Counter Narratives Everywhere

Greetings from the Literacy Squared Institute in Puebla, Mexico!

In our opening session Dr. Kathy Escamilla (THE name in biliteracy) spoke about Literacy Squared´s vision of creating counter narratives in education:

ACHIEVEMENT GAP -> OPPORTUNITY GAP/GAP IN VISION

MONOLINGUAL NORM -> BILINGUALISM AS THE "NEW NORMAL"

FEAR OF LATINOS -> SOCIAL JUSTICE

CLOSING SCHOOLS & FIRING TEACHERS -> SUPPORTING TEACHERS

Since arriving here, I have reflected on further examples of counter narratives.

One session yesterday asked us to consider the story of La Malinche (the indigenous woman who, according to the conventional narrative, betrayed her people by becoming the interpreter and lover of Cortés) from the perspective of La Malinche. Was she a traitor? A victim? A survivor? How do the stories within our representations of history serve to oppress or benefit groups of people?
In this session we also watched Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche's powerful Ted Talk: "The Danger of a Single Story."

I have also observed counter narratives of dual language schools. It has been inspiring to rub elbows with important people in the world of dual language education - district superintendents, university professors, the executive director of WIDA, not to mention the researchers/presenters - but it has also been fascinating to hear the wide variety of contexts in which the participants teach and work. Most of my students in DC are second generation immigrants from Central America, and about a quarter of our students are non-Latino Black. This is a different experience from "one-way" dual language models that serve 100% Spanish-speaking populations. One of the participants teaches at a school on the border in New Mexico, where almost all the students LIVE in Mexico. (After hearing his story, I googled the town and found this Washington Post article about the school.)

Perhaps the most powerful counter narrative has been the group´s attitude toward the observation (the first of two) we did at a local school today. In my time in Chiapas, I consistently tried to approach observations from a positive standpoint, searching for effective strategies rather than deficiencies. It was hard - not just because of the challenges in Mexican schools, but also because I have become so accustomed to experiencing observations as tools to evaluate and identify deficiencies (areas for growth.) Additionally, most professional development I have taken part in has presented approaches to teaching in a black & white way. THIS way of teaching is good and THAT way is bad. OBVIOUSLY you would never want to do that. WHAT was that teacher THINKING?! In our observation today, I was part of a cohort quick to spot potential and positive practices. Willing to question norms about conventional practices. Appreciative of the work that Mexican teachers do in difficult circumstances. There is so much that we can learn from them.

My school is my second home, but my home is my first school.