Last week, I left feeling like a schlep, because we read Tim Gatreaux's Welding with Children and ran out of time to discuss why I wanted to discuss this particular short story as a model for teaching the wisdom of Beers & Probst. That's okay, though, because this week I assigned Gholdy's gift to the universe, and her cultural, historic lens does what it should - it asks us to to think about the ways we are cultivating the brilliance of all kids. I say yes to Beers & Probst: book, head, heart, but amend with history/culture, too, as a result of the Gholdy-star.
So, for the first time in Crandall's history, we are going to ask about the book, the head, and the heart, but we are going to add Gholdy Muhammad and ask about the history and the culture, too! Note...the story I chose was one that I had 100% success with in Kentucky with a room full of super diverse kids. It is a story of class, and not necessarily race, although race can be read into it. This evening, as a model, we are taking this story down a path to bring Beers, Probst, & Muhammad off the page and into the classroom.
You know you're a nerd when...
Tonight, I'm interested to see what my graduate students can do when we put Beers & Probst into conversation with Gholdy Muhammad. All three minds continue to influence the ways I think about teaching literacy in the content areas, and I think they are magical when walking aside of one another. Robust. Brilliant. Thought-Provoking. Magical.
We will walk Gatreaux's story through the recommendations of Beers & Probst, but I will then say, "Okay...beyond the book, head, and heart. Where can we put this conversation into a cultural/historical framework, especially in the United States and the institutions as they're designed?"
Literacy needs to be liberating .
It's my birthday week and I'm looking for joys in teaching. I'm pretty sure that tonight will be an absolute treasure.
I am, because we are. I am thankful for all the brilliant humans out there who keep my mind alive.