Chapter 4: When Black Girls Unite: How Critical Teacher Reflection Can Lead to a Pedagogy of Power

In his book Start Where You Are, But Don’t Stay There, Richard Milner (2010) stressed the necessity for P-12 educators to engage consciously and consistently in processes of self-improvement and professional growth in order to maximize student potential. Thus, classroom teachers are strongly encouraged to use self-reflexivity to “assess their current situations, draw meaning from these narratives, and transfer the lessons learned that are relevant and appropriate for their practices” (p. 197). Similar to many of the novice educators Milner described, I stepped into my role as a public high school English teacher passionately and with a strong sense of urgency. As the cli-ché goes, I wanted to “make a difference” in the social and academic lives of our nation’s most underserved youth.