Dear Reader

"Race is that big thing that some of us are comfortable talking about, and many of us aren’t. We should just begin there." (Parker 1)

Dear Reader, 

Hi! It is nice to meet you! Our group consists of three pre-service English teachers and one pre-service middle grades education and special education dual major teacher as we prepare and explore the education world here at West Chester University.  For our most recent project, the Multi-Genre Project/Paper,  chose to read the novel Literacy for Liberation written by Dr. Kimberly Parker published in 2022 which expands upon the idea that literacy is the foundation for all learning and must be accessible to all students. Dr. Parker as an educator,  parent, and Black woman explores the importance of culturally relevant teaching and how it can help students work towards justice—providing the tools and guidelines for teachers to build culturally relevant intentional literacy communities (CRILCs) with students. 

"If you want to be an educator who is grounded in culturally relevant instruction and who considers themselves to be a culturally relevant educator, you have to be willing to mess up and to continually strive to--- and then do---- better." (Parker 14)

Literacy for Liberation is broken up into six chapters,  "Starting with Ourselves Why Culturally Relevant Literature Instruction Begins with Us  First", "Digging Deeper into Culturally Relevant Pedagogy",  "Defining Culturally Relevant Intentional Literacy Communities (CRILCs)",  "Routines and Traditions of CRILCs",  Preparing for and Succeeding in Conversations and Interactions in CRILCs", "Putting it All Together: Toward your Transformative CRILC Practice." The common thread linking all six chapters together is the practice of culturally relevant intentional literacy communities. A culturally relevant intentional literacy community "is a space where educators work deliberately with students to create a literacy environment that systematically normalizes the high achievement of everyone within that community." (Parker 66) In simpler terms, make sure you as an educator are including POC kids and feeling and knowing that their reading lives matter. Their teacher is working for, and with them, and not against them. (The Power of Literacy for Liberation with Kimberly N. Parker). Recognizing the cultural disparity, racism, and segregation present within the structure of a classroom. Especially when considering the "works" we require students to read that do not include any Black, LGBTQIA+, or in general POC authors or illustrators. Limiting the exposure students have to a culture relevant to them. 

"We must aim for useful responses. Silence is not useful. Silence is harmful."  (Parker 125)

The tips, tricks, and overall advice Dr. Parker provides throughout the entirety of her text inspired our project materials as we explored our identities as students, pre-service teachers, and in general individuals within contemporary society. Each section is a testament to the progress we have made as future educators who truly care about the culturally relevant teaching we wish to provide students. We hope you enjoy exploring the site and learn something new from Dr. Parker and us as a group through the activities, visual elements, and general information about Dr. Parker's teachings. 

Sincerely,

Bri Silasavage, Grace Medea, Courtney Parker, and Kacie Karcher. 

“I believe in you, and I hope this book will be a supportive resource. Our students are already having these conversations, after all, as they envision and create the worlds they deserve. May we work beside them, together. Don't let them down.” (Parker 172).