Making Justice Our Project: Teachers Working Toward Critical Whole Language Practice
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 435 960 CS 013 727 AUTHOR Edelsky, Carole, Ed. TITLE Making Justice Our Project: Teachers Working toward Critical Whole Language Practice. INSTITUTION National Council of Teachers of English, Urbana, IL. ISBN ISBN-0-8141-3044-5 PUB DATE 1999-00-00 NOTE 383p. AVAILABLE FROM National Council of Teachers of English, 1111 W. Kenyon Road, Urbana, IL 61801-1096 (Stock No. 30445-3050: $17.95 members, $24.95 nonmembers). PUB TYPE Books (010)-- Collected Works - General (020)-- Opinion Papers (120) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC16 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Classroom Techniques; Curriculum Evaluation; Educational Sociology; Elementary Secondary Education; Equal Education; Hidden Curriculum; Higher Education; Inner City; Intercultural Communication; *Justice; Methods Research; Minority Groups; *Whole Language Approach IDENTIFIERS Critical Literacy; *Critical Pedagogy ABSTRACT This book brings together whole language and critical pedagogy, reading each in terms of the other and providing a new and politically valuable synthesis of the two. A related aim of this volume is to bring together the community of whole language educatcrs with educators who identify themselves with racial, ethnic, and other groups historically positioned as "minorities." The book thus develops a rich interrogation of whole language education from multiple perspectives. After a foreword by Bess Altwerger and Elizabeth R. Saavedra, essays in the book are: "On Critical Whole Language Practice: Why, What, and a Bit of How" (Carole Edelsky); "Understanding and Transforming the Meaning of Our Lives through Poetry, Biographies, and Songs" (Cecilia M. Espinosa and Karen J. Moore); "Exchanging Ideas and Changing Positions: The Importance of Conversation to Holistic, Critical Endeavors" (Marie Elaine Boozer, Lisa Burley Maras, and Bill Brummett); "'Si Se Puede!' Teaching for Transformation" (Rebeca Garcia-Gonzalez, Pilar Mejia, and Winnie J. Porter); "Critical Literacy in a Fourth-Grade Classroom" (Maria Sweeney); "Teaching without Charisma: Involving Third Graders as Co-investigators of Their Inner-City Neighborhood" (Paul Skilton-Sylvester); "A Conversation about Critical Literacy" (James Albright, Susan M. Church, Sue Settle, and Vivian Vasquez); "The Quality of the Question: Probing Culture in Literature-Discussion Groups" (Cynthia Lewis); "Third Class Is More Than a Cruise-Ship Ticket" (Beverly Busching and Betty Slesinger); "Critical Literacy: Teaching Reading, Writing, and Outrage" (Linda M. Christensen); "Schooling for Gangs: When School Oppression Contributes to Gang Formations" (Ramon A. Serrano); "Probing the Invisible Life of Schools" (Bill Bigelow); "Stories of a Liberatory Pedagogy" (Rebecca Jarvis); "Leadership as Critical Practice: A Work-in-Progress" (Susan M. Church); "Transformative Learning through a Study Group" (Elizabeth R. Saavedra); "Literacy Education as a Site for Social Justice: What Do Our Practices Do?" (Barbara Comber and Helen Nixon). (EF) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY ro THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) ° 0 0 0 0 a a o a 0 O 0 D 'WO -,, ,t is so is 9 US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION : :s ,,0 ° 0.., Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION + v"' ep, ':,.. , ,t,'.,44: iry ,k ," + ,,,,d')...4, CENTER (ERIC) 't )^:"I, --=-Y-,'", ''''' -'7,',,t - :,, `'"'-_" '- ;4' t . ° `- .s., ,. 5,,g. This document has been reproduced as os -;,. ';." ,,t, received from the person or organization .- t, t,,.; originating it ID Minor changes have been made to 0 0 U J ,, improve reproduction quality °Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy °9rotio-7 [.; 0 CS 013 727 0 4yEts7sLopy AVM _AKE MAKING JUSTICE OUR PROJECT NCTE EDITORIAL BOARD: Jacqueline Bryant, Kermit Campbell, Bobbi Fisher, Xin Liu Gale, Sarah Hudelson, William McBride, Gerry Og lan, Helen Poole, Karen Smith, Chair, ex officio, Michael Greer, ex officio Making Justice Our Project Teachers Working toward Critical Whole Language Practice Edited by CAROLE EDELSKY Arizona State University National Council of Teachers of English 1111 W. Kenyon Road, Urbana, Illinois 61801-1096 Staff Editor: Tom Tiller Prepress Services: Precision Graphics Interior Design: Jenny Jensen Greenleaf Cover Design: Carlton Bruett NCTE Stock Number: 30445-3050 © 1999 by the National Council of Teachers of English. