. So anything this guys asks, I'm in. And I think that that's really important.

Brett: What are some other ways that we can remove barriers of success for kids?

Cornelius: Yeah, there's so much about school that's about us and not about children. And it's fascinating that I often ask kids, what could I do for you that would help you to be optimally successful here? And I learned so many lessons. The simple mandate, I was working with a kid, and I'm left-handed too so I should've known this. But he is like, you just mandated that we all use a spiral notebook, and I'm left-handed. Every time I use a spiral notebook, it hurts my hand and I smear ink all over the page. Can I use a different notebook? Yes, of course you can use a different notebook. And so the notebook itself was a barrier to success.

But so many times as teachers, we get caught up in ... Your notebook has to look this way and it needs to be this color, and your name needs to be on the upper left-hand corner. And all of this stuff that doesn't matter. And so being able to suspend all of those stupid rules and just say, use the notebook that works best for your hand. And that's a small barrier to success, but we also engage in these huge barriers.

I was working with a group of kids and we were doing this project that required each kid to weigh in publicly in front of the class. And a young man came to me and he's just like, "I have been practicing my speech. I have written my essay. But I just don't feel comfortable in front of the class. If I do it, I'm going to cry and it's just not going to go well." And I was like, of course I'm not going to make you do the thing. And I remember sitting in the teachers' lounge after, and there was this huge argument where we were going back and forth. They're like, well, you didn't make Stan give his presentation, and that's unfair 'cause every other kid had to give their presentation, and Stan's going to get the same grade as some other kid. Well, I'm like, well, Stan talked to me at length about his anxiety. And so I'm not going to force him to go through that humiliating experience if it's going to undermine his personhood, that Stan and I can think about doing something different.

And Stan was totally cool with making a YouTube video. And so we did that instead, and to be the kind of teacher that sticks to the in-class presentation in that particular context ... And there's nothing wrong with in-class presentations. But to take a kid who suffers from high anxiety and say that you've gotta do it just because every other kid did it is wrong, and then it again is a huge barrier to Stan's success, that Stan could communicate his ideas in other ways. He'd already written the essay, he'd already rehearsed the presentation. It was just being in front of the audience that terrified him.

And so, hey. We'll do a YouTube video today, and if audiences terrify you and you want to get better at audiences, we can practice later. But really recognizing what each kid needs and laboring to give kids that thing can be powerfully liberating for children.

Brett: We've talked a lot about how important it is for us to listen to our students, and all the different ways that we need to listen to our students. But how do we then come back around to getting our kids to listen to us?

Cornelius: Yeah, yeah. I think about that so much, and so much of my career has been the eternal teacher battle, will these kids just listen to me? But one of the things that I've really started thinking about is ... If I make it a point to listen to children first and to center their desires in my teaching, then they'll listen. A kid told me once ... We were on our way to a soccer game, and he was complaining to me that his parents would not let him go to the seventh grade dance, and he really wanted to go to the seventh grade dance. And I asked him, "Well, why won't your mom let you go to the seventh grade dance?" And he's like, "Well, she says that she never knows where I am."

And so I was like, "Well, just get good at telling her where you are, and you'll build trust." And he's like, "What do you mean?" And I couldn't answer in that moment, and I remember going home and thinking about it. And then I showed up the next Tuesday, and I remember embedding into my lesson ... I was teaching kids how to look at details in their writing. And I was like, one detail that you might want to include in your writing or in your speech is you can be really specific about place and time. Now, when you're really specific about place and time in your writing, that does all kinds of wonderful things as a storytelling. But in your life, if you're really specific about place and time, adults trust you more, and they'll be more willing to let you go to dances.

And all of a sudden, all of the kids looked up at me. They were like, what? And then all their notebooks came out and they were writing this down. So, you mean to tell me if I'm specific about place and time, adults will let me do things that I want to do? And I'm like, absolutely. Now, I'm not guaranteeing that this will happen every time, but yeah, if you're the kind of person that gets used to always communicating that, adults will trust you more.

I'm really learning to listen to what kids want out of life and make sure that those things are present in my lessons. So if kids want to go to dances more, I think about, how can I teach reading, how can I teach writing, how can I teach science, how can I teach social studies in a way that's going to position the kids to be that kind of person in life?

There was one kid who was sharing with me that she really wanted to support her grandmother. Her grandmother was going through a medical procedure that was really scary for her, and the adults in her family kept secrets from her. And she wanted to figure out how to support her grandmother, understanding why an adult would keep a secret. But she's like, "I feel like no one's letting me in." And so I thought about it again, and I wanted to ... We were working on some stuff in social studies. And I was like, "So, here's a way to study an event that demonstrates your maturity so that people will share more with you."

And so, yeah, we did it in social studies. We were looking at the Civil War, and we're studying this event in this very mature way. But then I'm like, then you can take this and you can study family events in the same mature way, and you can engage adults in difficult conversations around your personal history, around your family history. So the same difficult conversations that we have around US history, you can have those at home, and adults will let you in. And kids listen because they want to be in those conversations at home.

And so really identifying, what do kids want outside of my classroom and how do I bring those things into my classroom, is really important.

Brett: What I'm noticing there in your teacher [inaudible 00:21:57], Cornelius, is that you aren't necessarily giving your students a response in that second. You're talking to them, you're listening to them. But you're also going away. You're thinking through a lot. And then you're coming back a few days later and weaving it into something else.

Cornelius: Absolutely.

Brett: That seems like a really important thing to highlight. How do you balance the need of the answer you need to give your student right now? 'Cause we know middle schoolers. They want an answer right now. They want everything right now.

Cornelius: Exactly.

Brett: So how do we balance that, between the immediacy, and ... You need time to process, you need time to think.

Cornelius: Yeah, yeah. One of the things, and I've gotten good at just doing it in front of children, where I just name ... Here's what I can tell you right now. But because I love you, I'm going to go home and think about it some more, and I'll be able to tell you more later. So I always give a sample. But then I walk away, and then when I come back, I can say, "Brett and I three days ago were talking about a thing. And so this lesson is for you, Brett." And so I almost dedicate a lesson or I dedicate an anchor chart or I dedicate an aside to kids.

And so there are several times in my lesson where I'll just say, "This thing is in my lesson because of a conversation that I had with Brett." And what happens socially is Brett sits up straighter, and what happens socially is all of Brett's friends start to wonder, how can I get the teacher to dedicate a lesson to me? And so it fosters even more conversation. And so people come to me after class and they're like, that thing that you said for Brett? Here's what I was wondering.

And so I find myself in these really beautiful conversations with people because I'm willing to go home and reflect on it. And I think people know that you love them when you go home and think about them. So I don't have to tell you that I love you, because that can feel very awkward in a middle school classroom. But I go home, and I think about you, and kids come to me all the time. They're like, wow, you really went home and you thought about that question. I'm like, yeah, because you're my student and I think that's a big thing, because kids are forever loyal after that.

I always joke, and I teach in Brooklyn, and Brooklyn kids are colorful. And I used to say that I wouldn't normally say that a Brooklyn kid is well-behaved, but they are loyal. And I think that's true of kids everywhere, that as teachers, we struggle with this notion of behavior, and behavior suggests compliance, that you've gotta listen to me and do what I say. But I want to build loyalty. I want to listen to you and do some of the things that you say, and so this becomes not a ... I have to listen to the teacher thing, but this becomes ... we listen to each other, and our classroom community is stronger for it.

Brett: So how do we balance being a good teacher and being a good employee?

Cornelius: That's a tough one. So many times when we think about teacher culture, teacher culture is also built on compliance, that you do what the principal says. And you have to do what the principal says because the superintendent said it first. And if you don't do what the principal says, then you're going to have a hard time.

But then when you listen to kids, that requires you to step outside of the lines sometimes, and so if I center a kid and kids really need to know how to have the kinds of conversations in their communities that give them more power, and kids really need to know how to have the kinds of conversations at home that give them more independence, sometimes that's not in the script. So I find myself as a teacher in this really interesting tension where, on the one hand, I want to be a good teacher, and that necessitates that I listen to kids. But then I also want to be a good employee, and that necessitates that I listen to the principal.

And so balancing that, for me, has really been rooted in research. I think about the things that are going to be best for children, and I think about the things that I've been asked to do, and ask myself, is there space in here for that? And if there's not space in here for that, how can I create it? And when I create that space, I go ahead and I try the thing. And when I try that thing, I'm trying it with an eye toward my research, and I'm measuring my results.

So I've tried the thing that I want to do that's going to be good for kids. It might not be the thing that the principal said I do, but I'm trying it anyway. And I might only try it for four or five or seven days. And when I've tried that thing for a short amount of time, while I'm working on it, I'm making notes about how the kids responded. I'm making notes about how productive they were. I'm making notes about how much work they got done. And now I can go to the principal and I can say, hey, principal. That thing that you asked me to do? I did it a little differently, but here's how productive the kids were. Here's some examples of their work. Here are the quality of the conversations that they had. Here's how happy they were.

And so instead of being in a yes sir, yes ma'am kind of situation, now I'm in a negotiation where we're looking at ... Here's the thing that you asked me to do. Here's what I added to it, and here is the net impact that it had on the children that we both profess to love. And that's been a really important move, that I'm not just saying a rampant or blanket no to a thing that I'm being asked to do, but I'm really thinking about the things that I'm asked to do through the lens of student experience.

Brett: But there are times when we do need to say no.

Cornelius: Yeah.

Brett: How do we do the no in a productive way?

Cornelius: I am really good about saying no, A, because I'm a teacher and I can't do everything. When you look at all of the initiatives and mandates that come down, we're often asked to do 500 things in a day that will only allow us to do 499. And so how do I choose the thing that I'm going to say no to?

And so I've started saying no by making earnest attempts. So even if I have misgivings about a thing that I'm asked to do, I'll do it anyway, to a point. And again, I'll do it with an eye toward, is this thing making my students more productive? Is this thing supporting and sustaining our classroom community? Is this thing making kids happy? And if the answer to any one of those things is no, then now I've got a legitimate complaint about the thing that I've been asked to do. So if I'm asked to do a reading activity, or if I'm asked to do a writing activity, I get to ask, well, what's the point, first of all? Can I do it in any other way? And if I have to do it this way, then what's the impact that it's having on kids?

And so I'm able to justify my nos because if I do a thing and it doesn't have a positive result for children, then I can bring my data. So I can collect all the student work, I can videotape a few student conversations, and I can sit in the [great 00:27:45] team meeting and say, "Hey, I tried the thing earnestly, but then here's what came of it. So we're going to have to figure out a way to make this thing better."

So my nos aren't terminal nos. My nos are invitational nos, where it's like, yeah. I'll try the thing because I want students to write strong essays too. But the way that we've been asked to do it isn't going to get us there. And I know that because I've actually tried it and researched kids. And so now we get to think about how we can do it in a different way.

We've sold ourselves on this notion that there's only one way to write an essay, or one way to get to the solution of a math problem. It's completely false, that following a curriculum doesn't mean that I am a zombie, that doesn't mean that I have to follow it blindly ... that I can follow it with my students in my heart and my creativity on my mind.

***

Learn more about We Got This at Heinemann.com

Cornelius Minor is a Brooklyn-based educator. He works with teachers, school leaders, and leaders of community-based organizations to support equitable literacy reform in cities (and sometimes villages) across the globe. Whether working with educators and kids in Los Angeles, Seattle, or New York City, Cornelius uses his love for technology, hip-hop, and social media to bring communities together. As a staff developer with the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, Cornelius draws not only on his years teaching middle school in the Bronx and Brooklyn, but also on time spent skateboarding, shooting hoops, and working with young people.

You can connect with him on Twitter at @MisterMinor.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
On the Podcast: Building Better Heroes with Cornelius Minor

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Today on the Heinemann Podcast, author Cornelius Minor on how the teacher as superhero narrative can be misleading if we don't spend time with the imperfections that allow us to be human. In his new book,We Got This: Equity, Access, and the Quest to Be Who Our Students Need Us to Be , Cornelius crafts a better hero story for the profession of education.

# data[].attributes.headline
Finding the Tools for Powerful Teaching 

# data[].attributes.subject
Finding the Tools for Powerful Teaching 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
We are educators. Our realities are not easy ones. At all. We carry the collective hope of eighteen or twenty-eight or thirty-seven students at a time.

And it is hard for some of our students to hope when there are bullies in the locker room, when there is never anyone at home, when there is only food at school, when the traumas of the world weigh them down in our classrooms, when their unique abilities or ways of knowing are not acknowledged or respected, when we don't construct realities that include their two moms or one grandparent or adopted family, when their gender does not match the restroom or roles that we force them into, when there is lead in the water, when police kill people that look like them, or when the lobbyists and legislators make it easy for people to buy automatics weapons and walk into classrooms.

It is hard to marshal hope when the world's capacity to care is often directly proportional to the number of digits on their parents' W-2.

But we do it. We do more than hope. We make miracles six periods a day.

* * *

In a world marked by histories, doctrines, policies, and beliefs that can sometimes drive us apart, what we do is vital. Mathematics, history, arts, sciences, writing, and reading matter immensely. But these disciplines are not the entirety of our work. They cannot be.

Education is about two things-teaching young people to create opportunity for themselves and teaching them that to do that work responsibly-with respect to our environment and to the myriad communities of people that share our planet.

Anything that abridges opportunity or compromises our responsibilities to one another in our enemy. As such, if we are not doing equity, then we are not doing education.

This is immense work, but this work of ensuring equity and access is doable. We inherited this calling from out predecessors.

And we may move forward armed with tools and with strategies. This book is full of them.

Our journey starts with an understanding that no great good can be done for a people if we do not listen to them first. Powerful teaching is rooted in powerful listening.

** *

Learn more about We Got This at Heinemann.com

Cornelius Minor is a frequent keynote speaker for and Lead Staff Developer at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. In that capacity, he works with teachers, school leaders, and leaders of community-based organizations to support deep and wide literacy reform in cities (and sometimes villages) across the globe. Whether working with teachers and young people in Singapore, Seattle, or New York City, Cornelius always uses his love for technology, hip-hop, and social media to recruit students' engagement in reading and writing and teachers' engagement in communities of practice. As a staff developer, Cornelius draws not only on his years teaching middle school in the Bronx and Brooklyn, but also on time spent skateboarding, shooting hoops, and working with young people.

You can follow Cornelius on Twitter@MisterMinor

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In a world marked by histories, doctrines, policies, and beliefs that can sometimes drive us apart, what we do is vital. Mathematics, history, arts, sciences, writing, and reading matter immensely. But these disciplines are not the entirety of our work. They cannot be.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
To many of us, the culture of our schools or of our classrooms is invisible. It just is. It's how things are...how they have always been. Some of us know classroom culture to be how we greet each other or how we line up for recess or how we share snack-the rituals that we decide on in our grade teams or departments at the beginning of each term.

If we want to ensure that kids benefit from the way that we choose to do school, we must realize that culture is not naturally occurring. We make it. Or it is thrust upon us. Either way, culture is visible and large and if we are not careful, our classroom and school culture can work to silence, exclude, and oppress children.

Anytime an operating system-like a school or a curriculum-consistently fails a specific subset of people, there is not something wrong with the people. There is something wrong with the system.

Inclusivity in the context of teaching and learning does not simply mean that "you are allowed to be present here." To be included means "we have changed ourselves and our practices to make 'here' a place where you can thrive." Justice in teaching does not live just at the school board or state level. Justice in teaching can be found in the very structures of our individual classrooms.

When we consider school as it functions best, kids learn. When learning does not happen, it fails because there are things that get in the way. Lots of those things come from outside of the classroom, but a good number of them originate from within it. We can't take on the world's challenges without first acknowledging the structural boogeymen that live in our own classrooms. This work is not easy, but it is necessary. We want students to succeed.

***

Learn more about We Got This at Heinemann.com

Follow us on Instagram @heinemannpub to stay up to date on the latest books, your favorite authors, and upcoming events!

Cornelius Minor is a frequent keynote speaker for and Lead Staff Developer at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. In that capacity, he works with teachers, school leaders, and leaders of community-based organizations to support deep and wide literacy reform in cities (and sometimes villages) across the globe. Whether working with teachers and young people in Singapore, Seattle, or New York City, Cornelius always uses his love for technology, hip-hop, and social media to recruit students' engagement in reading and writing and teachers' engagement in communities of practice. As a staff developer, Cornelius draws not only on his years teaching middle school in the Bronx and Brooklyn, but also on time spent skateboarding, shooting hoops, and working with young people.

You can follow Cornelius on Twitter@MisterMinor

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
If we want to ensure that kids benefit from the way that we choose to do school, we must realize that culture is not naturally occurring. Culture is visible and large and if we are not careful, our classroom and school culture can work to silence, exclude, and oppress children.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What drew you to teaching? Author Cornelius Minor says that no matter how we all got here, we all have a few things in common. For starters, we all want better, and that's why Cornelius came to education.

In a special read-aloud edition of the Heinemann podcast, Cornelius reads from the introduction of his new book; We Got This: Equity, Access, and the Quest to Be Who Our Students Need Us to Be.

Here now is Cornelius Minor with his introduction titled; We All Want Better

The transcript for today's podcast can be found in the introduction from We Got This at Heinemann.com

Cornelius Minor is a frequent keynote speaker for and Lead Staff Developer at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. In that capacity, he works with teachers, school leaders, and leaders of community-based organizations to support deep and wide literacy reform in cities (and sometimes villages) across the globe. Whether working with teachers and young people in Singapore, Seattle, or New York City, Cornelius always uses his love for technology, hip-hop, and social media to recruit students' engagement in reading and writing and teachers' engagement in communities of practice. As a staff developer, Cornelius draws not only on his years teaching middle school in the Bronx and Brooklyn, but also on time spent skateboarding, shooting hoops, and working with young people.

You can follow Cornelius on Twitter@MisterMinor

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
On the Podcast: We Got This Read Aloud with Cornelius Minor Part 1

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What drew you to teaching? Author Cornelius Minor says that no matter how we all got here, we all have a few things in common. For starters, we all want better, and that's why Cornelius came to education.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"We learn lots from hero stories, but sometimes they leave out the concrete realities of change," writes author Cornelius Minor. He goes on to write: "The 'teacher as superhero' story can be similarly misleading." Today on the Heinemann Podcast, we're exploring the reality of that story.

In part two of this special read-aloud series, Cornelius continues reading from the introduction of his new book, We Got This: Equity, Access, and the Quest to Be Who Our Students Need Us to Be. If you missed Part I, we invite you to go back and give it a listen here.

Here now is Cornelius Minor with the introduction titled, "This Ain't Everybody's Hero Story - Its Yours"

***

You can find a transcript of today's read aloud of We Got This by downloading the sample chapter below!

Follow us on Instagram @heinemannpub to stay up to date on the latest books, your favorite authors, and upcoming events!

Cornelius Minor is a frequent keynote speaker for and Lead Staff Developer at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. In that capacity, he works with teachers, school leaders, and leaders of community-based organizations to support deep and wide literacy reform in cities (and sometimes villages) across the globe. Whether working with teachers and young people in Singapore, Seattle, or New York City, Cornelius always uses his love for technology, hip-hop, and social media to recruit students' engagement in reading and writing and teachers' engagement in communities of practice. As a staff developer, Cornelius draws not only on his years teaching middle school in the Bronx and Brooklyn, but also on time spent skateboarding, shooting hoops, and working with young people.

You can follow Cornelius on Twitter@MisterMinor

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
On the Podcast: We Got This Read Aloud with Cornelius Minor Part 2

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"We learn lots from hero stories, but sometimes they leave out the concrete realities of change," writes author Cornelius Minor. He goes on to write: "The 'teacher as superhero' story can be similarly misleading." Today on the Heinemann Podcast, we're exploring the reality of that story.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The ability to listen will not make teaching easier. It will not take the painful parts away, but listening can give us our children back. If we listen to what children and communities are saying, and we respond accordingly, we can be ourselves again. We can be people.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Today on the Heinemann Podcast, we're continuing our series of conversations with author Cornelius Minor.

Today Cornelius is teaching us how to make time for change, and the power of being what he calls "semi-brave."

The ability to be brave, Cornelius says, is not an inherent trait, but rather a skill that is utilized when the time is right. In his book, We Got This, Cornelius says it's not necessary to be brave every second of every day, but rather in the moments when we are called upon to raise our voice and advocate for the right thing.

We started our conversation with how to be rebellious in the classroom...

Cornelius: It's the thing I grapple with every day. I think to really get my mind around it, I've thought about all of the things that we know about the world of kids and habit. We know that our girls are underrepresented in science and technology. We know that children of color continue to be suspended at rates exponential to their white peers. We know that poor children are more likely to attend schools that are underresourced and underfunded. These things are wrong. They're racist, they're classist, they're sexist. I think for many of us who care about children and care about communities, we are backed into this radical stance where we are staring at racism every day. We are staring at sexism every day, that even though school is a great place, and we are great people, school as an institution continues to perpetuate these things.

I feel like for the last few years, especially, educators who are really close to kids are in this radical distance, but then that does force the question, yeah, how do I stay job secure when I'm combating rampant sexism, when I'm combating homophobia, when I'm combating classism. How do I stay job secure? I've really been grappling with that because there's not quite a clear answer. For me, I've really tried to boil it down into three things. So many teachers in our communities really care about children. They care about families, and so I locate my first action or my first teacher action where I think about how do I communicate to the communities that I serve?

When I think about what I can do as a radical teacher, stay in touch is the first thing where I'm always thinking about, how do I speak with parents? How do they speak back to me? Do parents have a way to get to me that is not a parent-teacher conference? Do parents have a way to get to me that is not through the principal's office? I want to make sure I'm as close as possible to parents. I've been thinking at the top of each year for the last two years, I've been asking parents, "What's the best way for me to get to you?" Is it an email newsletter, or do you all have the kind of inboxes that are cluttered all the time? Is it a text message? Really allowing parents to talk to me and say, "Hey, Cornelius, this is how we want to hear from you."

Recently, I've been using a few apps, or I tell parents, "Hey, I'm always going to post student work on this hallway," so if you want to know how the kids are doing, it's always going to be over here, but really just establishing that communication because what starts to happen is I want to make sure that communication is two-way. It's not just me communicating out to parents, but if I do it well, parents start to talk to me. When parents start to talk to me, what shows up is their concern about their girls. What shows up is how much they want their kids to read. What shows up is their frustration around not having access to certain resources. Now all of a sudden, my radical posture is justified because I've got parents.

When I think about how I maintain my job in a system that forces me into this radical position, it's because I'm always in touch with community. If every action that I engage in is linked to the community, then I'm always going to win. I think that's been a big thing. For me, the second big action has been rooted in the actual content that I teach, that I've got to be really good at my content. If I'm going to be a radical educator, I got to be good at teaching English because that's what I do. The nouns, the verbs, I got to be on it. What happens is you get a lot of autonomy in a school building if people know that at the end of the day you know your stuff. Even though I care about racism, sexism, homophobia, classicism, ableism, even though I care about all these things, I got to be really good at the teaching of literature.

Brett: Yeah, you've got to be on top of your game.

Cornelius: Exactly. It's been really fun to inform informal study groups with other teachers, some in my department, some at other schools, but to sit and say, "Hey, we're going to meet once a week, and we're just going to get good at what we do, so we'll be those people that when you come to our classrooms, every kid is going to be on top of their game in terms of vocabulary." Every kid is going to be on top of their game in terms of their essay writing. That way, when I do these other things on the side that speak to some of the broader issues that concern me, those actions are not questioned because I've taken care of first things first. That's been really huge for me.

Then the third thing, how do I maintain my posture as a radical educator, is my peers and my colleagues, that a lot of times when I'm tired, a friend will lift me up, and so staying in touch.. I think one easy way to destroy any social movement is to keep its participants occupied and isolated. If I want to kill a movement, I just make everybody busy, or I force everybody out of contact. I think if we want to move toward more equitable futures, we got to be in contact with each other. That's been huge for me.

Brett: Even on the train ride here to talk to me today, you met a teacher who is in her second year. She was unaware that community was there.

Cornelius: Exactly.

Brett: You introduced her to the community.

Cornelius: Yeah, exactly. That, to me, feels intentional. When we think about the history even of union organizing in this country, one of the things that union busters wanted to do first, it was they wanted to make sure that people couldn't communicate. They discourage you moving in with your friends. They discourage you from becoming neighbors. They discourage you from having barbecues because those things foster collaboration. Those things foster forward social momentum. I do think that though it might not appear so on the surface, one of the most radical things that you can do as a teacher is to invite somebody for coffee, or to sit and talk about how your week went, and to strategize about next week. What these things do is they connect us because so many times we feel like we're in our own classroom suffering individually, and we're not, that we can reach out to another person and say, "Hey, your struggle is the same as mine. Let's share resources. Let's share insight." That, to me, has been so exciting to see.

I think that we're in a really powerful historical moment right now where you've got teacher social media that's on fire. You've got teachers reading more and more, that our access to research, and our access to each other is really just exploded. It's not uncommon for me to show up at my local coffee shop, and to have a friend drop by, and talk about teaching, but not just talk about it in the old way that we used to do. We used to sit around and complain a lot. As our profession has matured, I think what we're doing now is we're strategizing, that strategy used to be a word reserved for those people who sought to shape the world. Strategy was very much a top-down, national agenda kind of thing, but when I think about the proletarian nature of strategy, it's us getting together and deciding to be in control of our own teacher destiny.

Brett: You've said in the past to be mindful of not getting lost in the complaining, not to get caught up there, but there's a place for it, certainly. You're not saying, "Don't complain." You got to get it off your chest, but you said, "Do that, and then take the next step."

Cornelius: Exactly, so it's just been really fun, and even that our complaining, yes, it cleanses us. It gets us all out there, but then to say, "Let's lay out three ways that this can go now" is really, really important, or to designate time to say, "Hey, we're going to meet up on Tuesday, and Tuesday is going to be all complaining, but then we meet up on Thursday we're going to take those complaints and move forward."

Brett: It's time to strategize.

Cornelius: Yeah, but that strategy isn't in the realm of a superintendent or a principal. It's in the realm of the teacher, and that we can do that.

Brett: A lot of teachers are worried about community, but there's a lot of other things we want to do with our days. At the same time, we want to get home by 4:00, pick up our kids. We want to make dinner. We want to be there for our own families. How do we decide where to put our efforts in?

Cornelius: The question that I've really been asking myself is exactly that. Where is the revolution for the semi-brave person who's got to pick the kids up by 4:00?

Brett: I like semi-brave. I like how you say that because it's like, "I've got till 4:00."

Cornelius: Exactly. I think so many times when we think about the activists who have cultivated the change that we appreciate, we think about those people in these heroic terms where these people are brave. They're courageous, and the titles of all the books that we're asked to read, How to Have More Courage, How to Have More Bravery, and sometimes I look at that and I'm like, "I got 65% courage. I'm not 100% courage." There are some things that scare me still, so figuring out what do you do if you're the guy with 65% courage? How do you get stuff done? For me, again, the answer lives in a few places. I think, first of all, it's deciding on priorities, that as teachers we've got huge hearts, and because we've got huge hearts, everything concerns us. I've had to really identify the difference between my realm of concern and my realm of actual influence, that yes, I'm concerned about poverty. Yes, I am concerned about my neighborhood, and I'm concerned about the ecosystem. I'm concerned about the recycling program at the school, but those things are huge and can overwhelm me, if I'm not careful.

I've really had to sit back and think, "Cornelius, what are the things that you actually have power to change right now?" For me, sometimes, those are in classroom things. Those are out of classroom things. Those are things that my neighbor and I can get together to do. I prioritize my activism around what are the things that I actually have the power to do? Then the second thing I've been thinking about is, what can I teach myself, so that my realm of actual influence grows for the next time? When I'm thinking about that work of being that semi-brave educator, I have two hemispheres that I operate in. What are the big priorities that I can influence right now, and what's the learning that I can do, so that I can fight a bigger fight the next time? That learning has been so exciting because it means I get to sit next to other teachers. It means that I get to listen to children. It means that I get to check in with families.

I've really sought to learn, how can I listen better to communities? How can I listen better to kids, and then how can I act efficiently when I do listen? One of the things that I'm thinking about right now, I spend a lot of time playing soccer and skateboarding with kids. Almost all of my teacher ah-ha moments happen at soccer. Middle school is just a bizarre place. Middle school soccer makes it just even more so. During a game, there was a kid on the other team that was smack talking my goalie, and just every time he'd come down the field, just smack talk, smack talk, smack talk. Finally, the goalie was just like, "If you think you can do this, come on and try." The kid was like, "Okay." I'm on the sidelines, and I'm watching my goalie trade jerseys with a kid on another team where he dared the kid to step in the goal box and try it. This is mid-game, so I'm losing it. This kid that I don't know is now standing ...

Brett: In your goal.

Cornelius: ... in my goal, and my kid is wearing another ... Middle school, again, bizarre. We stopped the play, and I call them over. I'm just like, "What are you doing?" What he said was he was just like, "This kid doesn't understand how hard my work is." That was such a statement.

Brett: That's pretty powerful.

Cornelius: That's empathy, where he was just like, "This kid keeps trash talking me because he doesn't understand how hard it is to be me." He forced this kid into this capacity building position, and I've been asking myself, "How many times do I do that as a teacher?" Am I brave enough to do that? Am I brave enough to look at a thing that I want to critique, and force myself into that posture? When I think about my own professional learning, so that I can fight bigger fights the next time, it's getting with a couple of friends and forcing myself into a different posture. It's really easy to critique the literacy coach, but then to force myself into the posture of a literacy coach, even though I'm not one, is a really big thing. What it does is it generates all this empathy for that person, but then it also generates all this insight for me that I get to take into the next fight. I've been thinking a lot about that.

Brett: You've been giving a lot of thought about bravery, but you've also talked about being semi-brave. What do you mean by semi-brave?

Cornelius: It's a term that I've borrowed from my friend Dolly Chu. She has a great book where she really attempts to grapple with who we're supposed to be and what we're supposed to do in this fractured world. I think for many of us, as teachers, we didn't have to wait for politics to go awry to live in a fractured world, that for many of us we walk into classroom spaces where we don't have enough books, or where kids are so needy, or there's so much to do. I think, for me, when I think about all of the things that we are called to do as educators, I've got to say, "No" to something. That's been the hardest part of my work. I'm asked to do word study. I'm asked to do reading and writing. I'm asked to chaperone the seventh grade dance. I look at the hours in my day, and I've only got 24, but then I've got work enough for 36. Saying, "No" can feel like such an extraordinary thing especially when you've got a principal, or superintendent, or a literacy coach looking in your direction.

