Finding Support for Opposing Censorship: Resources from the National Council of Teachers of English By Sarah Miller

Finding Support for Opposing Censorship: Resources from the National Council of Teachers of English

By Sarah Miller,

Senior Coordinator of Book Initiatives, NCTE 

The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) has long devoted attention to intellectual freedom in education. With the volume of work that NCTE does and the multiple demands on educators, it is not always possible to remain up to date on all that is available. This post aims to inform you about how we provide support and to connect you to the resources that are most useful to you.

The Intellectual Freedom Center is NCTE’s support hub for teachers facing censorship and advocating for intellectual freedom in education. Its guiding principle is that all students have the right to materials and education experiences that promote open inquiry, critical thinking, diversity in thought and expression, and respect for others. The work has long been grounded also in The Students’ Right to Read position statement. Our resources bring these ideals to fruition by supporting educators and students to fulfil the goals of access to education as foundational to a democratic society.

NCTE uses four methods to support intellectual freedom:

Advocate: Position statements and resolutions are created and updated by NCTE members, reviewed extensively, and voted on by NCTE leaders to become solidified. They are publicly available and indicate NCTE’s official positions on various issues. Censorship is just one theme among many for these documents, but it is one that is requested and used widely. Our position statements and resolutions are referenced by teachers, libraries, districts, news outlets, and more. We encourage you to become familiar with those most relevant to you and use excerpts anywhere they may be useful.

 

Support: In addition to leading the way with advocacy documents, NCTE also proactively provides resources to educators. The most important of which is the first of its kind book rationale database. There are more than 1,400 rationales available – a number that continues to grow – and all are created and reviewed by other teachers. Titles include classics such as To Kill a Mockingbird and The Bluest Eye as well as newer titles like The Hate U Give and Milo Imagines the World. There are books for readers grades Pre-K through 12+. Sections of the rationale include book information like plot summaries and Lexile levels, what standards the text meets, suggested teaching approaches, potential for censorship challenge, settings teachers recommend using the text for, and additional resources that expand educators’ options for deepening understanding of the text and related subject matters.  

 

Respond: The Intellectual Freedom Center receives and responds to censorship reports. Anyone is welcome to fill out a school censorship report. The concerns and challenges are reviewed and cataloged. If needed or requested, NCTE will curate appropriate resources. We also document the types of challenges and escalate as needed. Escalation looks different depending on the circumstances of the report and membership status, but all the information is useful for helping us to continue to evolve the work of intellectual freedom in education. 

 

Partner: NCTE has a formal partnership with the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC). We collaboratively to create resources and consult on individual cases with permission. We also sign dozens of letters annually that are sent to schools and districts to express concern or support for best practices for book selection, book reviews, and policy updates. NCTE is also a long-time member of the Banned Books Week Coalition, has a long working relationship with the American Library Association and their Office for Intellectual Freedom, and is a close partner in the Unite Against Book Bans campaign. PEN America is another close partner in the fight against censorship, sharing resources, expertise, and opportunities. NCTE works closely with state and regional affiliates, like WPCTE, to further this cause. And we have close relationships with publishers, authors, and many other organizations doing intellectual freedom work.

For those of you attending the WPCTE conference next month, I will share additional information there about NCTE’s resources, including at breakout sessions focusing on rationale creation and use. I am also happy to answer any questions or provide additional support. You can reach me at IntellectualFreedom@ncte.org. 

Thank you for the work you do to support students and literacy every day. It is seen, honored, and appreciated.

Hearing the Music in a YA Verse Novel by Lliam Shaw and Hannah Lewis

 Hearing the Music in a YA Verse Novel

English Festival’s 2025 featured author Susan Hood’s Alias Anna

by Lliam Shaw and Hannah Lewis

The English Teacher Who Couldn’t Tell a Sonata from a Sonnet*

When Hannah read Alias Anna, collaboratively written by Susan Hood and protagonist Zhanna’s real-life grandson Greg Dawson, in preparation for her first WPCTE English Festival virtual book club session with her 10-12th-graders, she was immediately struck by the musicality: first of all, verse novels already lend themselves to a certain rhythmic or melodic way of reading, even when written in free verse. Were we to judge a book by its cover, Alias prepares us to engage with music before we even crack the book, with the Balbuso Twins’ and Laura Mock’s beautiful cover design featuring (ostensibly) protagonist Zhanna dressed in a piano-key-and-sheet-music scarf. 

