Issue 15: Literacy

Noun. The ability to read and write.

Alt Text: A picture of the author’s mother seated in her favorite armchair wearing a white and black cardigan over a red shirt and and black pants. She is reading her latest book.

Check-In:

My mother went to school in Tulla, Arkansas. Her school didn’t have its own library instead there was a district library of books in a few crates that made its rotation through all of the Black schools using a green van. My mom’s job was to pull all the books from crates every few weeks and put them on the shelves. She would read a book every night. By the time the green van came back- she had read every book. I asked her if any of the characters in her books were Black or Brown. She recalls them mostly being about animals or white characters. Sixty-plus years later, young minoritized children are more likely to read a book with an animal in it than with someone reflecting their identities.

It was the scarcity of education that propelled my parents to put a premium on it when raising their kids. Although my parents didn’t have the privilege themselves to go to college, it wasn’t about if my siblings and I were going to college but where. My sister taught me how to read and write before I started kindergarten and I never looked back.  It started with the “Little Miss” and “Sweet Pickles” series that would come in the mail. I then moved to Amelia Bedelia, the Boxcar Children, and Anne of Green Gables. I was writing stories at the same time.

This newsletter exhibits that I still have a love of reading and writing. My literacy has exposed me to so much more than my small town in Wisconsin, my Harlem brownstone, and my current suburban Austin home. It doesn’t replace action or experience but it’s my first step to discovering something new about myself and the world around me. I have a postcard on my bookshelf that reads, “A well-read woman is a dangerous creature.” It’s a reminder of the history and power of words.

Alt Text: A postcard says “A well-read woman is a dangerous creature” in white lettering with a black background and gold colored flowers around it. The postcard is leaning against a set of books.

In Understanding Your Instructional Power: Curriculum and Language Decisions to Support Each Student author Tanji Reed Marshall, Ph.D. gives us some of that historical contexts of how literacy was used as a weapon for African-Americans -Frederick Douglass’s slaveholder stated, “a literate slave was a dangerous slave” (p.37) and how this history permeates to our present. In Jessica’s interview, she connects literacy, equity, and leaders of the global majority.

So, what are you reading?

#mondaymotivation: “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” -Frederick Douglass

Interview with a Leader of the Global Majority:

Jessica Boston Davis, EdLd was the Director for Equity and Excellence in the Somerville Public Schools for over two years. She’s currently the Interim Assistant Superintendent of Academics in Somerville. These comments are the personal reflections of Jessica and her experiences, they do not reflect the opinions of her district.

Mary: What would you say to folks that are thinking about the role or to districts that are thinking about hiring an equity officer?

Jessica: I would encourage folks that when you say equity, you are explicit about how that connects with the instructional core. And make sure that everything you're thinking about connects.

Jessica: So, this person shouldn't just be the person that can come in and talk about race, but also somebody who has deep knowledge in academics, in the core work that we do, and maybe can help you as an organization make the connections between what does an equitable organization look like and how was that is directly implicated in the instructional core.

Jessica:  So, make sure not to disconnect those things.

Jessica:   It is also important that people of color don't get pigeonholed into a role like, "No, no, no. You're doing the race stuff and us over here, we're going to talk about the academic stuff." This is a rub that I have. I was a principal. I was an elementary teacher. I know a lot about teaching and learning. I know a lot about instruction. That’s something that's really important to me as my identity as an educator.

You can read more from Jessica when “Leading Within Systems of Inequity in Education: A Liberation Guide for Leaders of Color” is published in April 2023. Let me know if you would like to be interviewed and/or recommend someone to be profiled in this section.

What I’m Reading: Understanding Your Instructional Power: Curriculum and Language Decisions to Support Each Student by Tanji Reed Marshall, PhD.

About the author(s): Tanji Reed Marshall is an educator that partners with states, school districts, schools, and education organizations to ensure teaching and learning are meeting the needs of all students particularly those who are minoritized.

Book Audience: Teachers and leaders

Book Overview: 

When I became a 9th-grade English teacher, I was excited. I wanted to share my love of reading and writing and I felt a responsibility to be a model for the Black and Brown students I was teaching every day. I wanted to be a model but I also recognized that my students’ experiences growing up in Harlem was different from my own and I enjoyed learning from and with them. We explored all types of books (note: most books we read are now on the banned list in several districts/states..) and themes within our classroom walls. Not every day was easy but I loved it. In Understanding Your Instructional Power, Tanji has shown me that as a teacher, my sphere of influence was expansive and deep in my own classroom. This book challenged me to question my assumed impact in the classroom and to see if I did indeed use my power for the betterment of my students.

Tanji talks about the fact that we live “unexamined professional lives.” The Power Principle Matrix pushes us toward deep, critical self-examination. The matrix is central to the book and it has two components- teacher autonomy and instructional power. Tanji provides examples from her own teaching, and other teachers to explain the four levels of teacher autonomy: I. Empowering; II. Agentive; III. Protective; IV. Disenfranchising. As well as the 4 Dimensions of Instructional Power: 1. Calibrated Curricular Autonomy; 2. Restricted Curricular Autonomy; 3. Minimal Curricular Autonomy; 4. Unfettered Curricular Autonomy.

Through a series of exercises, case studies, and reflection prompts she encourages us to place ourselves on the matrix through a variety of different lenses. As readers we are asked to:

• Look at how our own personal beliefs shape classroom culture. “Classrooms are cultural exchange sites. Culture takes shape the instant teachers meet students and students meet each one another” (p39).

• Examine power through the lens of language. “The challenge is that for centuries we have determined that American English is a fixed form of speech, and anything with sounds outside the structure is wrong and must be repaired” (p.66).

• Bring all subject areas along in this journey. “Power differentials exist in all areas of life…This is particularly true in classes where students are learning new content and acquiring unfamiliar skills” (p. 80).

• Reflect on how grades hold power. “Understanding the role grades play in students’ educational trajectories is a critical element in recognizing how grading becomes a lever for the misuse of power” (p. 135).

• See disenfranchisement in disciplinary rules and enforcement. “Children are held to what is considered high standards; however, such structures lean towards disenfranchisement as students are disciplined via referral, demerits, or in-school or out-of-school suspension for even the smallest infractions” (p. 152).

Tanji ends the book by providing the reader with concrete ways to create an environment where students are agentive and empowered and if you give yourself the opportunity to complete the exercises provided, you will be on your way.

Next Book:  Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey You can find a full list of my book recommendations here. Please note that I am an affiliate with Bookshop.org and receive a small compensation for your purchase when you use the book links provided.

Resources:

• What are strategies schools can implement to reduce and eliminate disparities in discipline affecting students of color? I answered that question in the latest EdWeek Classroom Q&A with Larry Ferlazzo.

• Mindfulness and wellness practitioner Dora Kamau provides weekly meditations including Don't Forget to Breathe which can be useful in challenging times.

• Eight concrete ways to amplify the women of color in your life and if you don’t know -an introduction to – Hinamatsuri, Japanese Girl’s Day.

Reminder:

If you’ve been waiting to pre-order my book- it’s now 25% off using code “RB25ASCD” if you purchase it through ASCD. It is also available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Bookshop.

Publishing day is Monday, April 10th. I’m so thankful to have this book out into the world for you all to read. Can’t wait to hear what you all think!

If this is your first time reading, please go back and read my Introductions post.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think. If you like it, please share it with your network!