One of the things that it's just fallen on my consciousness is that I've got to find the bravery to say, "No" when asked to choose among a bunch of good things for children. Then sometimes I've got to find the bravery to say, "No" when asked to do things that I know aren't going to work for kids, and to say, "No" and look at a superintendent, or say, "No" and look at a principal can feel like a dangerous thing especially for a person like me, again, who ... It's interesting because that word brave comes up so much that people like to look at my work, and they're like, "Cornelius, you're thinking, you're writing. You're in a bunch of classrooms. You're such a brave person. You're doing all this social justice work. You're doing all this advocacy. You're such a brave person." I don't think any one of us is actually brave. I think that brave exists in units of time, that I don't think brave is an adjective that describes a person. I think that brave is an adjective that describes windows of time.

For me, brave is the two seconds that it takes for me to deliver a no when I know that a thing isn't going to be good for kids. For me, brave is the four seconds that it takes to stand up for another teacher when she's having a bad day. I don't think I live my day as a brave person. I think I have these windows of brave where when the world really calls upon me to do a thing that needs doing, I stand up, and I do the thing.

Brett: You even said that bravery can be choices that we make in our classroom in the moment.

Cornelius: Exactly. When we think about all the heroes that we look up to, I don't think anyone gets up in the morning and plans for brave. I think a kids sneezes and needs a Kleenex, and you're right there to give it to them. You're brave in that moment, or somebody's mom is late to pick them up. They start crying, and they're afraid that their mom might not come, so you spend the extra five minutes until their mom gets there. None of us wakes up in the morning and plans to be brave. I think that the brave happens to us. As I have matured in my career, brave has gone from being the one that spends the extra four or five minutes with the kid who misses their mom to now being able to sit across the table from a principal and say, "Actually, the thing that you're asking me to do that we know might be good, I'm going to have to say, 'No' to that because I'm doing 20 other things." That can feel terrifying.

Brett: Oh god, yes.

Cornelius: That notion of semi-brave, that I'm not the one that's going to be at the front of the march. I am not the one that's going to testify in front of Congress, but I am the one that's going to make the right call when that right call needs making. I think that as teachers, all of us can be that. Not every one of us is going to go testify in front of Congress, but every one of us can look at a moment and say, "Do I really think this is good for children?" If not, I say, "No." If yes, I proceed. It even gets to issues of race, and class, and gender, and ability, and nationality, that as these issues come up in a classroom, people say, "Cornelius, you again, are brave because you know how to talk about race in a classroom," or you are brave because you know how to challenge books when they don't belong in our library, or you are brave because you know how to lobby for more inclusivity.

Again, I don't think it's the way that I live my life. It's how I look at the library and realize that these books might give negative characterizations of specific groups of people, and I can find better books, or these books might not be inclusive enough of kids with disabilities, or kids from single-parent homes. I think, again, when we push for things that bravery it feels like every other book want us to be brave, or every other book wants us to be a change-maker. Those things are great, but those things can feel overwhelming.

Brett: Sometimes it seems like, too, we forget that, or maybe we don't know in some cases, that we all possess a little bit of power.

Cornelius: Yes.

Brett: We all have the ability to wield that power in various different ways. As you say, in units of time, that power can be shown in just four seconds.

Cornelius: Yes. I think so much of our world is dominated by all that we love and all that we have to do. It can be hard to think about brave as a lifestyle, but to think about brave as an impulse, it's a very different thing. I had a conversation with a great teacher friend a few days ago. One of the things that she said to me is she was like, "You know, Cornelius, you have the time to think. I don't have that time."

Brett: It's a luxury.

Cornelius: I'm going from period, to period, to period, and teaching, and Cornelius, you're a coach, so you have time to teach, and think, and reflect, and teach again. I have really embraced the idea that yeah, my time to think is a luxury, but then how do I help the teachers that I support to craft that time for themselves? Yes, things are very, very busy, but then looking at how we spend our time, looking at how we spend our love and saying, "Wow, where's the time where I'm going to feed myself?" Where is the time where I'm going to do that work? That's where a lot of my brave comes from. When I'm able to make that impulse call, it's because I have thought about it. I think that working in teams of teachers, and really laying out priorities.

One of the things that my father always told me is he says, "You know, Cornelius, in this life you're not who you profess to be. Rather, you're where you spend your time." If I profess to be value driven, if I profess to put children first, but I spend all my time collating documents, and making copies, then that doesn't really ... I spend a lot of time making copies. I've really been sitting with teams of teachers and sitting with my mentors, and doing time audits, and really looking at, how did I spend my time today, and does that reflect my professed value, and am I okay with that? That's been a really big thing, but for me, it's been practicing bravery in four, six, eight second increments, that again, I don't have to be at the head of every movement if I am the first to make the right decision in a classroom.

Follow us on Instagram @heinemannpub to stay up to date on the latest books, your favorite authors, and upcoming events!

Cornelius Minor is a frequent keynote speaker for and Lead Staff Developer at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. In that capacity, he works with teachers, school leaders, and leaders of community-based organizations to support deep and wide literacy reform in cities (and sometimes villages) across the globe. Whether working with teachers and young people in Singapore, Seattle, or New York City, Cornelius always uses his love for technology, hip-hop, and social media to recruit students' engagement in reading and writing and teachers' engagement in communities of practice. As a staff developer, Cornelius draws not only on his years teaching middle school in the Bronx and Brooklyn, but also on time spent skateboarding, shooting hoops, and working with young people.

You can follow Cornelius on Twitter@MisterMinor

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
On The Podcast: Cornelius Minor and Being Semi-Brave

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Today on the Heinemann Podcast, we're continuing our series of conversations with author Cornelius Minor. In We Got This, Cornelius says it's not necessary to be brave every second of every day, but rather in the moments when we are called upon to raise our voice and advocate for the right thing.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
marcelle haddix dehumanization resilience race literacy collaborative professional book books teacher teaching resources

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Tatum addresses the power of writing to connect young people with the deeper meaning in their own lives as they put their voices on record, exploring, in particular, writing as a tool to navigate lives in "communities of turmoil" and build positive relationships.

# data[].attributes.headline
Teachers College Reading and Writing Project

# data[].attributes.subject
Teachers College Reading and Writing Project

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Home | Teachers College Reading and Writing Project

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
TCRWP offers a variety of professional development opportunities for teachers and school leaders. Learn from our staff developers in a variety of formats, virtually and in-person, addressing a range of topics. We offer single and multiple day events, as well as study groups that meet across the year…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Naomi Shihab Nye was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Her father was a Palestinian refugee and her mother an American of German and Swiss descent, and Nye spent her adolescence in both Jerusalem and San Antonio, Texas. She earned her BA from Trinity University in San Antonio. Nye is the recipient of numerous honors and awards for her work, including the Ivan Sandrof Award for Lifetime Achievement from the National Book Critics Circle, the Lavan Award, the Paterson Poetry Prize, the Carity Randall Prize, the Isabella Gardner Poetry Award, the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry award, the Robert Creeley Prize, and many Pushcart Prizes. She has received fellowships from the Lannan Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, and she was a Witter Bynner Fellow. From 2010 to 2015 she served as a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. In 2018 she was awarded the Lon Tinkle Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Texas Institute of Letters. Nye was the Poetry Foundation's Young People's Poet Laureate from 2019-2022.

Nye's experience of both cultural difference and different cultures has influenced much of her work. Known for poetry that lends a fresh perspective to ordinary events, people, and objects, Nye has said that, for her, "the primary source of poetry has always been local life, random characters met on the streets, our own ancestry sifting down to us through small essential daily tasks." In her work, according to Jane Tanner in the Dictionary of Literary Biography, "Nye observes the business of living and the continuity among all the world's inhabitants ... She is international in scope and internal in focus." Nye is also considered one of the leading female poets of the American Southwest. A contributor to Contemporary Poets wrote that she "brings attention to the female as a humorous, wry creature with brisk, hard intelligence and a sense of personal freedom unheard of" in the history of pioneer women.

Nye continues to live and work in San Antonio, Texas. "My poems and stories often begin with the voices of our neighbors, mostly Mexican American, always inventive and surprising," Nye wrote for Four Winds Press. "I never get tired of mixtures." A contributor to Contemporary Southern Writers wrote that Nye's poetry "is playfully and imaginatively instructive, borrows from Eastern and Middle Eastern and Native American religions, and resembles the meditative poetry of William Stafford, Wallace Stevens, and Gary Snyder." Nye's first two chapbooks were published in the 1970s. Both Tattooed Feet (1977) and Eye-to-Eye (1978) are written in free verse and structured around the theme of a journey or quest. They announced Nye as a "wandering poet," one interested in travel, place, and cultural exchange. In her first full-length collection, Different Ways to Pray (1980), Nye explores the differences between, and shared experiences of, cultures from California to Texas, from South America to Mexico. In "Grandfather's Heaven," a child declares: "Grandma liked me even though my daddy was a Moslem." As Tanner observed, "with her acceptance of different 'ways to pray' is also Nye's growing awareness that living in the world can sometimes be difficult."

Nye's next books include On the Edge of the Sky (1981), Hugging the Jukebox (1982), a full-length collection that also won the Voertman Poetry Prize, and Yellow Glove (1986). In Hugging the Jukebox, Nye emphasized the ordinary connections between diverse peoples and the perspectives of those in other lands. She writes: "We move forward, / confident we were born into a large family, / our brothers cover the earth." Reviewers praised the book, noting Nye's warmth and celebratory tone. Writing in the Village Voice, Mary Logue commented that in Nye's poems about daily life, "Nye often pulls gold from the ordinary." The poems in Yellow Glove presented a perspective tempered by tragedy and sorrow. In " Blood" Nye considers the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. She describes a café in combat-weary Beirut, bemoans "a world where no one saves anyone," and observes "The Gardener" for whom "everything she planted gave up under the ground." Georgia Review contributor Philip Booth declared that Nye brings "home to readers both how variously and how similarly all people live." In Red Suitcase (1994), Nye continued to explore the effect of on-going violence on everyday life in the Middle East. Writing for Booklist, Pat Monaghan explained that "some of her most powerful poems deal with her native land's continuing search for peace and the echoes of that search that resound in an individual life. Nye is a fluid poet, and her poems are also full of the urgency of spoken language. Her direct, unadorned vocabulary serves her well: 'A boy filled a bottle with water. / He let it sit. / Three days later it held the power / of three days.' Such directness has its own mystery, its own depth and power, which Nye exploits to great effect."

Nye's next book, Fuel (1998), received wide acclaim. The poems range over a variety of subjects, settings and scenes. Reviewing the book for Ploughshares, Victoria Clausi regarded it as, above all, an attempt at connection: "Nye's best poems often act as conduits between opposing or distant forces. Yet these are not didactic poems that lead to forced epiphanic moments. Rather, the carefully crafted connections offer bridges on which readers might find their own stable footing, enabling them to peek over the railings at the lush scenery." Like her mentor, William Stafford, Nye again and again manifests her "belief in the value of the overlooked, the half-forgotten," wrote Clausi, as well as investigating global concerns like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A reviewer for Publisher's Weekly found that "Nye's witnessings of everyday life and strife never quite acquire collective force, yet they convey a delicate sense of moral concern and a necessary sense of urgency."

After the World Trade Center attacks in 2001, Nye became an active voice for Arab Americans, speaking out against both terrorism and prejudice. The lack of understanding between Americans and Arabs led her to collect poems she had written which dealt with the Middle East and her experiences as an Arab American into one volume. 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East (2002) was a finalist for the National Book Award. Publisher's Weekly declared that it was "an excellent way to invite exploration and discussion of events far away and their impact here at home." Nye's next book, You and Yours (2005), continued to explore the Middle East and the possibilities of poetic response. Divided into two sections, the first deals with Nye's personal experiences as a mother and traveler and intersperses Nye's typical free-verse with prose poems. Part two examines the Middle East with "indignity and compassion," according to Publisher's Weekly. Donna Seaman wrote that the book is "tender yet forceful, funny and commonsensical, reflective and empathic," adding, "Nye writes radiant poems of nature and piercing poems of war, always touching base with homey details and radiant portraits of family and neighbors. Nye's clarion condemnation of prejudice and injustice reminds readers that most Americans have ties to other lands and that all concerns truly are universal." The book received the Isabel Gardner Poetry Award. Nye's recent collections of poetry include Transfer (2011), Voices in the Air: Poems for Listeners (2018), and The Tiny Journalist (2019).

In addition to poetry, Nye has written fiction for children, poetry and song recordings, and poetry translations. She has also published a book of essays, Never in a Hurry (1996), and edited several anthologies, including the award-winning This Same Sky (1992), which represents 129 poets from sixty-eight countries. In her introduction to the anthology Nye writes, "Whenever someone suggests 'how much is lost in translation!' I want to say, 'Perhaps-but how much is gained!'" Booklist critic Hazel Rochman called it "an extraordinary anthology, not only in its global range ... but also in the quality of the selections and the immediacy of their appeal." Nye also compiled and edited a bilingual anthology of Mexican poetry, The Tree Is Older Than You Are (1995),and she edited the collection I Feel a Little Jumpy around You (1996), which combines 194 "his and her" poems, pairing a poem written by a man with one written by a woman. Nye's anthology The Space between Our Footsteps (1998) is a collection of the work of 127 contemporary Middle Eastern poets and artists representing nineteen countries.

As a children's writer, Nye is acclaimed for her sensitivity and cultural awareness. Her book Sitti's Secrets (1994) concerns an Arab American child's relationship with her sitti-Arabic for grandmother-who lives in a Palestinian village. Booklist praised Nye for capturing the emotions of the "child who longs for a distant grandparent" as well as for writing a narrative that deals personally with Arabs and Arab Americans. In 1997 Nye published Habibi, her first young-adult novel. Readers meet Liyana Abboud, an Arab American teen who moves with her family to her Palestinian father's native country during the 1970s, only to discover that the violence in Jerusalem has not yet abated. As Liyana notes, "in Jerusalem, so much old anger floated around ... [that] the air felt stacked with weeping and raging and praying to God by all the different names." Autobiographical in its focus, Habibi was praised by Karen Leggett, who noted in the New York Times Book Review that the novel magnifies through the lens of adolescence "the joys and anxieties of growing up" and that Nye is "meticulously sensitive to this rainbow of emotion." Nye sees her writing for children as part of her larger goals as a writer. As Nye explained to a Children's Literature Review contributor, "to counteract negative images conveyed by blazing headlines, writers must steadily transmit simple stories closer to heart and more common to everyday life. Then we will be doing our job." Nye has since published poetry for young adults, including Come With Me: Poems for a Journey (2000) and A Maze Me: Poems for Girls (2005). Nye has received many awards for her writing for children, including the NSK Neustadt Award for Children's Literature and the 2018 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award from the American Library Association.

Nye has been affiliated with the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas and poetry editor for the Texas Observer for over 20 years. She is a professor of creative writing at Texas State University. Nye told Contemporary Authors: "I have always loved the gaps, the spaces between things, as much as the things. I love staring, pondering, mulling, puttering. I love the times when someone or something is late-there's that rich possibility of noticing more, in the meantime ... Poetry calls us to pause. There is so much we overlook, while the abundance around us continues to shimmer, on its own."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Naomi Shihab Nye was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Her father was a Palestinian refugee and her mother an American of German and Swiss descent, and Nye spent her adolescence in both Jerusalem and San Antonio, Texas. She earned her BA from Trinity University in San Antonio. Nye is the recipient of...

# data[].attributes.headline
What is the Heartbeat of your Classroom?

# data[].attributes.subject
What is the Heartbeat of your Classroom?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
By Kass Minor

Jennifer Ochoa's classroom, shared with two other teachers, is full of busy whispers and intentional talk. The learners, sitting in heterogeneous groups split between three tables, are working together thoughtfully, each led by a different educator - Jen at one table, her co-teacher at another table, and the speech therapist at the third table. I quietly scoot my chair next to the learners in Jen's group. There are roughly nine kids sitting around the table dinner-style, with Jen at the head. Some are dutifully listening to Jen read aloud Pedro Noguera's essay, Reading Saved My Life. In the essay, Noguera shares how reading shaped his identity while coming of age in the economically distressed neighborhood of Brownsville, Brooklyn.

When I was a boy growing up in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn (a neighborhood better known for producing rap stars like Biggie Smalls and boxers like Mike Tyson than for producing college professors like me), my mother would make us take the bus to the public library after we finished our chores every Saturday morning. (p.82)

Some students are reading along from their own copy, while others are making shuffling noises with their papers, pencils, or their bodies. Jen and the other teachers ignore the behaviors they see.

She stops to talk with her group about the stereotypes Noguera confronted in his life. And then one student, seemingly distracted the whole time and has been scribbling intensely on his paper with a red pen looks up and says:

"People don't think kids coming from the 'hood' will be successful."

A tiny moment of silence prevails as they begin to consider themes from Pedro Noguera's essay and make connections to their own lives. All of Jen's students are children of color from varied racial and cultural backgrounds and live in Washington Heights, NYC. They are in a very full seventh grade ICT (integrated co-teaching) class. By reading an essay and analyzing themes in the text, they are doing the very thing that few expect of them: enacting intellectual success. Jen firmly and quietly tells them to jot down all their smart thinking in the margins of their page.

Within a ten minute time frame, Jen has executed what are sometimes described as "best practices": she has chosen a text that is relevant to her learners' lives (culturally relevant teaching), all adults in the room are working with kids in smart ways (use of ICT parallel teaching model and push-in speech services), there's parity between general educator and special educator (thoughtful collaboration), the kids are not sorted by their IEPS-they are heterogeneously grouped (flexible grouping routines), the expectations are high, the learning strategies are clear. All of those things most certainly fall under the equity-umbrella many educators strive towards.

However, what's remarkable about Jen's practice is what I am naming heart work. There are specific, intentional micro-pedagogical interactions that take place between Jen and her students, Jen and her co-teachers, and between her students. It might be easy to dismiss these interactions as insignificant or as distractions from the lesson, but for Jen they are opportunities for heart work - teaching that comes from a place of love. Consider, for example, students' visible actions, Jen's responses, and what her responses are saying to her students:

In John C. Erwin's Classroom of Choice, he states, "Effective teachers create connections by design", and after talking to Jen and observing her practice, it is clear she does just that.

Jen reaffirms her relationships with her students throughout the lesson. They vacillate between complete engagement and distractibility, but no matter how they behave, Jen tells her students she loves them (literally) and shows them this is true when she patiently helps them grapple through their learning experience. She explains what their brain is doing during the lesson, she teaches and models explicit strategies to refocus and read the text, she establishes and reestablishes her students' intellect and her connection with them. All of these things create the pulse that is the heartbeat of Jen's classroom.

So, what does this mean for classroom practitioners? When we introduce texts and various activities that are centered in equity, we must do so in a way that underscores the heartbeat of our classrooms: the need to belong, to feel safe, to be supported, to connect, to matter. When your work becomes about those things, all the content your kids need to learn becomes stronger. Your responsiveness to the way your students learn becomes more fluent, and when you uplift the classroom community into a loveful space, equity holds your students tight.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What's the Heartbeat of Your Classroom? - Heinemann Publishing - Medium

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Jennifer Ochoa's classroom, shared with two other teachers, is full of busy whispers and intentional talk. The learners, sitting in heterogeneous groups split between three tables, are working together thoughtfully, each led by a different educator - Jen at one table, her co-teacher at another table, and the speech therapist at the third table.

# data[].attributes.headline
Why #BlackLivesMatter in Your Classroom Too

# data[].attributes.subject
Why #BlackLivesMatter in Your Classroom Too

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
I have a simple job. It has two easy mandates.

1. Love children with good teaching.

2. Love their teachers by supporting them with good stuff to teach with.

I work in classrooms all over the world. When there are pieces of your heart in far flung corners of the globe, a powerful kind of empathy grows. When communities hurt, I hurt.

When Trayvon Martin was murdered in Florida, I thought of the children I serve there. I thought of the books they like and the jokes they tell me when I get to town. I remembered his school and his teachers. I thought of his community and especially of his family that has had to find light in the traumatic void his absence creates. On some mornings, when I am particularly sensitive or tired, I can see his classroom. His empty desk haunts my dreams.

When the same thing happened with Mike Brown and Tamir Rice, a significant part of me broke. These names are not headlines or hashtags to me. These were children who read the books my colleagues and I suggested and wrote the essays we asked them to write. These are children who trusted us with their futures. Our system betrayed that trust.

I've worked in schools my entire career. The death of a student or family member is not a new occurrence to me. It is painful every single time. But I heal.

These recent wounds, however, are kept fresh not just by the regularity of these murders, but that they are carried out by agents of the state or their proxies and that they happen almost exclusively to black and brown children, to their siblings, to their mothers and to their fathers.

When educators talk about racism our conversation is often limited to individual acts of personal bias. As long as we don't know any mean or intolerant people, we are complacent in our thinking that these problems are not ours to contend with. Such a stance ignores the systemic complexities of how race is lived in America, on its streets and in our classrooms - and even when there are no people of color present.

Becoming more systemically aware means understanding the kinds of racism that shape our communities, schools, and classrooms, and where we stand in relation to those social forces.

Most people are aware of individual racism. If we choose to talk about race, it is what we spend most of our time talking about, but few understand how it works. There are two kinds of individual racism. The first kind of individual racism is internalized racism. These are all the conscious and subconscious racial biases, prejudices, and blind spots that we all have within ourselves as individuals.

The second kind of individual racism is interpersonal racism. This is what happens when we act out the biases we internalize on others. Most of us are sensitive enough to avoid acting out our internalized racism, but as humans, our biases, prejudices and blind spots are most likely to emerge when we are tired, stressed, late, scared or feel threatened. As educators we are tired quite regularly and stressed daily, so the work of avoiding interpersonal racism is real and significant, but it is not all.

There are also two kinds of systemic racism. The first kind - institutional racism - is the collection of racist policies and discriminatory practices in schools, government agencies, and workplaces that routinely produces unjust outcomes for people of color. These words may be new to us, but as teachers we are intimately familiar with this kind of racism. This is the "achievement gap." This is the testing industrial complex. This is school discipline.

Let's consider this: if there were an activity at school that resulted in the mass failure of kids with green eyes, we would not criminalize the kids with green eyes. We would ask, "What is it about this activity that excludes kids with green eyes?" and we would change the activity. Are we, as members of the education community, willing to do this for black boys who are suspended at rates that are exponentially more in comparison to their peers? What could this look like? If sitting in a desk all day listening to lectures leads to mass suspensions for a specific subset of kids, I need to get with my team and change the activity. To engage in this imaginative work - even if it is messy - is antiracist. It affirms that black lives do matter.

The second kind of systemic racism - structural racism - is the unjust patterns and practices that play out across societal institutions. It is the reality that those suspended black boys miss out on valuable instructional time and consequently miss out on opportunities that lead to college. It is the reality that this boy's earning potential over a lifetime is now a paltry percentage of his college educated peers. It is the knowledge that this reduced earning diminishes quality of life. To be antiracist is to know that all of these things are connected and to know that many of them start in school even when we express no interpersonal racism.

All of our students matter, but in a society characterized by its dogged refusal to treat all kids and their families equally, it is our moral imperative to affirm that black lives matter. If outcomes continue to be bleak for large groups of people, it diminishes the quality of all our lives. When there is massive disenfranchisement fueled by widespread failure and incarceration, the safety of all our communities is compromised.

In our search for solutions, people utter platitudes disguised as answers - we should love one another, I don't see color or race, let's talk more - and all of those things are lovely and important starts, but they alone will not change the systems that routinely produce unjust outcomes. To continue with business as usual, to do nothing, to be "neutral" is a passive declaration of racism because the system that we are most intimately connected with - school - will continue to produce unjust outcomes for people of color. To be antiracist is to be actively involved with the disruption of these systems.

What is our influence, as educators?

What can we do? We cannot reconstruct the world to reflect our views, but we are in a unique position to take action in our classrooms. We can start to disrupt the status quo by asking ourselves questions about our practice, community and curriculum. When I'm working in teams with other teachers, here are some initial questions we use to imagine what our disruption can look like.

1. Safety. In order for students to learn, they need to feel safe. How can I make sure that my classroom is a place where children feel safe and protected? Can I ensure the sustained management of the room while communicating respect (without cultivating fear, embarrassment or teacher dependence)?

2. Choice. Children read more when they feel capable and motivated. How can I create access to reading material that is high interest and appropriately challenges kids? How can I create consistent opportunities to do work that has both meaning and consequence?

3. Voice. When students have a voice, they feel empowered. When so much of childhood is about staying quiet and listening to adults, how can we give students a platform to talk, to write, to share what is important to them? How can we help them be heard by the constituencies that matter the most to them? Who are those people, can we get them to the classroom, and how can we communicate with them?

4. Growth. Learning is not an identical process for all kids; we cannot treat it as if it is. Where are my students now? Honestly. Where can they be by the end of the week? What kind of teaching and practice will it take for them to get there? How can I best facilitate progress - small groups, out of classroom activities, labs, centers, discussions, home visits? How can I measure progress? What tools might kids need in addition to what I have planned so that they may succeed? Do all kids need that tool?

5. Flexibility. Children and communities are changing all the time. What do we need to read to be more responsive to our kids and communities? Who do we need to learn from? What is the best way to share that learning with other teachers? How can we put that learning into action? Day to day, what can this kind of professional growth look like for us?

There is no right answer; rather, it's the questions that help us think about what actions or changes might lead to better outcomes for all of our students, particularly those who are underserved by traditional schooling. Being an advocate for black lives does not mean that I am an advocate against any other lives. When we make the conscious decision to address persisting injustices, this broadens access to justice for everyone.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Why #BlackLivesMatter in Your Classroom Too

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I work in classrooms all over the world. When there are pieces of your heart in far flung corners of the globe, a powerful kind of empathy grows. When communities hurt, I hurt. When Trayvon Martin...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Naomi Shihab Nye | Steven Barclay Agency

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Steven Barclay Agency represents our culture's most distinguished and thought-provoking voices - for lectures, readings, conferences, and other special events.

# data[].attributes.headline
Cornelius & Alfred Tatum, Kass & Naomi Shihab Nye: A Short Story in Three Parts

# data[].attributes.subject
Cornelius & Alfred Tatum, Kass & Naomi Shihab Nye: A Short Story in Three Parts

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The participation of Kass and Corn at Challenging the Canon: Rethinking the Literary Classics, sponsored by The Center for Teaching Through Children's Books held at National Louis University on March 2, 2019, requires multiple underscores!!! (and exclamation marks and all kinds of other warm, fierce emotions!)

1. When a colleague asked Cornelius what kind of educator he aspired to be more than 15 years ago, within a split second, he responded, "Alfred Tatum."

2. When Kass's family engaged in a Christmas book exchange more than a decade ago, Kass's older sister Kyle called Corn, asking him what books to buy for her, and within a split second, he responded, "Anything written by Naomi Shihab Nye." 3. When Junko Yokota, Kass and Corn's dear friend and mentor, asked if they wanted to do this event, and be in conversation with Alfred Tatum and Naomi Shihab Nye, within a split second, they responded "YES!"

To be continued March 2! Check out Challenging the Canon

for more information.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cornelius & Alfred Tatum, Kass & Naomi Shihab Nye: A Short Story in Three Parts

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The participation of Kass and Corn at Challenging the Canon: Rethinking the Literary Classics, sponsored by The Center for Teaching Through Children's Books held at National Louis University on March 2, 2019, requires multiple underscores!!! (and exclamation marks and all kinds of other warm, fierce emotions!)

# data[].attributes.headline
Striving for International Understanding Through Literature

# data[].attributes.subject
Striving for International Understanding Through Literature

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Striving for International Understanding Through Literature

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In the 21st century, our students increasingly communicate, connect, collaborate, and interact with diverse cultures and traditions around the world, so they need to develop global literacy. This department...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
ERIC - Questioning Your Collection, Knowledge Quest, 2009

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
School librarians serving diverse learning communities, such as the Chicago Public Schools, have always been aware of the need to seek out multicultural books as "mirrors [that] let readers see reflections of their own lives; windows [that] let them see others' lives."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
(Re)Building the Textual Lineages of African American Adolescent Males

Alfred shows you how to squeeze every single ounce of possibility from texts that enable the literacy development of African American adolescent males. Because it's not just about literacy-it's about their lives.

Special Offer: Save 30% off our list price automatically when you buy 15 or more.

"Because African American adolescent males and face their own challenges, they must identify texts that mark their times and their lives. If we create opportunities for this to happen, they will not only begin to trust the texts, they will begin to trust us, too. Then maybe, we'll hear one of them say, Education is on our side,' or, 'I used to keep it gutter, but now I am all good.' This is my hope." -Alfred Tatum

No reading strategy, no literacy program, no remediation will close the achievement gap for adolescent African American males. These efforts will continue to fail our students, says Alfred Tatum, until reading instruction is anchored in meaningful texts that build academic and personal resiliency inside and outside school.

In Reading for Their Life Tatum takes a bold step beyond Teaching Reading to Black Adolescent Males. He shows how teachers can encourage adolescent African American males to connect with reading by defining who they are through textual lineages-texts with significance, carefully chosen for instruction because they are useful to young black males and because they matter. With works ranging from Up from Slavery and Sounder to the contemporary Handbook for Boys, Tatum helps you:

understand what adolescent African American male readers need

select enabling texts that have worked in Tatum's own teaching

build textual lineages by putting meaningful texts at the core of a challenging curriculum

engage readers in the curriculum through essential questions, writing, and self-assessment.

"African American males are not engaged in a great conspiracy to fail themselves," writes Tatum. "They continue to underperform in school as they wait for educators to get it right." Join Alfred Tatum, use Reading for Their Life, and strive for "a way to squeeze enabling texts for every ounce of possibility they contain for advancing the literacy development of African American adolescent males."

Get more information on the state of education for African American males, read Yes We Can: The 2010 Schott 50 State Report on Black Males in Public Education.

(click any section below to continue reading)

Contents

How This Book Is Organized I. The Urgent Need to Build Textual Lineages
1. African American Adolescent Males

2. Shaping Literacy as a Collaborative Act

3. Vital Signs of Literacy Development
II. Enabling Texts
4. Characteristics and Examples of Enabling Texts

5. Choosing, Creating, and Mediating Enabling Texts

6. Poetic Broadsides

7. Short Stories

8. Armed for Battle
Appendixes:
A. Sample Lesson with Explicit Instruction and Text

B. Forty Engaging Texts for African American Adolescent Males

C. Texts Mentioned in This Book

D. Ten Enabling Texts with Starters and Essential Questions

Companion Resources

Reviews

Alfred is featured in episode 5 of Tavis Smiley's Too Important to Fail, a report on reducing the dropout rate among African American males.

