I think adolescence is misunderstood. During adolescence, not only is the body changing, but the mind is developing rapidly. I think sometimes we get lost in the physical changes and invalidate the mental development. It is important to acknowledge and try to understand the minds of our students to figure out the best approach to teaching them.

open-ended questions allow for reflection—an answer is not always required

for critical thinking and discourse." (Beach, 2018)

Critical Literacy in the music classrooms looks a little different. We can expose our students to different composers and works with different meanings. As educators, it is important to introduce works from different composers and historical events and allow our students the opportunity to discuss and critically think about these works and what they mean.

transformation of their society." (Beck, 2005)

Critical literacy allows students to think deeply about the media they're consuming. I think this is especially important in our technological age, and how much reading there is on the internet.

It is important to realize our biases when it comes to critical literacy. Everyone has their own bias based on their life experiences and how they were raised. Critical literacy is a chance to think outside of what we previously know and challenge some of those ideas.

It is important to incorporate critical literacy early so it becomes second nature to your students. Like the quote states, it also helps keep your students more engaged with the texts.

I feel like, as educators, we can also help facilitate healthy discussions in our classrooms between our students about what they are reading and observing.

I think our misunderstanding of adolescents harms the expectations we set for them. Since the stereotypes are generally negative, they don't get a fair shot in our classrooms. We need to create more bias-free environments for our students to thrive in.