explore | Grilled Cheese

So I truly appreciate your framing of teaching your child Spanish as resistance. Schools must change, not families. My advisor Dr. Jerome Morris says school should bring you CLOSER to your communities not away from them. This should be kids' realities. #literacies

I've had to reckon with mestizaje and the colonial history of Spanish and it's contemporary role in linguistic hierarchies across Latin America. #literacies

For me, Spanish is a language of love and endearment. A language that connects me to my grandparents and to their place of origin. However, in my recent work with Mayan teachers in Yucatán, I have come to see Spanish through a more nuanced lens. #literacies

The capacity it takes to make these shifts is so real. Even if/when all those languages are English. Thank you for sharing. #literacies

A4: As a scholar, educator, and parent I have advocated for bilingual education to support the educational trajectories of Latinx students. As a mother raising a bilingual child, I have committed to raising my child using the language of my home and community, Spanish. #literacies

Yes!! This is so important. As a former ESOL teacher, I'm well aware of the structures which sort children through the home language survey. I found these policies treat the presence of any language other than English like it is "polluting" rather enriching. #literacies

A4: As a fmr HS ELA teacher (and current teacher educator!), I think a lot about the linguistic hierarchy within US schools. From the narrow amount of language classes offered to only offering classes in English, language hierarchy is built within the system. #literacies

I remember when I first traveled to a place where neither of my languages were the dominant languages spoken. It's such a great opportunity for reflection. #literacies

A4: At the heart of many different communities, I see a communal connection around their indigenous languages. A shared, cultural dedication to use what they can, when they can, especially in more personal spaces that are not as inundated with White structures. A preservation. #literacies

A4: I have learned so much from the Marshallese & Cherokee educators, students, & community members I am so fortunate to work with in how to tackle this. There's SO MUCH nuance, so much that I do not know. I do not want to misrepresent their approaches, but a few #literacies examples include...(1/2)

A3: teachers are in situations where they must get creative to support and communicate with their students and their families. This is a part of good teaching practice, and also, it doesn’t feel sustainable to rely only on individuals only when systems need changing #literacies

Q4: Scholars have highlighted how linguistic hierarchies continue to marginalize Indigenous languages globally. What examples have folks seen or experienced in the communities they work with or come from? #Literacies

Q4 coming up in 1 min... #literacies

It's so refreshing to hear about how teachers are doing this! I want my preservice teachers to hear about the teachers in the classroom are engaging in subversive practices and resistance. #literacies

I think borders can also be seen not as division but as "proximity" and ways communities have ALWAYS migrated and shared ideas. Take a samosa/sambusa? Who does it belong to? Ethiopians? Indians? Pakistanis? Somalis? It's the wrong question, in fact. It's about seeing how we are similar. #literacies

My bilingual parenting requires me to grapple with these issues and ensure that my child, as a racialized emergent bilingual, understands that bilingualism is a matter of the heart but also a resistant practice in the face of English superiority in the U.S. #literacies

In my personal life, I have had to sit with what these discourses mean for me as a mother raising a bilingual child "Spanish-first." #literacies

In my work as a teacher-educator, the policy proposals and rhetoric have been moments for critical analysis and a call to action for our preservice teachers to think about their role as educators in this landscape. #literacies