Click for an interview with Alfred Tatum about teaching reading to African American adolescent males.

"I teach in a Title I school on the south side of Chicago. 99% of my students are African American. We have 90% free and reduced lunch rate. In my opinion, our school, like many others, budgets in way too much time and money on useless professional development. This year alone I have read a plethora of how-to books on becoming a more effective literacy teacher.
That being said, I was surprised and overjoyed when I found Dr. Tatum's book to be thought-provoking, easy to read, and very practical for the demographic my school serves. The book's tone is conversational and not hampered by pedogogical mishmash. Tatum focuses on building a "textual lineage"...that is, finding texts that will speak to the souls of our African American students. He also provides many examples of texts that he recommends.
I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Tatum at a conference last week. He is a phenomenal speaker, and I recommend you check him out if you get a chance. For anyone who teaches in an urban school district that serves African American males, please check this book out!"
Matt138, 2/20/2011

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Alfred shows you how to squeeze every single ounce of possibility from texts that enable the literacy development of African American adolescent males. Because it's not just about literacy-it's about their lives. Special Offer: Save 30% off our list price automatically when you buy 15 or more.

# data[].attributes.headline
Disrupting a Destructive Cycle: How Literacy Drives Social Change

# data[].attributes.subject
Disrupting a Destructive Cycle: How Literacy Drives Social Change

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
International Literacy Association, Newark, Delaware. 74K likes. ILA is a global advocacy and membership organization dedicated to transforming lives through literacy.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Naomi Shihab Nye

Skip to content

Photo by Michael Nye

Naomi Shihab Nye is a poet and anthologist and the acclaimed author of Habibi: A Novel and Sitti's Secrets, a picture book, which was based on her own experiences visiting her beloved Sitti in Palestine. Her book 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East was a finalist for the National Book Award. She has taught writing and worked in schools all over the world, including in Muscat, Oman. She lives in San Antonio, Texas.

*This is a promotional service of HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007, providing information about the products of HarperCollins and its affiliates. By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bookperk and other HarperCollins services. You may unsubscribe from these email communications at any time. If you have any questions, please review our privacy policy or email us at [email protected] .

Works by Naomi Shihab Nye

Get daily e-book deals and perks-plus, download a free e-book just for signing up!

*Bookperk is a promotional service of HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007, providing information about the products of HarperCollins and its affiliates. By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bookperk and other HarperCollins services. You may unsubscribe from these email communications at any time. If you have any questions, please review our privacy policy or email us at [email protected] .

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Naomi Shihab Nye Skip to content Photo by Michael Nye Naomi Shihab Nye is a poet and anthologist and the acclaimed author of Habibi: A Novel and Sitti's Secrets, a picture book, which was based on her own experiences visiting her beloved Sitti in Palestine.

# data[].attributes.headline
What Works Well Where When? How Various Qualities of Digital and Print Picture Books

# data[].attributes.subject
What Works Well Where When? How Various Qualities of Digital and Print Picture Books

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Junko Yokota - ‘What Works Well Where When? How Various Qualities of Digital and Print Picture Books

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Junko Yokota's keynote during the International Research Society Children's Literature conference 2013 in Maastricht. 'What Works Well Where When? How Various Qualities of Digital and Print Picture Books Shape Reader Response'.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Uploaded by Mikki Sherwood on 2014-04-03.

# data[].attributes.headline
Teaching Reading to Black Adolescent MalesClosing the Achievement Gap

# data[].attributes.subject
Teaching Reading to Black Adolescent MalesClosing the Achievement Gap

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
For those who truly wish to leave no child behind, the racial achievement gap in literacy is one of the most difficult issues in education today, and nowhere does it manifest itself more perniciously than in the case of black adolescent males.

Approaching the problem from the inside, Alfred Tatum brings together his various experiences as a black male student, middle school teacher working with struggling black male readers, reading specialist in an urban elementary school, and staff d

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Teaching Reading to Black Adolescent Males

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
For those who truly wish to leave no child behind, the racial achievement gap in literacy is one of the most difficult issues in education today, and nowhere does it manifest itself more perniciously than in the case of black adolescent males.

# data[].attributes.headline
Alfred Tatum on Literacy Education for African American and Latino Students

# data[].attributes.subject
Alfred Tatum on Literacy Education for African American and Latino Students

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Alfred Tatum on Literacy Education for African American and Latino Students

# data[].attributes.headline
Cornelius Minor on Being an Advocate for your Students

# data[].attributes.subject
Cornelius Minor on Being an Advocate for your Students

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"I think my parents hate me"

That is how a student, who we'll call "Earl," recently started a conversation with his teacher, Cornelius Minor, after class one day. On today's podcast we're talking about advocating for our students with Cornelius Minor. Mr. Minor is a frequent keynote speaker and Lead Staff Developer at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project in New York where he works with teachers, school leaders, and leaders of community-based organizations to support literacy reform in cities. In his work, Cornelius draws not only on his years teaching middle school in the Bronx and Brooklyn, but also on time spent skateboarding, shooting hoops, and working with kids. He's also currently writing his first book for Heinemann.

Cornelius says it best; "we may not have the answers for every situation we face, but we can't choose to do nothing." So what did Cornelius do? How did he advocate for Earl and all of his students? Listen below to find out.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Also, be sure to join Cornelius Thursday - May 4, 2017 as he co-hosts the #G2Great Twitter chat with Courtney Kinney (@KinneyCourts) on: "Building Classrooms that Reflect the Lives of the Children Who Inhabit Them."

We offer many resources based on the conversation we're having on this episode. Here is a complete list:

See below for a full transcript of our conversation

Cornelius: And that's such a huge question, Bret. Like, when I think about advocacy, that word just sounds intimidating. You know, like, I'm a seventh grade English teacher. I deal in the realm of verbs and gerunds and participles, like that's my realm. So when you throw out words like advocacy, for me, what comes to mind is that Morgan Freeman movie Lean On Me. Everybody wants to be Morgan Freeman, but that guy's got skills. I don't got skills like that, and so how do I, with my regular every day nerdy self, stand up for kids in a big way. So I've really been trying to think about, like, yeah how do I do that?
When I think about Earl, and I think about the struggle that he's having with his parents right now, I don't have answers. I think a lot of times we ask ourselves, what should I do? And when we don't know, we choose to do nothing. I'm just at a point in my career now, even though I'm wildly imperfect at standing up for kids, and even though my advocacy game is in it's infancy, doing nothing can't be an option for me anymore.

Brett: And in this case, it could be dangerous.

Cornelius: And it could have been dangerous. Yeah. One of the things I have with Earl ... In New York City we're mandated first reports. So one of the things that has to ... I teach in Brooklyn, and so any time I sense that a kid is in danger or any time that I hear that a kid is in danger, it is my job per state of New York to call it in and alert a guidance counselor.
Actually, he just told me ... and I know him like I know all the other kids, so I know his writing, but I wouldn't say I had a closely personal relationship with him, but when they came to me and he was like, you know, I had a conversation with my parents this weekend that didn't go well. And I was like, oh, well tell me about it. And he's like, oh, not now, but I want to come to you later. So he came later and he just kind of put it on the table. He's like, you know, I think my parents hate me. And I was like, no, your parents don't hate you. This is a great kid. Athlete, reads every book in the world, keeps a really great writer's notebook. And I'm like, your parents don't hate you, man. If you were my son, I'd be the luckiest dude on the planet. And he's like, no, I'm pretty sure they hate me.
In the way that Brooklyn kids are resilient, he had a sense of humor about it, and then he went on to tell the story about, you know, when I told them that I was gay, they told me that they didn't want me to come back. They gave me a week.
Here's beautiful Earl in my classroom, and he's got seven days left in his house, in his mind. That must be terrifying for a seventh grader. So immediately, I'm like, we got to get you to a counselor. I can hear this, and I want to be there with you. Fortunately for me, the counselor's not too far down the hall. So we walked together down. He didn't feel like sharing with her. And I'm like, well Earl, I'm going to tell her what you told me because we need to make sure that you're protected.
We talked about it and the counselor was like, great, I know what to do. There's lots that we have in place for homeless youth. There's lots that we have in place for gay kids. So she did her counselor thing, but the thing that kept nagging, even though he would have a safe home and even though the proper services were being activated, and people were gathering resources for him, the thing that he kept coming back to with me, is he's like, my dad still hates me. So even though I'm in a safe home. Even though I have food to eat. Even though I'm wearing nice clothes. The man that I care about the most on this planet hates me.
That's something that I can do because at a literacy teacher, I deal in love. I deal in hate. And I deal in story telling. And I deal in redemption. So we sat, and I'm like, dude what do you want me to do? What can we do together? I didn't know it at the time, but that was a really powerful question for Earl. Earl was like, no one's ever asked me what I wanted to do, and how they could work for me. I don't know if you can change my dad, but I want you to show him some of the cool things that I do.

Brett: What is your action plan in that moment? Do you feel you need to run out the door that second? Do you sit down and map this out with Earl? How did you approach that?

Cornelius: At the heart of teacher advocacy, I think the action plan is always listen to the kid. So, I tried to identify what he wanted, and then what I could do to get him closer to that goal. The guidance counselor was already doing a lot. The principal was already doing a lot. And again, I'm the literacy teacher, so I'm like, you know, you want your dad to love you and I can't move that mountain, but again, he was just like, I think my dad will start to come around if he's reminded of all the cool things that I'm doing. I'm like, that I can do. You've written hundreds of stories for me. That I can do. You've read tons of books. That I can do. Your essays are brilliant.
So really, the action plan is to co-create. I think as a reading teacher, or a writing teacher, I'm used to co-creation in small groups. I'm used to co-creation in conferences. I'm used to co-creation in my mini lessons. So, we take what we already know, and we just apply it to the human condition.

Brett: How did that go?

Cornelius: You know, the thing about life is it's complicated. I think it's important to say that happy endings exist in movies, and life has really messy endings.
Earl and his dad are still in a complicated place, but I think the number one thing that it did for Earl is he saw that I was willing to fight for him. I think what's important, is that you engage in the fight, even if you lose.

Brett: What message ... I mean, I'm sure there's a teacher listening to this that is thinking, I don't know what I would do in that situation. I don't know that I would want to step out of the classroom, and I'm happy to speak with the student, happy to have that moment with them in the classroom, but to go beyond that and talk to the parents and try to step in, in that advocacy roll ... What could you tell them to encourage them to take that step?

Cornelius: Three big things have been really helpful for me. A, organizations. The national PTA, amazing. Like, amazing. They have tons of resources to support gay and lesbian kids. They have tons of resources to support teachers who want to support kids. They have tons of resources to help you talk to parents. So the PTA ... amazing. Just knowing that I'm not the only one thinking about this. I think so many times when people come to us, it feels really, like, I am lonely. I am hearing this kid, and I've got to carry this thing. So, even though I'm in a school with lots of other professionals, in that moment, it feels like you're the only one. I'm certain teachers are listening to this podcast thinking that.
Knowing there are organizations. There are also tons of organizations, both locally and nationally, that serve children that deal with homelessness, that deal with depression, that deal with talking to your parents. So, having local organizations has also been really helpful as well.
The second thing that's been really big for me ... and this is kind of a surprise ... but, working with guidance counselors to rehearse hard conversations. I remember leaving after we talked with Earl and Earl went home, the guidance counselor kept me in the office, and she was like, well, you know, you did a good job. Thank you, Mr. Miner. But next time something like that comes up, here are some things that you can do, here's some things that you can say. And then we roll-played it.

So, that you sit with your guidance counselor. We did it in, like, 10 minutes. It wasn't even long. But that she was just like, kids are going to say things, and because now they know you're safe, because Earl has had this conversation with you, these conversations will probably start happening more frequently to you, because now the word is out that you're that person. Knowing that I didn't have to be an expert. That there's a person in my building who can help me was a big thing. I know this sounds silly, but I sit with the guidance counselor from time to time and I rehearse a conversation that I need to have with a kid later on, or that I rehearse a conversation I need to have with a parent later on.
Advocacy doesn't have to be something like Earl's situation. I had to think, we just had parent teacher conferences in New York City, and I have a very assertive father, and I had to figure out, how am I going to tell this guy that his kid isn't doing well. I want it to go well. I want the conversation to be a productive conversation, and I don't want there to be anger. I'm sure there was. So, I went to the guidance counselor, and I'm like, I'm about to speak to a dad and I'm not sure how he's going to take the news that his kid isn't doing well. So can we rehearse that conversation? Another big thing for teachers who are thinking about doing more for children is practice. I know that sounds so, so silly, but I'm an athlete and when I want to get good at soccer, I practice. When I want to get good at skateboarding, I practice. That's my default mode of learning, and so, when I wanted to start having more meaningful conversations with children or families, I just sat in the guidance counselor's office and practice.

Brett: Just to back that up a little bit, too, the more you practice, the more ... if you're uncomfortable with any of these conversations, be it an aggressive person that you're not quite sure how to talk to, or having a conversation that might catch you off guard, or you might not be quite prepared for, the more you practice those conversations with someone, the better, more comfortable you are with it.

Cornelius: Exactly. Exactly. There's a couple of default conversations I just keep in my mind. Like, I have a conversation for dealing with unkindness. So if I'm ever surprised by unkindness, I know what to say, because kids call each other names, they talk about each other's living conditions. Sometimes as the teacher, I feel like I'm surprised by unkindness, and in the moment I don't always know how to stand for a kid. So I'm like, okay, kids call each other names that are unkind. Kids do things that are unkind. I want to always be on top of that, so let me go ahead and just know what I'm going to say ahead of time. I have that in my back pocket, so when it happens now, I'm not uncomfortable or off guard. I know how to, kind of, address directly unkindness. So, that's a conversation.
A conversation like a welcoming conversation is another one that you rehearse. Kids tend to withdraw sometimes. I'm a middle school teacher, so you read the room sometimes, and a kid is having a bad day and you don't always know what to say when the kid is having a bad day. You kind of go, and awkwardly want to cheer him up. You're like, be happy. I don't want to be that teacher. If I look across the room and somebody's having a bad day, I've already rehearsed that conversation. Recognizing that my job isn't to change your feeling, 'cause how you feel is how you feel, but my job is too announce my presences, and let you know that, again, I will fight for you. So, just practicing those conversations.
Another conversation that I practice all the time is how to bring you down. If something happens that surprises a kid, and the kid escalates quickly, how to de-escalate.
The big take-away is that we play for a team. There are guidance counselors in all of our schools who know what to do, and so, that we utilize those folks. That we listen to kids. That the chief architect of progress, the chief architect of happiness, the chief architect of the utopian future that I want for every kid, is the kid himself. The kid herself. That so many times we think we know what's best, but I don't know what's best for Earl. Earl knows what's best for Earl. That I listen to him and honor that is really, really important. So, I play for my team, I listen to the kid, and then I think that I remain flexible and willing to learn as a teacher. Accepting the reality that I'm going to do something wrong some times, but the operative word is that I do something.

A reminder to join Cornelius Thursday - May 4, 2017 as he co-hosts the #G2Great Twitter chat with Courtney Kinney (@KinneyCourts) on: "Building Classrooms that Reflect the Lives of the Children Who Inhabit Them."

We offer many resources based on the conversation we're having on this episode. Here is a complete list:

#G2Great is so excited to celebrate BRILLIANT TAPESTRIES w/ Cornelius & Courtney. Please join us! @MisterMinor @KinneyCourts pic.twitter.com/3R5uFq5Yvb

- Dr. Mary Howard (@DrMaryHoward) April 28, 2017

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Heinemann Podcast: Cornelius Minor on Being an Advocate for your Students

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"I think my parents hate me" That is how a student, who we'll call "Earl," recently started a conversation with his teacher, Cornelius Minor, after class one day. On today's podcast we're talking about advocating for our students with Cornelius Minor.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Meet-the-Author Book Reading with Naomi Shihab Nye A Maze Me: Poems for Girls ("Supple Cord") Created by TeachingBooks.net

# data[].attributes.headline
Alfred Tatum Presents Annual Chall Lecture

# data[].attributes.subject
Alfred Tatum Presents Annual Chall Lecture

# data[].attributes.body
Cornelius Minor on the Over-Engaged Student

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When we think about engagement we almost immediately focus on the student who won't talk or just doesn't engage. But what about the student who is over engaged? On today's podcast we're continuing our series of conversations with Cornelius Minor. Today we're talking about a student he has nicknamed "Prez" short for president of the class.

Mr. Minor is a frequent keynote speaker and Lead Staff Developer at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project in New York where he works with teachers, school leaders, and communities to support literacy reform in cities. In his work, Cornelius not only draws on his years teaching middle school in the Bronx and Brooklyn, but also on time spent skateboarding, shooting hoops, and working with kids. He's also currently writing his first book for Heinemann.

Cornelius says we need to use our teacher superpowers of engagement even with students like Prez, who Cornelius says, tends to take all of the space in the room. Here's Cornelius with more on Prez.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

See below for a full transcript:

Cornelius: Oh my gosh, Prez. Just to kind of talk about Prez, I gotta rewind a little bit and talk about why his name is, Prez is short for President. I had to make him the president of the class, just 'cuz, so many things. But Prez's name is actually David, and one thing you gotta know about Brooklyn, New York, is that Brooklyn, New York, tough guy persona is like a thing. Kids spend a lot of time grooming their inner tough guy. For a kid like David, the name David just doesn't sell tough Brooklyn kid. So I've watched him over these last two years, trying to invent his tough guy persona, but it always comes back to David.
So one of the things that has happened with him, he's the kinda kid, he's all in. So many people they talk to me, they ask me, like, "Oh, I've got this kid who won't talk, or I've got this kid who won't do homework." But David is not that kid. When you talk to me about David, people are like, "How do we get David to calm down and give other people some oxygen?" And that, to me, that's a question of engagement. You know, you use your kind of teacher super power of engagement to bring out the quiet kids, but then you use your power of engagement to kind of democratize the space for those kids who are like all in, like Prez.
My mind goes to this one moment where I was doing this thing on inference, and it's always inference. I feel like inference is the teacher Achilles' heel. I was doing this thing on inference, and it was all about making wild guesses, you know. I was trying to encourage the kids to not hold back on their guesses. You know, you want to make these cool theories, and you want to test out your theories in your book. And man, when I said, "wild guess," he was like, "I got this."
So we were reading, and it was this innocuous story, like Paper Bag Princess. It's the one every workshop classroom does Paper Bag Princess. I'm like, how can this fail? Prez will find a way. So he's making these ridiculous guesses, and I'm like, "Prez, you're guessing about like, dinosaurs and spaceships. We're in medieval times, dude." He's like, "Yeah, you told me no theory could be wrong. Just allow me to test it out."
One of the things is, Prez got going, and people started laughing at his guesses, and right away again, I knew that okay, this is a space that he's beginning to occupy fully. And he shares this space with 31 other kids, so I've gotta be able to give it to other kids. So I spent a lot of time thinking, wow, what can I do for a kid like Prez? What can I do for the kids like Prez in every classroom, who seem to monopolize the air time in that space?
For me, again it comes down to engagement. And there are ways that I can turn the volume up on certain kids in the classroom, and I've been thinking, we haven't talked much as teachers about ways that we turn the volume down. So I've been thinking a lot about turning the volume down. One big thing that comes to mind, and I've been using this over and over with Prez, is one way to turn the volume down but still respect his enthusiasm, you know-

Brett: Because you still want to honor his voice.

Cornelius: Yeah, and his voice is really, really important. But I also want to make sure that voice sits alongside the 31 other voices in the classroom.

Brett: Yeah. How do you do that without then making, going the complete opposite direction, and making him unengaged.

Cornelius: That's the thing, because in communities like mine, and I'm sure as I travel across America, one of the things that we never want to do is, we never want to silence kids. When you think about, and we've been doing a lot of thinking these recent weeks about marginalized people, or oppressed groups of people. Often people will say, "Oh, you know, African Americans," or "Oh, you know, Latinos or Asians or gay kids." Actually as I look across America, for me, the group of people that's most silenced is children.

Cornelius: So I always want to be amplifying their voices. So for a kid like Prez, I want to give those kids like jobs or roles. When we think about the voices that speak the loudest in our society, those voices all belong to people with very specific and clearly defined roles. So I've been thinking, one engagement tool in the classroom is that, and we're well versed at giving kids, "Oh, you're the line leader or you're the this." So I've been thinking, what are the rhetorical roles that are gonna exist in the classroom? And what are the community building roles that are gonna exist in the classroom?
So that's actually how he became Prez. He's the president. His job, as president, you gotta protect your people, man. So there's 31 other kids in this class, and they're your people. I'm going to be talking to your people for 7 minutes a day during my mini lesson, and there are gonna be people in your country, Prez, that don't understand me. So it's gonna be your job to make sure that they do understand me. So if I'm ever saying a thing or doing a thing that doesn't resonate with your people, you gotta let me know.
So that's kind of an invitation to Prez, that he gets to jump in at any time and be like, "Yo, your lesson right now, is missing all my friends over here."

Cornelius: So he can still be his active self, and in a really public way, he's giving me feedback.

Cornelius: And one of the things I'm always thinking about is, I'm a workshop teacher, so this idea of demonstration is not new to me, that you demonstrate. But then I also think about the idea of modeling.

Cornelius: I don't just show you the writing, but I model the person, the character, the kind of man I want you to be, the kind of person I want you to be. So that's really exciting that kids get to see me taking feedback from Prez. It's really actually exciting, because again like everything, he takes that role very seriously. First time he gave me feedback, he like wrote it on a Post-it note and handed it to me, and kind of like slid it over to me. And I'm like, "No, you can say it." He's like, "Well, every time the principal has something bad to say to you, he writes it on a Post-it note." I'm like, "How did you know that?!" You know?

Brett: He's really observant!

Cornelius: He's like, "I know that, because you get a lot of Post-it notes." I'm like, "Oh my God." And so, yeah. But he's gotten really good at doing that. What's funny is, it's doing the work that I wanted it to do, because not just with me now, but he's going around the classroom giving people feedback. He's really grown into that role. Where kids are doing things in the corner, and goes over and he's like, "Let me slide you a Post-it." So just kinda watching him slide Post-its around the room, again, has done something really cool to kinda democratize his voice, and kinda put it in a lane, so that other voices can exist. But then it's also amplified his leadership. It's amplified his personality. That really excites me.
So you have this kid, David, who wants to be a tough guy, and we can use engagement techniques to turn him into Prez. I think that especially in today's political climate, that a kid gets used to being called a president, is really important to me, too.

Brett: So if a teacher hears this, and maybe they're thinking about a student that is very much like Prez in their classroom. But their perception of that student might be different. They might see that student as disruptive. How would you speak to that teacher to say, "Here's what you can do to take that and turn it into a more positive experience, but also work with it? How could we turn that around?

Cornelius: I'm a huge lover of art. I live in New York City, so I spend a lot of time in museums looking at art. One of the things that strikes me is this idea of perspective. That if you stand on one side of the gallery, Starry Night looks one way, but if you stand on the different side of the gallery, it looks completely different. So I always want to ask teachers, just stand on the other side of the gallery.
That you see a kid like Prez and he's disruptive, and he's always interrupting you, and he's always saying stuff. My first urge is to silence. So one of the things that I've been practicing is something that I learned in sports, this idea that you want to calm yourself, center yourself before you make an attempt at a thing. So just, my advice to teachers would be almost three steps.
Whenever Prez is being Prez, because he's gonna do that, the first thing is I calm myself, center myself, and I recognize that it's not about me. He's not attacking me. That's just what he does, man. He talks and he interrupts. So calm myself, center myself.
The second thing is then, try to stand on a different side of the gallery. So what I saw as an interruption, what might he be trying to do? He's trying to contribute. He's trying to clarify. He's trying to question. He's trying to support. And those are all high level critical thinking skills that we want to teach kids.

Cornelius: What's funny is the kids who are doing the most critical thinking, often do it in ways that feel abusive toward us.

Cornelius: Because they're not good at it yet.

Cornelius: It's kind of like, I know this is silly. Old Disney movies, I spend a lot of time watching old Disney movies, because I can't think after so much lesson planning. I don't know if you remember, but that old movie, the one with the fox who was Robin Hood, and he goes around giving all the animals presents, and he gave one of the little animals in one scene, he gave one of these little animals a bow and arrow. And I'm like, "You just gave a little kid a weapon." And in many ways, when we teach critical thinking, that's what it is. We just gave a little kid a weapon. When we think about the progress we want to make as a society. When we think about all the things that we want to fix in the world. Critical thinking is a weapon, and when you give a kid a weapon, you gotta teach them how to use it responsibly.

Cornelius: I think for kids like Prez who learn how to question, what happens is he shows up to class, and he starts using the weapon, and it hurts because I'm the teacher. So he's interrupting me. I'm like, "Okay, he's using the weapon that I taught him to use. Now I just gotta teach him to use it responsibly." So it's that idea of yeah, standing on the different side of the gallery means recognizing he's actually being the kid that I taught him to be, or that I am teaching him to be. He just can't quite use it responsibly yet.

Brett: So how do you then take that work with Prez, and get the other students to sort of join him in that engagement?

Cornelius: Several things. I think one thing is first of all, making it visible. So always thinking that every time Prez corrects me or every time Prez helps me to understand that certain students in the classroom aren't understanding me, then one of the things that I want to do is, I don't always want to call out Prez, but I want to thank him. "Thanks, I needed to know that." Then I want to make it visible how I am changing in front of them, to accommodate his request.
Because what happens is, kids see the power in that, and they start doing it. They're like that. A kid asked my teacher a question in this way, and my teacher changed as a result.

Brett: That's powerful.

Cornelius: When I think about why kids act out, they act out because their conditions are uncomfortable. That's why we all act out. If my couch is uncomfortable, I'm gonna act weird. That's why we all act out. So all kids are trying to do when they act out, is they're trying to create more comfortable conditions. Sometimes when I think about for example, kids like the entropy of the playground. That's comforting for some kids. So if my classroom where I'm teaching verbs today, is uncomfortable, what they're gonna try to do is, they're gonna try to disrupt it. Because that disruptive thing that they do on the playground, that's comfortable, that's familiar. Verbs are not familiar right now, so I'm gonna do the thing that is familiar, so that I'm comfortable.
Getting kids to see that if a classmate did it in this way, and it was effective, I can do it in this way, and it will be effective. So I think the big thing for teachers is how we respond. So not necessarily what we say, because I think so many times we're apt to say, "Oh, don't do that, or don't talk to me that way."

Cornelius: So I want to in a very clearly way, model an appropriate response, and have kids see that if I do a thing this way, he'll not only hear me, but he will change his behavior accordingly. Again, this idea that a classroom is give and take. I think a lot about emotional intelligence, and this idea that we often ask kids to regulate their emotions. But in a shared society, or in a shared ecosystem like a classroom, there's no such thing as singular emotional regulation. It's more emotional co-regulation, where we're all kind of doing this together. So wanting to be able to do that really well with kids.

You can follow Cornelius on Twitter as @MisterMinor and continue this conversation. Be sure to follow our other podcasts with him as well here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cornelius Minor on the Over-Engaged Student - Heinemann

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When we think about engagement we almost immediately focus on the student who won't talk or just doesn't engage. But what about the student who is over engaged? On today's podcast we're continuing our series of conversations with Cornelius Minor. Today we're talking about a student he has nicknamed "Prez" short for president of the class.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Visiting Author Interview -   Ms. Naomi Shihab Nye

# data[].attributes.headline
Cornelius Minor: Identifying Won’t Learn and Can’t Learn

# data[].attributes.subject
Cornelius Minor: Identifying Won’t Learn and Can’t Learn

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What do you do about the student in your class who doesn't like you? On today's podcast, we're continuing our series of conversations with Cornelius Minor. In his classroom, he's facing the question: how do I recognize what the difference is between "can't learn" and "won't learn" ?

Mr. Minor is a frequent keynote speaker and Lead Staff Developer at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project in New York where he works with teachers, school leaders, and communities to support literacy reform in cities. In his work, Cornelius not only draws on his years teaching middle school in the Bronx and Brooklyn, but also on time spent skateboarding, shooting hoops, and working with kids. He's also currently writing his first book for Heinemann.

As Cornelius says, we all have students who consume our thoughts and keep us up at night. For Cornelius, this student, who we'll call "Daniel," is that worry. And the reason they're at odds seems so simple, but goes much deeper. Cornelius explains more here:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

Cornelius: One of the things that's so powerful about being a teacher, or I guess, so universal, about being a teacher is we all have these students that we think about and can't stop thinking about. Every teacher, I think, if I asked them, they have that one kid that keeps them up late at night, and for me it's Daniel. I've been really grappling with him all week. Daniel's this really interesting kid. I don't know him that well. I see him twice weekly for reading intervention and one interesting thing about Daniel is he's the kid that has just decided that he's not going to learn from me.
And I know how to spot those kids. I've been seeing those kids my entire career, but the thing that makes Daniel different is his opposition to me isn't violent.

Brett: So, this isn't opposition to what you're teaching or to other classes. You have learned that this is opposition directed specifically at you.

Cornelius: Oh yeah, it's personal It's personal. I can kind of laugh about it now, but it's an uncomfortable laughter because you don't want to feel like there's a kid that doesn't like you. So, it's really forced me to confront it and I've had to be braver than I've ever been. I've had to talk to him about it because again, Daniel isn't the kind of kid that's going to break rules. He's not the kind of kid that's going to leave class or cut class altogether. So, there he sits every day twice a week, not doing what I want him to do.

Brett: How do you enter a conversation like that?

Cornelius: There's really no graceful way to enter it. You just kinda of have to slide into the door when you catch an opening, and that's how it was with Daniel. I got a chance to sit with him this week and one of the things that I had mentioned to him, I was like, "Daniel, you know, you're totally capable of doing this stuff. I see you in all your other classes. I see you in after-school. Why is it that you shut down here?" And of course my first three attempts to talk to him were met with silence. And it wasn't-
Brett: So, he wouldn't even respond to you?