Once she started reading, though, she knew that music was playing a much larger role in the text than she could unpack herself. From the moment Ukrainian Jewish girl Zhanna describes her childhood attraction to the mournful music of funeral processions in “Music was the Magnet” (Hood & Dawson 19) to her radio performance of Bach’s Two-Part Invention No. 1 in C Major, played entirely in the dark (40), to her death-defying run away from where the Nazis held the Ukrainian Jews to rescue her treasure–a piece of sheet music she could already play by heart, Chopin’s Fantaisie-Impromptu (101), up to her incognito performance of the Chopin Scherzo in B-flat Minor–played as “Anna” for an audience of loathed Nazi officers (184) and even her poetically just performance of her beloved Fantaisie-Impromptu before an audience of liberated Jews as herself, Jewish Zhanna (271), music drove the story in ways that Hannah couldn’t understand with her limited knowledge of Central-and-Eastern European classical music traditions. She reached out to a colleague who connected her to Lliam Shaw, middle-school music teacher and classical music enthusiast, who was happy to share his expertise with Hannah’s eager English Festival students

Music History as Human History

Lliam is a believer of the self-coined phrase “Music history is human history.” There is always a connection between what is going on in the world, or “textbook history” as he calls it, and what is going on with the music output at the time. When he examined the musical selections in Alias Anna, it was easy to see how the specific pieces were chosen for emphasis, as they serve purpose in both a narrative and historical context. Bach’s music, specifically his music for keyboards, is known for its intricate sound and deep spirituality, but most notably, its demanding technicality. Bach transcended just composition, just as Da Vinci did engineering, and Newton did physics, becoming both the pinnacle and the foundation of the field. The choice to specifically name Bach was not just some grab-bag idea, but a thoughtful one, representing Zhanna’s technical mastery and her profound spiritual connection to her instrument – she doesn’t need to rely on seeing the keys because, whether it be in memory or muscular, the music is within her.

The Chopin pieces are especially weighty, considering their historical significance and context, which may have escaped the English Fest students’ attention without Lliam’s expertise. Chopin was a Polish composer who, just like Zhanna, witnessed political upheaval, living through both the November Uprising of 1830 where Poles rebelled against Russian rule, and the 1848 February Revolution in Paris. His music, while not outrightly political, represents his belief in independence and nationalism, a symbol the Nazis were more than willing to erase. There are other comparisons between Chopin and Zhanna, too, such as their virtuosity recognized at a young age, dedication to the piano, and deep familial connections, which make the choice to emphasize Chopin clearly effective, as much as the mention of Bach.

Not only is the choice of composer a refined pick, but the specific pieces too. Chopin’s Scherzo in B-Flat Minor is a turbulent, expressive piece with extreme technical demand, which many believe to be his most outright radical composition, directly influenced by his feelings of the political revolutions he witnessed in real time. Listen to the composition, linked here and above, and you can hear the chaos within the music. 

The irony of her performance can not be overstated enough, and Hood highlighted that in her retelling – Zhanna is a Jewish girl, actively hiding among her enemy as Anna, masterfully playing music composed by a Polish composer, who had similarly witnessed political persecution, to an audience who wants to eradicate both Jewish AND Polish culture and history. The piece reflects both the complexity of the situation and the immense internal struggle Zhanna is feeling at the very moment of performance. 

When you listened to the performance, could you hear it?

Collaboration for Stronger Classrooms

The role of music in Alias Anna exemplifies how young adult verse novels can interweave creative elements to enhance both meaning and form. Many verse novels inherently carry rhythm or musicality, and the collaboration of Hood and Dawson adds an extra layer to that. Susan Hood collaborated with an expert–Zhanna’s very own grandson–marrying the authentic story of one with the narrative capabilities of the other. 

