Rationale
In my classroom, students know “wassup” long before they know the academic language of civic engagement, activism, cultural resistance, or democratic participation. They already understand what it feels like to be judged, excluded, or treated differently because of who they are. They know when something is unfair, even if they cannot always explain why. My job is to give them the language to describe those experiences and the confidence to believe their voices deserve to be heard.
As an ESL teacher at Hearne High School, I work with students whose lives are anything but simple. They come in carrying more than just a backpack. Many move between languages, cultures, and expectations every day. Some translate for their parents before they ever set foot in school. Others help care for younger siblings, work after school, or shoulder responsibilities that would challenge many adults. By the time they reach my classroom, many have spent years wondering where they fit and whether they truly belong.
Rod Ferguson’s seminar challenged me to look at young people differently. Too often, schools focus on what students lack instead of recognizing what they already bring to the classroom. We notice test scores before talent and discipline referrals before leadership. My students remind me every day that those measures tell only part of the story. They ask difficult questions, recognize injustice when they see it, and care deeply about fairness, even if they are still developing the language to express those ideas.
One conversation from the seminar has stayed with me. Rod talked about teaching both at Yale and inside a prison. He shared that he sometimes receives more engagement from his incarcerated students than from his Yale students and joked that now and then he wishes for a good old-fashioned “Amen” from the back of his Yale classroom. We had a good lil “kiki” (laugh), but his point stayed with me. The building does not determine genuine learning, the institution's reputation, or who is sitting in the seats. It grows out of relationships, trust, and a classroom where people feel comfortable enough to engage honestly.
His comments also made me reflect on my own journey. Some days, I miss teaching first grade because that's where I taught children to read. Watching a child decode a word for the first time and seeing that moment when everything clicks is something you never forget. Today I teach high school students. Instead of teaching many of them how to read, I teach them how to question what they read, think critically, write with confidence, and trust that their ideas matter. Both experiences have taught me that literacy is about much more than words on a page. It is about understanding yourself and the world around you.
The seminar also made me think differently about representation. I had my first Black teacher in first grade, so seeing a Black woman leading a classroom always felt normal to me. During our discussions, I learned that some people did not have a Black teacher until sixth grade, college, or ever. Those conversations reminded me that representation matters because it quietly tells students who belongs in positions of knowledge and leadership. At the same time, representation alone is not enough. Students deserve classrooms where they are respected, challenged, and encouraged to grow.
This curriculum grows from those reflections. Students will examine youth activism from the Civil Rights Movement to the present through the voices of Ella Baker, Martin Luther King Jr., Bob Moses, Angela Davis, Toni Morrison, Cathy J. Cohen, Robin D. G. Kelley, Jamie Margolin, and Roderick Ferguson. More importantly, they will consider their own place in that story.
I want my classroom to be a place where students know they belong. I want them to understand that literacy is more than reading and writing. It is asking questions, listening with intention, telling your own story, and standing up for someone else when it matters. If students leave this unit believing their voice has value, their story deserves to be told, and they can already make a difference in their family, school, and community. The unit will have accomplished what I hoped. This unit will have accomplished exactly what I hoped. To me, that is what it means to lean on one another, honor difference, and stand on business.
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