A Call to Action through Authentic Literacy Experiences #engaginglitminds
This week I had the opportunity to participate in the 2020 Trauma Informed Virtual Conference with Heather T. Forbes. The sessions in this conference provided me with opportunities to experience others’ feelings and ways of thinking. As an adult learner, I was challenged not only to consider these ideas, but to act upon them.
In chapter 9 of Engaging Literate Minds, the authors refer to the social imagination and its three components: (1) Perspective taking (the ability to think about what others are thinking and feeling), (2) Empathy (the mostly automatic ability to experience others’ feelings), and (3) Empathic concern (the disposition to act to help others in response to understanding their experience).
“Democracy requires individual and collective action in the face of uncertainty and disagreement. Taking action is often the hard part. It requires an emotional commitment.” (p. 135)
How do we create classroom instruction that helps students develop their social imagination as well as promote and encourage collective action? This doesn’t happen accidentally. The teachers highlighted in Chapter Nine (Laurie, Merry, and Tara) use authentic literacy experiences that provide the opportunities students need to act.
Writing as a tool for action
Laurie invited her students use writing to communicate an injustice they felt strongly about. They took action by deciding to write for their school journal. They wrote persuasive pieces about their chosen stance on an issue. On their own, students came to the realization that their words carry a lot of power, and therefore, responsibility.
Read alouds as a tool for action
Merry read aloud with a focus on kindness. Because she read from different perspectives, students were able to consider what each character was thinking and feeling. This led to students writing screenplays to act out problems the students were facing on the playground regarding kindness.
Concept maps as a tool for action
Tara used concept maps where students recorded their individual and collective thinking about the concept of surviving and thriving. She read the book Beatrice’s Goat and Give a Goat to expand students’ thinking to other cultures. As a result, students raised money to buy a goat for a poverty-stricken family in Africa.
As I consider how these teachers empowered their students to take social action, I find myself thinking about the responsibility we have as educators to not only teach students these concepts, but to provide them with authentic and engaging literacy experiences that expand their thinking.
The Trauma Informed Virtual Conference is coming to an end, and I also find myself thinking about how I will act upon what I’ve learned this week. How will I take my new learning about trauma informed practices and make a difference for children in my building and beyond? How will I support teachers with incorporating authentic literacy experiences in their classrooms to develop students’ social imagination? It’s time to take action!