Just as Hannah reached out to Lliam to better understand the musical complexities and nuances, Hood’s collaboration with Dawson allowed her to capture both the historical facts and the profound emotional resonance of the real story of a real person, playing real music with real history. This all goes to show how much collaboration in both the creation and interpretation of literature can enrich our understanding of it, whether it’s an author working with a primary source, or a teacher partnering with a colleague to unlock a deeper meaning for her students, and in turn, herself.

We will end with a call to action: 

What expertise do your colleagues hold that could enhance the experience of the readers in your classroom? Ask around and find out!

Streamline Student Research with Learnics By: Elizabeth Pernelli

Introduction by WPCTE Executive Director Carol Frow 

A year ago, I met a lovely lady, Elizabeth Pernellii,  at a conference and chatted with her about Learnics, a Google extension that seemed to be an answer to many of my needs concerning research, keping materials neatly in one place, and citing sources, so I eagerly accepted three free evenings of training on this system. It was great!  So, I invited Liz to contribute to our blog so that others would hear about this program!

Navigating Book Bans: Keeping Choice Alive in the Rural Classroom By: Dr. Mark A Curcio

 Navigating Book Bans

Keeping Choice Alive in the Rural Classroom

While writing my dissertation on the development of male adolescent readers, I explored a range of theories that shape student growth—topics like student choice, reading fluency, and stamina all played central roles. But one issue came crashing into focus as I wrapped up my study: the contentious topic of book bans and censorship. It’s a debate that resurfaces yearly, sparking intense discussions among ELA teachers and making headlines nationwide. This isn’t just a distant controversy; it’s impacting real classrooms, especially in rural communities, shaping what students read and how freely they engage with literature.

During my studies, I noticed a clear divide in attitudes toward censorship that often reflects the “urban-rural political divide.” From my experience as an adjunct professor in the city of Pittsburgh and a full-time high school teacher in a rural community, this divide is hard to miss. Generally, urban areas lean more liberal, while rural regions tend to be more conservative. And it’s often in these rural, more conservative areas where we see the most challenges to books in school libraries. 

A “rural area” is designated as one with a population of less than 1,000 people per square mile. In Westmoreland County, several school districts are considered rural due to their geographic location, low population density, or the communities they serve. Although the county includes more urbanized areas, especially around Greensburg, much of the land is rural, with small towns, farmlands, and natural landscapes characteristic of the Appalachian region. This rural landscape influences local community values, economic activities, and educational policies, which can play a role in debates around issues like book censorship in schools.

Unfortunately, the landscape of book censorship has only intensified over the past decade. In 2023, a record-breaking 4,240 titles were targeted for removal across the U.S., shattering the previous year's high of 2,571. Many of these books tackle social justice, discrimination, and equity themes that provide students with important perspectives they may not encounter otherwise. In Pennsylvania, school boards have the authority to pull books that don’t align with federal and state laws, including First Amendment standards. The American Library Association warns that limiting access to such books restricts exposure to diverse viewpoints, which can be deeply harmful. 

ALA: Number of Book Titles Challenged Across the Country Per State in 2023

This access issue has specific implications for rural schools, especially for young male students who often crave control over their learning. Books that support self-efficacy for adolescent males—particularly those from low-income backgrounds—do so by (1) promoting psychological well-being, (2) reflecting shared struggles, (3) offering guidance on handling current challenges, and (4) highlighting the gaps between real-world experiences and fictional portrayals. Censoring these books denies students the chance to connect with stories that validate their struggles and restricts their exposure to the “real world” beyond their immediate surroundings.

Book bans can feel like something that happens “somewhere else,” but that’s no longer true. While Virginia is often spotlighted for high-profile bans, Pennsylvania is seeing a similar rise in censorship efforts. In Hanover County, Virginia—a suburban and rural mix—a recent vote granted the county full authority to remove books from school libraries without input from parents or teachers.  Moves like this send a clear message: educators, librarians, and even parents are losing a say in what students can read.

So, where does that leave us as teachers?

If choice in reading is a major motivator, what happens to rural students when that choice is taken away?

One way to address this challenge is to intentionally structure choices in a way that genuinely supports students. For example, engaging students in the book selection process, offering thoughtful suggestions, and helping them connect their choices to their interests and goals can empower them to take ownership of their learning. 