Cornelius: He wouldn't even respond. Again, never disrespectful, but just like,"I'm not talking to you dude." And it would be really interesting, because I'd catch him in conversation with another kid, and I'd slide into the door hoping that, "Okay, he's already talking to another kid, maybe he'll talk to me." Silence. I didn't have an "in" until the fourth conversation. I think Daniel just noticed that I wasn't going away. So, I guess to answer your question, "How does one start that conversation?" - with persistence, and where it just felt like I was getting turned down for a date over and over and over and over again. But finally, on the fourth attempt when I talked to Daniel, one of the things that he told me, and he didn't answer my questions directly, he just started storytelling.
He was just like, "Well, Mr. Minor, I don't have a lot of time. I've got three younger brothers. All of them are in elementary school." Daniel's a seventh-grader, all of them are in elementary school. "As soon as school's over, I got to run to school, pick up one brother, get him home and get the other brother after school, make sure the other brother has something to eat." So, he's juggling three kids and I'm thinking like, "I am a teacher and I'm struggling to juggle two kids; my own two children." Here's a 13-year-old who's juggling three kids until 6 o'clock every night, and as we talked there was this clear devotion to his family. I could hear it. It was palatable. I just kept thinking about, "Okay, so a kid this responsible, why is this choosing to not learn from me?
I've done everything I can to be a good teacher. I've read all the books, I've been to all the PD, so why is it that this responsible kid who clearly wants to do well in life, has chosen to not learn from me?" I just listened to him talk. I thought about my class and I thought about the rules and the structure of my class. Daniel said one word that caused me to think. He said, "homework," and then it struck me. At some point early this year, I gave the talk that all teachers give, and I had said to the class that, "You know class, if you're not doing your homework after school, your priorities are in the wrong place." And in that moment, I realized that I had built this vision of success for the classroom, and in that vision of success I had excluded Daniel. Where here's a kid who totally wants to do well, but His priorities are in another place after school. I was like, "Oh my gosh." He didn't help me to come to that understanding but it hit me in that moment and I had to do something about it. I think the scary thing about teaching is we want the best for kids. We want the best for all kids, but sometimes through our innocuous actions we're exclusive. I had said this statement out of pure, good intentions for kids-

Brett: Right. You weren't trying to hurt his feelings.

Cornelius: Exactly. Exactly. So, I asked him ... I was just like, "I noticed that you do a lot after school with your brothers and I realized that I said something that might've upset you a few weeks ago. Is it that?" He didn't even answer "Yes," he just nodded.

Brett: Oh wow.

Cornelius: So, we had this moment where he's saying, "Yeah, you totally offended me," and so, I completely understand why he had chosen not to learn from me and why he had shut down; because here I am, this teacher with great intentions, and I disrespected his lifestyle in a most personal way. Here's a kid who loves his three brothers, who takes his responsibility seriously of getting them to and from school, making their snack, doing their after school, and I told him that, "If you're not doing your homework your priorities are in the wrong place." So, my vision of success was in direct competition with his love for his brothers.

Brett: When you have that moment, where you realize there's this element of trust that you have to rebuild with him, where do you go from there? How do you build that back?

Cornelius: I think that's the eternal question that we ask ourselves as teachers. One question that I've been grappling with, to kind of extend that one, is this idea of what is the difference between can't learn and won't learn? 'Cause here's a kid, Daniel, who if you were to casually glance across the classroom and see him not engage with me and not engage with my content, you would assume that Daniel can't learn. But actually Daniel's not learning, in the context of my classroom, was a conscious choice and that was a choice that he made in self-defense. So, actually, that was the most smart thing; that someone is attacking the way that you live your life and so you decide to not learn from that person or you decide to not ally with that person. In a world of smarts and self-preservation, Daniel had done the most honorable thing.
But then, in a world that values academics, we only know how to see that as refusal to learn or he can't learn. So, I've really been trying to draw a line between, do I as a pedagogue, know the difference between a kid that can't learn and a kid that just refuses to learn? Because the two are not the same and I think that the kid who refuses to learn, is actually exercising a great degree of intelligence. For me, it started with an apology, and I think the hard realization in that is that I had done something that attacked Daniel at his most fundamental level - his love for his brothers. So, my apology really is the beginning of a journey; like that. That's the uncomfortable part about even doing this podcast; that I'm still not in a place with him where it's all perfect yet.

Brett: This is still very fresh. You've just had this conversation with him, and you're in a place where you've had that initial apology but now, what's next?

Cornelius: Now I've got to do the work. And I think that that's the beautiful thing about being a teacher; we've got many, many days in the school year and so, every day I show up has to be a day where I not only talk about my loyalty to Daniel but that I demonstrate it. Both in words and in actions.

Brett: What do those actions look like?

Cornelius: I think for me, I've had to really explore first what are the reasons that might cause a kid like Daniel to shut down. That's been really hard for me to think about, but then I've kind of ... I think in my mind, got it down to a few things. I think I'm ... Of course Daniel shut down because he felt personally attacked. So, when I think about the kids in my classroom who would choose to not learn, I ask myself, "Have I done anything? Has this institution done anything that causes kids to feel personally attacked?" Also, I feel like kids might shut down or might choose to shut down whenever they feel some kind of institutional discomfort.
That discomfort might be from me and my colleagues, that discomfort might be from peers, but I have to ask, "Is there a source in the school of some kind of institutional discomfort?" Then, once I figure those two things out, then I get to decide what I'm going to do about it. In the case of Daniel, and I think in the case of most students, I've got to, of course, own the personal attack and work to remedy it. So, in my innocuous way, talking about homework really is not okay in the world of a kid like Daniel. So, how do I be more inclusive? I think that that apology has to start with a level of demonstrated inclusivity, and then I have to actively be removing institutional barriers for kids.
Once I find wherever that institutional discomfort is, if it's in my homework policy or if it's in the way that kids sit together and the way that I group them, then I've got to remove those barriers immediately. And the removal of those barriers has to be public and intentional. The kids have to know that. "Hey, this thing exists in this classroom, and in my case, this homework policy exists in this classroom, and for some of you that homework policy is not okay so I'm changing it." A kid like Daniel has to hear my apology but then see me publicly changing the thing that impacts him adversely.
I think that's not ... I'm not going to win him over tomorrow, and I think that that's the thing. I think a lot of times I go to teacher PD or I read teacher books and I feel like, "Okay, if I do this thing, I'm going to win Daniel tomorrow." I think the reality of it is that, you can do one thing to lose it but then you got to build it back up. So, in many ways it is a relationship. That's like when you mess up in a relationship, you apologize but then you work. But we as teachers are in a lucky position because we have opportunities every day to do the work, which is really beautiful.

Brett: Well, and you were curious, as you always are.

Cornelius: Yes, yes.

Brett: So, you're putting the invite out there. You're saying if anybody's listening to this, if another teacher's listening to this and maybe has a piece of advice, you would encourage them to tweet you with some ideas?

Cornelius: That would be amazing. I think this is a thing that we as teachers can suffer through in silence; that no one really wants to talk about the kid in your class that doesn't like you. Or, we always make it about the kid. We're like, "Well, that kid cut class," or, "That kid showed up five minutes early or five minutes late," but we never want to make it about us; "Here's what I did that might have set that kid off. "Help me work through this." I think one of the things that I'm really on about right now is, really thinking about that, because those are the kids who end up getting less from our classes.

Brett: What is the takeaway that we can learn from this? That we could look into ourselves ... 'Cause it's not easy to look at ourselves and identify that. So, what did you go through that led you to the place that you went, "No, this is me. This isn't anything else. This is on me"?

Cornelius: I think that as teachers we're lucky because we're humans first. All of us are in relationships outside of school and I think that teachers are a really beautiful kind of people, a really beautiful breed of people, because in our relationships in life we know how to take ownership. We know how to apologize. We know how to work through difficulty, but sometimes our teaching ... where we're most vulnerable. That's where it gets hard. So, for me, it's been an active, aggressive transfer.
Grant Wiggins talks a lot about transfer, like ... "How do I take this skill that I know in one area of my life and apply to this other area of my life?" So, in teacher terms, I've really ... One thing I believe is that, as teachers we already have the answers. It's just a matter of creative transfer. So, I've really been thinking about, "Yeah, where are the areas in my life where I've totally messed it up?" I really apply what I've learned from those situations to the work I'm doing with kids like Daniel.

Cornelius is genuine in his request for feedback from you. He'd love to know your thoughts. You can follow Cornelius on Twitter as @MisterMinor and continue this conversation. Be sure to follow our other podcasts with him as well here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cornelius Minor: Identifying Won't Learn and Can't Learn - Heinemann

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What do you do about the student in your class who doesn't like you? On today's podcast, we're continuing our series of conversations with Cornelius Minor. In his classroom, he's facing the question: how do I recognize what the difference is between "can't learn" and "won't learn" ?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Feedback can sneak up on you in the most unlikely of places. For Cornelius Minor, it came from a former student at a laundromat. In our continuing series of conversations with Cornelius Minor we're talking about the importance of feedback and love in the classroom.

Cornelius is a frequent keynote speaker and Lead Staff Developer at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project in New York where he works with teachers, school leaders, and communities to support literacy reform in cities. In his work, Cornelius not only draws on his years teaching middle school in the Bronx and Brooklyn, but also on time spent skateboarding, shooting hoops, and working with kids. He's also currently writing his first book for Heinemann.

On a recent Saturday morning, Cornelius bumped into a former student while doing his laundry. As Cornelius explains, the meeting quickly became a lesson on feedback and love.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

Full transcript below:

Cornelius: I ran into this kid, Nate, in the laundromat. If you know anything about Brooklyn, none of us have washer/dryer in our apartments. All of Brooklyn goes to the laundromat on Saturday morning, and you're just hanging out.
Nate comes in, and Nate, he's like, "Yo. It's Minor." He ran over to me, and he said in his excited, Nate way, he was like ... by the way, Nate's in his 20s, so it's been a while. He comes in, and he's like, "You know, man ... I just want to tell you, man. I love you and I love what you did in the class."
I'm thinking to myself ... if you can imagine, this kid is tattooed up, he's tough guy, and Nate wasn't the kind of kid then that talked about love, and he certainly didn't look like the kind of kid now that would be in a laundromat talking about love, and so it really struck me when he used the work love.
I'm like, "Well, thanks. I'm here waiting on my socks, so if you want to hang out, we can hang out, because I got 42 minutes left on the dryer." He's like, "Let me tell you what I loved about your class." He's just like, "What I loved about your class is when I came in, you were teaching something, and you were teaching this way where you would name the things, and you would have us try the things, and when I came in and it didn't work for me, you changed it."
That got me thinking. I was like, "Woah." Nate, the way he read love wasn't emotional. The way that Nate felt love was ... "This guy needed to do a thing for me, and he did it." That just got me thinking, I was like, "So, how am I loving the kids I'm with now? How am I loving the teachers that I'm with now? What does love look like? Especially if I only got 42 minutes."
I was like, "Well, I don't know the answer to that question, but maybe Nate knows." I asked him to keep talking, and Nate got real specific with the things that I did 10 years ago made him feel loved. Going back to that one thing, he was just like, "Yeah. That you were always willing to change the class if it would help me to learn better."
He's like, "We saw you doing that, and sometimes it was crazy, and sometimes we didn't know why you changed it, but after a while, I knew that you must have changed it for some kid, or for one of us." I think the first way that we communicate love in any classroom space is that kids need to know that if what I'm doing aint working, that I'm willing to change it.
That idea of flexibility, that this curriculum is not written in stone, it's malleable like clay. This curriculum will take the shape of the container that I put it in, is really, really important.
Nate went on to talk about ... he was just like, "You know, you were really funny. You used to tell jokes, but then you knew when it was time to get serious. You also knew when it was time to listen to us." As he kept talking, I realized that the second thing that really qualified love for Nate was that love is not just in the what I teach, and the passion that I bring to it, but it's in my positionality and the rapport that I build with students.
That's something that we know, but then to hear a kid say that, "Yeah. The way that you talked to us, the way that you helped us to see you and see the content, I knew that you loved me." That's a cool thing. One of the things that I'm always thinking about now that I work with teachers, is what specifically does a teacher have to do to achieve that kind of rapport?
This is all Nate. This is not me. Again, I'm sitting waiting on my socks, and so I'm just asking this dude to tell me. One of the things that he said was that "you always asked us how we were doing, or you always asked us about our lives, and then you would bring it back up later on-

Brett: Oh, wow.

Cornelius: ... or if a lesson had a certain part to it, you would talk about how 'Oh. This part of the lesson, it's Nate's part of the lesson.' You would name parts of the lesson after us if you knew that we would be good at that part. Or you would name parts of the strategy after us."
I do remember. There would be certain charts in the room and it would be Nate's chart, or Sam's chart. He's like, "Why'd you do that?" I'm like, "Well, cause I knew that would be a strategy that worked for you, so I'd put your name on it."
He's just like, just that idea of ownership. Another thing that teachers can do really specifically to really get at that rapport, that positionality, is to ask the community to invest in the classroom. He was just like, "You always used to ask us what we wanted in the classroom." He brought back up ... I didn't even remember I had this ... I'm a huge music fan, all the kids, of course, love music and I have snobbish taste in hip-hop. The kids, they like whatever's on the radio, but my tastes are more refined.
He was just like, "But you would put up the posters that we wanted." He was like, "I remember you had all your grown up hip-hop groups, but then you put up ..." There was this idea that they got to bring parts of themselves to the community in a very physical way, that the poster of the group that I like is gonna go next to the chart that I'm gonna use for writing. He's like, "Yeah. That's really, really important."
Those little things ... there's so much we could be talking about, building rapport forever, but he's like, "Yeah. Those little things really spoke to me." What's interesting is that he had so much to say about love. He talked about teaching, and it's funny to hear a non-teacher who had you as a teacher talk about teaching. He tried his best. He was like, "You used to talk like this," or "You used to say things like this."
We're all in the laundromat, and of course, now everybody's looking, and I'm trying to discreetly take my underwear out of the dryer without Nate seeing it. All of this is happening around us, but as he's talking about teaching, he was just like, "Your teaching is really clear." He cited some specific lessons, but he was like, "I always felt like I knew what you were trying to say, and it never felt like you were trying to kill me with your words, or kill me with [inaudible 00:05:35]."
This idea that yeah, I may be talking about a complicated thing like theme, or I might be talking about a thing like symbolism, but how do I talk about it in a way where it doesn't feel to kids like I'm trying to kill them with my words?

Cornelius: We've been talking ... one of the things that keeps coming up is this idea that it's not necessarily what we say that kids take away, but it's how we make them feel... that they take away. I can't imagine a kid sitting in a classroom and feeling like, "The teacher's trying to kill me with their words." Just that reference to language as possible violence really scared me. I was really happy to hear Nate say that, "Yeah. Your words were always simple, and clear, and I understood them, and you would help me to understand."
Then I go back to, "Well, what does clarity mean for a teacher every day?" if I'm trying to do that, and I think, for me, clarity means showing. That I can't just say a thing, that I got to show it. Anytime I am teaching a kid something, I want to make sure that I'm demonstrating that thing in front of them, where I'm going to make sure that I'm holding it, and I give them an opportunity to hold whatever it is, or I'm giving them an opportunity to try the concept.
Then that kind of clarity also leads me to Wiggins' idea of transference ... that again, I've got to make sure that whatever I teach sticks to the kid. I can teach a thing and watch a kid do a thing, and then change the context, and then watch a kid do the thing again in a different context, just to ensure that that transference happens. That little extra teacher step that like, "Yeah. I love you because I'm clear, and because I want to make sure that what I have taught you, you can do it in multiple contexts.
I think, and I don't know if Nate would ever say this, but I think one of the things that happens is that kids lose trust in our teaching, because when they try it in different contexts that are not the classroom, it doesn't work.
It's one thing to teach in a sanitized environment like a classroom, but then when I got to take this writing strategy on the road, or when I got to take this reading strategy on the road, if it fails me, that erodes the trust I have in my teacher. Then I've got to be able to say, in the classroom, while we're in this safe, sanitized environment, I'm going to teach you how to do this thing safely, and then I'm gonna mess around with the context and introduce some trouble, and see if you can do it again while there's trouble present.
It's really speaking to kids in those clear ways. I think that can go miles in a classroom. The last thing that really stuck with me from what Nate said, and this is the thing that I continue to think about right now ... I'm actually about to start a new unit with a group of teachers and some students, and Nate talked about the idea of feedback. He didn't name it as feedback, but he's like, "Man, you used to talk to us. Remember when you used to come to the desk and talk to us?" I'm like, "Yeah. I remember when I used to do that."
It's just funny that he remembers my conferences in that way. "Remember when you used to come to the desk and talk to us?" The idea that ... so many times, we conflate feedback and grading, and those two are not the same.

Brett: That's true.

Cornelius: That me, marking with my pen at the top of your notebook, or at the top of your page, doesn't mean that I've given you feedback. That the work we ask kids to do requires so much public sacrifice, that my feedback has to match that emotional effort. It can't just be a number scrawled across the top of a page.
I've been thinking a lot about how I put feedback in conversations, and then I figure out how to record those conversations, either through conferring notes or use of technology. I think if a teacher is to communicate love in 42 minutes, one of the ways that we gotta do that is by embracing feedback. Embracing feedback that feels social, and connected to the kid, and specific, and timely.
I'm thinking about ... "Nate, the way that you did this thing right here, where you added all of these cool noticings about the character's emotional state, you just noticed when he switched feelings after his mom left. That attention to detail really makes you a strong reader, but beyond that, I now know why people love you so much, because it probably makes you a strong friend."

Brett: Do you think that feedback ... we need to work on that as teachers, amongst each other first, so we can get ourselves to a good place where we're doing better with our own feedback, so that we can do better giving it to our students?

Cornelius: Sure. One of the things that every time people think about should we do this thing as teachers before, an immediate before. I think sometimes we get caught up in the preparation as teachers, where I am certainly a member of the cult of preparation, where it's much easier to prepare for a thing than to actually do the thing. I want to make sure that if we prepare, we practice feedback, that we do it two minutes before class starts, and then we go do it, we go try it.
I don't want to ever sit in a staff meeting, or in professional development, where I'm practicing feedback that I never deliver. If I'm in professional development, I'm practicing feedback, I want to be able to give the feedback next period. Or if I'm in professional development, and I'm practicing feedback after school, I want to be able to give the feedback tomorrow morning so that the turnaround is really quick.
I often think about ... I'm getting, trying to get good at so much stuff right now. I think as I grow older, I see more. I'm realizing that my teaching has to shift as a result of what I see. That I practice a thing, and then sometimes I invite other people to come see me. Not even in a formal kind of way, but like, "Hey, Brett. You're in the building today, can you just come through? I just need you for five minutes. I want you to watch me do this thing. I think it might be cool."
Just having that kind of rapport, that's really helped me to build my love skillset, I guess. When I'm thinking about the things that communicate love, according to Nate, it's this understanding that we can build classroom experiences around children. This idea that we can do really deliberate relationship building, the notion that we might engage in really clear and transferrable teaching, and then finally that idea of feedback.
If I were to take those four things, that could be a totally cool agenda for practice. That I might take those four things, and I might study them in PD really fast, and then go do it, or I might invite a few friends over, and then do it in a classroom.
One of the things I've been doing with my iPhone is ... I know this is crazy, but I've just been videotaping myself. I go right into selfie mode and I do a thing, and then I videotape myself, and I just watch it. I let kids know what I'm doing. I think kids really respect when their teacher is trying to get better.
There was one day where I had a staff developer come in and watch me teach, and she was giving me live feedback, and I was really embarrassed at first, cause I was like, "Oh, man. The kids are gonna see that I'm getting feedback from my friend, and they're gonna think less of me."
As soon as she left, they were like, "You're trying to get better for us?" I thought that that was a really cool way to see it, that they all were like honored... that I was trying to get better for them, and that's exactly what we want to do. Yeah, loving people is messy. It's messy outside of school, it's messy in 42 minutes, but I think those four things, or at least Nate thinks that those four things are the things that really stuck.

Brett: I think Nate might have a future as a teacher.

Cornelius: Possibly. I'll tell him next Saturday. Yeah.

Be sure to follow Cornelius on Twitter here. You can hear more of our podcasts with Cornelius here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cornelius Minor on Feedback and Love - Heinemann

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Feedback can sneak up on you in the most unlikely of places. For Cornelius Minor, it came from a former student at a laundromat. In our continuing series of conversations with Cornelius Minor we're talking about the importance of feedback and love in the classroom.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Voices from the Middle Podcast, Vol. 24, Episode 15

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This episode features the second installment of Teacher on the Street. Our teacher correspondent Alex Corbitt speaks with Sara Ahmed, Cornelius Minor, Jennifer Ochoa, Jason Griffith, Priscilla Thomas, and Matt Homrich-Knieling to explore innovative ways to center student voice and choice in the classroom.

# data[].attributes.headline
Five Steps to Launching a Schoolwide Social Justice Movement

# data[].attributes.subject
Five Steps to Launching a Schoolwide Social Justice Movement

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
First Person

Last week, I sat in on a meeting about the reading intervention program in one of the several schools that I support through my work at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project in New York City. We have more kids on our caseload than we can serve this semester. Many of those public school students, who "need" reading intervention, are brown or poor.

Our staff knows that literacy is not just a matter of meeting standards in a community like ours. For many of our students and their families, literacy is the difference between a full stomach or an empty one, employment or prison-even life or death.

But because of lack of funding and too many students, we were tasked with deciding which kids we would meet with in groups instead of meeting in pairs or in one-on-one settings.

Each change to our roster felt wrong, leading to another conversation with another black parent: "Here's why I'm giving your kid less than what they deserve..."

I tried to think about how my own black parents would have responded to such a conversation about me. And I thought-not for the first time-about how I love teaching, but sometimes, I wonder if my profession loves me back.

We Need to Stop Being Patient

There is a very specific and enduring kind of trauma associated with being a black educator in a system that does not serve black and brown children and their communities equitably.

I've been an educator since 2001, and each year that I mature, I grow more ill at ease with the way things are. We speak of school segregation, literacy rates, inequitable funding, and school discipline as if these issues are natural law. They are not. These issues are a direct result of practices that we have inherited and of those that we perpetuate.

I'm finding it harder to mask my concern behind the pleasantries required to socialize one's way through a teaching day. My conversations have become uncomfortable because of the weight of all that I have seen and all that concerns me. I have been on a nonstop odyssey to learn what I need to know about inequity in order to address concerns of it.

Throughout my career, I've been so energized by the teachers who have made equity and justice integral parts of their classroom practice by changing their practices. I've learned from them. I've shared their stories so others can learn from them as well.

But the responsibility for change doesn't lie with individual teachers alone. One teacher working toward equity makes a difference. Six teachers working toward that goal makes an even bigger one. But a whole school working together? That's a revolution.

We Need to Address Inequity Together

I keep thinking about something Nikole Hannah-Jones, an investigative reporter for The New York Times Magazine, says frequently: The system isn't broken. The system is operating exactly as designed: "to deliver separate, but not equal, educations to black students and white students."

It's this kind of systemic inequity we need to dismantle.

When I name systemic racism, people often reply, "But, Cornelius, I'm an English teacher. I can't do anything!" or "Cornelius, I'm white, and this work is uncomfortable for me!"

When we teachers feel powerless or uncomfortable about curriculum or classroom practices, we study. We read. We practice.

We already have tools and protocols in place that allow us to create powerful, schoolwide literacy practices like independent reading or small-group instruction. We already know how to brainstorm and test ideas. We already know how to collect data and use it to improve. Here are five ways we can use the same tools and approaches to create powerful schoolwide movements toward justice:

1. Name the problem and find the possibilities. The kind of systemic racism that permeates our schools does not wear a hood or hurl insults. Though it looks different in the context of each school, it most often resembles curricula and pedagogy that is not culturally relevant. School-based racism can also surface through discipline and suspension rates, gifted placement, tracking, hiring practices, resource allocation, access to services like counseling or conflict resolution, or the curricular denial that people of color even exist or have contributed to humanity. Sometimes the systemic problems we face appear "normal," and it can be easy to overlook them. Social justice work is not just about seeing the problem, but about seeing the possibilities for solutions.

2. Educate yourself. The solutions that we seek can feel out of reach. Library cards are free, so let's use them. Let's read widely about how other groups of teachers have made change. Let's discuss what we're learning with each other. Let's invite our students, their parents, and community members into the conversation and really listen to what they're saying. After reading and talking, we can decide what equity looks like in the context of a classroom, a grade, a team, or a school.

3. Develop a plan of action. Start by taking inventory of staffing resources. Think about the best people to involve and in what capacity. We need leaders who will encourage and support this kind of get-your-hands-dirty innovation. How can we maximize our time and energy? What's the best application of budget? How will we sustain the efforts across the school year?

4. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. The best way to demonstrate commitment to social justice is to actually do something about it-over and over again. Don't get derailed by missteps and mistakes. This will not be a one-size-fits-all approach.

5. Reflect and recommit. Celebrate successes, and take note of what worked. Turn what didn't into opportunities for learning. Go back to other teachers and leaders and ask them to evaluate efforts. Repeat steps 2-5 as many times as it takes to eradicate the problem named in step 1. Equity is a goal we may never reach, but it's one we should never stop aiming for.

The status quo narrative that systematically denies access and resources to black and brown children (while fooling their white peers to believe in their "right" to have what others have been denied) and then demonizes them for not achieving is one that we don't have to lament anymore. We are teachers, and though we did not build this system, we exist in it. As such, we are complicit.

Change can be more than platitudes, maxims, or social media posts. It can be real and sustainable. And it can start with us.

Web Only

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
Back to Top

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Five Steps to Launching a Schoolwide Social Justice Movement

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
First Person Last week, I sat in on a meeting about the reading intervention program in one of the several schools that I support through my work at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project in New York City. We have more kids on our caseload than we can serve this semester.

# data[].attributes.headline
Is 'The Great Gatsby' really required reading? Disrupt Texts challenges teachers to reconsider the classics

# data[].attributes.subject
Is 'The Great Gatsby' really required reading? Disrupt Texts challenges teachers to reconsider the classics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When I ask first-year college students what books they read in high school, they sound suspiciously like the books I read more than 30 years ago: "The Great Gatsby," "Lord of the Flies," "The Catcher in the Rye" and the like.

Surely something has changed since the days of mullets and shoulder pads.

Four educators - Tricia Ebarvia, Lorena German, Kimberly N. Parker and Julia E. Torres - are aiming to foster a nationwide discussion to challenge existing sentiment about these books, while suggesting the persistence of the traditional canon is crowding out other perspectives.

Their project is Disrupt Texts, and it has quickly become one of my favorite vehicles for reconsidering my own thinking about books.

Disrupt Texts uses a Twitter "slow chat," where over the course of a week, a series of questions about a selected book are released under the #disrupttexts hashtag. Teachers, librarians, authors and others contribute to the discussion, which is later compiled at the Disrupt Texts website.

The questions are open-ended. For example, a discussion of "To Kill a Mockingbird" opened with questions about why the book is widely taught: "For what reasons might teachers include this text in their curriculum? What is the value in teaching this text? Do you have to teach this text - why?"

Later, the discussion moves to questioning the meaning of the text, often throwing the notion of the texts being "a product of their time" into stark relief. While "To Kill a Mockingbird" is a product of its time, it's worth asking what voices from that era haven't been heard and valued because "To Kill a Mockingbird" has become so ubiquitous.

Much of the discussion among educators focuses on how using these texts can be enhanced by injecting marginalized perspectives. This is the "disrupt" part of Disrupt Texts. Rather than taking a single perspective as representative for all, the discussion challenges the notion of a single, fixed history. This is the root of critical thinking and a pre-requisite to lasting learning.

Education isn't merely transmitting information; students must be taught to make meaning for themselves.

One goal, in Parker's words, is to provide "underrepresented populations who were never considered when the cannon was created in the first place" access to stories that reflect their experiences. If we're confined to texts enshrined before I was born, this goal will never be achieved.

Some people feel threatened when these texts are questioned, but it's worth asking who's been left out of our broader cultural conversation? What are we missing out on by insisting some books remain fixed in place?

For those who do feel uncomfortable with the notion of disrupting these "classics," Ebarvia suggests we first "question why and where that reaction is coming from" and reminds us that it's difficult to believe a handful of books that absolutely must be taught, given how many great books exist.

I will admit, at times Disrupt Texts discussants raise points that give rise to a certain amount of discomfort. Our relationships with books can feel deeply personal, and to be asked to view these books through the eyes of another requires the occasional deep breath and moment of reflection.

It's an amazing thing to see a book you've read many times in a brand new light.

It's even better to be introduced to books you didn't know existed.
John Warner is the author of "Tough Day for the Army."
Book recommendations from the Biblioracle
John Warner tells you what to read next based on the last five books you've read.
1. "Future Home of the Living God" by Louise Erdrich

2. "A Gentleman in Moscow" by Amor Towles

3. "Slow Love: How I Lost My Job, Put on my Pajamas, and Found Happiness" by Dominique Browning

4. "Bettyville" by George Hodgman

5. "Olive Kitteridge" by Elizabeth Strout
- Dana L., Beach Park, Ill.
Time for some Muriel Spark for Dana: "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie."

1. "A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership" by James Comey

2. "Hide and Seek" by Ian Rankin

3. "Call Me by Your Name" by Andre Aciman

4. "The Ghost Notebooks" by Ben Dolnick

5. "Death and the Maidens: Fanny Wollstonecraft and the Shelley Circle" by Janet Todd
- Karrie S., Elgin
Something tells me that Karrie will enjoy J. Robert Lennon's spooky "Familiar."

1. "My Ex-Life" by Stephen McCauley

2. "The Female Persuasion" by Meg Wolitzer

3. "Less" by Andrew Sean Greer

4. "An American Marriage" by Tayari Jones

5. "No One Is Coming to Save Us" by Stephanie Powell Watts
- Bobbi B., Highland Park
I'll be recommending this book often: "The Great Believers," Rebecca Makkai's chronicle of Chicago's gay community during the worst days of the AIDS crisis. Impossible to finish this book with a dry eye.

Get a reading from the Biblioracle

To get a reading from the Biblioracle, send a list of the last five books you've read to books@chicagotribune.com.

Columnist John Warner offers his picks for great reads of the year - so far - including "The Italian Teacher" by Tom Rachman, "Bad Blood" by John Carreyrou, "The Overstory" by Richard Powers, "Sunburn" by Laura Lippman, "Red Clocks" by Leni Zumas, and "Just the Funny Parts" by Nell Scovell.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Is 'The Great Gatsby' really required reading? Disrupt Texts challenges teachers to reconsider the classics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Disrupt Texts uses social media to foster discussion about the books educators teach, questioning what perspective is lost when the same books - 'The Great Gatsby,' 'Lord of The Flies,' 'To Kill a Mockingbird' - are taught generation to generation.

