What can I say about WVELA ’19 that hasn’t already been said by so many? Jessica’s recap covered so much of a weekend that was transformative and inspiring, and I’ve never left a conference with my well (and my heart) so filled. At the final plenary session of the conference, Read more…
By Jessica Salfia We are gearing up for WVELA19 and we couldn’t be more excited! Let’s be honest, the last few months—heck, the last few years–as a West Virginia teacher have been trying. We’ve listened to our elected officials falsely claim our schools are failing. We’ve spent the last few Read more…
If my children believe they can disrupt the canon of their favorite pastime, how much more should teachers, as the adults in the room, grant ourselves permission to fill in the spaces with texts that challenge our students?
Walter Dean Myers, author of Monster, Fallen Angle, and Scorpion, among others young adult novels, was quoted in the New York Times as saying, “Books transmit values. They explore our common humanity. What is the message when some children are not represented in those books?” As a self-professed ‘book nerd’ Read more…
Disrupting the Literary Canon: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy Billy Buddby Herman Melville Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne These titles could have been pulled from any high Read more…