Another way to increase choice in reading is by dedicating periods to independent reading group discussions. This past weekend, I came across a Netflix commercial that skillfully turned the common phrase of recommendation, “it’s so good!” Through reading groups, this phrase can be used to talk about books. Like music and TV shows, sometimes all it takes is for the right person to give the right recommendation at the right time. 

Trust me—I understand how stressed and burned out we are, but students must experience the growth that comes from reading. If we want them to read books, we must prioritize them in our classrooms through choice, no matter the challenges we face. 

“Who Killed Jay Gatsby?” Introducing Fitzgerald’s Classic Novel with a Murder Mystery By Abby Weller-Hall

 “Who Killed Jay Gatsby?” 

Introducing Fitzgerald’s Classic Novel with a Murder Mystery

By Abby Weller-Hall

I’ve been teaching F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic The Great Gatsby for sixteen years now. I could probably recite the novel cover to cover. For other English teachers, this may feel like a life-sentence being chained to a classic. You might be asking, how do you not lose your mind “beating on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly” to reteach the same novel year after year?

I have taught Gatsby in a number of school settings from suburban and rural brick-and-mortars to statewide cyber schools. I’ve taught Gatsby from the lowest levels to AP Literature and everything in between. Every year I look forward to it because I learned how to make a book about horrible rich people be interesting to teenagers who, given the choice of following the rich, would rather be watching the Kardashians on TikTok.

The introduction to the novel is the key to engagement. If you are also teaching Gatsby this year, ditch that lame anticipation guide and instead host an interactive live-action game of Clue that everyone participates in as either a character-actor or a detective to discover who killed Gatsby. Here’s how to do it: 

First, hype up the event by handing out fancy invitations (made on Canva; example below) to the Gatsby Murder Mystery Party a couple of weeks in advance. Be sure to mention it daily! 

Next, ask for volunteers to be the actors for the following roles: Tom, Daisy, Nick, Jordan, Meyer Wolfsheim, Henry Gatz, Ewing Klipspringer, a Funeral Director, and a Journalist. A Google Form will help you collect student acting interest. However, assure the actors that they don’t need to memorize any lines, just read them from their character’s clue sheet. 

Each actor gets a brief description of their character and several clues that they can tell if the “detectives” ask. The clues should include some red herrings, of course! 

Note that I create characters not in the novel (i.e. the Funeral Director and the Journalist) to help sell the mystery.  There are also characters I didn’t include, but certainly could be added (i.e Owl Eyes, Michaelis, Myrtle’s sister Catherine, etc.) For extra fun, give the actors props too (Daisy gets a pearl necklace, Meyer gets a couple of fake molars, etc.). Encourage the actors to dress fancy for the day.

On the day of your Gatsby Murder Mystery, have students enter a classroom that is somber (because it’s a funeral for Jay Gatsby). Put up a sign indicating that George and Myrtle Wilson’s funeral is tomorrow. If you really want to sell it, get a prop coffin from a Halloween store.

As students enter the room, give them a “case file” checklist of characters where they can write down how characters respond to the questioning. Students are told they can ask any of your actors to tell them something about any other character (Ex. “Daisy, tell me something you know about Jordan”). Actors will reveal one of their clues when asked. 

Questioning goes round-robin, with all students writing down responses. All students must listen carefully to find a line of questioning that produces fruitful responses. After about forty minutes of questioning, students are asked to write down the three characters they think were either directly or indirectly connected to Gatsby’s murder. Pat yourself on the back for getting those speaking and listening standards met!

The students will expect you to tell them the correct answer at the end, but that’s where you hook them and say they’ll find out by reading the book! This is followed by a collective groan, but believe me, as kids read they will still be trying to figure out the mystery.

Although (spoiler alert) we know George is the killer, the discussion at the end of the novel about who was indirectly responsible for Gatsby’s murder is going to be the best discussion of the year because they have been primed to be looking for that the entire novel. The students will be reading with purpose, and that’s what any English teacher wants!

I’ve been doing the Gatsby Murder Mystery for nine years now and even adapted it for virtual settings. It takes some time to develop the character clues, but just consider what each character knows about the other characters in the novel. Then pick some detail that could be misconstrued. For instance, ask the journalist about Gatsby and he might say, “I heard he was a German spy.” After students finish the novel, I ask them what clues they would have given instead! This will help them analyze the character-plot connections.