# data[].attributes.headline
Disrupting Texts in the Secondary Classroom with Tricia Ebarvia and Kim Parker 

# data[].attributes.subject
Disrupting Texts in the Secondary Classroom with Tricia Ebarvia and Kim Parker 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
#TheEdCollabGathering #7

☟⬇︎ Watch HERE ⬇︎☟
LIVE STREAM WILL APPEAR HERE ON APRIL 21ST
Tricia Ebarvia has been teaching English at Conestoga High School outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania since 2001. She currently teaches ninth grade World Literature as well as AP English Language & Composition and AP Seminar. As an educator with 15 years of experience, she believes that developing a love of learning begins with a love of reading-a love she tries to foster each day in the classroom. She also believes that developing student voice is not only an important skill in writing, but a necessary one for students to become engaged, informed citizens. In addition to teaching, she serves as a Co-Director for the Pennsylvania Writing and Literature Project (PAWLP), a site of the National Writing Project (NWP), and contributes bi-monthly to the "From the Classroom" column on the PAWLP website and monthly to MovingWriters.org.

Dr. Kimberly Parker is an English teacher at The Cambridge Rindge & Latin High School in Cambridge, MA. During her 14 years as an educator, Kim has worked successfully to address an achievement gap among struggling readers. She hopes her work in Cambridge helps other educators see the "potential in their historically underserved students." Throughout her career as a teacher and through myriad leadership roles, Dr. Parker has been an advocate for classroom educators and sees her most powerful role as an educator who helps students grow their love of reading and find a book they'll be able to connect with.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
S2018 Session 2, Workshop 5: Teach This, Not That: Disrupting Texts in the Secondary Classroom, 3-12 |

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
TheEdCollabGathering #7 LIVE STREAM WILL APPEAR HERE ON APRIL 21ST Tricia Ebarvia has been teaching English at Conestoga High School outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania since 2001. She currently teaches ninth grade World Literature as well as AP English Language & Composition and AP Seminar.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
From the organization's press release:

The 24th International Latino Book Awards Ceremony showcased the flourishing talent of the fastest-growing group in the U.S., with four ceremonies held on August 19th and 20th at Los Angeles City College. These Awards are by far the largest Latino cultural distinction in the country, honoring 249 winners in 105 categories this year. The grand total of authors and publishers honored over the last two decades now stands at 3,719, proof that books by and about Latinos are in high demand in both English and Spanish. Gold, Silver, and Bronze-place winners in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, children's books, translation, and many more were announced over the two-day event.

Here are the winners-gold, silver, and bronze medals-in the children's books categories. Click on the book covers for more information:

.

The Alma Flor Ada Best Latino Focused Children's Picture Book Award - English
GOLD MEDAL Child of the Flower-Song People: Luz Jiménez, Daughter of the Nahua, Gloria Amescua, Illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh SILVER MEDAL Tía Fortuna's New Home, Ruth Behar, Illustrated by Devon Holzwarth BRONZE MEDAL Bisa's Carnaval, Joana Pastro, Illustrated by Carolina Coroa
The Alma Flor Ada Best Latino Focused Children's Picture Book Award - Spanish
GOLD MEDAL ¡Corre, pequeño Chaski! Una aventura en el camino Inka, Mariana Llanos, Illustrated by Mariana Ruiz Johnson SILVER MEDAL Pura's Cuentos: How Pura Belpré Libraries Reshaped Libraries with Her Stories, Annete Bay Pimentel, Illustrated by Magaly Morales
Best Children's Fiction Picture Book - Bilingual
GOLD MEDAL Let's Be Friends / Seamos Amigos, René Colato Laínez; Illustrated by Nomar Perez SILVER MEDAL Isabel and Her Colores Go to School, Alexandra Alessandri, Illustrated by Courtney Dawson
Best Children's Fiction Picture Book - English
GOLD MEDAL Abuelita and Me, Leonarda Carranza, illustrated by Rafael Mayani SILVER MEDAL Tía Fortuna's New Home, Ruth Behar, Illustrated by Devon Holzwarth BRONZE MEDAL May Your Life Be Deliciosa, Michael Genhart, Illustrated by Loris Lora
Mejor libro ilustrado de ficción para niños
GOLD MEDAL Pitu le Baila al Mar, Gama Valle; Illustrated by Yamel Figueroa SILVER MEDAL La Jirafa que no Cabía en su Cuento, Haydée Zayas Ramos BRONZE MEDAL El monstruo más feo del mundo, Luis Amavisca, Illustrated by Erica Salcedo
Best Children's Nonfiction Picture Book - English
GOLD MEDAL One Whole Me, Dia Mixon, Illustrated by Natalia Jiménez Osorio

SILVER MEDAL In the Spirit of a Dream: 13 Stories of American Immigrants of Color, Aida Salazar, Illustrated by Alina Chau BRONZE MEDAL Alphabet & Affirmations with The Black Unicorn, Sandra Elaine Scott
Best Children's Nonfiction Picture Book - Spanish or Bilingual
GOLD MEDAL Pura's Cuentos: How Pura Belpré Libraries Reshaped Libraries with Her Stories, Annete Bay Pimentel, Illustrated by Magaly Morales
Best Educational Children's Picture Book - Bilingual
GOLD MEDAL Pura's Cuentos: How Pura Belpré Libraries Reshaped Libraries with Her Stories, Annete Bay Pimentel, Illustrated by Magaly Morales SILVER MEDAL Popol Vuh Stories for Children, Denis O'Leary BRONZE MEDAL Lala and the Pond by the Rock / Lala y el Charco de la Piedra, Susana Illera Martínez
Best Educational Children's Picture Book - English
GOLD MEDAL Child of the Flower-Song People: Luz Jiménez, Daughter of the Nahua, Gloria Amescua, Illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh SILVER MEDAL We Move Together, Kelly Fritsch, Anne McGuire, Illustrated by Eduardo Trejos
Best Educational Children's Picture Book - Spanish
GOLD MEDAL Morderse las uñas, Paula Merlán, Illustrated by Brenda Figueroa
Most Inspirational Children's Picture Book - Bilingual
GOLD MEDAL Pura's Cuentos: How Pura Belpré Libraries Reshaped Libraries with Her Stories, Annete Bay Pimentel, Illustrated by Magaly Morales SILVER MEDAL The Last Butter!y / La última mariposa, Regina Moya & Carmen Tafolla
Most Inspirational Children's Picture Book - English
GOLD MEDAL Courageous Camila: A story about finding your inner warrior, Naibe Reynoso & Giselle Carrillo; Illustrated by María Tuti SILVER MEDAL The Voices of the Trees, Elisa Guerra y Fernando Reimers; Illustrated by Ana RoGu

BRONZE MEDAL Child of the Flower-Song People: Luz Jiménez, Daughter of the Nahua, Gloria Amescua, Illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh

Most Inspirational Children's Picture Book - Spanish
GOLD MEDAL Tienes un color especial, Lorena Sierco Espino; Mr. Momo, Lantia Publishing Group

SILVER MEDAL Memoria de un abedul, Daniel Cañas, Illustrated by Blanca Millán BRONZE MEDAL Peque y yo, Alicia Acosta, Illustrated by Mercé Galí
Best Learn to Read Book
GOLD MEDAL The Awesome Reading Adventures of Super Sammy and Marvelous Megan, Vanessa Caraveo
Best Youth Latino Focused Chapter Book
GOLD MEDAL Falling Short, Ernesto Cisneros SILVER MEDAL Sofía Acosta Makes a Scene, Emma Otheguy
Best Youth Chapter Fiction Book
GOLD MEDAL Falling Short, Ernesto Cisneros SILVER MEDAL Catalina Incognito, Jennifer Torres BRONZE MEDAL Julia y el mar, Olvido Guzman Pons

Most Inspirational Youth Chapter Book
GOLD MEDAL Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna, Alda P. Dobbs SILVER MEDAL Efren Divided, Ernesto Cisneros SILVER MEDAL Raulito: The First Latino Governor of Arizona, Roni Capin Rivera-Ashford
Best Young Adult Latino Focused Book
GOLD MEDAL On the Hook, Francisco X. Stork SILVER MEDAL Lifetime Passes, Terry Blas, Illustrated by Claudia Aguirre
Best Young Adult Fiction Book
GOLD MEDAL The Immortal Boy / El Inmortal, Francisco Montaña Ibáñez SILVER MEDAL Encarnación Castro's Journey in the Anza Expedition
1775-1776, Linda Castro Martinez SILVER MEDAL Three, Brenda Nicole Peña BRONZE MEDAL Fat Angie: Homecoming, e.E. Charlton Trujillo
Best Young Adult Fantasy & Adventure - English
GOLD MEDAL The Grimrose Girls, Laura Pohl SILVER MEDAL The Ghost Tracks, Celso Hurtado
Best Young Adult Fantasy & Adventure - Spanish
GOLD MEDAL El Último Dragón: Las espadas del legado, José del Real Antiquera SILVER MEDAL Catarina Freytas y el anillo perdido, Raymond Vollmond BRONZE MEDAL El Mundo del Olvido, Cristian Otárola Jiménez
Best Young Adult Romance Book
GOLD MEDAL Monstrua, NLa Contreras SILVER MEDAL La descendiente, Marie D.
Best Educational Young Adult Book
GOLD MEDAL No te creas todo lo que leas, Didi Whitefalcon, Illustrated by Verónica Rodríguez
SILVER MEDAL Voices of Diversity, Vanessa Caraveo
Most Inspirational Young Adult Book
GOLD MEDAL Harvesting Dreams, Erica Alfaro; Barker & Jules SILVER MEDAL Your Heart, My Sky, Margarita Engle; Simon & Schuster

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Exploring the world of Latinx YA, MG, & children's literature

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The following post was created by members of NCTE's Standing Committee Against Racism and Bias in the Teaching of English.
The members of NCTE's Standing Committee Against Racism and Bias have felt an urgency since we each joined the committee to stand against racism and bias. We have been working on ways to encourage each member of NCTE to speak out against the systemic and individual acts of racism that disenfranchise our students in and out of the classroom.

We know that racism exists in our classrooms and in our communities. We feel that silence on these issues is complicity in the systemic racism that has marred our educational system. We see no place for neutrality and urge each member of NCTE to educate as many people as possible about the ways that systemic racism affects all of us in negative ways.

There is no apolitical classroom. English language arts teachers must examine the ways that racism has personally shaped their beliefs and must examine existing biases that feed systems of oppression. In light of the horrific events in this country that continue to unfold, and the latest terrorism in Charlottesville, Virginia, we would like to share resources that we hope will encourage all NCTE members to speak out against the racism and bias that have been a part of our nation's fabric since the first immigrants disembarked from European ships.

Our Action Subcommittee has been working this year on creating classroom resources for teachers to use as statements of love and support. Printable classroom posters and bookmarks for NCTE members will be available at the 2017 Annual Convention, as well as available for download after Convention. Until then, we offer this incomplete resource to help continue the daily work that is antiracism. Please share other resources in the comment box below.

"I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."

- Elie Wiesel, Acceptance Speech on the occasion of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, December 10, 1986

Resources for Working with White Students

Raising Race Conscious Children
"A resource to support adults who are trying to talk about race with young children. The goals of these conversations are to dismantle the color-blind framework and prepare young people to work toward racial justice."

Dismantling Racism in Education
Heinemann Dedicated to Teachers Blog
Sara Ahmed, Sonja Cherry-Paul, and Cornelius Minor talk about what racism looks like and how we can begin to break up the assumptions we make about racism.

Resources for Teaching in These Times
On June 14, 2016, in response to the Orlando shootings, NCTE began collecting teaching resources from its members that continue to build in relevance given the ongoing struggles and critical conversations taking place across the country.

Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation
"Race Forward's mission is to build awareness, solutions, and leadership for racial justice by generating transformative ideas, information, and experiences." Check out their video that explains systemic racism.

This resource was contributed by Kristin Beers
Online PLC: Read Aloud as an Anti-Bigotry Tool
Suggestions for using read aloud as an anti- bigotry tool with our youngest learners. This resource provides questions to prompt conversation, as well as a list of categorized titles that support this work.

Resources for Understanding White Supremacy
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: Confront Antisemitism
Resources on anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial and distortion
Southern Poverty Law Center
"The SPLC is dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society. Using litigation, education, and other forms of advocacy, the SPLC works toward the day when the ideals of equal justice and equal opportunity will be a reality."

Ten Ways to Fight Hate
" Ten Ways to Fight Hate, which has been updated for 2017, sets out 10 principles for taking action, including how to respond to a hate rally that has targeted your town. It urges people not to engage white supremacists at their rallies. Instead, it offers tips for creating alternative rallies to promote peace, inclusion and justice."

Oath and Opposition: Education under the Third Reich
"The Museum has developed . . . materials . . . to help today's educators explore the pressures teachers felt under the Nazi regime, the range of decisions individuals made in the face of those pressures, and the relevance of this history now." (This rich resource includes a number of case studies you could use with your classes.)

Yad Vashem-The World Holocaust Remembrance Center
Read their working definition on anti-Semitism, which "encompasses both traditional and contemporary manifestations of antisemitism."

Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
"Founded in 1913, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is our nation's premier civil rights/human relations organization. We have a distinguished history of reminding the world just how tenuous civil rights are and we mobilize people to engage in reasonable discourse as together we find solutions to serve our diverse society." See their website's extensive Education & Resources section as well as their definition and historical explanation of anti-Semitism.

University of Southern California Shoah Foundation Lesson Plans
"Dedicated to making audio-visual interviews with survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides a compelling voice for education and action."

Antisemitism and the Bystander Effect
"Students will watch testimonies from survivors of and witnesses to historical and contemporary antisemitism who describe the consequences of the bystander effect in their own lives. Students will construct a social media message for the #BeginsWithMe campaign that describes their own plan to counter bystander behavior."

100 Days to Inspire Respect
"At a time of heightened political uncertainty and polarization, middle and high school teachers are in need of easy-to-use resources that encourage their students to grapple with some of the most difficult but important topics: hate, racism, intolerance and xenophobia. '100 Days to Inspire Respect' provides educators with 100 thought-provoking resources that tackle these challenging topics and more."

The following book was recommended by Jenny Cameron Paulsen
Hitler Youth by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
"By the time Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, 3.5 million children belonged to the Hitler Youth. It would become the largest youth group in history. Susan Campbell Bartoletti explores how Hitler gained the loyalty, trust, and passion of so many of Germany's young people. Her research includes telling interviews with surviving Hitler Youth members."

Charlottesville-Specific Resources

The Charlottesville Syllabus
"The Charlottesville Syllabus is a resource created by the Graduate Student Coalition for Liberation to be used to educate readers about the long history of white supremacy in Charlottesville, Virginia. With resources selected and summaries written by UVa graduate students, this abridged version of the Syllabus is organized into six sections that offer contemporary and archival primary and secondary sources (articles, books, responses, a documentary, databases) and a list of important terms for discussing white supremacy."

" How to Talk to Your Kids about the Violence in CharlottesvilleAugust 12, 2017, Los Angeles Times article by Sonali Kohli
Mental health experts and parents discuss developmentally appropriate ways to address the issues raised over the weekend.

#CharlottesvilleCurriculum
A growing list of resources posted by educators from around the country.

"''Blood and Soil': Protesters Chant Nazi Slogan in Charlottesville"
August 12, 2017, CNN article by Meg Wagner

" Charlottesville Murder Suspect's Teacher: 'He thought Nazis were pretty cool guys'"
August 13, 2017, ABC News article by Michael Edison Hayden

Resources for Understanding Bias
The following resources were contributed by Susi Long on behalf of the Early Childhood Education Assembly
The People's Institute for Survival and Beyond (PISAB)
"The People's Institute believes that racism is the primary barrier preventing communities from building effective coalitions and overcoming institutionalized oppression and inequities. Through Undoing Racism®/Community Organizing Workshops, technical assistance and consultations, The People's Institute helps individuals, communities, organizations and institutions move beyond addressing the symptoms of racism to undoing the causes of racism so as to create a more just and equitable society."

Don't Be a Sucker - 1947
"In this anti-fascist film produced by [the] US Military in the wake of WWII, the producers deconstruct the politically motivated social engineering of Germany by the Nazi regime."

Teaching Tolerance Social Justice Standards
"The Social Justice Standards are a road map for anti-bias education at every stage of K-12 instruction. Comprised of anchor standards and age-appropriate learning outcomes, the Standards provide a common language and organizational structure educators can use to guide curriculum development and make schools more just and equitable."

Anti-Racism Educational Consultants Network
"The ECEA is honored to present a network of some of the country's most respected professionals. They are experts in helping educators examine issues of race and racism in schools, childcare settings, and teacher education programs as they consider new possibilities for practice and policy. They consult widely, each with extensive experience in classrooms and with teachers, administrators, and preservice teachers."

Resources for Educators Focusing on Anti-Racist Learning and Teaching
"Our intent is to continue building and expanding this collection but we offer it now as a beginning, in support of educators working to (a) deepen understandings about institutional and interpersonal racism and its manifestations in early childhood settings, (b) understand the depth and breadth of histories often left out of or misrepresented in our teaching, and (c) apply new awareness to transforming practice and policy."

Articles and Other Readings

"These [three] special themed issues [of NCTE journals] explore and demonstrate not only the physical violence that Black and Brown children and youth and young Black girls encounter on a daily basis but also the symbolic and linguistic violence and the spirit-murder that are inflicted upon the lives and humanity of our children and youth of Color. In addition, all of these special issues provide the field with practical lessons and pedagogies for teaching in our current racialized and gendered context." - Lamar Johnson and April Bell

1. From Racial Violence to Racial Justice: Praxis and Implications for English (Teacher) Education (a special issue of English Journal) Edited by April Baker-Bell, Tamara Butler,
and Lamar Johnson
"We come to this project bearing soul wounds and heavy hearts, anxiety and anger, tears and fire. We sifted through a series of events and melded our wounds into a project that could heal us, our families, our communities, and Black, Brown, and other marginalized youth affected by racial violence."

2. "Beyond the Dream": Black Textual Expressivities Between the World and Me (a special issue of English Journal) Edited by David Kirkland
"In the most basic sense, this issue is about acknowledging how Black textualities, like vulnerable Black bodies, are contested in American classrooms, complicated by competing interests that wrestle daily for an ethical place in the consciousness of English language arts. It is in English language arts classrooms, as this issue suggests, that Black textualities have the power to move our assumptions past beliefs that strip away the humanity of others.

3. Black Girls' Literacies (a special issue of English Education) Edited by Marcelle Haddix, Sherell McArthur, Gholnecsar Muhammad, Detra Price-Dennis, and Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz
"We now must be urgent in interrogating hegemonic systems, English education practices, and educational policy to ask how we can experience a shift in the way we teach, talk about, and represent Black girls in school and society. In this way, English education becomes a site of possibility and disruption-a space to begin to ask these questions and respond." - Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz

How Two Teenagers Created a Textbook for Racial Literacy
From Facing History and Ourselves by Stacey Perlman
"Winona Guo and Priya Vulchi started the student-run organization, CHOOSE, to overcome racism and inspire harmony through exposure, education, and empowerment. This led them to collaborate with Princeton University on The Classroom Index, a textbook devoted to racial literacy."

This resource was contributed by Corinne Viglietta" Essential Everyday Bravery: Thinking and Talking About Identity and Difference in Your Classroom "-a downloadable packet with 6 stand-alone lessons, 4 short scripts, 4 video clips, and 1 long list of more resources from Folger Shakespeare Library
These resources were contributed by Jodi Derkson
The lessons were created by 10 excellent teachers, and designed to work in all kinds of classes with all kinds of students. These teachers are themselves people of different races, ethnicities, and religions, and they teach IB and AP, special needs, honors, and "regular" students in urban and suburban (mostly public) high schools in or near Washington, DC. These resources are also the product of CrossTalk, a yearlong community engagement project led by the Folger Shakespeare Library and funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities as part of their Humanities in the Public Square initiative. More info here

This resource was contributed by Emily Salinas
Drop the I-Word Campaign
"Race Forward's Drop the I-Word campaign to eliminate use of the word "illegal" was launched in September 2010 as anti-immigrant sentiment and hate crimes against communities of color had increased. Although the Associated Press, USA Today, LA Times, and many other news outlets and journalist associations have dropped the i-word, this racial slur in still being used in the media and everyday language."

This resource was contributed by Melanie Gustafson
Click! The Ongoing Feminist Revolution
"We aim to bridge the gap between those two clicks by offering an exhibit that highlights the achievements of women from the 1940s to the present. This exhibit explores the power and complexity of gender consciousness in modern American life."

Choose Your Voice (middle school)
Free online teaching resources and tools, curriculum-based for grades 6, 7 and 8, to help students speak out against racism, antisemitism and intolerance.

Voices into Action (secondary school and college)
"Designed by curriculum experts, this program utilizes a wide variety of media to present compelling information on a history of human suffering, stemming from social injustice that is still a growing problem today. Explore thought-provoking issues with your students by accessing our lessons and resources on antisemitism, racism, discrimination and stereotyping."

These resources were contributed by Nadia Kalman
"For contemporary global literature from Mexico, Russia, and other countries currently in the political discourse, along with multimedia contextual materials and teaching tools, teachers might try Words Without Borders Campus. Here's a link to a blog post on building inter-cultural empathy and understanding."

Books for Teachers

A Search Past Silence: The Literacy of Young Black Men by David E. Kirkland

All Souls: A Family Story from Southie by Michael Patrick MacDonald

Articulate While Black: Barack Obama, Language, and Race in the U.S. by H. Samy Alim, Geneva Smitherman, foreword by Michael Eric Dyson

Black Intellectual Thought in Education: The Missing Traditions of Anna Julia Cooper, Carter G. Woodson, and Alain LeRoy Locke by Carl A. Grant, Keffrelyn D. Brown, and Anthony L. Brown

Community Literacies en Confianza: Learning from Bilingual After-School Programs by Steven Alvarez

Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies: Teaching and Learning for Justice in a Changing World edited by: Django Paris and H. Samy Alim

Digital Griots: African American Rhetoric in a Multimedia Age by Adam J. Banks

For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood... and the Rest of Y'all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education by Christopher Emdin

by Bryan Stevenson

"Multiplication Is for White People": Raising Expectations for Other People's Children
by Lisa Delpit

Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom by Lisa Delpit

Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi

Talkin and Testifyin: The Language of Black America by Geneva Smitherman

The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children, 2nd Edition by Gloria Ladson-Billings

The Latinization of U.S. Schools : Successful Teaching and Learning in Shifting Cultural Contexts by Jason G. Irizarry

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
These additional book resources were contributed by Elaine Richardson These additional book resources were contributed by Deborah Kelly
The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore

The Signifying Monkey: A Theory of African-American Literary Criticism by Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High
by Melba Pattillo Beals

Books for Students

A Wreath for Emmett Till by Marilyn Nelson

All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely

Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A. by Luis J. Rodriguez

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

Becoming Americans: Four Centuries of Immigrant Writing edited by Ilan Stavans

Boricuas: Influential Puerto Rican Writings - An Anthology edited by Roberto Santiago

Child of the Dark: The Diary of Carolina Maria de Jesus by Carolina Maria de Jesus

Down These Mean Streets by Piri Thomas

Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario

Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero

How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon

I Am Alfonso Jones by Tony Medina

Krik? Krak! by Edwidge Danticat

MARCH: Book One by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, illustrated by Nate Powell

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Skin I'm In by Sharon Flake
Rich in Color We Need Diverse Books Lee & Low Books A Mighty Girl
When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago

Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri

Websites to Follow (for books for our students)

If you have resources you would like to add, please share them in the comment box below.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
There Is No Apolitical Classroom: Resources for Teaching in These Times - NCTE

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The following post was created by members of NCTE's Standing Committee Against Racism and Bias in the Teaching of English . The members of NCTE's Standing Committee Against Racism and Bias have felt an urgency since we each joined the committee to stand against racism and bias.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
“We Need the Poem” Reflections from Naomi Shihab Nye

# data[].attributes.headline
 'Telling a Story Helped Us Figure Out Who We Were'

# data[].attributes.subject
 'Telling a Story Helped Us Figure Out Who We Were'

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Poet Nye: 'Telling a Story Helped Us Figure Out Who We Were'

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Poetry Everywhere: "One Boy Told Me" by Naomi Shihab Nye

# data[].attributes.headline
Unplugging and Listening with Naomi Shihab Nye

# data[].attributes.subject
Unplugging and Listening with Naomi Shihab Nye

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Unplugging and Listening with Naomi Shihab Nye

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The acclaimed poet's latest collection is a stunning meditation on place, paying attention, and keeping a

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Lecture: Refreshments Will Be Served: Our Lives of Reading & Writing | Nye | Children and Libraries

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Lecture: Refreshments Will Be Served: Our Lives of Reading & Writing

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
I'm always working on something! One of my current projects involves working with my department members on updating our instructional programming. I look to the new ACRL information literacy framework for my guidance on this. For librarians transitioning from the old standards or even from bibliography instruction this can be a challenge. Our conversation yesterday [...]

I woke up about 3am and couldn't go back to sleep. This tends to happen to me every once in a while so, I decided to make good use of my time by considering a blog post. I couldn't help but ponder events that occurred in Durham NC, Charlottesville VA and Seattle WA where overt [...]

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I'm always working on something! One of my current projects involves working with my department members on updating our instructional programming. I look to the new ACRL information literacy framework for my guidance on this. For librarians transitioning from the old standards or even from bibliography instruction this can be a challenge.

# data[].attributes.headline
Diversity as Evolutionary in Children’s Literature: The Blog Effect

# data[].attributes.subject
Diversity as Evolutionary in Children’s Literature: The Blog Effect

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Diversity as Evolutionary in Children's Literature: The Blog Effect | Campbell | Children and Libraries

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Diversity as Evolutionary in Children's Literature: The Blog Effect

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This year, we get a little extra. On Day 29, we are delighted to have the opportunity to welcome Edi Campbell, an academic librarian who blogs at Crazy Quilts. Edi "works to improve the literacy of teens of color and am a strong ally for all marginalized young people. As part of this effort, I also work to promote authors of color. Reading multiple varieties of text is the basis for all literacies and in becoming literate, we learn how to navigate the world around us." Thank you, Edi, and again, welcome:

It is an honor to be part of the 28 Days celebration. As I've read about works of such outstanding authors and artists over the years, I never even imagined that I'd be part of it; still cannot believe it. I started blogging about marginalized teens almost ten years ago and when I began, I was pretty much on my own. I hadn't discovered people like Hannah Gomez, Nathalie Mvondo, Ari, Karen Lemmons, KC Boyd or Vanessa Irvin who are as active online for our children as they are in person. And I certainly hadn't read the fine, important works by Rudine Sims Bishop, Claudette McLinn, Violet Harris, Jonda McNair, Nancy Tolson, Virginia Hamilton and so many, many others. Ten years ago I knew there weren't enough books published for the Black and Latinx students in the school where I worked and even though I've grown to understand the immensity of the issue, I still simply want to put one more book in one more child's hand and turn one more child into a reader.

If you consider that the whitest industries in America continue to be information industries (publishing, technology, libraries and movies) you should begin to question why that's so. I'm not into conspiracy theories, so I don't believe it's intentionally about mind control, but there does seem to be a very controlled, very white message being perpetrated upon our children. And all I want is one more brown book. One more Jerry Craft, Bil Wright, Brian Walker, L. Divine, Kelli London, NiNi Simone, Nnedi Okorafor, Dia Reeves and Zetta Elliott. One more mirror, one more door. One more Tim Tingle, Cindy Pon, Malinda Lo, Eric Gansworth, Y.S. Lee, Randa Abdel-Fattah, Juan Filipe Herrera, Alex Sanchez and Sheela Chari.

I feel like the next ten years will not look like the past ten years in children's publishing. Libraries are embracing (even creating) self-published books. Twitter, Vine, Instagram and Tumblr are giving voice to the masses allowing us to voice concerns, to announce agendas and to connect directly with those who had been hidden from us. These platforms help us find debut authors and promote their books, to immediately questions portrayals of people and histories and they've created #WeNeedDiverseBooks.
What I've learned over the past 10 years is that I'm not alone, we're not alone and it takes all of us to get that one more book.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Day 29: Edi Campbell - The Brown Bookshelf

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This year, we get a little extra. On Day 29, we are delighted to have the opportunity to welcome Edi Campbell, an academic librarian who blogs at Crazy Quilts. Edi "works to improve the literacy of teens of color and am a strong ally for all marginalized young people.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Today we kick off our RWW Interviews series with a conversation between Elisa Gall and Edith (Edi) Campbell. Campbell is a Reference/Instruction Librarian at Indiana State University. She has served as the Indiana State Ambassador for USBBY and on the WNDB Walter Award Committee, YALSA's BFYA jury, and CYBILS Nonfiction Awards committee.She is a member of the 2018 Printz Award committee and she works with a team to coordinate the annual We're the People Summer Reading List. She blogs at https://campbele.wordpress.com/ and can be found on Twitter at @CrazyQuilts. Thank you, Edi, for sharing your insights with us!

To many of us, you are an online superhero. Can you share your origin story? How did you get started blogging?

Super hero? No, I'm just a librarian doing her thing. There are so many, many more librarians, publishers, editors, authors and illustrators who have done this for such a long time! Their persistence has made it that much easier for me to do what I do. Just imagine some of the things I post that would have had serious consequences just a few decades ago. Because of what they have stated, exposed, spoke and risked, those of us working today are able to feel hopeful.

So, how did I get started?? I came into the library after spending part of my career teaching Social Studies. I had actually been a school librarian for a couple of years before I began blogging. I was looking for a new technology to master and I was also thinking about so many librarians and teachers who kept saying that they had a difficult time finding books by African American authors. I thought that could be something to blog about. I thought I could combine my interest in technology and in books to promote literacy for African American teens. I immediately saw the need to also include books for Latinx and my blog continued to become more and more inclusive.

What has changed since?

I think several things have changed over the years. I've tried different things over the years, some more interesting than others. I think I blog to promote Native American authors, authors of color and their books rather than to promote literacy and that's probably because I'm not in a school library any more. Much of the sharing I used to do on my blog is now done on Facebook and Twitter and I think that brings up one major change in my blog: I just don't post as much as I used to. I think my posts fell off when I was on BFYA and then the Walter Award Committee, and I've not really recovered from that, not gotten back into the blogging routine. Next year, I'm on another award committee so I'll be back to blogging without talking about current books that are eligible for that award.

Something else that has changed since I started would be that other forms of social media have come about that have actually provided a voice to marginalized people. This has been a huge development.

