International Literacy Association (ILA) Forum Primes Educators to Discuss Race Issues in the Classroom

ORLANDO, Fla., July 19, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With the increased number and visibility of tragedies triggered by race issues, many educators are finding themselves unprepared for discussions within the confines of the classroom. One thing is clear: Our teachers need tools to engage students in these difficult conversations to help provide perspective and understanding.

At the International Literacy Association (ILA) 2017 Conference & Exhibits, The New York Times Magazine reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones moderated a social justice panel, "Disrupting a Destructive Cycle: How Literacy Drives Social Change," aimed at helping educators facilitate productive conversations about bias and racial anxiety.

Hannah-Jones framed the discussion with a keynote, "Literacy as Liberation," where she walked the audience through the history of criminalization of literacy and segregation in education.

"Despite well-intentioned efforts around education reform, the education system is still operating as designed—to deliver separate, but not equal, educations to black students and white students," she said. "Come to a city like Detroit, and it's clear that that system still stands. [Black children] will never be able to compete with white children, because they are not receiving the same education as white children."

The esteemed group of writers, activists, and professors at the forum weighed in on strategies to dismantle opportunity gaps and structural barriers that perpetuate segregation and educational inequity. They identified bias reduction, relationship-building, family engagement, political action, inclusive literature and diverse hiring practices as key action steps.

Hannah-Jones remarked on the diversity of the panelists—not only in racial identity, but in socioeconomic, geographic, academic and professional backgrounds. They brought their personal experiences—some traumatic, some uplifting—into the conversation as they answered Hannah-Jones' questions. The conversation was candid, unapologetic and raw.

Deborah Delisle, executive director at ASCD, recounted her experience conducting site visits at primarily black elementary schools during her former role as assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Education under President Barack Obama.  "I would visit these schools and ask myself, 'Would I send my own child here?' And the answer was almost always no," said Delisle. "We allow schools to be OK for other peoples' kids."

The panelists also discussed a study positing that children from low-income families, by age 3, hear 30 million fewer words than children from more affluent families.

Although University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education professor Ebony Elizabeth Thomas challenged the accuracy of the research, she agreed that students from low-income, traditionally uneducated families display significantly lower literacy levels in early childhood.

She believes that high-quality educators can serve as equalizers, not only helping to bridge the word gap but also helping all children, even those grappling with disadvantages.

"In all of these pockets of despair, there is hope," Thomas said. "I came out of Detroit. I have colleagues that came out of West Virginia and Camden. Clearly something somewhere worked."

"We are not exceptions," she continued. "There are persons who work within oppressive systems to bring light and justice."

Tools educators can implement immediately include Project Implicit's Hidden Bias Test and Teaching Tolerance's classroom activities, along with longer-term goals such as creating a strategic hiring plan around diversity.

"Our aim is for these discussions to be taking place in schools across the country to ignite conversation and inspire educators to take action," said Stephen Sye, ILA associate executive director. "Literacy is not only a civil right—it's an effective means of overcoming injustice and inequality."

About the Forum 
The panel took place at the ILA 2017 Conference & Exhibits; 250 educators attended the event live, while nearly 6,000 people viewed the recording online. ILA partnered with Heinemann Publishing to broadcast the panel through Facebook Live.

Speakers included Monita K. Bell, senior editor for Teaching Tolerance; Deborah Delisle, executive director at ASCD; Zareen Jaffery, founder and executive editor of Salaam Reads; Cornelius Minor, lead staff developer at The Teachers College Reading & Writing Project; Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, professor at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education; and Gene Luen Yang, National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

Watch the Facebook Live archived recording here.

About the International Literacy Association 
The International Literacy Association (ILA) is a global advocacy and membership organization dedicated to advancing literacy for all through its network of more than 300,000 literacy educators, researchers and experts across 75 countries. With over 60 years of experience, ILA has set the standard for how literacy is defined, taught and evaluated. ILA collaborates with partners across the world to develop, gather and disseminate high-quality resources, best practices and cutting-edge research to empower educators, inspire students and inform policymakers. ILA publishes The Reading Teacher, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy and Reading Research Quarterly, which are peer reviewed and edited by leaders in the field. For more information, visit literacyworldwide.org.

Alina O'Donnell 
609-280-3905
[email protected]

SOURCE International Literacy Association

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http://www.literacyworldwide.org