{"id":12682,"date":"2017-12-01T13:13:50","date_gmt":"2017-12-01T21:13:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/?p=12682"},"modified":"2018-03-07T10:29:15","modified_gmt":"2018-03-07T18:29:15","slug":"writing-our-civic-futures-december-bringing-students-lives-to-the-fore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/writing-our-civic-futures-december-bringing-students-lives-to-the-fore\/","title":{"rendered":"Writing Our Civic Futures (December): Bringing Students\u2019 Lives to the Fore"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our December edition of Writing Our Civic Futures, our annotation collaboration with Marginal Syllabus, explores critical literacies that center students’ lives with a recent article from Linda Christensen.<\/em><\/p>\n

This is the third month of Writing Our Civic Futures<\/a>, a collaboration of the National Writing Project and Marginal Syllabus that supports conversations about civic engagement and learning over the course of the 2017-18 academic year. Refer to the syllabus<\/a> for information on all the annotatable readings, which will go \u201clive\u201d on the first Monday of each month, along with related events hosted by CLTV and others.<\/p>\n

This Month\u2019s Topic: Bringing Students\u2019 Lives to the Fore<\/h4>\n

For December\u2019s reading, we explore what it means to bring students\u2019 lives to the center in the classroom, using their unique experiences, perspectives, and talents as the bases for learning and teaching and the development of a critical literacy that supports students\u2019 agency and power in the world.<\/p>\n

We invite you to read \u201c<\/a>Critical Literacy and Our Students\u2019 Lives<\/a><\/strong>\u201d<\/a> by Linda Christensen, and annotate the text with your own thoughts as you go. You might want to reflect on your own educational setting and the social and historical contexts in which you and your students are situated. How do these affect your experiences in and out of the classroom? What particular opportunities and challenges do they present?<\/p>\n

This article was originally published in March 2017 in Vol 24, Number 3 of Voices from the Middle<\/em> and is used with permission from the National Council of Teachers of English<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In this self-reflective piece, Christensen examines her discomfort with the description of her students as \u201cdisadvantaged,\u201d explaining that the term elides the wide range of abilities her students bring to the classroom. By focusing on these existing skills and taking into account the social, racial, and political contexts of both her school and students, Christensen is able to fully support them as both learners and changemakers. This pedagogical stance allows Christensen to help students develop a critical literacy that extends beyond the classroom and to connect their own experiences with the those of other groups who have experienced oppression.<\/p>\n

Access the full text<\/a> via Educator Innovator. Using this link will enable you to view annotations (yellow highlights indicate annotations; the annotation tool displays along right side of your browser) others have added to the text.<\/p>\n

The Conversation<\/h4>\n

As you read \u201c<\/a>Critical Literacy and Our Students\u2019 Lives<\/a><\/strong>\u201d<\/a> we encourage you to read through annotations that others have added as well as add your own. Annotations are being added via the web annotation platform Hypothes.is<\/a>. To add your thoughts, as well as to respond to others, sign up for your free account<\/a>.<\/p>\n