You've talked about the importance of connecting with people with whom you disagree. How do you break the echo chamber?

I have two Twitter accounts and two Facebook accounts and it amazes me how many people I connect with that seem to share my same perspectives. I've even reconnected with people from grade school and high school and still I see little dissent on my FB feeds.

At this time when we'll "unfriend" someone who says the slightest thing with which we disagree, it seems that it takes a conscious effort to connect with people of differing opinions. It's following that person who says something you don't completely agree with or in 'real life' it's taking the risk of saying some things others may not agree with and being able to listen to others' reactions. I'm beginning to think that coming offline and having those face to face connections is where we're really going to build robust communities. Online, where there is no chance to read body language or facial expressions we tend to parse words while expecting nuanced conversations. It's easy to get caught up and misunderstood online.

I like what Ashley Hope Perez said a few weeks ago in giving advice to people who want to be allies. She suggested using social media as a tool for listening. Sometimes, just listening helps us grow more than thinking we have to say something, especially if we're listening to people outside the echo chamber.

In all the work that you do, what are you the most proud of?

This is going to feel like a punt, but I am most proud of my children and this definitely includes my daughter in law. While I maintain that they have become the awesome people that they are despite me, I am so very, very proud that they are my children. I learn so much from them! They are truly amazing people.

I take pride in being a librarian. While people claim librarianship is dying, I find it to be a very vibrant and demanding profession that requires me to keep learning, allows me to innovate services and provide ways for me to make a difference for others.

Can you tell us about the We're the People list?

This is also something of which I'm quite proud! For the past couple of years, I've been able to work with some of the most amazing people in children's literature (Tad Andracki, Sarah Park Dahlen, Sujei Lugo, Lyn Miller-Lachmann, Nathalie Mvondo, Debbie Reese, Ed Spicer and Ebony Elizabeth Thomas) to create summer reading lists for all ages of children. We work together throughout the year to identify books written by authors of color that are chapter books, picture books, middle grade, young adult and adult crossover. We critically review each book so that our list contains books that we would be proud to give any child.

We look for books from small and large publishers, as well as self-published books. Intersectionality is extremely important as we look for books that also include LGBT+ characters, those with disabilities and those from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds. We want biographies as well as sports books, speculative fiction and mysteries. We try to apply diversity in every sense of the word. It's a lot of work, but it's good work.

How do you stay motivated or promote self-care when facing frustration or pushback?

I don't work alone. From the very beginning, I've been with a network of people who are just amazing! The network has changed over the years, but it's always been there and I can always turn to them for clarity, strategy or for a good laugh. Being surrounded by people of integrity is the key to accomplishing most things in life, including remaining sane.

Balance is a critical part of self-care, but it can be challenging when you earn your living by your passion; when you want to get away from work, yet you want to read a book! I've only recently questioned 'what am I doing for me?' It helps to be healthy, to eat to live rather than living to eat and to get out in nature as much as possible. I think celebrating is an important part of this equation, but in equity work, it can seem like there is so little to celebrate at times, but there are small successes and it helps to stay positive to recognize them.

Who are people you look to for advice and inspiration?

My family really takes a strong interest in what I do. My children keep up with much of what I'm doing and we talk about many issues that intersect with my passion, and with their passions, too. Talking to them, getting a perspective from outside that echo chamber really helps. And the inspiration I get from my daughter-in-law as well as my three children knows no limits.

Children's literature is an intersecting world. We have so many differences within this community, but we have that common drive to get good literature to our children and that really holds us together. I've approached so many people for advice and rarely if ever have been turned away.

There are too many people in children's literature who excel at what they do to begin naming names, too many people who have shared wisdom or advice with me and who inspire me.

What advice do you have for others looking to do equity work in the world of libraries and youth literature?

I'd say if you're interested in doing equity work in libraries and/or children's literature, you should be clear about why you want to do this work. If it's about what you want to get and not what you want to give, you may want to spend your efforts on something else.

I'd say understand that you're joining a network of people who are and have been entrenched in this work; build upon their knowledge. Know that we're reaching a point in time where those who are LGBT+, disabled, Native American or people of color know who we are and what we want. We're not looking for missionaries to represent our interest. We need workers who honor the past while creating a new future. I'd say forget patience, we've been patient too long. Look back and fly forward.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Today we kick off our RWW Interviews series with a conversation between Elisa Gall and Edith (Edi) Campbell. Campbell is a Reference/Instruction Librarian at Indiana State University.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Critical reviews provide a means to uncover the way language and information is used to inform, position, and empower.

# data[].attributes.headline
The Cat is Out of the Bag: Orientalism, Anti-Blackness, and White Supremacy in Dr. Seuss's Children's Books

# data[].attributes.subject
The Cat is Out of the Bag: Orientalism, Anti-Blackness, and White Supremacy in Dr. Seuss's Children's Books

# data[].attributes.body
Ishizuka, Katie and Stephens*, Ramón (2019) "The Cat is Out of the Bag: Orientalism, Anti-Blackness, and White Supremacy in Dr. Seuss's Children's Books," Research on Diversity in Youth Literature: Vol. 1 : Iss. 2 , Article 4.
Available at: https://sophia.stkate.edu/rdyl/vol1/iss2/4

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Recommended Citation

Ishizuka, Katie and Stephens*, Ramón (2019) "The Cat is Out of the Bag: Orientalism, Anti-Blackness, and White Supremacy in Dr. Seuss's Children's Books," Research on Diversity in Youth Literature: Vol. 1 : Iss. 2 , Article 4.
Available at: https://sophia.stkate.edu/rdyl/vol1/iss2/4

DOWNLOADS

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Cat is Out of the Bag: Orientalism, Anti-Blackness, and White Supremacy in Dr. Seuss's Children's Books

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Recommended Citation Ishizuka, Katie and Stephens*, Ramón (2019) "The Cat is Out of the Bag: Orientalism, Anti-Blackness, and White Supremacy in Dr. Seuss's Children's Books," Research on Diversity in Youth Literature: Vol. 1 : Iss. 2 , Article 4. Available at: https://sophia.stkate.edu/rdyl/vol1/iss2/4 DOWNLOADS

# data[].attributes.body
From NCTE

# data[].attributes.headline
Statement on Anti-Racism to Support Teaching and Learning

# data[].attributes.subject
Statement on Anti-Racism to Support Teaching and Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Originally developed by the National Council of Teachers of English Committee on Racism and Bias in the Teaching of English, February 2007, revised July 2018 OVERVIEW
In 2007, NCTE published the original version of this statement with the help of the Committee on Racism and Bias in the Teaching of English. The statement was published in response to historical, and at that time, current examples of racism and discrimination occurring within pre-Kindergarten-grade 12 schools and institutions of higher education. Now, over a decade later, this statement has been revised to serve as a reminder of NCTE's commitment to being an organization of anti-racist educators working toward achieving educational equity. This statement has been revised to reflect recent national examples of racism and discrimination that have taken place in schools and on college and university campuses. Included in this statement are recommendations and resources to help English and language arts educators work actively to eradicate acts of racism and discrimination in our classrooms, curriculum, schools, and institutions.
STATEMENT
Racism consists of two principal components: difference and power. It is a mindset that sees a "them" that is different from an "us." Racism in America is the systematic mistreatment and disenfranchisement of people of color who currently and historically possess less power and privilege than white Americans. In modern times, there has arisen a "cultural racism" that allows for ethnic groups that cannot always be distinguished from the majority, in terms of physical features, but are nevertheless subject to the same kinds of biases as those who have been traditionally marked as a different race. Racism, then, and other forms of discrimination continue to be a part of American society, continuing to affect all students and their education. The Committee Against Racism and Bias in the Teaching of English of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) is committed to working toward the eradication of racism, discrimination, and bigotry in the profession, in the preparation of teachers, and in the administrative decisions made in schools, especially in the teaching and learning of English and the language arts at all levels. Our work promotes research-based recommendations to help in counteracting racism and other forms of bigotry in teaching materials, methods, and programs for the teaching and learning of English and the language arts. Most important, the NCTE Committee Against Racism and Bias in the Teaching of English works toward positive communication and the promotion of social justice as fair and equal access to the benefits of the society, especially in terms of access to and delivery of public education.

Recently, there have been increasing incidents and forms of blatant practices, threats of physical violence, production and dissemination of racist and biased materials, and expressions of racism and other expressions of bigotry toward students of culturally diverse human backgrounds attending US schools and institutions of higher education. Specific charges and indictments have been based on intersectional identities involving hate crimes and bias-motivated incidents in public schools and higher education institutions (e.g., race; ethnicity; class; gender; age; mental and physical abilities; nationality; migrant, immigrant, and refugee status; religious affiliation; and sexual orientation). More evident, English language learners, especially from migrant and immigrant families, children, and students, have faced discriminatory practices in their attempts to access public education programs. Sadly, incidents such as these largely reflect similar incidents that took place over a decade ago when the first version of this statement was published. Recent national examples include the following institutions:

California Polytechnic State University (San Luis Obispo, California), "Cal Poly Suspends All Greek Life After Second Racist Incident," Inside Higher Ed, April 20, 2018

Detroit (Michigan) Public Schools Community District, "'Access to Literacy' Is Not a Constitutional Right, Judge in Detroit Rules," The New York Times, July 4, 2018

Houston (Texas) Independent School District, "For Immigrant Students, a New Worry: A Call to ICE," The New York Times, May 30, 2018

Irving (Texas) Independent School District, "Muslim Boy Who Was Arrested for Building a Clock Says His Family Was Forced to Leave the U.S. for Safety," The Los Angeles Times, August 8, 2016

University of Missouri (Columbia) and Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut), "Racial Tensions Escalate," Inside Higher Ed, November 9, 2015

North Bend (Oregon) School District 13, "L.G.B.T. Students in Oregon Were Bullied and Forced to Read Bible, Report Says," The New York Times, May 16, 2018

Suffolk University (Boston, Massachusetts), "When Latina Student Wrote 'Hence,' Her Professor Assumed Plagiarism," Inside Higher Ed, October 13, 2016

National Examples, 2006-2007

Baltimore (Maryland) Public School System, "Race, Politics, and the Schools: Q&A: Marion Orr," The Baltimore Sun, May 28, 2006

Boston (Massachusetts) Public Schools, "Teens Probe Sexual Harassment in Schools," The Boston-Bay State Banner, April 6, 2006

Clark County (Nevada) School District, "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do - Mason Says Racism a Factor in Districting," Las Vegas Sun, January 5, 2006

Truth or Consequences (New Mexico) Schools, "Educators Get Support after Complaint over Racism Project," Santa Fe New Mexican, December 20, 2006

Winner (South Dakota) School District, "Graduating to Prison: Native Americans Sue School District," The Progressive, February 2007

In order to ensure that all individuals have access to an education that is free of racism, bias, and other forms of bigotry, and to support the intellectual development and growth of students from early childhood education to university studies, the NCTE Committee Against Racism and Bias in the Teaching of English recommends that English language arts educators

actively identify and challenge individual or systemic acts of racism and other forms of discrimination and bigotry in educational institutions and within our profession, exposing such acts through external communications and publications.

express strong declarations of solidarity with people of diverse human and cultural backgrounds to eradicate forms of racism, bias, and prejudice in spaces of teaching and learning.

promote not only cultural diversity and expanding linguistic knowledge, but explicitly push for anti-racism by participating in ongoing professional development for educators to succeed in countering racism and other forms of bigotry.

support the enforcement of laws and policies that provide sanctions against racial and ethnic discrimination in education. Also, advocate for legislative reform that will lead to policies that provide sanctions against discrimination in education based on race, ethnicity, gender, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, class, mental and physical abilities, nationality, migrant, immigrant, and refugee status.

Furthermore, the NCTE Committee Against Racism and Bias in the Teaching of English recommends that

all administrators secure funds and resources to provide opportunities for professional development for teachers and instructional programs that affirm cultural diversity among all students.

all educational stakeholders-policymakers, parents, and the general public-understand that they can best support educators or teacher professionals and students by actively participating in public conversations about racism and bigotry in our multilingual and multicultural American society, defined in the key opening words of the United States Constitution's Preamble, "We the People . . . ."

RESOURCES AND RESEARCH SUPPORTING THIS STATEMENT
Recent resources that have been distributed digitally and research results that have been discussed in national periodicals and reports are as follows:

Bringing Black Lives Matter into the Classroom - Part II, Teaching Tolerance 56, Summer 2017

Creating an LGBT-Inclusive School Climate: A Teaching Tolerance Guide for School Leaders, Teaching Tolerance website, October 2017

Immigrant and Refugee Children: A Guide for Educators and School Support Staff, Teaching Tolerance 55, Spring 2017

National School Climate Survey, The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, 2015

The School-to-Prison Pipeline, Teaching Tolerance 43, Spring 2013

White-Supremacist Propaganda on Campuses Rose 77% Last Year The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 28, 2017

STATEMENT AUTHORS
This document was revised by a working committee comprising the following:

Jazmen Moore, Chair - Oak Park and River Forest High School, Oak Park, IL

Logan Manning - Alternatives in Action High School, Oakland, CA

Victor Villanueva - Washington State University, Pullman
This position statement may be printed, copied, and disseminated without permission from NCTE. 07/11/18

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Statement on Anti-Racism to Support Teaching and Learning - NCTE

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Originally developed by the National Council of Teachers of English Committee on Racism and Bias in the Teaching of English, February 2007, revised July 2018 OVERVIEW In 2007, NCTE published the original version of this statement with the help of the Committee on Racism and Bias in the Teaching of English.

# data[].attributes.headline
Let's Talk: Discussing Race, Racism and Other Difficult Topics with Kids 

# data[].attributes.subject
Let's Talk: Discussing Race, Racism and Other Difficult Topics with Kids 

# data[].attributes.body
From Teaching Tolerance

# data[].attributes.body
Teaching Channel

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Edmund Burke
This Won't Be Easy

Important conversations never are. But our students -- and colleagues -- learn as much from what we do (or don't do) as what we say ( or don't say). The events that transpired in Charlottesville, Virginia are likely weighing heavy on your students' hearts and minds, just as they are on yours. You haven't had the opportunity to learn their names, set up a structure, or lay the foundation for learning this year, but you can still create a space for your students to begin to unpack race, face history, and grapple with the lasting legacies of the past.

It will be difficult and emotional and uncomfortable. This may be especially true for white teachers who are worried they don't know what to say, don't know how to talk about race, or that they might unintentionally offend with their naiveté.

Yet, we can't and shouldn't avoid conversations like these -- teachers need to talk with their students about race. As smart, caring, and thoughtful professionals, it's our responsibility to educate ourselves, to listen more than we speak, and to work to build a culture of honesty, trust, equity, and critical thinking in our classrooms in the hope that our students will carry the same into the world.

Here are a few resources to help you learn some of the basics and a few examples to help you think about how you'll begin:

Are You Prepared To Talk About Race?

Catherine Thompson explores several ways to prepare yourself for engaging in conversations about race in her Tchers' Voice blog post, DO NOW: What is Whiteness?

Begin by examining your own implicit biases. Once you're aware of them and where they originate, you can begin the complex work of reducing them.

As Catherine suggests, "Challenge yourself to be open to the results, as biases form the foundations of stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination."

Culturally Responsive Teaching, Multicultural Education, and Social Justice education, while related, are not interchangeable. Take some time to learn the difference.

April Harter recently published a more controversial piece, which defines racism as a mental illness. Included in this post is a " Racism Scale " that can help you measure where you fall on the continuum between "overt racist" and "abolitionist."

If you're a white educator, spend some time unpacking the concept of white privilege. Be sure you understand the meaning of privilege within the context of race and socialization because it may not mean what you think. Try this Buzzfeed quiz to familiarize yourself with examples of privilege and to measure -- somewhat unscientifically -- where you fall on the scale.

The Role of Social and Emotional Learning

Conversations about current events and personal experiences through an equity lens can be tough, so you'll want to be sure to build your own repertoire of skills to support your students as they grapple with political, social, racial, and economic issues.

Design Thinking can be a powerful tool for teachers in the development of a more equitable classroom. And check out this Tchers' Voice blog post for five more resources to make your class more equitable.

So... are you prepared?

You've done a lot of work so far and you've certainly laid the groundwork, but before you charge into your classroom ready to make real change, you'll want to arm yourself with some great ideas and resources for teaching about, for, and with social justice.

What would you add to this list? Share your ideas in the comments below.
____________________________________________________________ Lisa Hollenbach is Editorial Content Manager for Teaching Channel. She's a former high school Social Studies teacher and Department Chair, an adjunct professor, working with pre-service social studies teachers and behavioral science students, and serves as a mentor for the Teacher Leadership program at Mt. Holyoke College. Lisa is passionate about storytelling, teacher voice and leadership, collaboration, innovative instruction, social learning, and redefining professional development. Lisa is a member of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Teacher Advisory Council, several ECET2 Steering Committees, and is a Co-Founder, Director, and Writing Coach for the National Blogging Collaborative, a non-profit organization that cultivates and supports the capacity of all educators to use their unique voice to elevate the craft of teaching and learning. Lisa leads the Collaborative in engagement and social media storytelling. Connect with Lisa on Teaching Channel, on her blog, or on Twitter: @lisa_hollenbach.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Edmund Burke Important conversations never are. But our students -- and colleagues -- learn as much from what we do (or don't do) as what we say ( or don't say). The events that transpired in Charlottesville, Virginia are likely weighing heavy on your students' hearts and minds, just as they are on yours.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Please see the journal article we published in Research on Diversity in Youth Literature.

In it, we:

-Analyze 50 of Dr. Seuss's children's books through a critical race lens

-Document the extent and manner in which characters of color are portrayed

-Cite and discuss Dr. Phil Nel's findings regarding the Cat in the Hat's origins in blackface minstrelsy and the racial messaging in The Cat in the Hat and its sequel, The Cat in the Hat Comes Back

-Debunk The Sneetches and Horton Hears a Who as texts that "promote tolerance" or are "anti-racist"

-Discuss implications regarding race, gender, and using Dr. Seuss books to teach anti-racism

-Document the racism across Seuss's entire publishing career and debunk Seuss as a "Anti-racist" or "Reformed Racist"

A PDF of the full paper, "The Cat is Out of the Bag: Orientalism, Anti-Blackness, and White Supremacy in Dr. Seuss's Children's Books", can be downloaded for free here: https://sophia.stkate.edu/rdyl/vol1/iss2/4/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
"The Cat is Out of the Bag: Orientalism, Anti-Blackness, and White Supremacy in Dr. Seuss's Children's Books" - the conscious kid

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Please see the journal article we published in Research on Diversity in Youth Literature. In it, we: -Analyze 50 of Dr. Seuss's children's books through a critical race lens -Document the extent and manner in which characters of color are portrayed -Cite and discuss Dr. Phil Nel's findings

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Teaching Tolerance provides free resources to educators-teachers, administrators, counselors and other practitioners-who work with children from kindergarten through high school. Educators use our materials to supplement the curriculum, to inform their practices, and to create civil and inclusive school communities where children are respected, valued and welcome participants.

# data[].attributes.headline
What to do when you realize classic books are racist 

# data[].attributes.subject
What to do when you realize classic books are racist 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Do you have an old children's book you love, one of those classic books that you read with your kids because your parents read it with you, and so on?

Well, there's a good chance that it might be racist.

Whenever I say this, people get so offended, and I'm always a little surprised. You do realize that these books were written 60, 70, maybe 100 years ago? Don't you think the world was a little more prejudiced back then? So, why wouldn't the books be too?

Here's an example. When I was about 8, all my friends were reading "Little House on the Prairie." Do you remember it? Well, one of the lines repeated throughout the series is, "Ma hates Indians."

Anytime Pa tries to say something good about Indians, Ma bristles. She just hates them that much.

I never really thought about that, until one day, a friend and I decided to play "Little House on the Prairie."

My friend said to me: "You be Ma, and I will be Laura. I'm going out, and you're worried about Indians, because Ma hates Indians."

So, my friend leaves, and I am all alone, telling myself, I'm worried because Ma hates Indians. Ma hates Indians.

And as I repeat these words, suddenly, it hits me. If Ma hates Indians, what would she think of me, an Asian-American girl? If Ma hates Indians, wouldn't she probably hate me too?

And, at 8 years old, I felt the impact of that racism. It was a horrible feeling. In that instant, I realized I might always be a foreigner in my own country, and that people could hate me just because of the way I looked.

But here's the flip side. A few years later, I heard my uncle say that he didn't want my cousin to be friends with another kid because he was black.

I did a double-take. How could my dear uncle say something like that? But then I remembered "Little House on the Prairie," and how Ma, loving, kind Ma, hated Indians. And I suddenly understood.

Sometimes, good people, people you love, aren't always right.

And that is how I feel about these classic books. I'm not saying we should ban them. I'm saying we should treat them like out-of-touch relatives. We all have that aunt or uncle, or maybe even a parent, who believes in things you don't agree with.

You can still love that relative, and you can still let them be a part of your child's life. But because you know they might say something you don't like, don't you try to keep an extra ear open, in case they say something in front of your child? And then, don't you explain afterwards?

That's what I'm saying about these classic children's books. Read them, share them, even love them, but make sure you talk to your kids about them, too.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What to do when you realize classic books from your childhood are racist

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Do you have an old children's book you love? Well, there's a good chance that it might be racist, says kids' author Grace Lin. She offers her humble opinion on how you can keep loving your favorite classics while acknowledging the out-of-date or harmful parts.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Official Tumblr of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks Campaign

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
1. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir 2. The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh 3. To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han 4. Angelfall by Susan Ee 5. The Young Elites by Marie Lu 6. Written in the Stars by Aisha Saeed (tw: rape) 7.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Diversity and representation are on the minds of many in publishing for youth. One of the things that stood out for us in 2017 books, especially picture books, was the presence of the brown-skinned child. Although we noted this last year, in 2017 it was even more pronounced. We are referring This post is adapted from "Publishing in 2017: A Few Observations," an essay that will appear in the forthcoming CCBC Choices 2018 publication.

not to books that are specifically and authentically African American, or Asian/Pacific, or American Indian/First Nations, or Latinx, but rather books in which a character has brown skin and is of unspecified race or ethnicity, with no visible cultural markers in either the story or the art.
Is this a good thing? A bad thing? It's hard to make a broad statement either way. What we will say is that visibility is critical, and so, too, is authenticity. The question of whether books with ethnically ambiguous, brown-skinned characters offer children what scholar Rudine Sims Bishop refers to as windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors is one we would love to see studied. In the meantime, when we're feeling optimistic, we hope that these brown-skinned characters are publishing's short-term response to the need for greater diversity in the books they publish, one that will eventually be replaced by more culturally specific and authentic works by an ever-growing number of diverse authors and illustrators.

CCBC 2017 Statistics on Multicultural Literature

We continue to document the number of books by and about people of color and from First/Native Nations that we receive each year. To do so, we examine every book that we receive at the library, doing additional research when needed to try to determine whether a book, and/or its creator, should be counted in our annual statistics.

Of the approximately 3,700 books we received at the CCBC in 2017, most from U.S. publishers, here's the breakdown:

340 had significant African or African American content/characters.

100 of these were by Black authors and/or illustrators. (29.41% #OwnVoices)

72 had significant American Indian/First Nations content/characters.

38 of these were by American Indian/First Nations authors and/or illustrators. (52.78% #OwnVoices)

310 had significant Asian/Pacific or Asian/Pacific American content/characters.

122 of these were by authors and/or illustrators of Asian/Pacific heritage. (39.35% #OwnVoices)

216 had significant Latinx content/characters.

73 of these were by Latinx authors and/or illustrators. (33.8% #OwnVoices)

(The numbers will change slightly as we continue to receive a stray title or two. Check our website for up-to-date statistics, including the numbers for books from U.S. publishers only, and more on what and how we count.)

As always, these numbers are solely a reflection of how many books we received and have nothing to do with quality or authenticity of representation, which varies widely. It should also be noted that the number of book creators in each category does not represent that many individuals, as many authors and illustrators were involved in the creation of two or more books.

In addition, many book creators of color are writing and/or illustrating books without cultural content that reflects their own backgrounds. Among the 3,700 books we received in 2017, we counted 22 books by Black authors and illustrators; 0 books by American Indian/First Nations authors; 152 books by authors and illustrators of Asian/Pacific heritage; and 43 books by Latinx authors and illustrators that did not reflect the cultural origins of their creators.

The unspecified brown-skinned characters we noted across many picture books are not included in the numbers of books "about," although we have tracked these books separately. All book creators we were able to identify are included in the number of books "by."

In 2016 we began what we are calling a "deep dive" into picture books, and we continued that work with the 2017 publishing year (excluding books that are classified as nonfiction). The deep dive analysis also looks at other dimensions of representation, including gender, religion, (dis)ability, and LGBTQ. The results have made for some stunning--and unsettling--comparisons.

For example, an early-November analysis of the 698 picture books we'd received so far in 2017 from U.S. publishers revealed:

A character in a picture book was 4 times more likely to be a dinosaur than an American Indian child.

A character in a picture book was 2 times more likely to be a rabbit than an Asian/Pacific or Asian/Pacific American child.

A female character in a picture book was highly likely to be wearing pink and/or a bow, even if she is a hippopotamus, an ostrich, or a dinosaur.

A child with a disability appeared in only 21 picture books, and only 2 of those were main characters. Most others appeared in background illustrations.

We will continue to evaluate the data for the 2017 publishing year in the coming weeks and will post additional information on this blog. At the same time, we are expanding our diversity analysis in 2018 to include a deep dive into all of the books we receive: picture books, fiction, and nonfiction.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Diversity and representation are on the minds of many in publishing for youth. One of the things that stood out for us in 2017 books, especially picture books, was the presence of the brown-skinned child. Although we noted this last year, in 2017 it was even more pronounced.

# data[].attributes.headline
The Diversity Gap in Children's Book Publishing 

# data[].attributes.subject
The Diversity Gap in Children's Book Publishing 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Last month, the Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) released its statistics on the number of children's books by and about people of color published in 2016. Two years after the founding of We Need Diverse Books, the issue of diversity in children's books continues to gain traction and media attention; it is the topic of panels, conferences, training sessions, and studies.

But is it all making a difference?

The answer is yes and no:

Holy heck, what an increase!

The number of diverse books being published each year stayed stagnant for more than two decades, but in 2014 it began increasing substantially. This year, the number jumped to 28% - the highest year on record since 1994 (and likely the highest year ever). 2016 also marked a number of important award wins for authors of color including a Caldecott Medal for Javaka Steptoe, a Caldecott Honor for Carole Boston Weatherford and R. Gregory Christie, a Newbery Honor for Ashley Bryan, and a Printz Award and Sibert Medal for Representative John Lewis.

But wait...

While the number of diverse books has increased substantially, the number of books written by people of color has not kept pace. In fact, in 2016, Black, Latinx, and Native authors combined wrote just 6% of new children's books published. In other words, while the number of books with diverse content increases, the majority of those books are still written by white authors. We wrote about this phenomenon back in 2015, and the numbers haven't changed much since then.

KT Horning delves into the data to look specifically at the consistent lack of representation for Black writers:

We can see that there are a whole lot of books being written about African Americans these days by people who are not African American. Does it matter? It certainly can. Especially when you care about authenticity.

And, more significantly, this means we are not seeing African-American authors and artists being given the same opportunities to tell their own stories. In fact, last year just 71 of the 278 (25.5%) books about African-Americans were actually written and/or illustrated by African Americans.

In contrast, 40% of books about Native people were written/illustrated by Native people; 61% of books about Latinos were written and/or illustrated by Latino people, and 89% of books about Asian Pacifics/Asian Pacific Americans were written and/or illustrated by people from those cultures.

The problem of representation goes across the board, but the numbers indicate that there is particular resistance in publishing to allowing African Americans to tell their own stories. It's also worth noting that among the categories, African/African American is the only category in which the number of authors went down from 2015 to 2016 (from 107 to 92). Meanwhile, the number of Native, Asian Pacific American, and Latino authors were all at record highs.

Where do we go from here?

This year, the data includes some things to celebrate, and we should celebrate them! It's amazing that in just a few years, the number of diverse books published has increased so substantially. Fighting for representation is hard and often thankless work, and it's easy to become burnt out or pessimistic about the possibility of change. These numbers are a testament to those whose groundbreaking work has paved the way for more diversity and equity in publishing, people like Walter Dean Myers, Rudine Sims Bishop, and Debbie Reese. Change comes slowly, but the numbers tell us that it does indeed come.

At the same time, the numbers leave us with some questions that publishing as an industry must answer:
Why are we giving preference to white authors telling diverse stories rather than authors of color/Native authors? Why are Black authors and illustrators still so underrepresented? Since publishing is still largely white, what training are staff receiving to help them publish the increasing number of diverse stories with cultural awareness?
Until publishing answers these questions, the improving numbers will tell just part of the story.

Related

CCBC statistics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Diversity Gap in Children's Book Publishing, 2017

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Last month, the Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) released its statistics on the number of children's books by and about people of color published in 2016. Two years after the founding of We Need Diverse Books, the issue of diversity in children's books continues to gain traction and media attention; it is the topic of panels, conferences, training sessions, and studies.

# data[].attributes.headline
8 Steps to Creating a Diverse Collection 

# data[].attributes.subject
8 Steps to Creating a Diverse Collection 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
It's not easy to create an inclusive book collection. Whether you're a librarian creating a collection for an entire community, a teacher creating a collection for your classroom, or a parent creating a collection for your children, choosing books that reflect the diversity of human experience can be a challenging job.

That's because creating a diverse book collection is about more than just making sure X, Y, and Z are represented. It's not a matter of ticking off check boxes or making sure quotas are filled. For those committed to doing it right, building a diverse book collection requires contemplation, research, and awareness. But the rewards are great: a truly diverse collection of books can turn children into lifelong readers and promote empathy, understanding, and self-confidence.

To make things a little easier, we've created a checklist to help.
Here are eight steps to all-inclusive reading:

1. Does your book list or collection include books with characters of color? LGBTQ? Differently-abled?

2. Does it include books with a main character of color? LGBTQ? Differently-abled?

3. Does it include books written or illustrated by a person of color? Of different nationalities, religions or sexual preference?

4. Are there any books with a person of color on the cover? Do the characters on the book covers accurately reflect the characters in the book?

5. Think about your student population. Does your list provide a mix of "mirror" books and "window" books for your students-books in which they can see themselves reflected and books in which they can learn about others?

6. Think about the subject matter of your diverse books. Do all your books featuring black characters focus on slavery? Do all your books about Latino characters focus on immigration? Are all your LGBTQ books coming out stories?