Every year students say it was their favorite book and I really believe it’s because the murder mystery party tricked them into analyzing literature much deeper than they had before. The murder mystery can be done year after year without ever getting boring. 

So when someone tells you that you can’t relive this past, tell them “why of course you can, old sport!”

Embracing Linguistic Diversity in the English Classroom Part 2: “Advanced” (or “advancing”) Strategies to Go Deep By: Hannah Lewis

Embracing Linguistic Diversity in the English Classroom 

Part 2: “Advanced” (or “advancing”) Strategies to Go Deep

By: Hannah Lewis

Back in August, I drafted my blog post, “Embracing Linguistic Diversity in the English Classroom,” which has become a two-installment series, the first of which went live on September 1.

 
Since then, I’ve had numerous opportunities to center language, and I’m excited to share not only some other strategies I use in my classroom but also to talk about what I’ve seen from my students in the past month or so.
Some strategies from the first installment included introducing code-switching, elevating dialect-rich texts, and allowing students to teach you about their languages. 

I want to start by sharing some additional techniques and invite you to find ways to build linguistic diversity into your classroom.

4. Invite your students to use their dialects and home languages in their writing as much as possible:

I believe that this is the most powerful and also the most challenging tool in our teaching toolbox. But how do we find the time to invite students to write in home languages or dialects when we haven’t yet guided them to mastery of the SAE we are required to teach? Honestly, it comes down to a question of priorities. For me, it is urgent for all of my students to understand that language diversity is a strength, not a weakness.

One example in which I was very proud of my students who skillfully expressed their linguistic diversity was the “Remember” poem exercise. I introduce students to Joy Harjo’s “Remember” and then invite them to “reflect back on [their] life, education, values, family, community, and goals. What do [they] want to remember as [they] move into adulthood in the coming years? What is important to [them] not to forget?”

The poems students generate are always very high-quality, since (I hope) the question is relevant to them as they prepare to conclude their junior year.

There is nothing in the directions for this assignment that specifically invites students to include home languages or dialects, though I do account for those choices in my scoring rubric, in which “style and conventions” are measured by “appropriate and creative stylistic choices” as opposed to, say, “proper grammar and punctuation,” whatever that might mean. However, thanks to the personal nature of the assignment and (I hope) the culture of linguistic inclusivity I’ve built, I receive beautiful works like this one, excerpted below:

Read
The hospital records […]
“January 30, 2008: 20 lbs. 6 oz., [student full name], severe allergies to animal dander, chickpea,
dairy, gluten, sesame, shellfish, soy, tree nuts…”
Read
The last resort, a homeopathic regimen, a recommendation from a friend of a friend of a friend
(The Desi Way™)
"આસિનકમ આબમ: ખોરાક સાથે દરરોજ 3 વખત 3 ગોળઓ" (“Arsenicum album: 3 tablets 3x
daily w/ food”)
"કક રયા કાબિનકા: 5 ગોળઓ દરરોજ 2 વખત, સવાર અને રાે " (“Calcarea carbonica: 5 tablets
2x daily, morning & night”)
"નેમ ુરયાટકમ: 3 ગોળઓ દરરોજ 3 વખત ખોરાક સાથે" (“Natrum muriaticum: 3 tablets 3x
daily w/ food”)

When I was grading these poems, I saw this as an opportunity to give my students a platform, so during our next class, I created a “gallery walk.”  I asked five students (including the poet excerpted above) to lead breakout rooms (remember, I’m teaching virtually. In a classroom, they could just be standing next to their poem, or not representing their poem at all, but visiting other poets’). Students moved from one poem to the next and did a fairly straightforward “I notice/I wonder” activity like this one.

5. Teach the history of linguistic erasure

This recommendation is short and sweet. Although I’m inviting readers to teach history, know that as English teachers, the history of English is a part of our curriculum, and English has a long history of swallowing up or stomping out other languages.

Teach students about how enslaved Africans were forced to learn English as a survival strategy, learning from enslavers and from their peers who spoke dozens of different African languages, and how they were denied the right to learn to read and write because reading and writing give people power.

