My students are brilliant and creative. I teach 9th grade English and Ethnic Studies at an Oakland public high school. My students are incredibly diverse and bring in a wealth of language and literacy skills often under-recognized by traditional schooling systems.
In English we learn to recognize and value the cultural assets each member of our classroom community brings to school with them and also to code-switch to use academic English effectively as needed.
In Ethnic Studies we look at history together critically and my students discuss issues of power and difference both close to home and in solidarity with others.
My Project
As an English teacher, one of my main goals is getting students to read! Establishing a classroom library will make incorporating student-choice into everyday reading possible. I already have one project aimed toward gaining more books, now I need a place for those books to land!
I want to give my students a classroom they feel proud and excited to learn in.
Freshman year is a critical time when students determine how they see themselves as learners for the rest of their high school careers. My students deserve the opportunity to see themselves as strong readers.
Unfortunately, our school does not have a working library - we have no librarian nor the ability to check out books. Establishing an age-appropriate, culturally-relevant classroom library is essential to student success. Help me make my little classroom library a reality!
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