7. Do you have any books featuring diverse characters that are not primarily about race or prejudice?

8. Consider your classic books, both fiction and nonfiction. Do any contain hurtful racial or ethnic stereotypes , or images (e.g. Little House on the Prairie or The Indian in the Cupboard)? If so, how will you address those stereotypes with students? Have you included another book that provides a more accurate depiction of the same culture?

If the answer to any of these questions is no, here are some resources that can help:
Where can I find great diverse children's books? A resource list Beyond Good Intentions: Selecting Multicultural Literature Seven Ways to Explore Race in the Classroom How inclusive is my classroom library? A Toolkit Disability in KidLit I'm Here, I'm Queer, What the Hell Do I Read? American Indians in Children's Literature Diversity in YA
What questions would you add? What resources would you recommend? As always, leave 'em in the comments!

*Many thanks to librarian Edith Campbell for her corrections and feedback on our list!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Checklist: 8 Steps to Creating a Diverse Book Collection

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Lee & Low Books offers a checklist for creating an inclusive book collection.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In this final post on doing my diversity audit, I just wanted to share my sources and resources with you. It's also available in the PDF outline of my process, but since these are clickable links you may prefer to access them this way. Also, if you know of additional book lists or titles that you would like to recommend, please add them in the comments.
Statistics | Diversity in YA The Diversity Baseline Survey | Lee & Low Books Infographic Series: The Diversity Gap | Lee & Low Books SLJ Resources for Diversity in Kid and YA Lit | School Library Journal We Need Diverse Books | Official site of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks
Children's Book Council (CBC) Diversity ; CBC Diversity Initiative | Children's Book Council

Cooperative Children's Book Center: Publishing Stats on Children's Books and Diversity
U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts selected: UNITED STATES LGBT America: By the Numbers | Washington Week - PBS Diversity in Collection Development - American Library Association Having Students Analyze Our Classroom Library To See How Diverse It Is Diversity in Libraries-From Collections and Community to Staff Third Graders Assess and Improve Diversity of Classroom Library How You Can Support the #WeNeedDiverseBooks Campaign
Diversity in YA (General)
We Need Diverse Books | Official site of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks Reading While White Rich In Color Book Lists | Diversity in YA Diversity in Young Adult and Middle Grade (1351 books) - Goodreads 31 Young Adult Books With Diverse Characters Literally Everyone Diversity YA Life: Diverse Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror - The Hub Diversity YA Life: Urban Fiction - The Hub Rich in Color | Reading & Reviewing Diverse YA Books Diversify YA Life: Horror with Diverse Characters 50 Years of Diversity in Young Adult Literature by Edith Campbell 60 Diverse Books To Look for in 2017 10 Diverse Books by YA Authors of Color to Read in 2017 | Teen Vogue Faces of Color on 2017 YA Books - Book Riot - Best Asian-American Teen Fiction (156 books) - Goodreads A Round-Up of Awesome Asian American Protagonists in YA Lit 11 Young Adult Novels By Asian-American Authors - Bustle richincolor.com/ Latinx Ya Shelf - Goodreads 13 Upcoming YA Books By Latinx Authors To Start Getting Excited 9 Books By Latinx Authors I Wish I Had As A Teenager - Bustle - American Indians in Children's Literature #OwnVoices Representation: Native American Authors - YA Interrobang Teen Books With Native American Characters and Stories (66 books) www.diversityinya.com/category/book-lists/ Books Outside The Box: Native Americans - The Hub Teen Books by Native Writers to Trumpet Year-Round | School Library 10 Diverse Books by YA Authors of Color to Read in 2017 | Teen Vogue Faces of Color on 2017 YA Books - Book Riot 12 Young Adult Novels With POC Protagonists - Bustle 14 YA Books About LGBTQ People of Color - The B&N Teen Blog BrownBookShelf
Asian American Protagonists
30 Essential LGBT Books for YA Readers - AbeBooks 100 Must-Read LGBTQIA YA Books - Book Riot 23 of Our Most Anticipated LGBTQA YA Books of 2017 - The B&N 72 Must-Read YA Books Featuring Gay Protagonists - Epic Reads The Rainbow Book List Stonewall Book Awards List
LatinX Representation
Disability in Kidlit - Reviews, articles, and more about the portrayal of ... People First: Disabilities in YA Lit - The Hub
Native American Representation
50 Crucial Feminist YA Novels - The B&N Teen Blog 34 Young Adult Books Every Feminist Will Love - BuzzFeed 100 Young Adult Books for the Feminist Reader | Bitch Media
Some thoughts on YA lit and American Indians - American Indians in Children's Literature/Debbie Reese
5 Body-Positive YA Reads to Take to the Beach - The B&N Teen Blog Celebrating Every Body: 25 Body Image Positive Books for Mighty 7 Body Positive YA Books That Slay | Brit + Co Julie Murphy's 'Dumplin' And 6 Other Body Positive YA Novels - Bustle Girls #FSYALit at Teen Librarian Toolbox Rich in Color | Six YA Books with Middle Eastern or Muslim Protagonists Diversity in YA Literature: Muslim Teens - The Hub Jewish Themed Young Adult Books, Not About The Holocaust The Big Five (+1) in YA: Atheism and Agnosticism - The Hub The Big Five (+1) in YA: Buddhism - The Hub
YA Pride (formerly Gay YA) : YA Pride (@YA_Pride) | Twitter
#MHYALit at Teen Librarian Toolbox 29 YA Books About Mental Health That Actually Nail It - BuzzFeed 16 YAs That Get it Right: Mental Health Edition - The B&N Teen Blog YA novels that get real about mental health - HelloGiggles 11 YA Novels That Deal With Mental Health Issues - Bustle 10 Must-Read YA Books That Also Talk About Mental Health - Healthline
Disability in YA Lit
Socio-Economic Diversity in YA Lit Poverty in YA Literature Rich Teen, Poor Teen: Books that depict teens living in poverty #SJYALit: A Bibliography of MG and YA Lit Featuring Homeless Youth MG/YA/NA #ownvoices (216 books) - Goodreads #OwnVoices in Disability and Neurodiversity | The Daily Dahlia 11 of Our Most Anticipated #OwnVoices Reads of 2017 10 Amazing #OwnVoices Reads from 2016 LGBTQA Science Fiction and Fantasy YA by #OwnVoices Authors
Feminist YA

Body Acceptance
YA Books Central - www.yabookscentral.com/
Religious Diversity in YA

Mental Health in YA

Socio-Economic Diversity in YA Lit

Don't forget to check out the hasthag #OwnVoices on Twitter

New Releases

Teen Reads - www.teenreads.com

Book Riot - www.bookriot.com

Barnes and Noble Teen Blog - www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/teen/
17 Upcoming YA by Authors of Color: Bustle Teens of Color on 2018 YA Book Covers - STACKED - books 2018 YA/MG Books With POC Leads (120 books) - Goodreads Thirteen YA Books That Feature POC Leads Coming to You This 2018 17 YA Books By Authors Of Color To Look Out For In The First Half Of 2018
YA Interrobang - www.yainterrobang.com
The Complete List of 2018 YA Releases | Fictionist Magazine YA Novels of 2018 (708 books) - Goodreads YA Debuts 2018 (96 books) - Goodreads Electric Eighteens | Electric 18s - 2018 Debut Young Adult
YA Lit - www.yalit.com
Doing a YA Collection Diversity Audit: Understanding Your Local Community (Part 1) Doing a YA Collection Diversity Audit: The How To (Part 2) Doing a YA Collection Diversity Audit: Resources and Sources (Part 3) Diversity Audit Outline 2017 with Sources
Epic Reads - www.epicreads.com

Pop Crush - www.popcrush.com

Bustle - www.bustle.com

Adventures in YA - www.adventuresinya.com

Coming Soon

2018 YA Books with (Possible) LGBT Themes (114 books) - Goodreads - please note the possible noted here

*with assistance from TLTer Heather Booth

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Doing a YA Collection Diversity Audit: Resources and Sources (Part 3)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In this final post on doing my diversity audit, I just wanted to share my sources and resources with you. It's also available in the PDF outline of my process, but since these are clickable links you may prefer to access them this way.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In the interests of equity, we will be providing transcripts for each episode. Right now, we are using a service that is becoming costly, so please consider donating to help support this endeavor! If you have experience in creating transcripts and would be willing to donate or discount your services, please contact us.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Understanding how school discipline policies can contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline is essential for educators and families. Harsh punishments, automatic out-of-class time and police involvement for discipline can push young people out of classrooms and into the criminal legal system. But educators, parents and caregivers can help to change this harmful system by advocating for and implementing practices that prioritize mental health and well-being.

We offer this new resource page that highlights LFJ articles and content to open dialogue, shift practices and foster change to benefit all young people.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Learning for Justice | Education Resources

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learning for Justice provides free resources to educators-teachers, administrators, counselors and other practitioners-who work with children from kindergarten through high school. Educators use our materials to supplement the curriculum, to inform their practices, and to create civil and inclusive school communities where children are respected, valued and welcome participants.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
By Wayne Au

Interrogating the recent Supreme Court decision ending affirmative action in college admissions, Au dismantles conservative arguments that pit Asian Americans against other people of color.

By Sohyun An

Four Asian American middle school students connect and grow during the pandemic through a virtual book club focused on Asian American history and literature.

Recent issues

Rethinking Schools is the country's leading grassroots magazine for social and racial justice in education.

News from Rethinking Schools

Get the free Teaching for Black Lives Starter Pack when you sign up today for email updates from Rethinking Schools.

About Rethinking Schools

Rethinking Schools began in 1986, when a group of Milwaukee education activists - teachers, teacher educators, and community members - met to talk about how they could bring more critical voices into the conversation about public schools and libraries. These founding Rethinking Schools editors saw a school curriculum that was conservative, dumbed-down, and dominated by corporate-produced textbooks. Inappropriate standardized testing was rampant. Racial bias infected every level of schooling.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Rethinking Schools is a nonprofit publisher and advocacy organization dedicated to sustaining and strengthening public education through social justice teaching and education activism.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"I believe in the power of Facing History."

-Durias D., Facing History Alum

"I went to a Facing History workshop and it opened my eyes."

-Tareeq R., Educator

Facing History & Ourselves
uses lessons of history
to challenge teachers
and their students
to stand up to bigotry and hate.

Facing History & Ourselves is more than our name. It is an active and continuous process that calls on each of us to connect the choices of the past to those we face today. To build a more just and equitable future, we must face our history in all its complexity, Are you ready to face history with us?

Learn how you can experience Facing History

Facing History has thousands of research-based resources and professional learning events to support Social Studies and English Language Arts education.

Not in the United States?

Sign Up

And hopefully, they will always remember what happened to us and make sure that it won't happen again.

Sonia Weitz, Holocaust survivor and poet

Sign up to download the PDF version of our textbook, Holocaust and Human Behavior.

Facing History students are 94% more likely than their peers to report that their class motivated them to learn.

92% of Facing History teachers agree that Facing History helps their students stand up for what they believe even when others disagree.

91% of elective teachers agree or strongly agree that their Facing History course promoted their students' abilities to ground reading, writing, and speaking in evidence from text.

Demand for our work is greater than ever. Make a 100% tax-deductible donation today and you'll help us reach even more teachers and students around the world, giving them the tools to stand up to bigotry and hate.

Gift Amount

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Facing History & Ourselves uses lessons of history to challenge teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Teaching for Change and Rethinking Schools collaborate to bring people's history to the classroom.

A dedicated website to encourage and support teaching about Central American history.

The best selection of multicultural and social justice books for children, YA, and educators.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Building social justice starting in the classroom.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
After WNDB was formed in 2014, our team traveled across the country to conferences and book festivals where they heard a common theme - diverse books can be hard to find. That's why we created OurStory to help address this problem.

The OurStory app is a tool that highlights books with diverse content and by content creators from marginalized communities.

For more details about the OurStory app, contact Dhonielle Clayton:dhonielleclayton@wndb.local.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
After WNDB was formed in 2014, our team traveled across the country to conferences and book festivals where they heard a common theme - diverse books can be hard to find. That's why we created OurStory to help address this problem.

# data[].attributes.headline
SLJ Diversity and Cultural Literacy Syllabus 

# data[].attributes.subject
SLJ Diversity and Cultural Literacy Syllabus 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Summer 2016 online course
Week 1: Invisibility and Appropriation
Colorblind Ideology Is a Form of Racism by Monnica T. Williams, Ph. D. (from Psychology Today)

When You're Invisible, Every Representation Matters (from Native Appropriations blog)

A Cultural Conundrum: Exploring Cultural Appropriation in Children's Literature (from The Book Wars blog)

We [Native Peoples] Are Not People of Color by Debbie Reese

The Danger of a Single Story | Chimamanda Adichie
Special Guest Keynote:
American Indians in Children's Literature | Debbie Reese
Week 2: Stereotyping
Straight Talk on Race: Challenging the Stereotypes in Kids' Books (article by Mitali Perkins, SLJ, April 2009)

The Difference Between Stereotypes, Tropes, and Archetypes (from WriteWorld.org)

Stereotypes: Negative Racial Stereotypes and Their Affect on Attitudes Toward African-Americans (Perspectives on Multiculturalism and Diversity)

Disability Tropes (from Disability in Kid Lit blog)

Stories for All (posts from Shannon Hale and other writers discussing the harm in gendering books)

The Duty of Professional Reviews (post from Reading While White on importance of professional reviews addressing racist and problematic content)

Contesting Ideology in Children's Book Reviewing (article by Debbie Reese from Studies in American Indian Literatures)

The Gender Coverup (article from Maureen Johnson on gendered book covers in YA)

Representation and the Media | Stuart Hall

Stereotypes in Children's Literature | Toby Rajput

Why Do You Think Stereotypes Are True? | Decoded/MTV
Week 3: White Privilege and Unconscious Bias Articles:
White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack by Peggy McIntosh
White Supremacy Culture
On Racism and White Privilege (from Teaching Tolerance)

On Being White: A Raw, Honest Conversation by Allie Jane Bruce ( Children & Libraries, Fall 2015)

Can We Talk About Whiteness? (NPR's Code Switch podcast)
Additional Reading:
10 Ways White People Are More Racist Than They Realize by Kalli Holloway (Salon via Alternet)

What White Children Need to Know About Race (from NAIS)

The All-Too-Familiar Fog of White Authenticating by Nina Lindsay (on the Reading While White blog)
Videos: What Is Privilege? How the Biases in the Back of Your Mind Affect How You Feel About Race How To Talk About Race Week 4: Microaggressions | Eric Deggans/TEDx | PBS Newshour Additional Reading: | Buzzfeed
Microaggressions Matter (from The Atlantic)
More readings, as recommended in our live chat with Malinda Lo: Crystallizing Microaggressions Culturally Generic/Neutral? The Road to Heck NLGJA Stylebook Microaggressions in Everyday Life
Perceptions of Diversity in Book Reviews by Malinda Lo (from Diversity in YA blog)

Microaggressions.com, a visual representation of everyday microaggressions.

Microaggressions in Everyday Life (from the University of Missouri)

Racial Microaggressions: Comments That Sting | NYTimes
Week 5: Intersectionality

What Is Intersectionality? (from SRS Discussion Forum)
Intersectionality Week 6: Cultural Authenticity and Authorial Responsibility
Broadening Feminism(s): Intersectionality 101 (from LIP)

Rethinking Sexism: How Trans Women Challenge Feminism (alternet)

Sometimes Intersectionality Means You STFU by April Hathcock (At the Intersection blog)
Additional Reading:
Who Can Tell My Story? by Jacqueline Woodson ( Horn Book, Jan/Feb 1998)

Writing About Race (from Connecting YA)
Week 7: Historical Accuracy, Smiling Slaves, and Recent Controversies
Evaluating Cultural Authenticity in Multicultural Picture Books ( Library Quarterly, 2014)

Sensitivity Readers and Why I Pulled a Project (from Debut Author series on Mary Robinette Kowal blog)

Cultural Authenticity | Rudine Sims Bishop

"Self-censorship" of Children's Book Depicting Smiling Slave Condemned by Alison Flood ( The Guardian, Jan. 25, 2016)

The Real Censorship in Children's Books: Smiling Slaves Is Just the Half of It by Daniel José Older ( The Guardian, Jan. 29, 2016)

How Two "Slavery with a Smile" Controversies Are Changing the Conversation About Diverse Children's Books by Sarah Seltzer (Flavorwire, Feb. 25, 2016)
Additional Reading
A Native Perspective of Laura Amy Schlitz's The Hired Girl by Debbie Reese (American Indians in Children's Literature)

Which Book Will Hurt Which Reader How? by Roger Sutton (Read Roger, Horn Book blog) **Don't miss the discussion in the comments.**

Accuracy or Bias: On Prejudicial Characters in Children's Literature and Beyond by Justine Ireland (Bookriot)

Thoughts On "But Kids Say This Stuff!" by Allie Jane Bruce (Reading While White blog)

Are Historical Heroes Allowed to Have Prejudices in Children's Literature? by Betsy Bird (from Fuse 8 blog)

The Pocahontas Paradox: A Cautionary Tale for Educators by Cornel Pewewardy (Journal of Navajo Education, 1996/7)
Additional Reading Up for Discussion: When Is It Okay to Mention "Diversity" in a Review?
"Huckleberry Finn" and the N-word | 60 Minutes
Week 8: Reading and Evaluating Through a Diverse Lens
Special Guest Keynote:
I Gave a Speech About Race to the Publishing Industry and No One Heard Me by Mira Jacob (via Buzzfeed)

Milestones for Diversity in Children's Literature and Library Services by KT Horning ( Children & Libraries, Fall 2015)

Ten Steps for Reviewing Books (from NAEYC)

Reviewing Through a Diverse Lens | KT Horning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
SLJ Diversity and Cultural Literacy Syllabus

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Summer 2016 online course Week 1: Invisibility and Appropriation Colorblind Ideology Is a Form of Racism by Monnica T. Williams, Ph. D.

# data[].attributes.headline
Was the Cat in the Hat Black?: The Hidden Racism of Children’s Literature, and Why We Need Diverse Books

# data[].attributes.subject
Was the Cat in the Hat Black?: The Hidden Racism of Children’s Literature, and Why We Need Diverse Books

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Here's some news I've been itching to share: Oxford University Press will publish my next book, Was the Cat in the Hat Black?: The Hidden Racism of Children's Literature, and Why We Need Diverse Books. Also, this coming Monday, I will be turning in (to Oxford) the complete manuscript of the book. Though it's too early to confirm a publication date, I'm hoping it will be out by late 2016.

No, the entire book is not about the Cat in the Hat, though Seuss's famous feline features prominently in one chapter. The book is about different manifestations of structural racism in the world of children's books: the subtle persistence of racial caricature, how anti-racist revisionism sustains racist ideas, invisibility as a form of racism, whitewashing young adult book covers, and institutional discrimination within the publishing industry. The book takes its title from the Seuss chapter (which looks at, among other things, the influence of blackface minstrelsy on the Cat) because several of his works illustrate how racism hides openly - indeed, thrives - in popular culture for young people. Since the hidden racism of children's literature is my central theme, a Cat-in-the-Hat riff on Shelley Fisher Fishkin's Was Huck Black? became the title.

Here's my opening paragraph:

Fifty years after the Civil Rights Movement, we have a new civil rights crusade - the Black Lives Matter movement, inspired by the 2013 acquittal of Trayvon Martin's murderer, and galvanized by the 2014 Ferguson protests. Fifty years after Nancy Larrick's famous "All-White World of Children's Books" article (1965) asked where were the people of color in literature for young readers, the We Need Diverse Books campaign is asking the same questions. These two phenomena are related. America is again entering a period of civil rights activism because racism is resilient, sneaky, and endlessly adaptable. In other words, racism endures because racism is structural: it's embedded in culture, and in institutions. One of the places that racism hides - and the best place to oppose it - is books for young people.

As the Publishers Weekly blurb says, Was the Cat in the Hat Black? is indeed an "attempt... to do for children's books what The New Jim Crow does for the justice system."

I realize that this is a tall order: Michelle Alexander's book is both powerful and beautifully written. But this is indeed my aim. I want not just to get more people thinking about racism's resilience in children's literature. I want people to act. I want not merely to recognize the dire need for more children's and young adult books that better represent the experiences of non-White people. I want people to join the movement for diverse books. So, rather than just conclude, Was the Cat in the Hat Black? ends with a call to action - "A Manifesto for Anti-Racist Children's Literature."

Finishing this book (on top of teaching, writing other things, grading, editing, and everything else) is one reason this blog has recently been a little quieter than usual. As regular or even irregular readers of Nine Kinds of Pie have likely already guessed, fragments of this work-in-progress have appeared here. My earliest (and admittedly flawed) thinking on what developed into Chapter Two started as "Can Censoring a Children's Book Remove Its Prejudices?" Parts of an autobiographical post appear in the introduction. Indeed, I gave an earlier, article version of the title chapter its own blog post. Scattered here and there across the blog are glimpses of me thinking about racism in children's literature. Many of these pieces will vanish when the blog does, but others - almost always in a significantly revised form - find their way into the book.

So, a hearty thanks to those who have read and commented here, answered my questions, offered feedback when I've presented portions of this work, or educated me via your books and articles. I've learned so much from all of you. (Hint: Look for your names in the book's Acknowledgments!) I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Was the Cat in the Hat Black?: The Hidden Racism of Children's Literature, and Why We Need Diverse Books

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Here's some news I've been itching to share: Oxford University Press will publish my next book, Was the Cat in the Hat Black?: The Hidden Racism of Children's Literature, and Why We Need Diverse Books. Also, this coming Monday, I will be turning in (to Oxford) the complete manuscript of the book.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When I first learned about Jane Mount's Bibliophile: An Illustrated Miscellany , I was excited . ( I love books! This is a book about loving books? What is there not to love?! ) My heart sank, however, when I saw this preview spread of the "Formative Faves" page via Amazon:

Almost every book featured in this spread was written by a White person-and one of them is Little House on the Prairie . (I'm not sure that having your humanity denied to you through racist depictions and erasure in literature-both singularly and - inspires bibliophilia.) Every human illustrated on this page is depicted with the same shade of pinky-pale skin. I know that this is just one spread of the book, and there are attempts elsewhere to include voices of readers and authors of varying identities; still, the message this particular spread sends to me is that the "Formative Faves" page was made with White readers in mind. systemically

The stories I read in my own formative years are not too different from those listed in the book. If I made a list of my favorite books from when I was a kid, only one title would be a book by an author of color. There are more racist titles by White people in my childhood memories than authentic multicultural stories or #OwnVoices texts. I can't change what I read as a child, nor can I deny my majority-White authored reading history. I will never know how much I missed out on, how many stories I did not get to hear, because creators were not given opportunities to write or publish their own stories and also because my grown-up gatekeepers did not give me access to all of the books that were published. I will spend a lifetime trying to understand the effect this lack of connection to these stories and problematic representation in these stories had on my development and socialization. I must continue working to unlearn the lessons taught subtly and explicitly through the stories I did and did not (and still today, do and do not) have opportunities to read.

When I think about my childhood reading, I can choose not to think about the racist books I loved. Because I do not face racism as a White person, it is easy for me to (though I am working to not do this) fall into the trap of making racism a "thought experiment" or glossing over what is problematic. This is all a result of privilege. I don't have to carry the trauma of having to suffer through book lists, read alouds, and a celebrated 'canon' of books that dehumanize or erase me because I am White. When I think about my childhood reading experiences and I feel warm and fuzzy, these feelings are a result of all of the books I connected with as a kid, the books that affirmed me, all of the racial mirrors I had (taking Rudine Sims Bishop's metaphor into account). Those feelings of coziness and belonging are NOT universal, and White readers like me have to stop pretending that they are. Racist books, even those from the past, are not ever reflective of the way all people "thought back then." As long as there have been books, there have been people fighting racism in books-and today, with more knowledge, I can be thoughtful in choosing which books from my past I want to celebrate in my present.

Nostalgia for a racist institution like #kidlit (or politics, or school, or film, or theater, or fine art) will always support racism. Because children's lit is an institution brimming with White supremacy culture, nostalgia reflects and perpetuates this reality. In our capitalistic society, #kidlit book nostalgia has also been commodified-and its racism has been embedded in that too. Do you love Out of Print clothing? Take a look at how many T-shirts you can buy that celebrate books by creators of color (not many). How about MerryMakers dolls or the children's literature posters made by Litographs ? See how few IPOC artists are represented in what is available.

I'm not saying that people should not celebrate a favorite book or author with a tote bag or other merchandise. I am asking my fellow White people to think more about what the tote bag selection says about the industry and its history, and what systems these collections of merchandise continue to support. Book nostalgia and capitalism will never stop chugging out book-themed stuff for us to consume, but librarians, teachers, and readers can work to see how this too is part of the push to romanticize the past-and that 'looking back' also impacts our culture of today. Whenever and however we celebrate this past, and assume that readers' formative experiences were positive and affirming, who are we assuming as the default audience? When White stories, creators, and readers are centered over and over and over again-White people like me are being told that we matter more. That our stories matter more. That our lives matter more. We see this in the "classics." We see this in what book T-shirt options exist. And this has a direct connection to the inequities we see today, from the practitioner end (for example, the lack of racial diversity in upcoming conference lineups like ) and publishing (see CCBC's most recent statistics on racial diversity in children's book publishing).

Last month I had a chance to visit the American Writers Museum . In the room focused on children's literature, there is a mural celebrating children's " ." Unsurprisingly, this mural reflects both the lack of diversity in children's literature as well as the overt (yet unchallenged in this display) racism in titles like and . Until there is equity in the children's literature ecosystem, there will never be equity in our culture of #kidlit nostalgia or celebrations of the classics. We can't erase nor can we forget the past, but we can choose when, why, and how much to focus on it. We can intentionally examine this past critically, following the lead of people doing this now using the hashtag Little House in the Big Woods #DisruptTexts . We can work to understand our nostalgia and the purpose it serves. Hopefully this work will translate into action, including conscious choices to focus less on upholding and romanticizing the past and more on what changes needs to happen, and what excellent books can be celebrated, today. Island of the Blue Dolphins

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When I first learned about Jane Mount's Bibliophile: An Illustrated Miscellany , I was excited . ( I love books! This is a book about loving books? What is there not to love?!

# data[].attributes.body
by Laura Jiménez

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
I must confess, I have a special place in my heart for big stats. Not for the reasons most researchers will give - I don't think the TRUTH lies within big numbers. No. But, I think massive amounts of data can give us two dimension of a story - sort of the breadth and width of things. And, in this case, the THING I am looking at today are picturebooks. To be precise - I'm looking at Great #OwnVoices Picturebooks.

The Cooperative Children's Book Center is the children's literature go to organization for Big Data. Publishers both big and small send books to the CBCC all year and the librarians (both staff and students) count all the things. The annual collection consists of "books typically available for sale to public schools and public libraries".

As you can see, with a few exceptions (2004-05, 2013) there has been a steady increase in the number of children's books published in the United States of America.

Too many publishers, scholars, authors, editors, librarians, and teachers have told us - People of Color, Native Americans, the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities, and non-neurotypical people - to wait our turn. We've been told that change takes times, and above all else, to give authors, editors, and publishers the benefit of the doubt. It stands to reason, if we wait for the market to grown, then the pie gets bigger, and the bigger the pie, the more share I get. Right? Right!?! RIGHT!?!?!?!?

Well, the results from the CCBC 2017 count is in and it is a freakin' crime ( thanks to Lee and Low for putting tother this infographic). I want to draw people attention to this bit, down here, near the bottom of the image .... you see that?

7%.
Seven. Siete. Sept. S-E-V-E-N. As in the 7 Deadly Sins kind of seven.

I'm not giving up and I know my colleagues are committed to educating literary gatekeepers to recognize the need for a rich variety of diverse #OwnVoices literature in classrooms and libraries. In addition, the authors aren't stopping anytime soon. Providing children and young adults with a wide array of authentic representation is a change that will make us a better society - full stop.

Unfortunately, White writers and editors are freakin out about SEVEN PERCEPT! of children's books that are published being by and about under represented communities. They are clutching pearls, and asking to see all the managers, because they are threatened by the very idea that we are demanding a wide array of representation written by the people being represented. Please see Nora Baskin's Ted X talk for the best of this not-isolated-at-all-flaming-trash-heap of White fragility in action.

Instead of understanding #OwnVoices they decided White authors should write random non-White, non-straight, disabled, non-neurotypical characters, as long as those characters are just like them. You know, "normal", which is White code for "White, like me."

Instead of leaving you with this dismal state of affairs, I want to highlight some #OwnVoices picturebooks that you need for your library and classroom. In addition, I am going to URGE you to go to Goodreads and Amazon to post reviews!

Alma, by Juana Martinez-Neal

This picturebook just made me feel good about being Latina. Alma is a little girl with a big name - Alma Sofia Esperanza José Pura Candela. This book is a beautiful and loving illustration of the ways Latinx names recognize and honor our histories.

The illustrations by Martinez-Neal are striking in their quiet grace. Using what looks like pencil and charcoal Martinez-Neal brings a vibrancy to the lives of Alma's ancestors, as well as to the ways she identifies and connects with them.

When We Were Alone by David Robertson and Julie Flett.

I used this book with my children's literature classes because of the complex and subtle narrative structure. This book gave me, a non-indigenous person, a small glimpse of the fallout from the cultural genocide boarding schools perpetrated on Native Americans and First Nations people. (And yes, it was genocide. Calling it anything else and you are just trying to make yourself feel better).

The book features a young girl hanging out with her Kókom (grandmother) and asking her why does things like grow flowers, wear a long braid, and laugh with her brother. The reasons are all bound to her Kókom's time in boarding school. Throughout the picturebook there are tensions: the simple premise and the hard subject matter; the plain faces and the expressiveness of those faces; the colorful beauty of the little girl and her Kókom alongside the drab and faded look to the boarding school images. Flett's illustrations could be used as a master class in mood - a notoriously difficult literary concept to teach across k-12 English Language Arts classrooms. The changes in color palette from the present to the past signals the changes in time, place, and mood to the reader.

A Different Pond by Bao Phi and Thi Bui

Phi's intimate story of an early morning fishing trip with his father is told in sparse text and rich colors. The gentle ways the story unfolds keeps many readers engaged and enthralled.