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. It is the policy of NCTE in its journals and other publications to provide a forum for the open discussion of ideas concerning the content and the teaching of English and the language arts. Publicity accorded to any par- ticular point of view does not imply endorsement by the Executive Committee, the Board of Directors, or the membership at large, except in announcements of policy, where such endorsement is clearly specified. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Making justice our project: teachers working toward critical whole language practice / edited by Carole Edelsky. p. cm. "NCTE stock number 30445"T.p. verso. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8141-3044-5 (paper) 1. Language experience approach in education.2. Critical pedagogy. I. Edelsky, Carole. LB1576.M3613 1994 370.11'5dc21 99-41266 CIP CONTENTS FOREWORD Bess Altwerger and Elizabeth R. Saavedra vii Introduction Carole Edelsky 1 1 On Critical Whole Language Practice: Why, What, and a Bit of How Carole Edelsky 7 2 Understanding and Transforming the Meaning of Our Lives through Poetry, Biographies, and Songs Cecilia M. Espinosa and Karen J. Moore 37 3 Exchanging Ideas and Changing Positions: The Importance of Conversation to Holistic, Critical Endeavors Marie Elaine Boozer, Lisa Burley Maras, and Bill Brummett 55 4 ;Si Se Puede! Teaching for Transformation Rebeca Garcia-Gonzalez, Pilar Mejia, and Winnie J. Porter 77 5Critical Literacy in a Fourth-Grade Classroom Maria Sweeney 96 6 Teaching without Charisma: Involving Third Graders as Co-investigators of Their Inner-City Neighborhood Paul Skilton-Sylvester 115 7 A Conversation about Critical Literacy James Albright, Susan M. Church, Sue Settle, and Vivian Vasquez 144 8 The Quality of the Question: Probing Culture in Literature-Discussion Groups Cynthia Lewis 163 MAKING JUSTICE OUR PROJECT 9 Third Class Is More than a Cruise-Ship Ticket Beverly Busching and Betty Slesinger 191 10 Critical Literacy: Teaching Reading, Writing, and Outrage Linda M. Christensen 209 11 Schooling for Gangs: When School Oppression Contributes to Gang Formations Ramon A. Serrano 226 12 Probing the Invisible Life of Schools Bill Bigelow 242 13 Stories of a Liberatory Pedagogy Rebecca Jarvis 258 14 Leadership as Critical Practice: A Work-in-Progress Susan M. Church 286 15 Trans formative Learning through a Study Group Elizabeth R. Saavedra 303 16 Literacy Education as a Site for Social Justice: What Do Our Practices Do? Barbara Comber and Helen Nixon 316 INDEX 353 EDITOR 363 CONTRIBUTORS 365 ---vi`n"--- 8 FOREWORD BESS ALTWERGER Towson State University ELIZABETH R. SAAVEDRA University of New Mexico The whole language movement is in crisisnot because of a fatal flaw in its theoretical foundation or due to insurmount- able weaknesses in its pedagogical framework. Even the vicious conservative attacks on whole language, so vigorously promoted by the mainstream media, are not fully responsible for this crisis. Indeed, most of the criticisms and accusations behind these attacks could easily be countered and discredited by knowledge- able whole language professionals. The crisis in whole language is due in large part to the whole language movement itselffor its failure to assert its own political identity, anticipate and pre- pare for the inevitable conservative backlash, and openly ally itself with the larger progressive struggle for social and cultural justice. Had the whole language movement taken a different road, it might now be in a much stronger position to use the cur- rent attacks as opportunities for exposing the reactionary politics of the opposition and for raising the demand for equitable and democratic education for all students. This volume, however, which is written by whole language teachers who boldly assert the politics of their pedagogy, represents the hope for the future of whole language. Within these pages we can find the ideas and inspiration necessary for creating for students democratic and critical spaces which foster meaningful and transformative learn- ing. But to realize the hope embodied in this book, we must first critically examine the history of the whole language movement and begin to chart a new course for the future. vii 3 MAKING JUSTICE OUR PROJECT The whole language movement began as a grassroots effort by teachers and teacher educators to develop a pedagogical frame- work that would adequately reflect the enormous paradigmatic shifts occurring in the fields of literacy, linguistics, and language development. Together, they studied theory and interrogated class- room practice in a variety of scholarly contexts, including univer- sity seminars, school-based teacher study groups, and extended workshops. Classroom changes usually resulted from carefully examined knowledge and beliefs, and were accomplished at some professional risk by the teachers involved. Because whole language took an affirmative stance in asserting strong theoretical and prac-