Teach them how boarding schools in our own state housed abducted Indigenous children and enforced strict “English Only” policies that have decimated Indigenous generational language transmission.
Knowing the destructive power that requirements to speak a certain way can have can help students understand why honoring linguistic diversity is so vital to a fair and equitable society. 

What if I don’t have any students who speak Gujarati (or any other language than English), or any students who speak AAVE, either? 

First, I’d invite you to ask yourself how you know. Even the most homogenous-seeming affluent, rural, or suburban schools can serve many minoritized communities, and those students may especially need safe spaces to express and explore aspects of their identities that their peers might not share or, worse, might criticize. 

However, even if you feel quite sure that there is little linguistic diversity in your primarily-SAE-speaking district, consider this: Your students may need these lessons more than anyone else. Too often, I hear linguistically privileged adults–even teachers–lament students’ “terrible grammar” and “awful writing,” without realizing they are engaging in a form of prejudice. By exposing my students who grew up primarily speaking SAE and being rewarded for it to the beauty English has to offer outside the limitations within which how they speak it, my hope is that, in the future, they will recognize the legitimacy of the language others’ use, and they will be less inclined to judge someone’s intellect or education based on the way they speak. 

While we may not all always be able to leverage students’ linguistic diversity to expose their peers to brilliant, interesting, and relatable people who speak differently than they do, we still have the opportunity to be thoughtful about the texts we teach, the media we share, and the way we talk about writing and speaking outside of SAE conventions. 

Further Reading:
For those who have not yet read Gloria Anzaldúa’s “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” I highly suggest that, as a teacher of the English language, you try to find the time to read it. Anzaldúa does an incredible job of explaining the impact of her Englishes on her identity. I’ve used it in the past with my A.P. Language and Composition students. For younger students or those whose reading skills need developing, Julia Alvarez’s “Names/Nombres” is another great choice.

Call to Action: Maybe you haven’t given much thought to the tensions between building up students and their communities on one hand and insisting on a single, correct version of Standard American English in your classroom. Now that you know, what will you do to ensure that you leverage your classroom to uplift linguistically diverse students and their communities?

Appendix: Want to see how my pedagogy for linguistic equity is playing out in my classroom so far? I’ll attach an appendix with some artifacts from this school year that have really helped me to feel like I’m getting my students to think critically about the role of language in their lives and in the lives of others. Find the appendix here.

Embracing Linguistic Diversity in the English Classroom Part 1: The Groundwork by Hannah Lewis

Embracing Linguistic Diversity in the English Classroom 

Part 1: The Groundwork 

by Hannah Lewis

As English teachers, we wield a tremendous power that we don’t always fully appreciate. Forget the MLA or the Webster’s Dictionary editors—it’s we who serve as the gatekeepers of the English language and its necessary conventions of writing. 

That said, how do we ensure that our classrooms value and celebrate the linguistic diversity our students bring? How do we balance the demands of teaching Standard American English (SAE) with the need to honor and uplift students' home languages and dialects?

Our Reality

I’ve always felt a tremendous tension between the grammar programs I use, like No Red Ink and IXL, and my goal, which is to create an expansive environment in which students’ Englishes are valued as rich additions to my own English. I love a good mastery-based grammar program as much as the next teacher; I find it really helps me to hone in on the specific skills students understand or don’t yet understand. However, this year, I’m really trying to foreground my pedagogical goals and leave these tools to run in the background—to give less weight to what the “right” way to write is and more to the value of students’ authentic voices. In the age of A.I. Large Language Models1, as I envision a dystopian future of homogenous and bland computer-generated writing, this mission feels more urgent to me than ever.

In this post, I’ll outline some of the foundational strategies I’m using to set the stage for a linguistically inclusive classroom. These strategies are designed to help both students and teachers begin the journey of valuing and celebrating the rich diversity of Englishes we encounter in our classrooms. 

And stay tuned for Part 2, which I'm calling "Advanced Techniques," but that any interested and experienced educator can certainly leverage in addition to those listed here.

