See... What had happened was

In my opinion, because American slaves were beaten for reading and writing, the underlying ideology supporting critical literacy has been prevalent in the African American use of language. Critical literacy "involves understanding the ways in which language and literacy are used to accomplish social ends"(Dozier,2006). Freedom from slavery was an ultimate social end. African Americans who were literate were considered a threat because the oppressor knew the knowledge would allow for a liberation. If slaves were capable of learning a language not formally taught for them, it was very possible that they were just as intelligent as their owners, therefore unfairly, subjugated to the slavery system. So, cultural, and critical literacy has always been important to our race and existence in America.

Literacy in our culture has many facets and purposes because of the dual relationship we have with it. Our relationship with literacy has caused us to be respected and envied as well as disrepected. If we master the languge and it many rules, people often ignorantly comment, "Wow, you speak so well." as if we cracked a top secret code. this just kills me sometimes. Yet, our mis-use of language causes us to be disrespected and judged. The envy stems from the rich soulful slang that bears so many meanings which in itself creates another dialect that ostracizes many.

In my family, literacy had many dimensions. It has often been used to "question power relations" (Shor, 1999))My grandmother raised us to listen to what people didn't say. She always told me to pay attention to how people spoke to you and what their responses entailed. Even though most of the time we had pleasant conversations with other people, she often gave me the translation after we left the presence of the person. The purpose behind her translations shaped the way I feel about words, people and life. I am always trying to figure out what is really being said on the news or in the newspaper or in casual conversation. I always serach for the double meaning hidden behind words.

This "conscious" literacy has lent itself well for me to practice critical literacy. In some ways, I use my gift of language to advance my cause to improve upon the lives of others. In other ways, I relish in the beauty of language and the creative evolutionary use of it. For example, in our culture, when someone is about to tell a lie in story format, they often begin with the phrase, "See... what had happened was...." And I just think this type of codeswitching is an amazing abuse and humorous manipulation of an antiquated stale language that was once used to keep us out.

Standards: Who Needs them?

Last year around this time we had the opportunity to administer the State-wide writing prompt to seventh graders at Frisbie Middle School. For me, this was a huge deal because this was my first year as a literacy coach and I had been adamant with teachers about their need to emphasize writing in everything they did in class. Read a book, write a response. Learn a grammar lesson, apply it to writing. Well to my dismay, I had the worst experience in writing ever.

It turns out that we needed more time for some of the students to complete the writing task. Since I am the literacy coach, I was assigned to take a group of students to a room and finish the prompt. Well, after several students leave and an hour goes by and I still have one student left. So, I walked over and asked her how much more time she needed and she began to cry. As I glanced at her paper, I had to do a double take and I grabbed it. This baby had written the typed directions over and over again. She did not speak English and therefore had not been able to write in English either. I was soooooo mad. I was passed furious, I could just scream. How had we allowed this educational torture to happen to this child. What took me so long to get over there and accommodate her needs? I immediately told her in my broken Spanish everything but *&%$# that test! I could not even think! We had mentally tortured her into thinking that the more she wrote the better she would do on the test. Her no-good teacher was just as guilty because she had a Spanish speaking aid that could have explained that to her as well, but did not for whatever reason.

Anyway, this particular incident reminded me so much of the article I read this week by Linda McNeil, entitled Standardization, Defensive Teaching and the Problem of Control. I couldn’t help but agree with Linda because we do so much standardizing we forget to teach these students and we let them sit there for hours taking a stupid test in the name of accountability. In fact, “Standardization undermines academic standards and seriously limits opportunities for student to learn to a high standard.” Very rarely do wee ask the teacher or the student how they feel throughout the process or if they have gained anything? We assume that this antiquated system of shoveling kids through the process of schooling is sufficient because they are the minority students, who need at least these standards to be considered educated.

Most of the time, during this process, segregation becomes the result. Because these marginalized students can’t score proficient on these stupid complex assessments we need to keep helping them by teaching them what they need to pass the test. Heavens no can we focus on a liberating pedagogy, we have to “cover” this and this because “these kids” need it. We legitimize a racialized and commodified assessment in the name of equity that has an adverse affect in the outcome.

Just like that poor baby cried that day because she had to grueled and tortured, shortly after taking her back to class, I cried too! I cried from my soul because I could do nothing at the present time to help her and I was just as guilty as the system that set her up. As humans, we should have better human standards. The students should not be held to these stupid educational systemic standards, yet, we should be accountable for being human!

Beyond Me!!!!

I must say that I really enjoyed the article “Beyond Methods Fetish” by Lilia Bartolome because this author captures exactly how I feel when people come to one of my workshops. The first question they ask is “Are there handouts available?” Immediately, I think to myself “Hell NO!” I can’t really say this or even further begin to explain the numerous comments that are flushing through head at this time, so I just smile.


I think the big issue, as Bartolome brings up, is the argument itself that addresses the achievement gap of minority marginalized students approach the problem as a technical flaw. Bartolome insists that the solution can be found in the “right teaching methods.” This approach negates any responsibility to the raggedy educational system or to the “fix them” mentality of the teachers. The notion is that once the teacher finds out how “they”aren’t learning, the methodology of teaching just has to be altered and “these kids”(certain cultural and linguistically subordinated students) will magically get it.