The deep melancholy of the book makes it stand out among children's book. A tired young boy and his father getting up before day break to fish is familiar story. What makes A Different Pond unique is that it takes a common story and tells it from an immigrant's point of view. The boy references his father's accent (Vietnamese) "A kid at my school said my dad's English sounds like a thick, dirty river." The father tells the baitman, who he obviously knows well, that he's got a second job. What surprises many readers is that this family is fishing not for sport, or fun but for sustenance. They talk about how difficult immigrating to the United States has been and why it is worth it for their family. And, by taking the young Bao Phi with him, this father is including him in his love and care for the family.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I must confess, I have a special place in my heart for big stats. Not for the reasons most researchers will give - I don't think the TRUTH lies within big numbers. No. But, I think massive amounts of data can give us two dimension of a story - sort of the breadth and width...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Workshops

In many ways, the racial injustice being highlighted at this time in history is not new. What IS new is the way racial justice is now being covered by the mainstream media and discussed in just about every forum. Students are looking to their teachers to help navigate and make sense of what they are seeing. In our workshops, we help educators develop the knowledge and skills to support students in this process - and to work with colleagues in developing inclusive, antiracist curricula and school communities.

Some of our newest workshops include:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In many ways, the racial injustice being highlighted at this time in history is not new. What IS new is the way racial justice is now being covered by the mainstream media and discussed in just about every forum. Students are looking to their teachers to help navigate and make sense of what they are seeing.

# data[].attributes.headline
Disrupting a Destructive Cycle: How Literacy Drives Social Change

# data[].attributes.subject
Disrupting a Destructive Cycle: How Literacy Drives Social Change

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
International Literacy Association, Newark, Delaware. 74K likes. ILA is a global advocacy and membership organization dedicated to transforming lives through literacy.

# data[].attributes.headline
Reimagining the Canon to Study Youth Culture

# data[].attributes.subject
Reimagining the Canon to Study Youth Culture

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
With the surge of youth activism making headlines across the nation, along with the vitriolic backlash to said activism, it is a ripe time to examine how "youth" exists as a social and cultural construct.

Drawing on Nancy Lesko's Act Your Age!: A Cultural Construction of Adolescence, this analysis would have us think how, historically and socially, the concept of "youth" has been created by political and cultural institutions. In order to study the social and cultural construction of youth, we must first honor the interests of today's youth, which requires us as educators to challenge, deconstruct, and reconstruct the canon with our students.

The focus of February's NCTE chat was the "Canon of Our Community," which called on educators to reimagine the purpose, content, and form of the canon in order to "celebrate the voices of our students and honor the literacies of their communities."

As Perry and Stallworth (2013) note, today's student "thinks from multiple perspectives, partially because of the advancements in technologies, but also because of the diverse society America itself has become" (p. 16). These advancements in technology should prompt us educators to expand the form of texts we study as well. Television, video games, music, and other digital and nonprint texts are just as worthy of critical analysis as traditional print texts. For too long, white, cisgender, heterosexual male standards have dominated what and who is deemed worthy of canonical status.

As English teacher and critical pedagogue Julia E. Torres notes in her examination of AP course content, the powers that deem a text "canonical" are "not the ones teaching the texts to high school kids" ( April 14, 2018). Torres then calls for a reconstruction of the canon with students and teachers working as the coauthors.

Torres's call echoes author Jason Reynolds's assertion that educators need to "expand" the literary canon to honor the full range of texts, authors, and topics that young people are already critically consuming. These calls to action should be centered in the way we teach English and the ways in which we prepare the next generation of English teachers. It is my belief that we cannot analyze youth culture if we marginalize and ridicule texts that youth consume in their lives as lacking merit.

The texts young people consume have merit; the fact that young people are engaging in the texts is the merit.

This school year, I created a unit for my ninth graders that focuses on the study of youth. This unit was inspired both by youth activists across the nation and a presentation I attended at last year's NCTE Annual Convention in St. Louis entitled "Using YA Lit and a Youth Lens to Promote Student Voices in the Classroom" (Hinton-Johnson, Roseboro, Arenas, Shafqat, & Wilmot, 2017).

In the unit, we explore how youth is positioned, constructed, and altered in our culture and society. The driving questions of the unit are

How is youth socially and culturally constructed?

How do social and cultural constructions of youth intersect with other identities? How do those intersections relate to power dynamics?

How has youth historically been socially and culturally constructed?

What differences exist between sociocultural understandings of youth and biological understandings of youth?

How can texts challenge or confirm dominant sociocultural views of youth?

Students select one anchor book from the list represented in the stack here to read throughout the unit.

Then, as a class, we watch several television shows spanning the decades in order to analyze how youth has changed throughout generations. We watch contemporary shows like Grown-ish and On My Block as well as older shows like Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Daria, and the Degrassi series (Yes, I do feel my age when I categorize shows I grew up with as "older.").

Then we analyze the shows using the guiding questions included here. They were adapted from an article by Petrone, Sarigianides, and Lewis (2015).

Finally, we read nonfiction texts that illuminate how youth has been socially and cultural situated throughout the history of the United States.

As we analyze the various texts, we consider how this text either challenges or confirms dominant views of youth. It is also important that we do not isolate "youth" as a singular identity. As writer Ijeoma Oluo illustrates, systemic racism denies Black and Brown youth the rights "to be kids" and robs Black and Brown youth of the right to "look fondly on their teenage hijinks-because these get them expelled or locked away" (2018, p. 133).

We cannot ignore the reality that "teenage hijinks" and carefree youth are realities to those with privileged identities. Students should critically examine how youth intersects with race, gender, sex, sexuality, class, and other identities that characters inhabit to address how "multilayered structures of power and domination" shape the experiences of young people (Cho, Crenshaw, & McCall, 2013, p. 804) . Indeed, reconstructing the canon allows for the voices of marginalized youth to be centered and studied in the classroom.

I am not advocating for full abandonment of "classic" texts. In fact, Romeo and Juliet makes for an excellent case study in discussing social and cultural constructions of youth. Rather, I am suggesting we challenge systems that get to define who and what composes the canon and vigorously coconstruct a new canon with students. A new canon would include everything from Shakespeare to stand-up comedies; from poems to tweets; from amended AP prompts to young adult literature. In studying youth culture through a new canon, we challenge the notion that the canon is static.

In fact, we reimagine a canon that is living, breathing, dynamic, and reflective of the world our students live in. Additionally, we move from viewing youth in deficit-centered discourses to understanding youth culture as something worthy of analysis within a classroom space.

For more readings on using youth theory in English language arts classrooms, educators should read Rethinking the "Adolescent" in Adolescent Literacy by Sophia Tatiana Sarigianides, Robert Petrone, and Mark A. Lewis, which was recently recommended as a summer professional development text by NCTE.
References
Cho, S., Crenshaw, K., & McCall, L. (2013). Toward a field of intersectionality studies: Theory, applications, and praxis. Signs, 38(4), 785-810.

Hinton-Johnson, K., Roseboro, A., Arenas, S., Shafqat, S., & Wilmot, R. (2017, November). Using YA lit and a youth lens to promote student voices in the classroom. Panel discussion at the National Council of Teachers of English Annual Convention, St. Louis, MO.

Lesko, N. (2012). Act your age!: A cultural construction of adolescence (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

Oluo, I. (2018). So you want to talk about race? New York. NY: Seal Press, Hachette Book Group.

Perry, T., & Stallworth, B. J. (2013). 21st-century students demand a balanced, more inclusive canon. Voices from the Middle, 21(1), 15-18.

Petrone, R., Sarigianides, S. T., & Lewis, M. (2015). The youth lens: Analyzing adolescence/ts in literary texts. Journal of Literacy Research, 46(4), 506-533.

Reynolds, J. (2018, January 23). Interview with Trevor Noah. The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Retrieved from http://www.cc.com/video-clips/avk8pe/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah-jason-reynolds-serving-young-readers-with-long-way-down-

Sarigianides, S. T., Petrone, R., & Lewis, M. (2018). Rethinking the "adolescent" in adolescent literacy. Urbana, IL: NCTE.

Torres, J. (2018, April 14). Literary canon-boom! #educolor [Blog]. Retrieved from https://juliaetorres.blog/2018/04/14/literary-canon-boom/.

Cody Miller teaches ninth-grade English language arts at P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School, the University of Florida's affiliated K-12 laboratory school. He can be reached at cmiller@pky.ufl.edu or on Twitter @CodyMillerELA. He is also a PhD candidate in English education at the University of Florida.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Reimagining the Canon to Study Youth Culture - NCTE

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
With the surge of youth activism making headlines across the nation, along with the vitriolic backlash to said activism, it is a ripe time to examine how "youth" exists as a social and cultural construct.

# data[].attributes.headline
How Inclusive is your Literacy Classroom Really?

# data[].attributes.subject
How Inclusive is your Literacy Classroom Really?

# data[].attributes.body
by Tricia Ebarvia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In 1981, my family moved eighteen miles from northeast Philadelphia to the suburbs. Because I had just turned five, my parents decided we needed to move into a better school district. This meant moving from a predominantly black neighborhood to a predominantly white one. I didn't know it then, but it would be my first lesson in how segregation works.

My parents emigrated from the Philippines in the 1970s. They were part of a professional class that came to the United States in a wave of Asian immigration after the passage of the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act. Like many immigrants, they came for a better life, for themselves and for their families. And so when they could afford to move to a better school district for my brother and me, they did.

Throughout elementary and middle school, my brother and I were among only a handful of students of color-and, if my memory is correct, we were two of only three Asian Americans in the building, in our classes, on the playground. We went to parochial school, and though I always knew I was different, I had a good experience. I did well in school, slept over best friends' houses on the weekends, and played township softball in the spring.

When I think back to those years, I feel lucky for the education I received and grateful to my parents for the sacrifices they made. It was only later, however, when I read W. E. B. Dubois in college-read his definition of double consciousness- that I could identify the most important lesson my education afforded me.

I learned to assimilate.

Most of my lessons in assimilation came through the books I read in school-and I loved to read. As an introvert, I lost myself in the world of books. But into whose worlds did I enter?

Not a single character in any book I read for school-not any book that was recommended to me by a teacher-included a character who looked like me, who shared similar conflicts related to my identity as a student of color. I studied Shakespeare and Milton, Fitzgerald and Twain, Hawthorne and Steinbeck. (I'd always considered myself "well-educated," but recently I've realized that "well-educated" has a rather narrow definition.)

This was the 1990s. Twenty-plus years later, I wonder how much has changed. Meanwhile, our society certainly has. According to census data, less than three years from now in 2020, students of color will make up the majority of the children sitting in our classrooms. Those schoolchildren will graduate and go on to work within and among the most diverse generation in history.

* * *

I share my story because I believe our past experiences in school shape the teachers we become-in profound and insidious ways. When I first started teaching, my assimilationist tendencies pervaded my teaching too. I didn't understand that too often to assimilate meant to erase. I did not question what I was asked to teach; I didn't wonder (with the urgency I should have) about voices that were absent or silenced. Teachers are human; we like our comfort zones. How many times, after all, have we used or heard our colleagues reason, "That's how I learned X!" or "When I was in school, Y worked for me!"? We teach what we know, what we were taught-but what we know is incomplete, and what we were taught could be damaging to kids.

I don't think my story is unique, and in talking with other educators of color, it isn't. It took years for me to realize how much I had missed in my own schooling; I think we owe it to the kids in our classrooms to not make the same mistakes.
Toward Inclusive Practices
Reading and writing can be powerful tools for agency and liberation, which is why making sure our practices are grounded in inclusion is so important. What do I mean by inclusive practices? Inclusive practices are those that guarantee the perspectives and contributions of all people-especially of diverse backgrounds who have been traditionally marginalized such as LGBTQ+ individuals, people with disabilities, and people of color-are given equal recognition, attention, and care in all learning environments.

Inclusive practices consist of both curricular materials and teaching methods. It assumes that because the aim of education is to empower students, decisions regarding curricula or methods are always political in nature. When our teaching practices are not inclusive, we perpetuate systemic inequalities.

View the full pdf here
Eight Questions to Ask Yourself
So what can we do? As educators, we must ask ourselves tough, uncomfortable questions about the ways in which our experiences have led to biases that have affected-and infected-our practices. We must start by looking at ourselves.

Below are eight questions for self-reflection. As you answer these questions, pay attention to how you might be feeling as you respond. Set aside some quiet time to reflect on your responses-or, better yet, consider inviting a trusted colleague to respond and discuss together. You might also work in small groups at a department or faculty meeting to discuss as well.
How inclusive is the media you consume, personally and professionally?

What do you read by people of color, LGBTQ+ authors, and writers with disabilities? What books, news articles, publications?

What television programs, films, podcasts, and other multimedia do you consume and who creates that media? Whose voices are privileged?

What professional literature do you read? How often and in what ways do you extend your professional reading to include all voices? How diverse is your PLN and PD?

How inclusive is your curriculum?

In what ways is your curriculum shaped by your own educational experiences?

Whose voices are centered in the texts you teach? Whose voices are marginalized or missing?

How do you recognize and celebrate the backgrounds of diverse authors already included in your curriculum?

In what ways do you integrate cultural and racial literacy in your instruction?

How often do you conduct an audit of your curriculum? In what ways has your curriculum changed to meet the needs of today's students? To what extent do you regularly examine and revise your curriculum to search for problems or gaps?

How inclusive is your classroom library?

How does your classroom library mirror your own reading preferences versus those of your students?

Do you know which voices are represented on your bookshelves? Which voices are missing?

In what ways do you include-and how do you find-#ownvoices titles to add to your library? How are these voices integrated versus othered in the way you organize or share titles?

How inclusive are your mentor texts for writing?

What writing-and whose voices-do you hold up as mentors of excellent writing and for what purpose?

What is your definition of good writing? In what ways does that definition include or exclude particular voices or linguistic varieties?

How inclusive is your language?

How often do you use gendered versus non-gendered language?

How do you model respectful and asset-based language (versus deficit language) to describe others, both with students and colleagues?

How inclusive are your class discussions?

How equitable are your class discussions? In what ways do you ensure all student voices are heard?

How do you scaffold class discussion to encourage courageous conversations?

How do you model inclusive thinking for your students?

How often do you show (think aloud) inclusive thinking when discussing your decisions and responses to texts?

In what ways do you demonstrate intellectual and cultural humility in front of students?

How often do you discuss inclusive practices with your colleagues?

In what ways-and how often-do you and your colleagues reflect on your practices to ensure all voices are recognized and respected?

How do you ensure the voices of educators of color are heard and appreciated?

In what ways do you advocate for inclusive practices beyond your classroom?

Of course, these questions are by no means exhaustive. Many educators have been doing this work longer and have written extensively and brilliantly about these issues (see list at the end for additional resources).

As you read these questions, you may find yourself questioning your practices. Or you might feel defensive about them. But try to look objectively at your teaching. Step into whatever discomfort you might feel-and ask yourself, honestly, why you're feeling that way.

This work isn't easy. It takes time and patience and a relentless commitment to being critical of ourselves and the systems around us. I have often caught myself falling into bad habits, and I must continue to work actively to decolonize my own assumptions of what is considered valuable.

While these questions are structured in list form, inclusive practices cannot be reduced to a checklist. For example, an inclusive curriculum cannot be achieved by simply checking off a list of diverse authors and texts. Instead, inclusive practices must infuse every part of our pedagogy.

Asking ourselves these questions is a necessary first step-yet it is only a step. The real work begins when we take action.

Tricia Ebarvia is a 2016-2018 Heinemann Fellow. Tricia has spent the last 15 years as a classroom educator with a student-driven approach to teaching reading and writing. Through her career, Tricia has applied the philosophy of the teacher-as-researcher while applying best practices to "cultivate independent learners" through independent reading and student choice. "For better or worse, "well enough" doesn't satisfy me. I approach each school year, each course, each unit with fresh eyes." Follow Tricia on twitter @TriciaEbarvia.

Additional resources:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Tricia Ebarvia: How Inclusive Is Your Literacy Classroom Really?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In 1981, my family moved eighteen miles from northeast Philadelphia to the suburbs. Because I had just turned five, my parents decided we needed to move into a better school district. This meant moving from a predominantly black neighborhood to a predominantly white one.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.embed_code
Tweets by ProjectLITComm

# data[].attributes.headline
Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games by Ebony Elizabeth Thomas

# data[].attributes.subject
Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games by Ebony Elizabeth Thomas

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Publisher of academic books and electronic media publishing for general interest and in a wide variety of fields.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
* Diverse = Set in a non-Western world or inspired by a non-Western world; or with a main character who is non-white, LGBTQ+, and/or disabled

Congratulations to all the books on the 2015 Rainbow List, "a bibliography of books with significant gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender content, and which are aimed at youth, birth through age 18." Here are the Top 10 picks:

Cinnamon Toast and the End of the World by Janet E. Cameron (Hachette Books Ireland)

Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan (Algonquin Young Readers) - Read Sara Farizan's interview with DiYA

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson (Dial Books for Young Readers)

Far From You by Tess Sharpe (Hyperion) - Read Tess Sharpe's interview with DiYA

Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith (Dutton Books)

Secret City by Julia Watts (Bella Books)

Sweet Tooth by Tim Anderson, Tim (Lake Union Publishing)

We Are the Youth: Sharing the Stories of LGBT Youth in the United States by Laurel Golio and Diana Scholl (Space-Made)

Not Every Princess by Jeffrey Bone and Lisa Bone (Magination Press)

This Day in June by Gayle E. Pitman, illustrated by Kristyna Litten (Magination Press)

Check out the whole 2015 Rainbow List here.

Congratulations to the diverse1 young adult books honored at the American Library Association's Youth Media Awards on Feb. 2, 2015!

How I Discovered Poetry by Marilyn Nelson, illustrated by Hadley Hooper (Dial Books) - Coretta Scott King (Author) Honor

How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon (Henry Holt and Company) - Coretta Scott King (Author) Honor

When I Was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds (Atheneum Books for Young Readers) - Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award

I Lived on Butterfly Hill by Marjorie Agosín, illustrated by Lee White (Atheneum Books for Young Readers) - Pura Belpré (Author) Award Winner

Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin (Candlewick Press) - Stonewall Honor

Girls Like Us by Gail Giles (Candlewick Press) - Schneider Family Book Award Winner

Laughing at My Nightmare by Shane Burcaw (Roaring Brook Press) - YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults (Finalist)

The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights by Steve Sheinkin (Roaring Brook Press) - YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults (Finalist)

Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero (Cinco Puntos Press) - William C. Morris Award Winner

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson (Dial Books) - Michael L. Printz Award Winner, Stonewall Honor

Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith (Dutton Books) - Michael L. Printz Honor

This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki (First Second) - Michael L. Printz Honor, Randolph Caldecott Honor

And congratulations to Sharon M. Draper, honored with the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults!
Check out all the winners of ALA's Youth Media Awards here.

By Malinda Lo
Following up on my post last month, "Gay Without the Gay Angst: 12 Books About Gay/Bi/Queer Boys", here is a list of 10 books about lesbian/bisexual/queer girls without a lot of coming-out angst.

If you're looking for a complete lack of coming-out angst, it's better to stick to the fantasy and science fiction; the realistic titles listed below do address coming out, though with much less angst than in some older titles. Also note that these titles are not all happily-ever-after romances; characters do face challenges and relationships may be full of conflict, but the conflicts and challenges are not primarily due to homophobia.

Admittedly, I found it more difficult to find books about queer girls that don't contain a lot of coming-out angst. This may be because fewer books about queer girls are published in general. All I know is: We need more of them.

Fantasy and Science Fiction

Love in the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block - now available; also has a companion novel, The Island of Excess Love

Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis - now available

Radiant Days by Elizabeth Hand - now available

Huntress by Malinda Lo - now available; Lo's other books (Ash, Adaptation and Inheritance) also feature queer girls without the gay angst

Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld - now available

Realistic Fiction

Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan - now available

No One Needs to Know by Amanda Grace (Flux) - now available

Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour - now available

Lies My Girlfriend Told Me by Julie Anne Peters - now available; Peters has written many YA books about lesbian/bisexual girls with varying amounts of gay angst

Far From You by Tess Sharpe - now available

Here's a list of 10 diverse contemporary YA books released in the last six months. Now is a great time to check them out!

By Malinda Lo
Last week when I visited a high school in Seattle, a student asked me for recommendations of YA books about gay boys who didn't have to struggle with a lot of coming-out angst. While coming out can certainly be a struggle (mine was!), I completely understand and sympathize with those who want to read books about gay main characters where they can simply be the main characters without facing a ton of homophobia. For a gay reader especially, encountering a large amount of homophobia in a novel might feel realistic and it might make them feel less alone in the world, but it can also feel like an assault on your own identity.

That's why I've put together this list of a dozen YA books in which the main character is a gay, bisexual, or queer boy, but the story is not necessarily about their sexual orientation. Six are fantasy/science fiction, and six are contemporary realistic fiction. If you're looking for a complete lack of coming-out angst, it's better to stick to the fantasy and science fiction; the realistic titles listed below do address coming out, though with much less angst than in some older titles.

Fantasy & Science Fiction

The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare, Maureen Johnson, and Sarah Rees Brennan - Coming Nov. 11, 2014 in hardcover; features Magnus Bane from Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunters series

Proxy and Guardian by Alex London - a science fiction/dystopian duology available now

Masks: Rise of Heroes by Hayden Thorne - a superhero trilogy available now

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater - the second book in the Raven Cycle, available now

Witch Eyes by Scott Tracey - an urban fantasy trilogy available now

Coda by Emma Trevayne - available now; has a companion novel, Chorus

Realistic Fiction

One Man Guy by Michael Barakiva - now available

Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg - now available

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan - now available; Levithan's Boy Meets Boy is also a classic of the no-gay-angst type

M or F? by Lisa Papademetriou and Chris Tebbetts - now available

Boyfriends With Girlfriends by Alex Sanchez - now available; Sanchez's Rainbow Boys trilogy begins with some coming-out issues, but subsequent books move past that aspect of being gay

Fan Art by Sarah Tregay - now available

Thanks to everyone on Twitter who helped me out with recommendations! I'll post a similar list about lesbian, bisexual, and queer teen girls in the near future.

By Elsa Marston
Abdel-Fattah, Randa. Where the Streets Had a Name (Scholastic 2010). Palestine, MG/YA. On a secret mission of mercy, a girl makes her way-strictly forbidden without permission from Israeli authorities-from her village into Jerusalem. [Also see this author's books about Arab immigrants in Australia: Does My Head Look Big in This? and Ten things I Hate About Me. Both have appealing teen voice.]

Al-Maria, Sophia. The Girl Who Fell to Earth (Harper Perennial 2012). Arabian Peninsula and Egypt, YA. The daughter of a mixed marriage spends time with her father's family in a Gulf State, tries to reconcile her two radically different heritages.

Barakat, Ibtisam. Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood (Kroupa/Farrar Straus Giroux 2007). Palestine, MG/YA. Memoir of a young girl set in a time of war and displacement, but revealing solid family experience.

Carmi, Daniella. Samir and Yonatan (Levine/Scholastic 2000). Israel/Palestinians, MG/YA. A Palestinian boy being treated in an Israeli hospital relates to the children and medical staff.

Carter, Anne Laurel. The Shepherd's Granddaughter (Groundwood 2008). Palestine, MG/YA. In a rural village under attack from a nearby Israeli settlement, a young teenaged girl starts to broaden her horizons.

Clinton, Cathryn. A Stone in My Hand (Candlewick 2002). Palestine, MG/YA. During an outbreak of violence, a young girl in Gaza copes with loss: her father's death and her brother's participation in the insurrection.

Laird, Elizabeth. A Little Piece of Ground (Haymarket 2006; originally Macmillan UK 2003). Palestine, MG/YA. A boy defies Israeli-imposed curfew in his efforts to claim a place to play soccer.

Nye, Naomi Shihab. Habibi (Simon & Schuster 1997). Palestine, MG/YA. An Arab-American girl visits her father's natal village in Palestine, under occupation, and absorbs experiences both exhilarating and distressing.

Marsden, Carolyn. The White Zone (CarolRhoda 2012). Iraq, MG. Two boy cousins cope with the sectarian strife that separates them during the fighting in Baghdad.

Marston, Elsa. Santa Claus in Baghdad and Other Stories About Teens in the Arab World (Indiana University Press 2008). Several countries, MG/YA. Young teens in eight contrasting Arab societies face universal challenges of adolescence; the most adult story in subject matter is "Honor" (Jordan).

Perera, Anna. The Glass Collector (Whitman 2011). Egypt, YA. Valuable chiefly because of its setting in the "trash-collectors community" in Cairo.

With an M.A. in international affairs from Harvard University in hand, Elsa Marston attended the American University of Beirut on a Rotary Foundation Fellowship. Sojourns in different countries, especially Lebanon, Egypt, and Tunisia, have helped inspire Elsa'a work as a children's/YA author and specialist in literature about the region. Her most recent books are a YA biography of a remarkable Arab hero, The Compassionate Warrior: Abd el-Kader of Algeria (Wisdom Tales 2013), and Santa Claus in Baghdad and Other Stories About Teens in the Arab World (Indiana University Press, 2008), a collection of stories set in different Arab societies, focusing on growing-up experiences that young Americans can relate to. A picture book about post-civil war Lebanon, The Olive Tree, is forthcoming in 2014 . Her website is www.elsamarston.com.

In honor of Pride month, here are 10 YA books about contemporary LGBT experiences just published this year. If you haven't had a chance to check them out yet, now's a great time!

Within the last few weeks, the , and New York Times, Entertainment Weekly School Library Journal CNN have all published articles examining the lack of diversity in children's and young adult literature - and next month, plans to publish an entire issue devoted to diversity. While all this mainstream interest in diversity is to be applauded for bringing more people into the ongoing conversation about diversity, they still largely fail to tackle the problem of how we can change the status quo.

We at Diversity in YA obviously don't have all the answers, and we aren't the first people to talk about these issues. This conversation has been going on for decades. What we do have are ideas for how you can change the status quo right now. If you're an ordinary reader, you don't have to wait to show your support for books that show the world as it is. Here are five ways you can help make positive change right now:

1. Look for diversity.

Make a conscious effort to seek out books to read that feature characters of color, LGBT characters, and/or disabled characters. They may not be front-and-center at your local Barnes & Noble; you may have to look around a bit or go online to find them.

2. Support diversity.

Support the diverse books that are published today by buying them, by checking them out at your library, or by requesting that your library buy them.

3. Recommend diversity.

If you use Goodreads, Facebook, social media, or have a blog, talk up the books you love that happen to have diverse characters. Tell your friends! Word of mouth is still key in bringing awareness to books. And remember: You don't need to recommend them solely for their diversity - they're great books to enjoy, plain and simple.

4. Talk up diversity.

When discussions around diversity in literature occur online, join in the conversation if you can to express that you do want more diverse books to read and that the issue is important to you.

5. Don't give up.

There will always be people who dismiss "diversity" as meaningless. They are the reason we must keep fighting for representation. We're all in this together.

Want a list of diverse YA books you can get started reading right now? Here are a dozen YA books of all kinds (contemporary, fantasy, sci-fi, mystery - something for everyone!) that happen to have characters of color, LGBT characters, and/or disabled characters. (Descriptions are from WorldCat.)

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Continue reading Want More Diversity in Your YA? Here's How You Can Help

Book Lists Dori Jones Yang, elizabeth wein, Historical Fiction, Jane Eagland, Kay Honeyman, Margarita Engle, Meghan Nuttall Sayres, Padma Venkatraman, Sonia Manzano, Tanita S. Davis, Tonya Cherie Hegamin

In honor of Women's History Month, here are 10 diverse young adult historical novels about girls. Descriptions are from Worldcat.

Mare's War by Tanita S. Davis (Alfred A. Knopf)

Teens Octavia and Tali learn about strength, independence, and courage when they are forced to take a car trip with their grandmother, who tells about growing up Black in 1940s Alabama and serving in Europe during World War II as a member of the Women's Army Corps.

Wildthorn by Jane Eagland (Houghton Mifflin)

Seventeen-year-old Louisa Cosgrove is locked away in the Wildthorn Hall mental institution, where she is stripped of her identity and left to wonder who has tried to destroy her life.

The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba's Greatest Abolitionist by Margarita Engle (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

In free verse, evokes the voice of Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda, a book-loving writer, feminist, and abolitionist who courageously fought injustice in nineteenth-century Cuba. Includes historical notes, excerpts from her writings, biographical information, and source notes.

Willow by Tonya Cherie Hegamin (Candlewick Press)

In 1848 Willow, a fifteen-year-old educated slave girl, faces an inconceivable choice - between bondage and freedom, family and love - as free born, seventeen-year-old Cato, a black man, takes it upon himself to sneak as many fugitive slaves to freedom as he can on the Mason-Dixon Line.

The Fire Horse Girl by Kay Honeyman (Arthur A. Levine Books)

When Jade Moon, born in the unlucky year of the Fire Horse, and her father immigrate to America in 1923 and are detained at Angel Island Immigration Station, Jade Moon is determined to find a way through and prove that she is not cursed.

The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano by Sonia Manzano (Scholastic)

It is 1969 in Spanish Harlem, and fourteen-year-old Evelyn Serrano is trying hard to break free from her conservative Puerto Rican surroundings, but when her activist grandmother comes to stay and the neighborhood protests start, things get a lot more complicated-and dangerous.

Anahita's Woven Riddle by Meghan Nuttall Sayres (Amulet)

In Iran, more than 100 years ago, a young girl with three suitors gets permission from her father and a holy man to weave into her wedding rug a riddle to be solved by her future husband, which will ensure that he has wit to match hers.

Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman (Penguin)

In India, in 1941, when her father becomes brain-damaged in a non-violent protest march, fifteen-year-old Vidya and her family are forced to move in with her father's extended family and become accustomed to a totally different way of life.

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein (Hyperion)

When young American pilot Rose Justice is captured by Nazis and sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious women's concentration camp, she finds hope in the impossible through the loyalty, bravery, and friendship of her fellow prisoners.

Daughter of Xanadu by Dori Jones Yang (Delacorte)

Emmajin, the sixteen-year-old eldest granddaughter of Khublai Khan, becomes a warrior and falls in love with explorer Marco Polo in thirteenth-century China.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Diverse = Set in a non-Western world or inspired by a non-Western world; or with a main character who is non-white, LGBTQ+, and/or disabled Congratulations to all the books on the 2015 Rainbow List , "a bibliography of books with significant gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender content, and which are aimed at youth, birth through age 18."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Disability in Kidlit - Reviews, articles, and more about the portrayal of disabilities in children's fiction

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Despite some reservations, our reviewer would recommend this contemporary novel about young Bat - and the reviewer's ten-year-old goddaughter agrees.