1. Introducing the concept of “code-switching” early and often:

"Code switching," broadly speaking, involves a speaker "going back and forth between one language and another or one dialect and another."

While I try to start with a very objective definition of code-switching and a brief history of the term with an Encyclopedia article (which I had my students Jigsaw, ultimately creating group slide presentations), I have gotten a lot of mileage out of this excellent video from The Huffington Post, which does an excellent job of explaining the stakes, in particular, for Black folks who speak versions of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and do or do not code-switch in some contexts.

At my school, we use grammar programs like those mentioned above on a weekly basis as a supplemental tool for grammar instruction, and I include a link to this video every time students are assigned one of these grammar assignments.

Is this sufficient to communicate the relative value of the Standard American English (SAE) conventions they’re learning compared to their home languages or dialects? Honestly, probably not. I feel like the majority of our instruction in school kind of undermines the message I’m trying to convey, but I do feel like it at least gets kids thinking about this tension.

2. Elevating works that make stylistic choices that prioritize dialect or language play:

My favorite text of the year to teach is Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God. It’s widely included in American Literature survey courses and regularly taught in U.S. high schools, and it’s incredible. We read it right alongside “How it Feels to be Colored Me” and excerpts from The Warmth of Other Suns, which I think is really important because it highlights the context into which Hurston is writing and also legitimizes her as a woman who really knew what she was doing with language—who intentionally chose to write in her own version of AAVE and, as a result, was not celebrated for the novel’s brilliance at the time when she wrote it.

CommonLit does an awesome job here of both introducing students to Hurston’s vast expertise in language, but also demonstrating the ubiquity of dialect in the U.S. My students especially loved (and, I think, benefitted from) this video, detailing the way dialects (specifically, accents) correspond to migration patterns, ethnic groups, etc.

Making intentional choices about including linguistically diverse texts can be a pretty effortless way to weave a critical discussion of language into our curriculum.

Oh, an important note: I’m not sure how everyone will feel about this, and I’m sure that some might disagree, but I prefer not to read excerpts from this novel aloud myself, or to have students read it aloud. I believe that attempting to read her dialect will result in a clumsy approximation that will only serve to reinforce negative perceptions. That said, hearing the text helps students immensely with comprehension and adds a second layer of appreciation to Hurston’s linguistic choices, so I tend to use an audiobook (this one is very good). This is a choice I’ve grappled with for a while, so if anyone has a different take, please see my contact information below and let me know!

If you teach younger students, Hurston may be out of reach, but I’ve also used Langston Hughes’s “Mother to Son” along with Rhina Espailat’s “Bilingual/Bilingüe” to similarly teach the richness that dialect adds to a text—that couldn’t be accomplished with SAE.

3. Let your multilingual or multi-dialectical students teach you about language:

This is something new I’m trying this year. I’m very fortunate to teach in a pretty diverse school. I always like to start the school year by opening up the course title (“American Literature” or “Language and Composition”) for discussion: What does each term in the title include/exclude? What do we recognize as “American,” “Literature,” “Language,” or “Composition”?

This year, it occurred to me to be explicit about why this inquiry is worthwhile: in my district, there are at least 30 languages spoken in students’ homes. We only have records of home language if the primary language at home is not English, so there are likely more multilingual students in the school than are represented in the home language report.

So I created a discussion as a sort of preview of the course title discussion to come.

I compiled the list of languages and determined how many speakers of each were identified and then used Word It Out to create word clouds that represented the languages and the words in each for “welcome.” I used that to start a discussion. I just shared the discussion with students today (August 28th), so I haven’t had too many responses yet, but I deeply appreciate the rapport I’m able to set up already with one student (see Padlet post screenshot).

Conclusion: Laying the groundwork for a linguistically inclusive classroom requires thoughtful planning and intentional choices. By introducing concepts like code-switching, elevating works that prioritize dialect, and inviting students to share their linguistic backgrounds, we create an environment where all students feel valued and heard. In the next post, I’ll delve into more advanced strategies for continuing this work and ensuring that linguistic diversity remains a central part of our teaching practice.

Remember, stay tuned for Part 2 where you'll get to see some work from the true experts, some of my students who are code-switching pros and who thrive when they are allowed to deviate from SAE in the classroom!