Bartolome also emphasizes the fact that many pre-service teachers believe whole-heartedly in the “one-size fits all” approach. Of course the problem with this is the size. As a critical pedagogue, I can’t help but to think, whose size are we using and how do we know it works? Who said so and then further, who are these people who deemed it so, what makes them the experts? The article later describes possible frameworks or models that assist in the thinking or planning of educating marginalized students. Those two “Humanizing Pedagogical” models are Culturally Responsive Instruction and Strategic Thinking.


Bartolome and I could go out for a couple of beers because she hits the nail on the head when she states, “Education can be a process in which teacher and students mutually participate in the intellectually exciting undertaking we call learning. Students can become active subjects of their own learning, instead of passive objects…. teachers must discard deficit views so they can use and build on life experiences and language styles too often viewed and labeled as low class and undesirable.” Go Girl!!! Even though this is based on a critical post modernistic constructive viewpoint, works from Freire and other liberating teachers offer a similar philosophy in that the teacher is a co-learner.


It is beyond me what our educational system is doing to our kids. It is also beyond me that our current educators don’t want to use their brains to get know our children because they’d rather come to a workshop and steal your handouts in hopes of your methods being the magic bullets in their classrooms. It is beyond me that we, as educators, don’t value our craft as an art-form because if we did we would be ashamed of replicating exactly what someone else has done to “fix our problems” with marginalized students. It is just beyond me that our teaching credential programs don’t emphasize the creative potential in classrooms anymore because testing and scores have placed a rubric on our teachers. It is beyond me that one of the largest unions in the nation has not stood up to such racialized and deligimatimized system! It is all BEYOND ME!

How Can We Help?

Over the last several classes, I have to come to appreciate critical knowledge even more. I have come to see how different viewpoints and experiences have shaped our society and in some cases, my reality. I used to think that feminism had to do with jealous women wanting just ass much as a man. This last class shed new light on what feminism really is all about.

One case I am speaking of in particular is the class session we had feminism and what discussion developed from the presentation. I was blown away by the mysogyny that has been allowed in my life and the media. The fact that we Americans, did nothing to stop or prevent how woman are portrayed on TV is a travesty. American media began depicting women as wholesome nurturing matriarchal figures in the home to loose un-educated naked bedroom entreprenuers slaves to our own lustful needs.

The Femenist movement was not created to reach this goal. From housewife to bedroom whore. The movement was to legitimize the capabilities of a woman not to victimize their being or commodify their sexuality. I was just so disgusted at the message from the clip, I started reflecting on how many videos I have seen that portrayed women in such a way. How many songs have I sang that carried this message?How many songs has my son bopped his head to and my daughter snapped her fingers to that carried this negative message about women?

The innocence and the blessing of being a woman has become tainted by the images seen on TV, therefore making my job as an educational leader more complex. Not only must I educate the chldren to read and write, I must teach them to interpret and critically analyze the images they see or become a consumer of this stifling reality.

Perception: The Key to Leadership

Marilyn Monroe or The Wicked Witch of the West? I am not so sure I am more partial to one or the other. Marilyn Monroe was beautiful in the eyes of many but battled an ugly drug addiction that eventually killed her. The Wicked Witch was good natured until several "bad" things happened forcing her to bestow this evil upon others. Both caused others to be influenced by their decisions. Every woman in the early sixties wanted to be like Marilyn and every powerful and accomplished business woman is viewed as a witch. Both had great leadership attributes, however, the perception of the two iconic figures, played a major role in how these women carried themselves.

Of course I know the Wicked Witch of the West is a fictional character, but there several character traits of the Witch that are stereotypical of a powerful woman in power. I am also aware of the dual role songbird, super model and actress Marilyn Monroe played on and off the screen, yet her persona and image of womanhood still resonates and identifies many women today. My point in bringing up these two figures is the notion that perception can, and most of the time does, become a reality depending on who is doing the perceiving.

Ron Scapp, author of "Managing to be Different", has explored this social construct as it is reflected in educational leadership. In chapters one and two he is very explicit in describing what happens to a person who takes on a leadership role in the feild of education. Often times, leaders have a certain perception of themselves that does not "gel" with perception of the leadees. He described the experience of a tutor becoming an administrator and all of the turmoil associated with the position. In the new administrator's eyes, they were still the same person, but to others being lead, the administration were viewed as the enemy and even as a traitor. How does this happen?

Well, according to Mr. Scapp all people have either witnessed or participated in this "immobilizing ideology of fatalism". Because people are worried about their reputations or their positions, they say nothing when faced with unethical or controversial issues. This inaction allows the "devisive structures" to remain in academia.

What was the most striking though about the reading is that it gave birth and life to the idea that once a true educational leader finds their own personal pace,space and place they can lead from the heart and be transformative from the inside. In the words of bell hooks, Paulo Freire, and Parker Palmer, this inner struggle for a pedagogy of freedom becomes a liberated effort to transgress and transform in which enhances teaching and learning (Scapp,2006). Inevitable power will be given to the individual who envelopes a resistance to this fatalism. This power,this courage to lead, ignores and dismantles outside perception because the self perception becomes the lifeline. This personal critcal transgression encourages and fosters moving beyond the culture of fear toward a community of hope (Scapp, 2006).