“I believe the appeal and engagement with these texts was not my instruction. Instead, it was the content, or more importantly, the humanity in these texts. Beyond our differences, we all desire family and community, we all seek love and acceptance, we all make mistakes because of our flaws, and we all struggle with decisions. In these universal truths, shared in text, my students simply saw human beings, and they related to them. That connection is powerful. My students came away with a consciousness about “others” without even leaving their own neighborhoods. Through reading, discussing, and writing, students engaged with text that forced them to walk in the shoes of people they have never before come into contact.”

“Questions about implementation may surface, including: Are my students mature enough to handle a discussion about social justice? Can my students relate to or understand the lives of marginalized or disenfranchised others? Will the discussion promote anger and frustration, negating its intent? Will my students even talk during a discussion? With all these questions, the tendency may be to shy away from social justice topics, even though the need for an enlightened youth is of the utmost importance currently. Thus, we, as educators, need methods that can support our facilitation of discussions so that the most important conversations that need to take place can.”

“Consider that new teachers have to learn how to hold their bladders while simultaneously ignoring thirst and hunger to make it through four classes in a row, often while pushing a cart from classroom to classroom or racing students up and down stairs. They have to figure out how to interact with a diverse range of human beings, from the youngsters in their care to the adults in the building—most of whom hold power over them, from the secretary who holds the key to the supply closet, to the principal who has the authority to exercise the capital punishment of the workplace: non-renewal—to the parents and guardians who may see them as another kid, a potential ally, or an adversary.”